by Chloe Smith
APG of East Central Minnesota/Union Times
“This is by far the largest public hearing I have ever seen,” Judge Jessica Palmer-Denig said at the public comment portion of Baldwin Township’s incorporation hearing on Thursday, March 7.
Palmer-Denig is the administrative law judge through the state overseeing Baldwin’s petition to incorporate and become a city.
The incorporation hearing began the morning of March 7 and concluded on March 8 with the public comments taken by the judge Thursday evening. Hundreds of Baldwin residents attended the hearing to provide their opinions for the judge about the incorporation.
The process for incorporation began back in December 2023 when the township board approved Resolution 23-44 acting as the formal petition to the state to incorporate and become a city.
Later that month, the township held an informational meeting for Baldwin’s residents to answer questions about incorporation and what that would mean for them and their township. Read more about the informational meeting at the Union-Times article https:// tinyurl.com/8wmz8ntj.
According to Minnesota Statute 414.02 and the resolution approved by the township board, in order for a township to become incorporated, the township must prove it is urban or suburban in nature, it currently possesses the necessary resources to provide for its economical and efficient operation as a municipality, or that a township form of government is not best suited for the welfare of the residents.
Palmer-Denig informed the crowd at the hearing that only one of the factors listed in the state statute needs to be proven as true for the township to incorporate.
The purpose of the incorporation hearing is to allow for Baldwin Township the opportunity to prove to Palmer-Denig that it is ready to become a city, gather public opinion, and allow neighboring cities to provide information and input on the case.
According to Baldwin Township Attorney Mike Couri during the hearing, there are two main reasons why Baldwin is looking to incorporate.
The first reason is related to finances. As a city, Baldwin will receive additional funding, an estimated $467,000, from the state as a city to use on roads, equipment for the Baldwin Fire Department, and city operations. The additional funding will also help keep taxes at a similar level, according to Couri.
The second reason Couri stated at the hearing is that further development within Baldwin would be easier to control as a city due to the inability of neighboring cities to annex its land and Baldwin would be able to determine the way it develops.
After Couri provided an overview of Baldwin’s case to the crowd at the hearing, Princeton’s City Administrator Michele McPherson provided an overview of Princeton’s position on the case.
McPherson said that Princeton opposes the incorporation of Baldwin Township because the city believes Baldwin has not met the standards of incorporation outlined by the state statute.
In Princeton’s testimony as found on the city’s website, it states that Baldwin has proven it does not intend to develop outside of a rural manner.
“Although Baldwin Township is one of the largest townships in the State in population, it has been and continues to be developed in a rural manner with a minimum 2.5 acre lot size and no public utility infrastructure,” Princeton’s testimony reads. “The town board stated on record … they do not want nor anticipate this type of rural development pattern to change.”
However, if Palmer-Denig does grant the incorporation of Baldwin, Princeton requests approximately 9,740 acres of land in Baldwin abutting Princeton be “excluded from the incorporation and ordered to be annexed to the City of Princeton.”
The reason Princeton provides for the land request is to protect the city’s long-term vision and investments it has made for that land.
Some of the reasons Princeton provided to support its claim as stated in its written testimony is that by the city being awarded the land, it would be able to fully utilize its wastewater treatment plant, ensure the protection of the city’s drinking water, and provide better services to those who live in the requested area.
McPherson said at the hearing that if Princeton is granted the land requested, the city has no immediate plans to expand into that area and expansion would be available upon request of the property owners. She also said that taxes would not see a significant increase due to Princeton’s rural tax district.
Following the summaries of both Baldwin and Princeton’s testimonies for the case, Palmer-Denig opened the hearing for public comments. The hearing was for comments only, and questions concerning the incorporation were directed to be asked at a later date by reaching out to Baldwin Township or Princeton.
Dozens of Baldwin residents signed up to provide their input on incorporation to the judge, but the majority of them all had similar opinions. The overwhelming majority wished to see Baldwin stay as it is with a rural, township feel and retain all of its land.
Many of the commenters said they moved to Baldwin to be in the country with a township government to get out of city life.
Within that train of thought for the commenters, the desire to stay as a township or to become a part of the City of Baldwin was split. Those who were in favor of incorporation, however, also expressed a desire to maintain the rural country feel Baldwin currently possesses.
Another shared concern among the commenters was the potential increase in taxes that is believed to occur if incorporation is granted and the nearly 10,000 acres of land requested by Princeton is annexed to it.
All of the commenters that expressed an opinion on the land requested by Princeton were adamantly against the city obtaining the land.
The majority of the comments reflected similar opinions to those listed above.
Judge Palmer-Denig accepted written comments until 4:30 p.m. March 22. Palmer-Denig would then close the case to further submissions and consider all information and comments before making a final decision.
Questions about the incorporation can be directed to Baldwin Township at 763-389-8931 or town.clerk@baldwintwpmn.com. More information can also be found on Baldwin Township’s website at https://baldwintwpmn.com/.
For more information about the city of Princeton’s testimony, visit https:// www.princetonmn.org/.
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