Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Information Memorandum 03-23-1995MARCH 23, 1995 UPCOMING MEETINGS AND EVENTS .... 1. CITY MEETING SCHEDULE FOR APRIL: APRIL 4 7:00 P.M. COUNCIL MEETING City Council Chambers APRIL 10 5:30 P.M. SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Public Safety Training Room Topic: Recognize Volunteer Members of City's Boards, Committees and Commissions 7:00 P.M. BOARD OF REVIEW City Council Chambers APRIL 18 7:00 P.M. COUNCIL MEETING City Council Chambers APRIL 24 7:00 P.M. Reconvene BOARD OF REVIEW City Council Chambers 2. LEAGUE OF MINNESOTA CITIES -- 1995 LEGISLATIVE CONFERENCE -- Thursday, March 30. The League's annual Legislative Conference will be held at the Radisson St. Paul Hotel. The program for the conference is attached. Council members planning to attend should call Laurie to be registered. (M-2) 3. NW HENNEPIN HUMAN SERVICES COUNCIL ANNUAL MEETING -- Thursday, April 27. Advance notice for the NWHHSC Annual Meeting is attached. (M-3) CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION MEMO MARCH 23, 1995 Page 2 4. METRO MEETINGS ---- The weekly calendar of meetings for the Metropolitan Council and its advisory commissions is attached. (M-4) 5. MEETING CALENDARS - The April meeting calendar is attached. (M-5) 1. DEPARTMENT REPORTS a. Weekly Building Permit Report for Commercial/Industrial/Public and Use Types. (I-1) 2. NEWS ARTICLES, RELEASES, PUBLICATIONS. ETC. a. City news release on Human Rights Commission vacancy. (I -2a) b. Reprint of March 23 Star Tribune on "Urban Poverty.". (I -2b) c. Reprint of March 23 article from Star Tribune regarding proposed legislation to repeal income tax exemption for interest on state and municipal bonds. An Action Alert from the League of Minnesota Cities is also attached. (2-c) 3. MINUTES: a. Park and Recreation Advisory Commission, March 16, 1995. (I -3a) 4. CITIZEN COMMUNICATIONS POLICY - CORRESPONDENCE a. Letter from Fred Moore responding to Mr. Steven Chase, 11901 23rd Avenue North, regarding abandonment of alley to a private drive. (I -4a) b. Letter from Fred Moore responding to Mr. Randy Mayer, Mayer Mobile, regarding fleet motor oil. (I -4b) c. Letter from William Rademacher, 5700 Vagabond Lane, concerning the Peony Lane alignment project. (I -4c) A status report on all correspondence and inquiries is also attached. T-'� d 5. MEMOS & CORRESPONDENCE: a. Letter from Cathy Fischer, Community Librarian, Plymouth Library, on a May 9 organizational meeting for the Friends of the Library group. (I -5a) b. Letter from Saundra Spigner resigning from the Human Rights Commission. (I -5b) c. Letter from Jim Solem, Metropolitan Council Regional Administrator, on the pending publication of a new Metro Council report, Opening Doors to Affordable/Life-Cycle Housing. (I -5c) d. Letter to City Manager from newly elected Representative Richard Stanek. (I -5d) CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION MEMO MARCH 23, 1995 Page 3 e. Letter to Mayor Tierney from Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton requesting support for SF 1019 and HF1156, the "Metropolitan Livable Communities Act." (I - 5e) f. Letter from Greg Moore, Executive Director, Northwest Suburbs Cable Communications Commission, on the proposed transfer of ownership from King Videocable to Continental Cable Vision. The Cable Commission has scheduled a public hearing on the proposed transfer for April 6 at 7:00 p.m. at the Brooklyn Center City Hall. (I -5f) g. Letter to Representative Todd Van Dellen from City Manager regarding the installation of crossing arms at the Pineview Lane railroad crossing. (I -5g) Dwight Johnson City Manager March 24, 1995 Ed Albro 4105 Fernbrook Lane Plymouth, MN 55447 Dear Ed, Q\ —\ The Plymouth City Council wishes to recognize you for your volunteer efforts on behalf of the City as a member of a board, committee, or commission. Please plan on attending a reception on Monday, April 10 at 5:30 PM in the Plymouth Public Safety Building. At the reception, the City Council will extend its appreciation to current members of boards and commissions for their commitment to serving Plymouth. In addition, retiring members will receive tangible thanks for their service. We look forward to seeing you on April 10. An RSVP by April 6 will be most appreciated. My number is 550-5013. Sincerely, Kathy L eckert Assistant City Manager We Listen • We Solve • We Care 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD • PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447 TELEPHONE (612) 550-5000 Plan to attend the... r Tentative Program 9:15 a.m. President's message M. - 1-! League of Minnesota Cities League of Minnesota Cities 1995 Legislative Conference Thursday, March 30 Radisson St. Paul Hotel 11 East Kellogg Boulevard St. Paul, MN 55101 9:30 a.m. State revenues, the Governor's budget, and cities Will 1995 be a landmark year for city finances? 10:30 a.m. In-depth discussion of legislative events 11:30 a.m. Lunch 1:00 p.m. Briefing on legislative issues League staff will brief you on the most important issues to discuss with your legislators 2:00 p.m. Meet with your legislator at the State Capitol (transportation furnished) Schedule a time in advance or contact Andrea Atherton at the League to help set a meeting with your legislator. Page 12 LMC Cities Bulletin *I 1995 Legislative Conference Thursday, March 30 Radisson St. Paul Hotel 1995 Legislative Conference Registration Form City Name Name Name Title Title Title Please print or type) Registration fee: Member city officials — ❑advance $30 Non members — ❑ advance $45 ❑on-site $45 F-1 on-site $60 Special Needs: If you are disabled and require special services or transportation, or if you have special dietary needs, please attach a written description to this registration form. Fee includes conference registration and luncheon. Make check payable and mail to Finance Department–LC League of Minnesota Cities 3490 Lexington Avenue North St. Paul, MN 55126 1995 Legislative Conference Housing Form Organization�ggue of Minnesota Cities Function 1995 Legislative Gonference Dates March 29-30, 1995 All requests for the above group must be received by Call for room availability Name Company (Please printortype) Address as First City Sharing room with Signature State Zip No. of persons Phone Number Month I Day I Year 1 1 th I Day I Year Arrival Date Arrival Time Departure Date Check in time 3:00 p.m. Check out time 12:00 P.M. Accommodations will not be confirmed without a check for the first night's deposit or use your credit card number to guarantee your reservation. You will be charged for the first night if reservations are not canceled 48 hours prior to arrival. Credit card # OAmex O Visa O Mastercard Expiration date (Please check one) Special Reduced Rates for Members Only $72 Single $72 Double (2 people) Q 7 Special Housing Request: If you have special housing needs, e.g. wheelchair (� accessible room, etc. please attach a written description to this housing form. Make check payable and mail to the Radisson Hotel St. Paul 11 East Kellogg Blvd. St. Paul, MN 55101 March 17, 1995 Page 13 M�3 Mark Your Calendars! April 27, 1995 5:30 p.m. Northwest Hennepin Human Services Council Annual Meeting featuring George Latimer and the 'Invest Northwest" Awards Ceremony! recognizing volunteers who have contributed to the betterment of the Northwest Hennepin area Invest Northwest Nominations due March 22! Call for more information 493-2802 -q METRO MEETINGS A weekly calendar of meetings and agenda items for the Metropolitan Council, its advisory and standing committees, and three regional commissions: Metropolitan Airports Commission, Metropolitan Parks and„f Open Space Commission, and Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission. Meeting times and.,ag�tidas ar. occasionally changed. Questions about meetings should be directed to the appropriate organization. Yldeeting information is also available on the Metro Information Line at 229-3780 and by computer modem, through the Twin Cities Computer Network at 337-5400. DATE: March 17, 1995 WEEK OF: March 20 - March 24, 1995 METROPOLITAN COUNCIL Transportation Committee - Monday, March 20, 4 p.m., Chambers. The committee will consider: authorization to execute Mn/Dot limited use permit bus turnaround at TH96 and Stewart Avenue in White Bear Lake; setting of revised public hearing date for the 1995 MCTO capital budget; clean fuels Minnesota program; Aviation Development Guide adoption; 1995 dual -track planning grant for Dakota County township; Transportation Advisory Board's draft comments on the recommendations from the State Advisory Council on major transportation projects report; and other business. Sewer Rate Cost Allocation Task Force - Tuesday, March 21, 7:30 a.m., Room 2A. Polluted Site Work Group - Tuesday, March 21, 4 p.m., Room 113 and 1C. Housing and Redevelopment Authority Committee - Wednesday, March 22, 9:30 a.m., Room 2A. The committee will consider: Eden Prairie Housing -Opportunities -Partnerships -Employment (HOPE) demonstration program; briefing on Hollman consent decree; appointment of vice chair and secretary; establish regular meeting time and day(s); orientation plan; and other business. Executive Committee - Thursday, March 23, 8 a.m., Kelly Inn, Benjamin's Restaurant, I-94 at Marion, St. Paul. Nominating Committee and Council Chair - Thursday, March 23, 3:45 p.m., Carroll Conference Room. Metropolitan Council - Thursday, March 23, 4 p.m., Chambers. The council will consider: Lakeville comprehensive plan amendment for MUSA land trade; revised Section 8 project -based assistance program request for proposals; fiscal year 1995 McKinney Act applications; application for Shelter Plus Care Program and contract for housing services from Mental Health Resources, Inc.; setting of the revised public hearing date for 1995 Metropolitan Council Transit Operations capital budget; legislative position paper on regional transit bonding; selection of HomeChoice counseling provider; city of Minnetrista comprehensive plan amendment for MUSA addition for Williams Planned Unit Development; request for Metropolitan Council approval of change in Environment Committee meeting days; Providers Advisory Committee bylaws; Transportation Accessibility Advisory Committee bylaws; Aviation Development Guide public hearing report; Metropolitan Mobility Circulator demonstration; update on discussions between the Metropolitan Airports Commission and City of Eden Prairie regarding the Flying Cloud Airport expansion; and other business. -A- 4 Chair's Informal Meeting with Council Members - Friday, March 24, 8 a.m., Sheraton Minneapolis Metrodome, Anchorage Restaurant, 1300 Industrial Blvd. at 35W, Minneapolis. ` Legislative Coordinating Committee (TENTATIVE) - Friday, March 24, Noon, Room 1A. TENTATIVE MEETINGS THE WEEK OF MARCH 27 THROUGH MARCH 31, 1995 Community Development Committee - Monday, March 27, Noon, Room 1A. Blue Ribbon Task Force on Blueprint Handbook - Monday, March 27, 2 p.m., Room 1A. Special Reception with Keynote Speakers of Growth Management Program - Tuesday, March 28, 5 p.m. (tentative), Radisson Hotel South and Plaza Tower, I-494 and Highway 100, Bloomington. Growth Management, Looking Back, Moving Forward" Program sponsored by Metropolitan Council, Minnesota Chapter -American Planning Assn., Sensible Land Use Coalition, And Builders Ass:. Of Minnesota - Wednesday, March 29, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Radisson Hotel South and Plaza Tower, I-494 and Highway 100, Bloomington. Sewer Rate Cost Allocation Technical Advisory Committee - Thursday, March 30, 10 a.m., Rooms 1B and 1C. Committee of the Whole - Thursday, March 30, 3:30 p.m., Room 1A. Legislative Coordinating Committee (TENTATIVE) - Friday, March 31, noon, Room 1A. The Metropolitan Council is located at Mears Park Centre, 230 E. Fifth St., St. Paul. Meeting times and agenda are subject to change. For more information or confirmation of meetings, call 291-6447, (TDD 291-0904). Call the Metro Information Line at 229-3780 for news of Council actions and coming meetings. METROPOLITAN PARKS AND OPEN SPACE COMMISSION Commission Meeting - Tuesday, March 21, 4 p.m., Chambers. The commission will consider: Coon Rapids Dam and walkway