by Dennis Dalman
Former Sartell City Council member Pat Lynch has decided to file as a candidate for the council once again in this year’s election, Nov. 5.
He informed the Newsleaders about his intention to file in mid-May, before the opening filing date of May 21. The last date for filing was June 3. Since that date was after the Newsleaders stories’ deadline, a story about any and all candidates who filed by June 3 will be in the next Newsleaders, June 21.
This year, the seats of two incumbent council members will be up for election – positions now served by Alex Lewandowski and Jill Smith. The Sartell mayor and its four at-large council members are all elected to four-year terms.
Lynch was a council member twice, first from 2007-2010 and again from 2015-2018. He is the co-founder and co-president of Granite Logistics Service, which is an agent for Trinity Logistics. Granite Logistics is located in Sartell and employs 120 people in its two offices. The company is a flatbed/specialized-transportation broker.
“Sartell has been my home for nearly three decades, and I care deeply about this community,” Lynch said. “While there are many great things happening in our city, I don’t believe the current incumbents up for re-election have served the city well.”
Specifically, Lynch disagreed with those two incumbents (Smith, Lewandowski) when they voted on May 22, 2023 (along with council member Tim Elness) to sell city-owned golf-course land at what Lynch termed “a fire-sale price.” Mayor Ryan Fitzthum and the other council member, Jed Meyer, voted against that sale.
“While I think first and foremost it was a serious policy mistake to dispose of that much designated park land (81 acres) in the heart of the city at an artificially low price ($426,000), the more disheartening aspect was the way a three-member majority on the council had no interest in hearing from the residents they represent.”
Lynch started a Facebook group dubbed “Sartell – Stop the Fire Sale” in order to rally opposition to the land sale. The site quickly gained more than 400 members.
The city-owned land was sold to a private developer, Three Tees LLC, owned by Brandon Testa, who also owns the House of Pizza in St. Cloud and the now-closed House of Pizza in Sartell.
Lynch said he would like to work on future opportunities for the city, which include the development of the old paper-mill site and the expanding medical campus near Hwy. 15.
“Sartell is well-positioned to grow in the future, and we need strong, experienced leadership to help guide the city into the future,” he said, adding his priorities as a council member would be public safety, economic development and fiscal discipline.
Pat Lynch is a Sartell City Council candidate (and former member of that council).
