Saturday, July 28, 2007


Jul. 28, 2007 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) --
On Monday, Northfield Mayor Lee Lansing was very animated when talking about wanting the state auditor's office to investigate recent events in his city, including a police investigation of the city administrator and the chief of police taking a mysterious leave of absence.

By Friday it appeared that Lansing could be part of an investigation; he acknowledged lobbying city staff to have property owned by his son be the new site for the city's liquor store.

'That may be one of the things we ask to be looked at,' Northfield City Attorney Maren Swanson said when asked about the mayor's lobbying efforts, which continued as recently as this spring.

Swanson, who has been the city attorney since 1988, said this is the first time Northfield has asked for such a review by the state auditor.

On Monday, the Northfield City Council passed a resolution asking the state auditor to examine the affairs of the city.

Those 'affairs' have included a very public imbroglio over a very public assertion on July 3 by Police Chief Gary Smith that Northfield is a heroin haven for hundreds of young adults.

After some officials disputed Smith's numbers, he took an unexpected leave of absence.

But Smith did not go quietly. Instead, he said police had been investigating City Administrator Al Roder for unspecified acts. Smith forwarded his findings to the Rice County attorney for review.

To avoid a possible conflict of interest, those files have since been forwarded to the Goodhue County attorney's office.

Then came the news this week of Lansing's behind-the-scene lobbying, even though Lansing publicly recused himself in February from the city's decision on the relocation of the liquor store to avoid what he said was a conflict of interest.

On Friday, Lansing acknowledged sending memos to city officials on behalf of his son. He said he thought he was acting within 'the spirit and the letter of the law.'I tried to be very careful about what I did as a mayor,' he said. 'In hindsight I can see why questions were raised.'

City Council members voted in the spring to move the liquor store to David Lansing's site. Then they reversed their decision earlier this month, apparently not knowing the mayor was working behind the scenes for his son. Swanson said the majority of the City Council members learned about the memos on Friday.

City Council members would not comment Friday. They referred all questions to Swanson, who also refused to comment further.

Another conflict?

David Lansing's land at 600 Division St., at one time the proposed site for the liquor store, is in the lot next to Lansing's Hardware store. The store, now run by David Lansing, resides in a building the mayor sold for $1.3 million two years ago.

In October 2005, five months after the mayor sold the building, the City Council was asked to consider the building at 618 Division St. as a future site for the liquor store.

But there is some question as to whether the City Council was told that the mayor maintained a financial interest in the building and that he stood to benefit financially if the city bought or leased space there.

Lee Lansing said Friday the sale was recorded with Rice County in April 2005. Also, he said, he sent a letter to city staff informing them of the sale and his interest in the property.

He did acknowledge that he did not inform City Council members about his financial stake in the 618 building when the group talked on Oct. 17, 2005, about moving the liquor store there.

'I didn't think I had to,' Lansing said Friday afternoon. 'It was public knowledge.'

The building is owned by the New Division Development Co., which hoped to renovate condominiums and commercial space at the site.

Mayor Lansing was to provide New Division financing for the redevelopment and then receive 50 percent of any sales of condominiums and other space at the building and a planned future building.

But the project, which could have possibly netted hundreds of thousands in profits, quickly halted when Lansing and New Division got into a legal squabble.

New Division alleges in a suit that $260,000 that Lee Lansing was supposed to use to finance the redevelopment of 618 Division St. instead was used by Lansing to help his son purchase the adjacent lot.

The mayor denies the allegation and said a Rice County judge ruled that the accusation was without merit. However, the breach-of-contract suit is still going forward.

'I was advocating for that property, frankly, and my son owns it and that's kind of an issue,' Lee Lansing said. 'I asked for a fair and equitable review of all the [liquor store] sites, not just one. I don't think I crossed a line... but now it looks like I did, and I certainly didn't mean to.'

Heron Marquez Estrada --651-298-1554 -- hme@startribune.com


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