repair status report; Hennepin Community Works presentation; adoption of process and criteria for the Americans with Disabilities Act retrofit projects and natural resource development projects; Regional Trails Policy Plan update; legislative update on regional park issues; and other business. Metropolitan Parks and Open Space Commission offices are located at Mears Park Centre, 230 E. Fifth St., St. Paul, MN 55101. Meeting times and agenda may occasionally be changed. To verify meeting schedules or agenda items, call 291-6363. METROPOLITAN AIRPORTS COMMISSION Commission Meeting Monday, March 20, 1 p.m., Room 303, West Mezzanine, Lindbergh Terminal Building. The commission will consider: election of officers (vice-chairman, treasurer, and secretary); New Airport draft final alternative environmental document; airport leases recommendations; MASAC update; NWA route collateral substitution; March ADNE levels; Sun Country Airlines maintenance hangar; FIS report; final contract payments on 1994 MSP pavement rehabilitation, 1993 Lindbergh terminal interior rehabilitation, mechanical consolidation at the valet garage, carousel luggage security, facility management office addition, miscellaneous asbestos abatement, 1994 landside bituminous at MSP, inbound roadway signage at MSP, Airport Noise Operating Monitoring System, 1993/1994 Part 150 sound insulation program; semi-final payment ,AA- 4 on MAC contract; discussion on change order on security checkpoints location contract; bids received on contracts for Runway -4 -22/11R -29L intersection reconstruction and Part 150 sound insulation program for February; draft environmental assessment report for Anoka County/Blaine Airport ATCT; and other business. Commissioner Workshop - Thursday, March 23, 8 a.m. to noon, Javelin Room, Decathlon Club. There will be a discussion on the 1996 MAC objectives. Metropolitan Airports Commission offices are located at 6040 28th Av. S., Minneapolis, MN 55450. For more information, call Lynn Sorensen at 726-8186. METROPOLITAN SPORTS FACILITIES COMMISSION Special Commission Meeting - Tuesday, March 21, 9:30 a.m., Commission conference room. The commission will consider Target Center -City of Minneapolis requests, the 1994 audit and other business. The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission office is located at 900 South 5th St., Minneapolis, MN 55415. All meetings are held in the Commission office conference room, unless noted otherwise. Meeting times and agendas occasionally may be changed. To verify meeting information, please call Jane Brenny, 335-3310. OFFICIAL CITY MEETINGS April 1995 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 6:00 PM CHARTER CO- MMISSION - Public Safety Training Room y�y �' V �ttlDllB• 7:30 PM HUMAN RIGHTS COMMLSSION -Pub. Safety Training Room 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 9:30PMSPECULCOUN % t ., 7:00 PM ENVIRONMEN- TAL COMMITTEE - Pub. Safety Trng Room 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION - Council Chambers 7:00 PM PRAC -Council Chambers 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 7:00 PM PACT - Pub. Safety Library 7:00 PM HRA - Council Chambers 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 60 M O _ Coif .._ 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION - Council 7:0o PM BOARD OF ZONING - Council Chambers Chambers 30 March May S M T W T F S S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 l4 15 16 17 18 19 20 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 26 27 28 29 30 31 28 29 30 31 3/8/95 L_ DATE: MARCH 23, 1995 TO: DWIGHT JOHNSON, CITY,MANAGER FROM: CARLYS SCHANSBERG, DATA CONTROL/INSPECTION CLERK SUBJECT: BUILDING PERMIT ISSUED REPORT FOR COMMERCIAL/INDUSTRIAL/PUBLIC & CHURCH USE TYPES MARCH 16 THROUGH MARCH 22, 1995 There were no permits issued during this time period for the above mentioned types. For Immediate Release For More Information: March 21, 1995 Laurie Ahrens, 550-5015 Plymouth Seeking Applicants for Human Rights Commission The City of Plymouth is seeking applicants from Ward 3 to serve on the Human Rights Commission. The person who is selected to fill the position will fill a term which runs through Jan. 31, 1997. Applications are due April 12. Ward 3 is in the southeast area of the city around Medicine Lake. It is bounded by I-494, Old Rockford Rd., Zachary Ln., 36th Ave. N. , Hwy. 169 and the south city limits. For an application, call City Clerk Laurie Ahrens at 550-5014. Be sure to leave your name, mailing address and phone number. -30- We Listen • We Solve • We Care 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD • PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447 • TELEPHONE (612) 550-5000 Thursday/March 23/1995 /-26 Starlili uneEdtoriai uriman poverty The need for a bipartisan solu ' "Only DFLers and Independent -Repub- licans t n in the Minnesota Legislature would stop talking past each other about urban poverty and start talking with each other — then maybe they could also get together to forge the necessary common solution. The two sides seem generally to agree that the problem exists and needs to be fixed. But so far each seems determined to solve it in its own way and in the other's back yard. The difference became clear the other day when three IR representatives, Todd Van Dellen of Plymouth, Tim Pawlenty of Eagan and Ron Abrams of Minnetonka introduced their "Metro- politan Anti -Poverty Plan." The bill, they say, is intended to shift the focus of the debate away from making more affordable housing available in wealthy, fast-growing suburbs and toward more jobs creation, work -skills development and blight cleanup in the urban core and older suburbs. Their plan seems a sincere effort to address a real need. As they contend, it will take more to overcome the twin problems of poverty and urban decay than just giving poor people a greater choice in where to live. But as DFLers contend, it's not just the Poverty that's a problem; it's also the concentration of poor people into a few central -city and inner -ring suburban neighborhoods. And the need is not just to give people who are already trapped in those poverty ghettoes an opportuni- ty to move out, it's also to give others an alternative to having to move in. The need, in other words, is for some of both — the affordable housing ap- proach so far embraced mainly by DFL- ers, and the more direct attack on pov- erty and decay contained in the IR bill. Also needed- is 4 cooling of partisan rhetoric, less demonizing of the opposi- tion and its motives and a greater will- ingness on both sides to see the legiti- mate merits of the other's ideas. There are encouraging signs that this may be starting to happen. The IR bill is'one indication. Another is the revival in the House of the affordable housing bill co- authored by Sen. Ted. Mondale and Rep. Dee Long, both DFLers. Many had thought the Mondale-Long bill could be the basis for bipartisan agreement before it was defeated a week ago on a virtual party -line vote in Long's Local Government and Metropolitan Affairs Committee. But the bill was brought up Tuesday for a second vote, and this time it passed. Now the IR b=11 should have no trouble getting a fair hearing in the same committee. In presenting their proposal, the three IR lawmakers said they were making the effort even though the issue of ur- ban poverty wasn't a high priority with their constituencies. Perhaps not. But by their action, the three have clearly demonstrated their own recognition of the issue's vital importance to the met- ro area as a whole. Having come this far, IR legislators now must join their DFL colleagues in finding enough points of agreement on how to deal with urban poverty to form the basis for a single bill that can win bipartisan approval. On that much both sides can be sure: The issue won't be resolved any other way. Thursday/March 23/1995/Stat Tribune 2B •■ - Tax exemption on bonds issued by state may end Under a new proposal, residents who Repeal of the exemption has another buy bonds issued by Minnesota gov- side effect: an estimated $9.1 millior ernments could lose their state . tax increase in state revenues for the next exemptions on interest income from two years. those bonds. The bill, introduced by Ann Rest, DFL,New Hope and chairwoman of the House Tax Committee, has alarmed state bond dealers and local government officials, who contend that the proposal would raise the cost of borrowing for governments and discourage Minnesotans from invest- ing in local projects. But advocates of the bill contend that the state may have no choice. A court challenge to a similar tax exemption in Ohio could lead to the U.S. Su- preme Court striking down such ex- emptions. If that happens, Minnesota may be liable for as much as $30 million 'to plaintiffs who claim such exemptions are unconstitutional. The repeal would not be effective until July 1, but it would apply to the resale of existing bonds. The League of Minnesota Cities op- poses the bill, and the bond indus- try's national newsletter, the Bond Buyer, said Rest's bill had "sparked jitters" in the national market. Citing the potential liability to the state, Morrie Anderson, Gov. Arne Carl - son's chief of staff, said the repeal "may be very prudent." However, he said the governor has not adopted an official position. A hearing on the proposal is sched- uled for 10 a.m. today in Room 200 of the State Office Building in St. Paul. Lql 0 League of Minnesota Cities 3490 Lexington Avenue North `t. Paid, MN 55126 (612)490-5600 TO: Mayors, Managers and/or Clerks From: Gary Carlson, Director of Intergovernmental Relations Subject: H.F. 1380: Elimination of tax-exempt status of state and municipal bonds T.I.F. Hearings Scheduled Dato: March 20, 1995 On March 15 Representative Ann Rest (DFL -New Hope) introduced a bill that would eliminate the state income tax exclusion for interest on bonds issued by the state and local governments in Minnesota. The bill was co-authored by Thomas Bakk (DFL -Cook), Edgar Olson (DFL,-Fosston), Don Ostrom (DFL -St. Pctcr), and Jean Wagenius (DFL -Minneapolis). The bill would affect obligations issued or sold after July 1,1995, or obligations acquired by a Minnesota taxpayer after July 1, 1995. The bill will have two major impacts. First, it will result in significantly higher borrowing costs for the state and local governments because investors will not realize the income exclusion. According to public finance experts, the bill could increase bond interest rates by 114 % to 3/4 % (25 to 75 basis points). Second, the bill will increase state income tax collections. According to the state's tax expenditure budget, the state could increase state income tax collections by approximately $50 million per year if all state and local bonds were affected. However, the income tax impact would be much less in the first year of implementation because existing bonds would only be impacted if they are resold after July 1, 1995. The bill will have its first hearing on Thursday, March 23, in the House Sales and Income'rax Division of the Tax Committee. If enacted, this bill would significantly increase local government borrowing costs because investors would no longer be able to exclude the interest income from their state taxable income. CONTACT YOUR REPRESENTATIVE, SENATOR AND THE BILL'S AUTIIORS AND DEMAND THEIR OPPOSITION TO THE II.F.1380 *** Attention: Tax increment Developments *** The House Property Tax Division will be hearing H.F. 147, H.F. 824 and H.F. 1354 --all bills that would further restrict tax increment financing. Please refer to earlier editions of our Bulletin for details on these bills. It would be extremely beneficial to our efforts if you or another city official could attend the hearing. The hearing will be Tuesday, March 21 at 10.00 a.m. in Room 200 of the State Office Building . Also on Tuesday, the Senate Tax Committee will be hearing a bill by Senator John Hottinger to eliminate the LGA/HACA TIF penalty. That hearing will be held at 4:00 p.m. in Room 15 of the State Capitol. TO' d ZTO' oN 9T : ST S6_O.Z JPW_ _ 9896-06b—Z19: X31 S3I113 NW JO _n3 9H3_1 _. Minutes of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting March 16, 1995 Page 11 Present: Chair Anderson, Commissioners Bildsoe, Fiemann, Johnson, Priebe, Wahl and Willegalle; staff Blank, Mittelstaedt, and Pederson; and visitors Kent Severson, Mr. and Mrs. Zettel 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Anderson called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. in the Council Conference Room. