By Sara Quam
The city of Luverne has released final counts of the Fledgling Field development survey.
The votes came in favor of the field being developed into a funeral home at 1,131; against 225, and no answer 827.
The surveys, sent out to gauge public opinion, were included in the utility bills due on Feb. 10. The final tallies will be forwarded to City Council members and discussed at a future council meeting.
Dan Dingmann, owner of Dingmann Funeral Home, wants to develop Fledgling Field for a new facility.
He had said previously that if the survey shows an overwhelming majority of the city supports development, his construction company will apply to have the land rezoned as R-I, or institutional, in which funeral homes are allowed as a conditional use.
Originally, he applied for a conditional use permit for the R-1 zone and was turned down. Rezoning would get around having to apply for a specific permit. R-1 zones are held up to the highest standards, limiting development to housing only.
Fledgling Field, located along Highway 75, Luverne, was purchased last April by Cornerstone Construction, St. Cloud. It had the intention of constructing a funeral home and then selling it to Dingmann.
Dingmann, owner of the funeral home since 1993, wants the development because his current location on West Main Street doesn't meet many codes. If he remodels it, the building will lose historic designation.
He maintains that a funeral home would fit well in the Fledgling Field neighborhood because of its proximity to churches and a state highway. Also, design plans call for a residential appearance.