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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Packet 01-21-2004 SpecialAgenda City of Plymouth Special City Council Meeting Wednesday, January 21, 2004 5:30 p.m. Plymouth Creek Center 1480034 th Avenue 1. Call to Order 2. Discuss Legislative Priorities with Plymouth Area Legislators 3. Adjourn Agenda Number: TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Laurie Ahrens, City Manager,/Rt/ SUBJECT: Meeting with Area Legislator DATE: January 16, 2004, for Special Council Meeting of January 21, 2004 The Council invited local legislators to meet on Wednesday, January 21, at 5:30 p.m. in the Fireside Room at the Plymouth Creek Center. We have received confirmation that all plan to attend, with the exception of Representative Jeff Johnson who has a conflict. The City's 2004 Legislative Priorities have been shared with the legislators, and a copy is attached. CITY OF PLYMOUTH PRIORITY ISSUES FOR THE 2004 LEGISLATIVE SESSION BE IT RESOLVED by the Plymouth City Council that the following issues are legislative priorities for the City of Plymouth in the 2004 session: Taxpayer Bill of Rights. State imposed limits on local government decision making, such as Minnesota's proposed Taxpayer Bill of Rights legislation, are inconsistent with local accountability and are rigid formula mechanisms that counter representative democracy and challenge local units of government to plan with financial confidence. Levy Limits. Levy limits should not be re-enacted for 2005 and beyond. Local government officials should have the ability to make decisions on local taxation and service levels. Wine Sales in Grocery Stores. Eliminating the sale of alcohol to minors has been a top priority of the City of Plymouth for several years. The City conducts compliance checks and has adopted a Best Practices Program. The City of Plymouth opposes the proposal to allow wine sales in grocery stores or other venues where currently prohibited. The limit on points of sale for alcohol aids in preventing youth access to alcohol. Emergency Preparedness. Additional measures have been identified as necessary for improved emergency preparedness at the state and local levels including training for local fire and law enforcement personnel, additional detection and decontamination capability, additional vaccinations/antidotes and protective equipment, and improved interagency communications. The Legislature should support and fund these activities at both state and local levels to improve our readiness to meet emergency conditions that may arise from either natural disasters or terrorist attacks. CriMNet. The City of Plymouth urges continued support and funding of CriMNet, as well as improvements to enhance the integrity of the system. Firefighter Staffing. Shortage of paid -on-call and volunteer firefighters is a statewide issue. The City of Plymouth encourages the State to enact legislation to enhance recruitment and retention of paid -on-call and volunteer firefighters. Consideration could be given to providing tax credits and supplemental disability insurance. Affordable and Life Cycle Housing. Economic and demographic trends indicate that Minnesota's population is aging and workers need more affordable housing closer to where they work. The region's population age 65 and older will likely double from the year 2000 to 2020. Jobs in Plymouth are projected to increase approximately 27% during the same period. Housing is both a statewide and local issue. The City urges the Legislature to maintain and increase resources to the extent possible in order to encourage the development of affordable housing for both of these groups. Local property taxes should not be relied upon to fund housing programs because they increase the cost of housing for those most in need and have regressive impacts. Surface Water Quality Plans. As mandated by the State, the City Council has adopted a surface water quality plan and committed significant local fluids for implementation. Because lakes and watersheds often cross municipal boundaries, the City Council requests that the State maintain and increase funding or bonding, to the extent possible, for water quality improvements to enhance funding at the local level. Transportation Funding. The entire economy benefits from a sound and adequately funded transportation system. To adequately address growing congestion, this system must be multi- modal. Consequently, significantly greater resources are needed to provide high quality, efficient systems that include both transit and highways. The City encourages the Legislature to identify long-term funding sources with growth potential that will increase transportation funding to levels that will allow the building of high quality, efficient metropolitan and local transit and highway systems. In addition, local elected officials should continue to be included in MnDOT's decision-making process when state -aid roads and highways are planned in a city. Sales tax exemption on local government purchases. When the State was experiencing a budget shortfall in 1992, the Legislature repealed the sales tax exemption for local government purchases. Cities now pay state sales tax for purchases of items such as road maintenance equipment and building materials. Since the Legislature provided no additional state aids to offset the cost, this policy effectively increased local property taxes to finance state government operations. The City supports legislation to reinstate the sales tax exemption for all local government purchases. Local control of residential speed limits. State law currently controls speed limits on residential streets, with limited exception. Legislation is requested to allow more flexibility for local officials to establish speed limits for residential streets that do not have an impact on neighboring cities. Construction Delays by Utility Companies. The City has experienced significant project delays due to lack of timely response by utility companies in relocating utilities. Legislation is requested to require that if a utility company fails to relocate utilities in a timely manner and causes a delay in a construction project, they shall reimburse the City and contractor for costs incurred due to the delay. Sales Tax Exemption for Plymouth Iee Center Expansion. The original Plymouth Ice Center was built under Mighty Ducks legislation, which included a provision for sales tax exempt status on the construction. Because much of the cost for the current expansion project is being donated through partners in a joint collaboration, the project is worthy of consideration for tax exempt status.