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made by Commissioner Wahl and seconded by Commissioner Willegalle to approve the minutes of the February meeting as presented. The motion carried with all ayes. 3. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS a. Athletic Associations. Kent Severson, from Plymouth -Wayzata Youth Baseball. See item 5f. b. Staff. Sara Mittlestaedt, Plymouth Seniors Coordinator, made a presentation on the Plymouth Senior Citizen program sponsored by the City of Plymouth and Senior Community Services (SCS). She explained that she is an employee of Senior Community Services and that the City of Plymouth contracts with SCS for her services, 20 hours per week. Sara explained that her background is in teaching and that for many years she taught art. She had never worked with seniors prior to being hired by SCS. She stated that SCS is funded by the United Way and in order for that funding to continue, she has to fulfill certain goals and objectives. Senior Community Services offers a variety of programs to the seniors living in the western suburbs including nutritional education, health education, fitness classes, recreational opportunities, trips once a month, 55 Alive Defensive Driving classes, which upon completion by persons over 55, gives them a 10% reduction in their auto insurance premiums. Sara explained that these classes are extremely popular in Plymouth, are offered once a month throughout the year, and always fill to capacity. Sara stated that there are two active senior clubs in Plymouth; one with 150 members and one with about 40 members. They meet at the West Medicine Lake Community Club and St. Mary of the Lake Catholic Church. These clubs are very socially oriented and have many different sub- groups, such as the Plymouth Rockers, a senior choir, which has performed at numerous events like Music in Plymouth, the Fire and Ice Festival, the Minnesota State Fair, etc. There is also a very active craft group, which makes a variety of crafts and sells them at the Autumn Art Festival, sponsored by the City. Sara stated that the Plymouth seniors are also very active in the community, volunteering their time at special events and helping other seniors. Last year, the Plymouth seniors volunteered a total of 14,000 hours. Sara concluded her presentation by inviting the Park Commission to attend a special concert on Sunday, April 9. The concert will feature PRAC Minutes/March 1995 Page 12 —T —'s a, the Minneapolis Community College Gospel Choir, and is being presented by the Plymouth Seniors and Senior Community Services. Sponsors of the concert are the Minnesota Humanities Commission, the City of Plymouth and Wayzata Community Education. c. Others. Mr. and Mrs. Zettel, residents of the Seven Ponds development, attended the Park Commission meeting, because they had a concern about the wood chip trail that crosses over a marsh. During the initial design process of the park, a floating wooden bridge was proposed to be constructed over the marsh. The purpose of the bridge was to get people over the marsh to the park. The DNR approved a wood chip path rather than the proposed bridge. The Zettel's property runs along this part of the trail and they have had some problems with people trespassing on their lawn. Director Blank commented that this park isn't finished yet, and if it's necessary put up a split rail fence along the trail to keep people out of the marsh, we will do it. 4. PAST COUNCIL ACTION Council accepted the PRAC annual report for 1994. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. Private swimming 1 ool update. Classic Lake Aquatics indicated in a letter to PRAC that they expect to have a feasibility report from St. Thomas, with regard to a pool, by May 1 st and would like to present the findings to PRAC at their June meeting. b. West Medicine Lake Park update. Director Blank stated that bids are being opened on March 20 for the removal of trees and brush in the area of the new road. He also commented that the numerous permits that are required from the different agencies may delay the construction of the road by a few months. c. Unique open spaces - review funding options. Director Blank stated that the Council approved the recommendations of PRAC and the Open Space Committee to proceed with the acquisition of four properties and directed staff to research possible funding methods. Director Blank explained that the Council held a special work study session on March 13 to review various funding methods, including a bond referendum. After studying the capital improvements program budget, staff presented a few options for the Council to consider as a way to fund the acquisition of the open space as well as funding additional trail improvements. It was determined that the open space properties could be acquired for about $2 million and the trails could be done for $1 million. Director Blank then explained the options and how each would affect the average Plymouth taxpayer with a $150,000 home. He further commented that all options will require an election, which the majority of the Council prefers to hold in May. Option 1 is to issue general obligation bonds for $3 million. This will increase the taxes of the average Plymouth homeowner by about $8 per year. This method also saves all existing community improvement funds for future purposes, such as purchasing a golf course, building a swimming pool, an ice arena, a senior center, etc. Option 2 spends $3 million from the Community Improvement Fund, which would have no tax increase, but leaves a much lower balance in the CIF for long-term future PRAC Minutes/March 1995 Page 13 7 J CL - projects. Option 3 combines the issuance of $2 million in bonds with spending $1 million from the CIF. This would have a minimal tax increase on the average homeowner and only a slight impact on the Community Improvement Fund. Director Blank stated that the Council favors option 3. He stated that the Open Space Committee met on March 14 and recommended option 1, with all $3 million coming from the general obligation bonds and no CIF funds being spent. Commissioner Priebe asked how much money was in the Community Improvement Fund at this time and how it is replenished. Director Blank said that the balance at this time is approximately $10 million, and it is replenished as bond sinking funds expire. Commissioner Bildsoe expressed his concern over holding a bond referendum for all $3 million, explaining that school referendums in other cities have been failing lately. He doesn't think the taxpayers will be very favorable about any tax increase, so he prefers option 3. He also stated that if a bond referendum is held, it should be done in the spring rather than in the fall, because the rates are good now, but they have the potential to go up substantially in the coming months. Commissioner Fiemann asked Director Blank which trails were to be included in the referendum. Director Blank displayed a map of the City and pointed out the trails that could be constructed, which equal approximately 11 miles. To complete the entire trail system as proposed would cost approximately $3.5 million, according to Director Blank. Commissioner Priebe asked Director Blank if a motion from PRAC, recommending that Council proceed with the acquisition of open space, would be helpful. Director Blank indicated that it was not necessary, but said the Commission was welcome to make such a motion. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COMMISSIONER PRIEBE AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER WAHL RECOMMENDING THAT THE CITY COUNCIL PROCEED WITH THE ACQUISITION OF FOUR OPEN SPACE SITES AND THE TRAIL IMPROVEMENTS AND TO FUND THESE PROJECTS BY THE METHOD THEY DEEM APPROPRIATE. Commissioner Johnson stated that he disagreed with the Open Space Committee's recommendation to fund the entire $3 million with general obligation bonds. He prefers Option 3, where a portion of the money would come from Community Improvement Funds. He doesn't think it's right to increase the taxes of the current residents of Plymouth to pay for something that will be beneficial to future residents as well. After further discussion, the majority of the Commission came to the conclusion that option 3 was their preferred method of funding. They then questioned if they should make a motion endorsing option 3 and amend their first motion. After a short discussion, it was decided that it wasn't necessary to do that. A vote was then taken on the orginal motion which passed with all ayes. Commissioner Priebe asked if PRAC should attend the meeting on March 21. Director Blank invited any commissioners who were available to attend the meeting to show their support. PRAC Minutes/March 1995 Page 14 7 2 tt., d. Playfield/highschool update. Director Blank stated that the bids for grading the site would be accepted in May and that he is attending numerous meetings on this project now as it progresses. e. Study of youth sports facilities update. The first meeting of the youth sports task force is scheduled for Wednesday, March 22. The task force consists of representatives from Wayzata Community Education, Robbinsdale Community Education, the City Council, City staff and PRAC. f. Adopt proposals for paving hockey rink, two volleyball courts at Parkers Lake and batting can proposal from Plymouth -Wayzata Youth Baseball. Director Blank briefly reviewed this item and went over the costs associated with paving the hockey rink and installing the volleyball courts. The paving of the rink at Plymouth Creek Park is estimated to cost $17,500 and the sand volleyball courts at Parkers Lake should run about $3,500. He then introduced Kent Severson, a representative of the Plymouth - Wayzata Youth Baseball Association. Mr. Severson explained that batting cages would be an important and very beneficial addition to their youth baseball program. They allow three to four batters to practice at once, which is an efficient use of time, teams can take batting and/or pitching practice without tying up a field, and if built on pavement overlaid with carpet, they can be used shortly after a rain. This allows teams to practice without tearing up the fields. He predicts that they would be used five to six times a week by the baseball association, and when not being used by that organization could be scheduled for use by Park and Recreation programs or by the general public. The first phase of the project includes two batting cage nets, a paved area, outdoor carpeting, security fence, and electrical wiring and is estimated to cost $16,500. Mr. Severson has requested that the City contribute half of this amount, with the youth baseball association contributing the other half. The second phase of the project, to come at a later date, would include an equipment building and lighting. Director Blank stated that he supports this project and agrees that it would be an efficient use of the space at Parkers Lake Playfield. He recommended that the City's contribution be limited to $6,500, because of the unknown costs at this time associated with the ninth playfield project. He also recommended that the City and youth baseball association draw up an agreement whereby the cages become the property of the City, so that the miaintenance and liability would be our responsibility. The City would then also be responsible for scheduling its use, giving the youth baseball association first priority. Mr. Severson was asked if the youth baseball association had ever done any fund raising. He stated that they hadn't in the past, but that he has been working on two fundraisers; selling caps and cookies. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COMMISSIONER FIEMANN AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER PRIEBE TO ACCEPT STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION FOR PAVING A HOCKEY RINK AT PLYMOUTH CREEK PARK, INSTALLING SAND VOLLEYBALL COURTS AT PARKER.S LAKE PARK, AND THE ADDITION OF TWO BATTING CAGES AT PARKERS LAKE PLAYFIELD. THE MOTION CARRIED WITH ALL AYES. PRAC Minutes/March 1995 Page 15 6. NEW BUSINESS There was no new business. 