Beranek: city should both foresee needs and react to input

By RON LARSEN

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Dan Beranek is completing his 26th year on the City Council, and he's going for 30 years next Tuesday. As a Councilor-At-Large, Beranek presides as council president, making him the most powerful individual in city government.

The 54-year-old Beranek has worked with personal investments for individuals at Alliance Bank for the past 15 years, but prior to that, he and his father owned and operated Danny's Bar where Rodney's is now.

That's why he feels his background and involvement in the community is one of the strengths that he brings to the council.

"I'm around the community businesswise and socially. I have contact with a lots of different people. I'm pretty easy to find so it's not like they have to search me out to find me. I think I'm very accessible," he explained.

"I may disagree with someone, but they certainly have never not been returned a phone call or not responded to unless it's just plain gibberish of some sort," Beranek laughed.

However, this election campaign may stand out from his previous campaigns for office because of the Wal-Mart Supercenter store issue. The mass merchandiser's expressed desire to locate such a store in New Ulm has sharply divided the community.

While comments he made when the issue first surfaced this summer seemed to put him squarely in the "anti-Wal-Mart" segment of the community, he now says he is "straddling the fence" on whether Wal-Mart should be allowed to locate in New Ulm.

He says he still believes there are "negatives" to having the supercenter store in New Ulm such as what it would do to local retailing interests, but he wonders what the city could really do without being discriminatory toward Wal-Mart.

In general, Beranek believes the council has to both anticipate community needs and react to citizen input.

"You're going to end up doing both. You certainly have to listen to what the citizens bring to you, but you should also be pro-active," Beranek explained.

As an example, he points to the lack of available lots for building which has been a problem in this community for 10 to 15 years.

"Sometimes, we do things behind the scenes. For instance, I and (the current and previous city managers) did approach landowners on land surrounding New Ulm and visited with them about the possibility of the city buying farm land so that we could develop it into lots, and I think a lot of people don't know that," Beranek related.

He said the city had been a developer in the past with some 34 lots on Hauenstein Drive.

"However, we'd sooner have private individuals or companies take care of this, but we've been sitting here a long, long time without any development in the housing area. Within a year and a half, all of a sudden, some (private) developers did show up."

This recent development includes land developed by the Catholic Diocese. and potential development of around 200 acres over time along Poor Farm Road, as well as possible development in the north end of town along 23rd North or what Beranek calls the "Mack pit area."

"Now, it would appear that the city can back off as private interests are taking care of these things, but the long answer is the City Council should be pro-active in doing things."

On other issues, Beranek believes property taxes will have to increase in order to offset the cutbacks in state aid. He also feels that the recent surge in affordable and assisted living housing for seniors is not at the expense of affordable housing for young families.

"There are a number of $80,000, $90,000 houses that aren't junk, but maybe there is a need to help young families get into their own homes," Beranek said.

"We do have some money from our sale of the Hauenstein lots still in a sinking fund. That was money we were going to use to purchase farm land. Since that hasn't happened, maybe we could use that pool of money to help first-time home buyers who qualify with $5,000 or $10,000 apiece to help with their down payment. Maybe that could be something we could look at."

Beranek said he doesn't believe there is a need for a teen center "because there seems to be more than enough things for teens to do in New Ulm." He also said he doesn't see the city spinning off the Park and Recreation Department as an enterprise fund. As to New Ulm's future 10-to-20 years from now, Beranek hopes that the lack of building lots will be resolved so the city can continue to grow

"I hated to see St. Mary's go down. I think saving old buildings, saving our past is important. It seems, too, that being this far west, we never get good news about our population. It's always going down. Somehow, between availability of homes, helping new industries get here so people have jobs. Those things are what are going to be important so we can grow and don't keep losing numbers."