7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION There was no Commission presentation. 8. STAFF COMMUNICATION There was no staff communication. 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. T - C�, March 17, 1995 Steven H. Chase 11901 - 23rd Ave. N. Plymouth, MN 55441 SUBJECT: ABANDONMENT OF ALLEY SOUTHERLY OF 11900 BLOCK 23RD AVENUE Dear Mr. Chase: I am responding to your petition and letter dated February 25, 1995 requesting that the City abandon the alleyway adjacent to the properties included within the petition. As you stated in your petition, this is an alley and the City does not provide maintenance on alleys. Since the three property owners use this for driveway access, they are responsible for providing maintenance. In your petition you are requesting that this alley be abandoned to a private drive with equal egress for all contiguous residents. If the City gives up our right to the alley by vacating the alley, the City cannot grant private driveway rights to the area. The City does not actually own the alleyway, but was granted its use as an alley as part of the plat of your addition which is called Penwalk Addition. If the City gives up our rights to use the property as an alley, then the property becomes part of the lots on either side of existing alleyway. The alleyway is 14 feet wide, this would mean that seven feet would go to the properties along 23rd Avenue and seven feet would go to the City owned park property to the south. The one-half of the alley property going to the lots to the north would only be that adjacent to the individual lot, and therefore, the easterly parcels would not have the right to access across the westerly parcels to get to their driveways. In any vacation of the alley, the City would have to reserve our rights for the existing sanitary sewer and public utilities (electric and telephone) that are currently within the alley. Since the alley is used by three properties, it would be my recommendation to the City Council not to vacate it as a public alley. If it were vacated as a public alley and the property owners who received ownership of the land did not grant easements to each other, you would lose the right to access your property from this area. The petition which you submitted did not contain the signature of the property owner immediately adjacent to the north/south street, Ives Lane. Although the City could vacate the alley after a public hearing, if they chose not to enter into private access agreements, you would no longer be able to use the former alley. We Listen • We Solve • We Care 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD • PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447 • TELEPHONE (612) 550-5000 -7 -- � 0— Steven H. Chase Page Two The City has vacated public streets or alleys, but they have all been areas where no one was using them for access. Since three properties are using this alley as an access, I do not recommend its vacation. Please let me know if you would like me to present your petition to the City Council and schedule a public hearing to vacate the alley. If you would like to discuss in more detail what happens if the alley is vacated, please contact me. Sincerely, Fred G. Moore, P.E. Director of Public Works cc: Kathy Luecke Assistant City Manager March 1, 1995 Steven H. Chase 11901 23rd Avenue North Plymouth, MN 55441 Dear Mr Chase, PCITYCOF PUMOUTR Thank you for your February 25 letter. I am sorry you did not receive a response to your March 5, 1994 letter in which you and your neighbors request an alley abandonment along the south side of your properties. Your letter has been referred to Fred Moore, Public Works Director, for follow up and a response. You can expect a response from Mr. Moore by March 15. Thanks again for your letter. Please give me a call on 550-5013 if you have not received a response by March 15. Sincerely, Kathy Lueckert Assistant City Manager cc: Fred Moore, Public Works Director We Listen • We Solve • We Care 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD • PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447 • TELEPHONE (612) 550-5000 February 25, 1995 City of Plymouth Attn: City Manager 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55441 SUBJECT: ALLEY ABANDONMENT TO PRIVATE DRIVE Honorable Mayor, Council and Staff: Enclosed find copies of a letter and petition which we addressed to you in the past. We have never received any communication at all regarding this request. What is the status? Thank you. teven H. Chase, et al 11901 23rd Avenue North Plymouth, MN 55441 557-7019 - L4 o— March 5, 1994 City of Plymouth Attn: City Manager 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55441 SUBJECT: ALLEY ABANDONMENT TO PRIVATE DRIVE Honorable Mayor, Council and Staff: We are residents of 23rd Avenue North in Plymouth. Recently we contacted your office regarding the roadway along the south side of our.properties. (See enclosed map of detailed area.) We requested some necessary repairs and maintenance due to the condition of the roadway. Per your enclosed letter, we were informed that this roadway is actually an alley and the City does not provide any maintenance or improvements to alleys within the City. Due to the fact that we are to provide any necessary maintenance and be responsible for all costs incurred, and due to the fact that this is not a thoroughfare and is used only by residents whose homes are adjacent to this alley, we hereby request that this alley be abandoned to a private drive with equal egress for all contiquous residents. The petitic:ners agree any future maintenance to said private drive will be incurred according to running foot basis of property owner. Please find the following signatures petitioning this request. Feel free to contact us with any necessary questions and/or information. Thank you. Respectfully, Steve. H. Chase, et a! 11901 23rd Avenue North Plymouth, MN 55441 557-7019 Address Date /J" =" LIQ. February 25, 1995 City of Plymouth Attn: City Manager 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55441 SUBJECT: ALLEY ABANDONMENT TO PRIVATE DRIVE Honorable Mayor, Council and Staff: Enclosed find copies of a letter and petition which we addressed to you in the past. We have never received any communication at all regarding this request. What is the status? Thank you. Steven H. Chase, et al 11901 23rd Avenue North Plymouth, MN 55441 557-7019 March 5, 1994 City of Plymouth Attn: City Manager 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55441 SUBJECT: ALLEY ABANDONMENT TO PRIVATE DRIVE Honorable Mayor, Council and Staff: We are residents of 23rd Avenue North in Plymouth. Recently we contacted your office regarding the roadway along the south side of our properties. (See enclosed map of detailed area.) We requested some necessary repairs and maintenance due to the condition of the roadway. Per your enclosed letter, we were informed that this roadway is actually an alley and the City does not provide any maintenance or improvements to alleys within the City. Due to the fact that we are to provide any necessary maintenance and be responsible for all costs incurred, and due to the fact that this is not a thoroughfare and is used only by residents whose homes are adjacent to this alley, we hereby request that this alley be abandoned to a private drive with equal egress for all contiquous residents. The petiti,-ners agree any future maintenance to said private drive will be incurred according to running foot basis of property owner. Please find the following signatures petitioning this request. Feel free to contact us with any necessary questions and/or information. Thank you. Respectfully, Stere„ H. ChSse, et al 11901 23rd Avenue North Plymouth, MN 55441 557-7019 Address Date / !lCto '20 "'11 s r4�y J 191J a�� /J K m C) Z m March 23, 1995 Mr. Randy Mayer MAYER MOBILE 762 Highway No. 55 P.O. Box 205 Medina, MN 55340 Dear Randy: Z-LIb CITY OF PLYMOUTH Tom Vetsch, Maintenance Superintendent, and I have compjeted the research to respond to your letters of January 18, February 24, and March 13 to either Mayor Tierney or City Manager Dwight Johnson concerning motor oil used by the City of Plymouth. Attached is a March 17 memorandum from Tom Vetsch answering 12 questions in your letters. Also, additional information is provided concerning other checking which Tom did in making our decision to change oil suppliers. Included with Tom's memorandum is a letter from Fuel Oil Service Company, the supplier of our current product. If you have any additional questions, or do not consider that we have responded adequately to your past letter, please contact me in order that I can arrange a meeting with you, City Manager Dwight Johnson, Tom Vetsch, and myself. My direct City phone number is 550-5080. Sincerely, Fred G. Moore, P.E. Director of Public Works enclosure cc: Dwight Johnson, City Manager lathy Lueckert, Assistant City Manager Tom Vetsch, Public Works Superintendent We Listen • We Solve • We Care 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD • PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447 TELEPHONE (612) 550-5000 LI b DATE: March 17, 1995 TO: Fred Moore, Director of Public Works FROM:f , Tom Vetsch, Superintendent of Public Works SUBJECT: FLEET MOTOR OIL After receiving the letter from Randy Mayer, Mayer Mobil, dated February 24, 1995 you and I met with a Mike Svobodny from Fuel Oil Services, who is currently supplying our motor oils. We went over all information that.I covered in early August 1994 when we were considering purchasing motor oils off the "State Contract". We again asked questions about liability, testing, reverification of users, API certifications, additives, and a whole variety of questions pertaining to the history of their company and their success. Attached you will find a letter from Mike Svobondy who is the sales representative for Fuel Oil Services. You will note that most of our questions were answered by Mr. Svobondy and the other answers to our questions were satisfied through contact with other people from various agencies. Through receiving Mr. Mayer's letters, there are sixteen questions I would like to address. The first questions are from the letter dated January 18, 1995. 1. Are we experiencing any injector problems. . No 2. Are caterpillar specifications and warranty requirements met Yes 3. How long does our current oil met the requirements while in service We don't know how long the oil would meet the requirements while in service. What we do know is that during our service intervals, it has met the manufacturers requirements. This is found out through oil analysis, which are performed by Cleveland Technical Institute in Golden Valley. ..f - 1.1 a 4. Was there any loss of warranty? No 5. Have we had to change service intervals? No 6. Have we noticed more oil consumption? No 7. Are we using a brand name with a track record? Yes, refer to letter from Mike Svobondy Fuel Oil Services dated March 14, 1995. This explains the years of service the company has been in business. In addition, they have been allowed to rebid and have been successful in being awarded the State Bid for at least the last five years. 8. Are we using any more additives? No, we have used an oil fortifier for a number of years. This has continued since the change of oil. There has been no change with the additives since changing to the United Hyde Oil. Our lead mechanic is a believer in oil additives. We used the same additive with the Mobil product. The questions from Randy Mayer's letter dated February 24, 1995: 1. Who supervises the blending? McCollister's (packager of United Hyde) has their own laboratory. They use the same technical support obtained from many. major additive companies. See Fuel Oil Service Company letter dated March 14, 1995. 2. Was the oil mixed for testing. No. We took a sample of used Mobil oil and later a used United Hyde oil sample from the same truck. We were careful that we had the right oils being tested. The new oil samples were not taken from our bulk storage where they could have been mixed. 3. Why were tests run in November, two months after the first purchase? We felt we did sufficient homework before changing oil suppliers with references we checked and information provided to us. The reason for the tests were just to confirm our original thoughts verifying that we are using oils that will meet our engine specifications. It had been a plan of mine to start doing oil analysis's regularly as prevent maintenance. 4. Pertaining to references, particularly to UPS and the City of Eden Prairie. UPS is a user of United Hyde Oil. The confusion may be that they do use some Mobil products but I am not certain of their application. UPS has used United Hyde motor oil for about eight years. The City of Eden Prairie gave Fuel Oil Services a verbal commitment to use United Hyde Oil and at a later time decided to go with a local oil supplier. Recently I have learned that the City of Burnsville is a new user of United Hyde Oil. They are taking advantage of the cooperative purchasing done by the State of Minnesota. Their former oil was Unocal, which I believe was awarded the State Contract for motor oils prior to McCollister in about 1988 or 89. T- Li'� Additional questions raised by Mr. Mayer that I would like to respond to: 1. How long does the oil meet API Specs after put in service? I don't know how long the oil would meet API Specifications. It has met the manufacturers specifications for their recommended service intervals. I also know that from the oil samples we have taken that the oil was still within acceptable limits. The most recent sample was a squad car. We had the oil analyzed after the oil had been in service for 3,000 miles. The results came back as "continue to use". Other samples we have taken were from a John Deere engine in a back hoe and a Caterpillar engine in a single axle dump truck. These samples all came back "continue to use" even though the oil was changed by our service intervals. 2. Have we started to see any increased oil consumption? No. In checking with the mechanics, they have not noticed any difference in consumption of oil or anything else different since changing suppliers. 3. Check with each reference you were given to verify. I did not speak to every reference listed but I did speak to who I thought would be the largest users. They were Gene Valley, he is with MnDOT Metro Area Shop Supervisor, long time user of United Hyde with no problems. Dave Bengray, Shop Supervisor for Hennepin County, they have been using United Hyde Oil since it was awarded the State Contract with no problems. I spoke to Dale Meyer, the Administrator of the Contractor of the State of Minnesota. I asked him if United Hyde would be allowed to rebid when the contract needs to be renewed and he informed me that he has no reason to believe that it was not a good quality oil and providing service that users need. 4. What checking did we do in advance of change? I made the above listed contacts in addition to getting the API Certifications from McCollister Oil Company. In addition to that, I had conversations with Mr. Mayer that we were considering purchasing off the state contract. Mr. Mayer refrained from bringing up all the questions that he has since we have made the change. I understand that Randy Mayer had conversations with the City Mechanics, about changing oil suppliers and again Mr. Mayer did not bring up the fact that we would be putting our equipment at such risk. Mr. Mayer indicated in his letter dated January 18, 1995, that he became the City's oil supplier in 1974. I recall that until 1979 or maybe 1980 our oil supplier was an independent supplier. We used an oil called "C & H". We had no problem with this little known name and would have continued with C & H had it remained available. When the city switched from C & H to Mobil oil, we did not notice any changes in our engines performances. In summation, as I indicated in my first memo to you that this oil is under a trial basis. At this point we have no reason to believe that it will not serve as a satisfactory lubricant for our engines. All of the oil samples taken thus far have come back with acceptable results. We are very much aware of the fact that quality motor oils will greatly impact the success or failure of our equipment. We are very aware that we have made an oil change, so we are more inclined that ever to be looking for increase in oil consumption, sludge buildups, whatever the case may be. Also, as mentioned earlier, I always felt that Mobil Oil was a very good product. We still think Mobil Oil is a very good product, but at this point we have no reason to believe that we are not using a quality product. As a side issue, governmental agencies are encouraged more than ever to participate in cooperative purchasing. In the case of the State of Minnesota, we pay $350 a year to be part of the cooperative purchasing program. There is strength in quantity for purchasing power. If we do not continue to participate in cooperative purchasing programs either with the State of Minnesota, or with Hennepin County they soon will disband and there will be no cooperative purchasing whereby every agency will be out buying product by themselves. This is not to say that we blindly jump on the band wagon with everything being bid, but purchase with them when we feel quality, service and price are being met. If you have any further questions please contact me. FUEL OIL SERVICE COMPANY, INC. QUALITY PETROLEUM PRODUCTS 290 ATWATER STREET ST. PAUL, MN 55117 TEL. (612) 488-7201 Mr. Tom Vetsch City of Plymouth 3400 Plymouth Blvd. Plymouth, MN 55447 Dear Tom Vetsch, March 14, 1995 T L) 6 Thank you for taking the time to discuss the lubricant situation. I realize it is a sensitive issue for you. I hope I addressed all points of concern to your satisfac- tion. The city of Eden Prairie had made a verbal commitment to me to pur- chase United 15W40, but eventually decided to go with a local Mobil supplier. United Parcel Service, however has been a customer for about 8 years. I have copies of invoices for your inspection. . In regards to Quality and Reliability of McCollister & Company a sixty year veteran in the lubricant business. McCollister had supplied jobbers like us since 1932 and packaged for Sears, Montgomery Wards, D.A. Lubricants and Prestone since 1966° In recent years they have established a reputation selling products to the center pivot industry in Nebraska, trucking companies including; UPS, manu- facturers of hydraulic components and many State, City and County govern- ments. McCollister & Company sold nearly 4 million gallons of product in 1994. McCollister has been doing business with the State of Minnesota for nearly 6 years and have established a reputation for good service and quality products. McCollister has the same additives found in products from major oil com- panies. McCollister products have an A.P.I. license and all other necessary ap- provals. Technical support is obtained from major additive companies and many base oil suppliers including Mobil. McCollister & Company's laboratory is second to none and they carry product liability insurance in the normal course of busi- ness. We welcome all questions you may have and hope we can continue to work with you and the City of Plymouth Sincere) , Mike vobodny es Representative ,Radema c4m eoaoaactea, 17sec. 6272-74 BOONE AVENUE NORTH BROOKLYN PARK, MINNESOTA 55428-2793 Phone 612-536-9600 • Fax 612-536-1198 March 22, 1995 Mr. Fred G. Moore Director of Public Works Plymouth City Center Building 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55447 c - Re: Peony Lane Alignment - City Project No. 502 Dear Mr. Moore: I reside at 5700 Vagabond Lane, in Plymouth. As a property owner, tax payer and voter, I wish to advise you that I object to Alternative No. 5 outlined in your February 28, 1995 letter for the reasons given below: Alternative No. ,5 represents a major deviation from what the city has planned for years with respect to Peony Lane, and it raises serious issues of pubic safety not present in Alternatives 1 through 4. Alternative No. 5 also would involve the construction of approximately two additional miles of roadway, representing substantial cost to the tax payers which is not justified in light of the more direct routes represented by Alternatives 1 through 4, among other factors. I am also extremely concerned over the lack of (and/or unwillingness of city representatives to make public) detailed facts, at or prior to the March 15, 1995 meeting, regarding the feasibility, projected cost, relative safety issues, and other factors material to each of the five alternatives. As a taxpayer and voter, I would like to be specifically advised as to why a deviation from the city's -r _ 4e, Page 2 comprehensive plan with respect to connecting Peony Lane with Lawndale Lane, is now being considered. What circumstances have arisen to cause this? Si cerely, William C. Rademacher WCR/dms CC: Mayor of Plymouth, Joy Tierney Council Member, David A. Anderson Council Member, Tim Wold Council Member, Nicholas P. Granath Council Member, John W. Edson Council Member, Chuck Lymangood Council Member, Carole J. Helliwell City Attorney, Roger Knutson Planning Dept., Barb Senness 95REQ.XLS H Page 1 CITIZEN REQUEST TRACKING .......... ...... . ........... .......... ........ ........................... .................................. .............. ......... .. ........ ...... . . . . . . . . . . ............. . ................ .... ............. .............. .................... .................. ... ................................................ ........ ..................................... .......................... ..... ............. ........ ............ ....... ....... . . ........ ............ ............. ............. ....... .... ......... ...... ... ........................ .. . ............ ............. ......... . ........ ...................... ..... ... ........ ............ ........ ....... .................. ............. ....... ............. ....................... ... ..... ............. ..... . .......... ............... ... . ff ... ........ — ..... X ............... ... ... ... ... .......... ........... ...... ........ 1 Blank Darren A. DeMatthew Civic Centerlice Arena 12130194 113195 1/13195 114195 2 Gerdes Darren A. DeMatthew Pub. Safety Concerns 12130194 113/95 1/13195 1112195 3 Moore Darren A. DeMatthew Transportation 12130194 113195 1/13195 114195 4 Blank Gordon Hanson Community garden plots 113195 113195 1/17195 114195 5 Moore Dr. Robert May 19th Avenue - Traffic speed 119195 119195 1123195 1123195 6 Blank Vivian Starr Bike path - Lk Camelot/ NW Blvd 119195 119195 1123195 1/17195 7 Hurlburt Mark Denis/DennisHolmquist Wetlands Ord/1 1115 0. Rockfd Road 1117195 1119195 211/95 211195 8 Moore Randy Meyer Fleet vehicles - petro product./service 1/19195 1/19195 2/1195 211195 B -B Moore Randy Meyer Additional issues - fleet vehicles 2/27195 2127195 3120/95 (r) 3123195 10 Hurlburt Nancy Cree Wetlands Ord/NW Plymouth 216/95 218195 2/15195 219195 11 Johnson Larry Dowell, TwinWest Chamber LMC referendum levies 219195 219195 2/16195 2/13195 12 City Attorney Brian Knox Access to Gleason Lake 2121195 (PF) 2/21195 317195 317195 13 Moore Steven Chase Alley Abandonment 311195 311195 3115195 3117195 14 Moore Peter FlinWanice Symchych Peony Lane Alignment 3122195 3123195 3129195 1 15 Moore lWilliam Rademacher Peony Lane Alignment 3123195 1 3123195 1 3/30195 1 H Page 1 -= — 50 • Hennen iCounty An Equal Opportunity Employer Mr. Dwight Johnson City of Plymouth 3400 Plymouth Blvd. Plymouth, MN 55447 Dear Dwight, March 15, 1995 It was a real pleasure to talk with you and Joy and Kathy yesterday about the Plymouth Library and possible cooperation between the Library and the City. I came away from our meeting with some valuable information and I hope you did too. A meeting to organize the Friends of the Library group has been scheduled for May 9, at 7:00 p.m. in the dining room of the Towne Square Apartments. This information has been sent to Helen LaFave for publication in the Plymouth News. I appreciate your offering to find room in City Hall for us if we couldn't arrange the meeting at Towne Square, but the manager there was very cooperative. I look forward to building a strong relationship between the Library and the City. The information kiosk will be a wonderful start! Sincerely, Cathy Fischer Community Librarian Plymouth Library Hennepin County Library Administrative Offices Ridgedale Drive at Plymouth Road Recycled Paper 12601 Ridgedale Drive Minnetonka, Minnesota 55305-1909 (612) 541-8530 MAR -20-1995 14:02 FROM PROBATION DIVISION III TO 95505060 P.02 S- 5L March 201,1995 Mayor Joy Tierney City of Plymouth 3400 Plymouth Blvd. Plymouth, MN 55447 Dear Mayor, Please accept this letter of resignation from the Human Rights Commission. As you know, I am now seated on the Planning Commission, and because of that appointment I am compelled to resign from the H.R.C. I am requesting the opportunity to remain on the commission until a replacement for me is found. Once again, I thank you and the city council for the opportunity of serving on the human Rights Commission. KS- may, aundra Spigne TOTAL P.02 Metropolitan Council .1. -- J C- Working for the Region, Planning for the Future r March 16, 1995 TO: Local Government Key Contacts I'm writing to inform you about the pending publication of a new Metropolitan Council report, Opening Doors to Affordable/Life-Cycle Housing. The report contains data about Twin Cities area local government activities and progress in providing affordable and life -cycle housing in their community. You will be mailed a copy as soon as it is printed. The report will enable each city to compare its housing situation with like communities. It suggests issues local governments might want to address. The report also contains a brief check Est of actions cities might consider taking. The Council will use the information as the basis for developing guidelines for its reviews of local comprehensive plans and as a point of departure for discussions with cities about ways to encourage the development of affordable and life -cycle housing. The Council will soon be initiating public discussion of what the guidelines should be. We plan on using our Regional Blueprint Handbook Task Force, which has representatives from local government, and our Community Development Committee as focal points for discussion. We look forward to working with you as the process goes forward. If you have questions, please call Chuck Ballentine of the Council staff at 291-6521. Sincerely, Sol Re 'onal Ltrator 230 East Fifth Street St. Paul, Minnesota 55101-1634 (612) 291-6359 Fax 291-6550 TDD/TTY 291-0904 Metro Info Line 229-3780 An Equal Opportunity Employer Richard W. Stanek State Representative District 33B Hennepin County March 21, 1995 Minnesota Qt House1 Representatives COMMITTEES: JUDICIARY; EDUCATION; U OF M FINANCE Dwight Johnson, City Manager City of Plymouth - City Hall 3400 Plymouth Blvd. Plymouth, MN 55447 Dear Dwight: I've always believed successful governing comes from all levels of government working together to tackle tough political issues. As your state representative, I want,to build the foundation for a strong working relationship with you. It is my intention to work hard and listen to the citizens of my district. Through our work together as public servants it is my hope that the citizens of our district will receive appropriate representation in St. Paul. I look forward to visiting with you. If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to call me. Sincerely, Richard W. Stanek State Representative 14890 91"Ave., Maple Grove, Minnesota 55369 (612) 420-4497 State Office Building, 100 Constitution Ave., St. Paul, Minnesota 55155-1298 (612) 296-5502 IR FAX (612) 296-8803 sem®: OFFICE OF THE MAYOR 350 South Fifth Street - Rm 331 Minneapolis Minnesota 55415-1393 (612)673-2100 Fax (612) 673-2305 SHARON SAYLES BELTON MAYOR March 21, 1995 Mayor Joy Tierney Office of the Mayor City of Plymouth 3400 Plymouth Blvd Plymouth, MN 55447-1482 Dear Mayo iern� minneapolis city of lakes For the last three years, this region has been undergoing an extensive debate on the problems surrounding the concentration of poverty and how this is detrimental to the entire region. While a growing consensus seems to be emerging as to the extent of the problem and the long-range danger it poses to the entire region, there has been little agreement to possible solutions. In particular, a number of legislative solutions have evoked severe negative reactions. These legislative battles are increasingly dividing the region into two distinct "camps" with no progress being made towards dealing with the problem. Senator Mondale and Representative Long have introduced a bill entitled the "Metropolitan Livable Communities Act" (SF1019 and HF1156). The bill attempts to address a number of facets of the overall problem including cleanup of polluted lands, the funding of innovative alternative development projects, and the development and maintenance of affordable and life cycle housing throughout the metropolitan area. In developing the bill, the authors attempted to enact two principles: minimize new or increased taxes by identifying existing fund sources which could be redirected, and maximize local control. While some of the specific funding sources could be controversial, the public policy objectives appear to be solid (included is a bill summary plus a chart of how the fund works). The bill does tie a community's ability to retain all of the growth in high value homestead taxes to an effort related to achieving affordable housing. Unlike some past approaches, this bill attempts to be sensitive to individual community needs in three ways: it defines high value as twice the average value for each community; it deals with only 40% of the future growth in this value; and it puts in place procedures so that all of the value can be retained by communities to address their own needs. TDD (612) 673-2157 IT"�] IIIF }� j, ® Post CoRecycled u ePaper 30% AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER l # �� Letter regarding Metropolitan Livable Communities Act Page Two March 21, 1995 Senator Mondale in a speech before a Citizens League breakfast commented that in the best of all worlds, the main metropolitan "livability fund" would receive no funds from this source since all communities would be retaining the funds. The bill certainly does not go as far as some would like -- it undoubtedly goes further than some would wish. It does seem to create a framework upon which the region can move forward. I would urge your support for the bill. Visible support of this bill is important since the divisions at the legislature on this topic are so pronounced that any action will be extremely difficult to achieve. Rather quick support is needed given the tight timelines the bill is under in the legislative process. Again, I think this bill is an important step forward and I urge your support. If you have any questions, give me a call. Any questions I can't answer, I can certainly get the needed answers from my staff. Sincerely, ' Sharon Sayles Belton Mayor Enclosures Senate Counsel & Research G-17 STATE CAPITOL ST. PAUL. MN 55155 (612) 296.4791 FAX (612) 296.7747 JO ANNE ZOFF SELLNER DIRECTOR COUNSEL PETER S. WATTSON JOHN C. FULLER BONNIE L BEREZOVSKY DANIEL P. MCGOWAN KATHLEEN E. PONTIUS GEORGE M. MCCORMICK HANS I. E. BJORNSON KATHERINE T. CAVANOR CHRISTOPHER 0 STANG KENNETH P. BACKHUS MEUSSAJOHNSON TOMAS L STAFFORD JOAN E. WHITE LEGISLATIVE ANALYSTS WIWAM RIEMERMAN DAVID DIEL MARK L FERMANICH RANDAL S. HOVE GREGORY C. KNOPFF PATRICK J. MCCORMACK DANIEL L MUELLER JACK PAULSON CHRIS L TURNER AMY M. VENNEVOTZ MAJA WEIDMANN TO: FROM: DATE: Senate State of Minnesota Members, Metropolitan & Local Government Committee Amy M. Vennewitz, Senate Research (296-7681) 0v March 13, 1995 SUBJECT: Summary for S.F. 1019-A4, Delete -Everything Amendment (Mondale) ARTICLE 1 METROPOLITAN LIVABLE COMMUN=S ACT Section 1. Metropolitan Livable Communities Advisory Board. Subdivision 1. Established; Membership. Establishes a metropolitan communities advisory board consisting of nine members appointed as follows: three members appointed by the Governor, three members appointed by the Senate rules committee, and three members appointed by the Speaker of the House. None of the members may be legislators, and at least one member must represent each of the following: the University of Minnesota's design center for the American urban landscape, a foundation that participates in urban re- development, metro area municipalities, and a community-based organization with experience in redevelopment. Subd. 2. Compensation. Requires the Metropolitan Council to pay board members per diem for days on which they attend an authorized meeting. Subd. 3. Administrative Support. Requires the Metropolitan Council to provide meeting space, staff, and administrative support for the board. Subd. 4. Powers and Duties. Requires the board to: (a) establish criteria for the uses of the fund established in section 2; (b) establish guidelines for the use of the livable community demonstration projects account; (c) establish guidelines governing who may apply for a grant or loan from the fund; (d) prepare and submit an annual plan to the Council for distribution of the fund; and (e) prepare and submit to the Legislature and the Council an annual plan on the use of the livable communities fund. Section 2. frefl . A q,�" Q-" u Yr 5 fcZe—; A� Subdivision 1. General. Establishes the livable communities fund and three accounts within the fund: the tax base revitalization account, the livable communities demonstration account, and the local housing incentives account. Subd. 2. Tax Base Revitalization Account. Requires the Council to credit the funds provided under article 2, sections 4 and 15, to a tax base revitalization account within the livable communities fund for the purpose of cleaning up polluted lands and for providing the local match for the Department of Trade and Economic Development's polluted land grant program. Subd. 3. Livable Communities Demonstration Account. Requires the Council to credit to the livable communities demonstration account the proceeds of the tax levied under this subdivision and subdivision 4 for the purpose of funding the initiatives specified in section 1, subd. 4, paragraph (b). Allows the Council to levy a taxon all taxable property in the metropolitan area for the fund. The levy for 1996 may not exceed 83 percent of the Metropolitan Mosquito Control Commission's levy for 1995 multiplied by an index for market valuation increases. The levy for 1997 and thereafter may not exceed the 1996 levy multiplied by an index for annual market valuation increases. The account shall also receive 83 percent of the commission's homestead and agricultural credit aid for 1996 and thereafter. Subd. 4. Mosquito Control District Assets. Requires the Metropolitan Mosquito Control Commission to deposit in the livable communities* demonstration account the proceeds of the sale of certain assets as required under article 2, section 18. Subd 5. Local Housing Incentives Account; Distribution. Requires the Council to credit to the local housing incentives account the revenues a municipality chooses to distribute under paragraph (c), clause 1. Requires the revenues to be used to expand and preserve life -cycle and affordable housing. (a) Requires the Council to negotiate with each municipality in the metropolitan area to establish affordable and life -cycle housing goals and to identify actions a municipality may take to meet its goals. Each municipality must annually report to the Council the tax revenues levied under paragraph (e), the portion of the revenues .spent on meeting housing goals, and how the revenues support the municipality's housing goals. -2- (b) Specifies that a municipality that is in compliance with its housing goals may retain the tax revenues under paragraph (e) to maintain existing affordable and life -cycle housing. (c) Requires a municipality that is not in compliance with its housing goals to either distribute the revenues calculated under paragraph (e) to the local housing incentives account or to retain the revenues to develop affordable and life -cycle housing as approved by the Council. (d) States that a municipality that is already spending an amount equal to or greater than the amount calculated under paragraph (e) on affordable and life -cycle housing is not required to spend an additional amount. (e) 1. Requires each county assessor to determine each municipality's average residential homestead market value for 1993. Defines this value, multiplied by two, to be each municipality's "market value base amount." 2. Requires the county assessor to determine for both 1994 and the current assessment year which homestead values within a municipality exceed the base amount. Defines the aggregate net tax capacity by which the municipality's homestead market values exceed the base amount as the "net tax capacity excess amount." 3. Requires the assessor to annually certify each municipality's average total net tax capacity tax rate. 4. Requires the Council to annually notify each municipality of its affordable and life -cycle housing opportunities amount. Defines this amount to be equal to 40 percent of the amount by which the net tax capacity excess amount for the current year exceeds the amount for 1994, multiplied by the municipality's average total net capacity tax rate for the current year. Section 3. 2025 Report. Requires the Council to report to the Legislature by January 1996 on the probable development patterns .in the metropolitan area by the year 2025 under various growth scenarios. Requires the report to consider impacts on counties adjacent to the seven -county area. Section 4. Application. Makes the article applicable in the seven -county metropolitan area. Section 5. Effective Date. Makes the article effective the day after final enactment and for taxes levied in 1995 and payable in 1996 and subsequent years. -3- _s ARTICLE 2 NUSCEI LANEOUS AMENDMENTS Section 1. Local Match Requirement. Changes the local match required from a municipality's general fund for grants under section 116J.551 from 18 percent to 5 percent of the project cleanup costs; and allows the rest of the local match to be paid with regional, state, or federal money in addition to tax increment funds. Section 2. Loans for Acquisition. Changes two references to the tax authorized under subdivision 3 for right-of-way acquisition to be the tax authorized for right-of-way acquisition and subsequently deposited in the right-of-way acquisition loan fund according to subdivision 3a. Section 3. Tax. Requires the Council to levy a tax for right-of-way acquisition and for the tax base revitalization account in the livable communities fund. (This tax is now optional on the part of the Council.) Deletes language limiting the tax levy. (This language is later reinserted under section 4.) Section 4. Distribution of Tax Proceeds. Requires the tax proceeds from section 3 to be deposited first in the right-of-way acquisition loan fund in an amount not to exceed the amount needed to meet anticipated disbursements, and to produce a fund balance equal to twice the amount of the property tax limitation. Any remaining amount must be deposited in the tax base revitalization account in the metropolitan livable communities fund. Section 5. Establishment of District; Purpose; Area; Governing Body. Limits the mission of the Metropolitan Mosquito Control District to the control of disease caused by mosquitos, disease -vectoring ticks, and black gnats. Section 6. Specifies that the Metropolitan Mosquito Control Commission may undertake only disease control programs in the district. Section 7. Specifies that the commission may employ a director to develop the disease control programs, and that the director shall have studied both entomology and epidemiology and shall be either an entomologist or an epidemiologist. Section 8. Allows the commission to contract for services to carry out disease control programs. Section 9. Provides that commission members receive per diem in the amount specified in section 15.059, subd. 3. ($55). Sections 10 - 13. Add the word "disease" before "control program" to clarify that the commission's activities may relate only to disease control. -4- �:[-5e- Section 14. Budget; Tax Levy. Limits the Mosquito Commission's levy in 1996 to an amount not to exceed 17 percent of the previous year's levy and for taxes payable in 1997 and thereafter to an amount not to exceed the previous year's levy multiplied by a factor for market valuation increases. Specifies that the commission's homestead and. agricultural credit aid base is permanently reduced by 83 percent of the certified amount. Allows the commission to levy a tax of not more than $500,000 to pay for control measures for a health emergency due to the outbreak of disease caused by mosquitos, gnats, and ticks. Section 15. Livable Communities Fund. (a) Requires the Hennepin County auditor to certify Bloomington's interest payments for 1987 for the bonds sold for highway improvements near the Mall of America. (b) Requires that for taxes payable in 1996 through 1999 the Hennepin County auditor must certify the difference between the amount needed by Bloomington for the current year's interest payments and the 1987 amount. (c) Requires the Ramsey County auditor to annually ,add the amount under paragraph (b) to its areawide portion of the levy calculated for fiscal disparities. (d) Requires the Ramsey County auditor to annually distribute the amount under paragraph (b) to the Council for deposit in the tax base revitalization account of the livable communities fund. Section 16. Areawide Tax Rate. Requires the county auditor to certify by August 25th each year the amounts calculated for the Bloomington highway bond interest payments and the amounts calculated under section 15. Section 17. Certification of Values; Payment. Requires the administrative auditor for each county to certify the difference between the total distribution levy, including the amount calculated under section 15, and the total tax on the contribution value. Section 18. Metropolitan Mosquito Control District; Partial Liquidation of Assets. Requires the Mosquito Control Commission to, within one year, sell assets of the district that are not needed under its reduced scope of authority. Requires the proceeds to be deposited in the tax base revitalization account of the metropolitan livable communities fund. Section 19. Citation. Names this bill the metropolitan livable communities act. Section 20. Application. Makes the article applicable in the seven -county metropolitan area. Section 21. Effective Dates. Makes the article effective the day after final enactment and for taxes levied in 1995 and payable in 1996 and subsequent years. AMV.jb -5- METROPOLITAN LIVABLE COMMUNITIES FUND TAX BASE REVITALIZATION ACCOUNT : Polluted land clean -u (1) Right -of -Way Acquisition Loan Fund (R.A.L.F.) (2) Mall of America Commercial -Industrial Surcharae LIVABLE COMMUNITIES DEMONSTRATION ► ACCOUNT PURPOSE: Fund innovative alternative development projects SOURCE OF FUNDS: (1) 83% of Mosquito Control Levy (2) Mosquito Control District Assets LOCAL HOUSING INCENTIVES ACCOUNT 'URPOSES: (1) Creation of affordable and life cycle housing hroughout metro area and 2) maintenance of existing affordable housing :n1IGt*`C nC 01IAIMC. 40% of Growth in Homestead Net Tax Capacitv Excess l` I LA fu NORTHWEST SUBURBS CABLE COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 6900 Winnetka Avenue North Brooklyn Park, MN 55428 (612) 536-8355 March 21, 1995 Dwight Johnson City of Plymouth 3400 Plymouth Blvd. PIymouth, IMd 5544-1 Dear Dwight: 4 - It was recently announced that control of the cable system now owned by King Videocable will be transferred to Continental Cable Vision. The proposed transfer needs to be approved by the Commission in accordance with state and federal law. I would ask that you bring this to the attention of the Mayor and City Council. We have scheduled a public hearing to discuss the proposed transfer for April 6, 1995, a Thursday evening at 7:00pm, at the Brooklyn Center City Hall. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this transfer you may write or phone me or attend the hearing. I have included a list of questions which the Commission has asked Continental to respond to. If you have any questions regarding the list, please phone me at 533-8196. Thank You. Sincerely, Gro -a Moore, Executive Director N¢rr-hwest Suburbs Cable Communications Commission Enclosure Brooklyn Center 0 Brooklyn Park 9 Crystal 0 Golden Valley • Maple Grove • New Hope • Osseo 0 Plymouth 0 Robbinsdale ATTACHMF = c 7— zp NORTHWEST SUBURBS CABLE COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 6900 Winnetka Avenue North Brooklyn Park, MN 55428 (612) 536-8355 TO: NORTHWEST SUBURBS CABLE COMMISSION 1 1114 F1 K0*,i pre] D V (*Is) ,I DATE: FEBRUARY 8, 1995 RE: PENDING TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP FROM KING VIDEOCABLE TO CONTINENTAL In December of 1994 it was announced that Continental Cable was purchasing the cable systems around the country owned by King. While we've been notified of this impending sale we have not received the formal notification required by federal law. We expect to receive this formal notification at any time. In anticipation of the sale and transfer of ownership which must be approved by the Commission I would suggest that we, as we've done in the past, delegate the review and negotiation aspects of the transfer to the Negotiating Committee and then have the Committee report back to the full Commission with their recommendations) for consideration by the full Commission. The Committee is currently comprised of the following Commissioners: Jack Irving, Chair; Bill Blonigan; Mary Gwin-Lenth; Gerry Splinter; and Ray Stockman. In addition to the pro -forma aspects of the proposed transfer I suggest we discuss the following issues: * the Commission's right or option to purchase the cable system, -known as the Right of First Refusal. This was the option used by the Commission in 1989 that resulted in a $5,000,000 settlement to the Commission not to exercise its option. * Continental's plans to increase channel capacity and/or to rebuild the cable system to offer interactive services and to be able to monitor viewership of channels electronically. * Continental's plans to offer computer based services which are available now or in the near future such as; Internet and Prodigy Plus. * Continental's plans to improve the quality of signals returning to its headend from remote sites on its system some of which are frequently used such as; city halls and others which are infrequently used such as; school gymnasiums or to use microwave as an alternative. Brooklyn Center • Brooklyn Park • Crystal 0 Golden Valley • Maple Grove • New Hope 0 Osseo 0 Plymouth • Robbinsdale * Plans to offer free, universal service, comprised of all access and local origination channels and local broadcast channels, to all residents passed by the cable system. * Plans to change, modify, or strengthen the present community television effort and to sell ads on channel 12 and split the revenue from such ad sales with NWCT. Plans to market your service in part by promoting community television. Continental's position with respect to having a check -off on each monthly bill so that subscribers can voluntarily contribute to NWCT. *Plans with respect to the utilization of space within or the sale of the Maple Grove and Plymouth hub sites. * Plans with respect to altering the present situation wherein a corporate executive, customer service representatives, dispatch, service personnel and vehicles, and sales and marketing personnel are located at 6900 Winnetka Ave No. March 23, 1995 Representative Todd Van Dellen 291 State Office Building St. Paul, MN 55155 Dear Representative Van Dellen: On Wednesday, March 22, 1995, we verified that the long-awaited crossing arms have now been installed at the Pineview crossing in Plymouth by the CP Rail Company. As you know, the residents in the area have been waiting for over two years for this event. We appreciate your drafting of HF 1054 to address this and similar issues. After reading the bill, it seems like good public policy to us. Cities should have some reasonable course .of action to address safety concerns where public streets and highways cross the railroad tracks. With the installation of the crossing arms at Pineview, the urgency and priority of this. legislation is certainly diminished at this time. We know you are very busy with important legislative initiatives and would understand if you felt that time or energy spent on this bill would detract from other legislative priorities.. However, we do continue to support the draft of HF 1054 as good policy and would encourage you to pursue it if your other priorities allow enough time. Thanks for your assistance on this issue. Sincerely, Dwight D. Johnson City Manager We Listen • We Solve • We Care 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD • PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447 TELEPHONE (612) 550-5000 CITY OF PLYMOUTH 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD, PLYMOUTH, MN 55447 DATE: March 23, 1995 TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Dwight D. Johnson, City Manager SUBJECT: Summary of Events Cluster Planning. The cities of Brooklyn Park and Maple Grove both adopted the scope of work for the Met Council's cluster planning process, just as we did Tuesday evening. The Met Council will meet Monday at noon to review the cities' resolutions and authorize continued funding of design for the Elm Creek sewer. Pineview Crossing. The crossing gates are now up (and presumably working) at the Pineview crossing of the Soo Line tracks. We have waited over two years for this project. It may not be a coincidence that the project was completed just as legislation was introduced on our behalf by Representative Todd Van Dellen to address this issue. Pager Numbers for Staff Members. Both Kathy and I have begun using pagers, 1 partly to assure that we can be reached for urgent or emergency messages. Craig Gerdes has always had a pager and we found out that Roger Knutson also has one. Please write these pager numbers down if you wish for future reference: Dwight Johnson 641-7655 Kathy Lueckert 641-7661 Craig Gerdes 641-7667 Roger Knutson 740-5475 Plymouth Creek drainage project. All tree work was completed while the kids were out of school from March 9-12. However, the silt removal work was completed only on the upper, northwest portion of the creek (west of the school and south of Co. 9). This is because the weather got too warm too fast, and the equipment could not function. The contractor will come back during the summer when conditions are dryer and pile up the dirt on site. The pile will then be removed next winter, since that will take the heavy trucks again. Absence from the City. I will be taking leave time to accompany my wife on a business trip to Washington D.C. beginning March 30th. I will be gone from Thursday, March 30 through Tuesday, April 4. If my planes are on time, I will be back just in time for the April 4 Council meeting. Kathy Lueckert will be available throughout the time I am gone. I will leave my hotel location with Kathy and the office. 9 March 1995 Council Member Nicholas P. Granath 2600 Oakview Lane Plymouth MN 55441 Dear Council Member: C� At the end of January 1994 I closed my business (Smiling Moose IHR Photo) in Waterford Plaza because of a lack of traffic. I spent three years of 70 hour work weeks and all my money trying to get the business to a decent profit level of 50 rolls of film per day. I reached only 25 rolls per day. I proceeded to sue the City of Plymouth for not allowing signs out on Hiway 55 and for a certain arbitrary nature in its handling of the mall. The case was thrown out of court by Judge Alton who said I most likely would have gone out of business anyway as most small businesses do and therefore would have a hard time showing my failure was the fault of the City or of Ryan Properties ( whom I also sued.) I won't belabor this scenario because my story is not unique - I was just another of many small business persons who tried and failed. But I would like to suggest something that may help others in the future. When I was starting my business I had many things to do. One of the many was to check with the City concerning signs and other things. Never during any of my talks with the staff members of the various City departments was I told what the City had in mind for the Waterford Mall. When I did inquire of staff members concerning the reasons for the restrictions on signs and other rules, I was referred to the rules and told the rules were the reason. Then later in my research to try to find the reason for the mall not working (a view shared by a council member at a council meeting), I came across information from various and sundry sources by intent and chance that led me to the microfilmed minutes of the Planning Commission. From those, I picked up a hint that the City did not intend Waterford to be successful. Later, in and affidavit by Chuck Dillerud, I learned the City never intended Waterford to be a magnet for traffic from Hiway 55 nor did the City intend signs for the mall be placed where they could be seen easily from Hiway 55. This information was told to the builder and landlord, Ryan, during meetings that were not recorded. Zoning maps were and are available to the public, but they are somewhat vague as to their real world meaning and logical explanations were not forthcoming from City experts. r The point is this: The City took the time and had the resources to come and check every electrical outlet in my lab to insure I was in compliance with the rules. The City made sure my bathroom was rule perfect. (I had to lower my towel dispenser four inches to comply with the rules to help the disabled.) The City required knowledge of every bush and parking lot space and even the size and placement of any tent used in any outside sales promotion (and, of course, the City's permission was needed to hold any outside sales promotion.) With this in mind, I would like to know if it would be unreasonable to ask the City to enact some kind of rule or pass a law or take some action to require the City to let the individual business interested in any given mall know what the City has in mind for that mall? Small business owners are not idiots. And they are not real excited about being thought of and treated like sure losers and marketplace throwaways. They have expertise in their field and they use it to help their customers who rely on that knowledge to get their money's worth. But small business owners do not have the means to drag a lawyer and/or an expert along with them everywhere they go during business formation. Just as the customer relies on the small business owner, the small business owner must rely on powers such as the City and the Landlord to receive full knowledge about the space their business will occupy. (The honesty issue begs another long discourse, so I will limit this discussion to knowledge.) In this mission, the City has failed. I would have never have chosen Waterford had I been told by the City or the Landlord of the restrictions placed on the mall by the City. The City has given itself the power to intervene in the marketplace and the power to enforce that intervention. Nothing short of a total revolution will change that. But along with power comes responsibility. And in my view, that responsibility requires the City to take active, not passive, steps to let the people know the total reach of that power. John G. Kildahl 9p—�L"V 14500 34th Ave N #338 Plymouth MN 55447 612-551-0731 A copy of this letter has been sent to all Council Members. CITY of PLVMOUTR Sunday, March 12, 1995 Mr. John G. Kildahl 14500 34th Ave. N. #338 Plymouth, MN 55447 Dear Mr. Kildahl: Thank you for your letter of 9 March 1995. I am very sorry to hear that your business did not continue. Working in a small law firm as I do, perhaps I can empathize a little more with you story. I believe you make three points: 1) before starting your business you investigated the applicable ordinances at City Hall concerning "signs and other things," 2) subsequent to this you also researched Planning Commission minutes in an attempt to determine what the City "had in mind" for Waterford Mall, and 3) your business failed for lack of traffic flow. You also suggest that the City [Council] take some action to require the City inform businesses interested in any given location what the City intends for that location in the future. I will forward copies of your letter to all Council Members the City. senior staff so that your suggestion anti the concerns you highlight are given a an fair hearing. As you have put a serious proposal to me and provided an explanation with it, I will return the favor of my thoughts on this matter. I do agree with you that existing legal restrictions upon land should be reasonably and affordably accessible to prospective businesses, regardless of size. And if I find a way to improve this accessibility, I will certainly advocate changes in the City of Plymouth on your behalf and all others similarly situated. (As I don't know what knowledge Ryan may have had and failed to tell, if that happened at all, or what duty they were under, I can't address that). With your indulgence I will share with you that I cannot agree, however, that the City "did not intend Waterford to be successful," as you state, nor that the City failed to disclose "what it had in mind." We Listen • We Solve • We Care 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD • PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447 • TELEPHONE (612) 550-5000 Regarding what the City intended: First, it seems to me that absent a written resolution, any conclusion that the City wanted Waterford Mall not to succeed is only someone's interpretation, whether based on comments made at the Planning Commission or on Dillerud's subjective evaluation, or it is mere speculation. For example, because the City in fact allowed a major industrial building to go up six blocks from my house is not proof that the City intends to drive me out of my house. Secondly, if in fact any government absent a lawful reasons intended an existing business to fail just because it did not want it there, this would be an unjust taking under the Constitution and as such a violation of our most basis laws. Regarding what the City may have "had in mind," I do agree that uncertainty in knowing how government, other businesses or neighbors may affect a given piece of property in the futures is a major problem for business forecasting and it may even be fatal. However, there is no such thing, in my opinion, as knowing or disclosing what the City will do next year, the year after that and so on, nor should there be. There are only predictions based on existing knowledge, some of which is inaccessible by definition (the minds of the Council members, for example) or difficult to learn (discussions in the various governing bodies which do not amount to taking action, for example). It seems to me that City is governed by elected folks such as myself and we are replaced on a regular basis by voters like you who often reflect changing priorities. Even the Council cannot in many cases legally bind future Councils. The same goes for private independent decision making agents, like your landlord. Perhaps the situation is somewhat analogous to the actions of the Federal Reserve. For instance, I can't plan to finance a loan in two years time having at present all the knowledge I will need to make the final decision because the Fed won't promise what the interest rates will be then. Maybe they should, but if they were then it will certainly result in less freedom of operation for the Fed, not necessarily an outcome in the best interest of the national economy. Having said this, I hope you will appreciate my candor on this matter. As I said, I do agree with you that good access to existing conditions, restrictions, or taxes as well as pending conditions, restrictions or taxes ought to be readily available to any small business person in our City. In addition, I will look into what access is currently available to prospective businesses. Finally, I will certainly welcome any further suggestions you have on this matte. Thank you and good luck in the future. We Listen • We solve • We Care 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD • PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447 TELEPHONE (612) 550-5000 CITV OF PLYMOUTF+ Sincerely, )44"-0— Nick Granath, Plymouth City Councilmember, Ward 3 City voice mail 550-5092 We Listen • We lolve • We Care 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447 TELEPHONE (612) 550-5000