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Council Information Memorandum 12-08-2006
CITY OF PLYMO Dummy COUNCIL INFO M-....., rib December 8, 2006 UPCOMING MEETINGS AND EVENTS Environmental Quality Committee December 13 meeting agenda ...................................... Page 2 December 2006, January and February 2007 Official City Meeting Calendars ................... Page 3 Tentative list of agenda items for future City Council meetings ........................................... Page 9 Invitation to reception for outgoing Mayor Judy Johnson .................................................. Page 10 INFORMATION News Articles, Releases, Publications, etc ... Notice of Municipal Legislative Commission (MLC) Regional Legislative Meeting ....... Page 11 Urban Land Institute (ULI) and the Regional Council of Mayors invitation to the annual Regional Council of Mayors meeting..................................................................... Page 12 League of Minnesota Cities (LMC) "Guide to Minnesota's Property Tax System" .......... Page 13 Star Tribune news story on declines in housing sales and increases in sale prices ............ Page 17 Star Tribune news story about the Lake Minnetonka Cable Commission's suspension of plans to offer wireless Internet to 17 cities .................................................. Page 19 Star Tribune news story on the use of subsidies to lure businesses to the suburbs ............ Page 20 New York Times report on the increase of spam leaking into business e—mail systems ...... Page 22 STAFF REPORTS Fire Department October 2006 Department Report ............................................................ Page 25 Police Department October 2006 Department Report ......................................................... Page 33 Hennepin County Adult Correction Facility Monthly Population Report .......................... Page 40 ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE AGENDA Wednesday, December 13, 2006 WHERE: MEDICINE LAKE ROOM Plymouth City Hall 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55447 CONSENT AGENDA All items listed on the consent agenda* are considered to be routine by the Environmental Quality Committee and will be enacted by one motion. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a Committee member, or citizen so requests, in which event the item will be removed from the consent agenda and considered in normal sequence on the agenda. 1. CALL TO ORDER - 7:00 P.M. 2. PUBLIC FORUM — Individuals may address the Committee about any item not contained in the regular agenda. A maximum of 15 minutes is allotted for the Forum. 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA - EQC Members may add items to the agenda including items contained in the EQC Info Memo for discussion purposes or staff direction only. The EQC will not normally take official action on items added to the agenda. 4. CONSENT AGENDA* A. Approve the October 11, 2006, Environmental Quality Committee Minutes 5. GENERAL BUSINESS A. The Aquatic Vegetation Management Group Recommendation B. 2007 Annual Plan 7:30 pm 6. REPORTS AND STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS A. Bassett Creek Watershed Management Commission B. Elm Creek Watershed Management Commission C. Shingle Creek Watershed Management Commission D. Minnehaha Creek Watershed District E. Update on Non -Degradation Policy recommendations to the City Council 7:45 pm F. Erosion and Sediment Control for Construction Sites 7. FUTURE MEETINGS Need to schedule the January meeting 8. ADJOURNMENT OFFICIAL CITY MEETINGS December 2006 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 2 Nov 2006 Jan 2007 S M T W T F S S M T W T F S 12 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 14 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 28 29 30 31 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 2:00 PM OLD FASHIONED 7:00 PM TRUTH IN TAXATION PUBLIC 7'.00 PM CHARTER COMMISSIONANNUAL MEETING, Metl— LSM1 7:00 PM HUMAN RIGHTS DAY ACTIVITIES, PlymouM plymoue Creek Canter CHRISTMAS - HEARING, Council R—A68 Plymouth Historical Society Building Chambers 7:00 --PLANNING COMMISSION, Ca ncil cn.mb.n 7:00 PM PLYMOUTH ADVISORY L. :OMR ON TRANSIT, a L.Ream 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 4:30 PM -6:30 PM OPEN HOUSE FOR OUTGOING MAYOR 7 D PM ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE (EOC), Metlicine Lake Rooms AaB CHANNUKAH BEGINS AT SUNSET JUDYJOHNSON, Plymouth Creek Center 7'.00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING. Council Chambers 17 18 19 20 21 ?2 23 130 PM YOUTH ADVISORY Covrvca. Parkers Lake Room 6:00 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING: 7 D PM PLANNING COMMISSION, co.nw Chambers INTERVIEW BOARD & COMMISSION APPLICANTS: CITY MANAGER ANNUAL EVALUATION, Medicine Lake Rooms A & B 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 CHRISTMAS EVE CHRISTMAS DAY, 11:45 AM PLYMOUTH City Offices closed BUSINESS COUNCIL, 12201 1W,,d,b 13—, Minnetonka 31 modified on 12/8/2006 0 OFFICIAL CITY MEETINGS January 2007 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 NEW YEAR'S7OOPMPLANNING DAY (City Offices closed) 2 3 COMMISSION, Council Ch...,s 4 7:00 PM HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION -Parkers Lake Room 5 6 7 8 9 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING, Council ChambersI 10 7.00 PM ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE (EQC). Medicine Lake Rooms A b B .11 7.00 PM PARK 8 REC ADVISORY COMMISSION (PRAC), Council Chambers 12 13 14 15 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. BIRTHDAY (Observed) - Cily Or(KRS Close. 16 6'.00 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING: CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS PROGRAM, Medicine Lake Rooms A & B 17 7 00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION C -I Chambers 18 7:00 PM HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (HRA), Medicine Lake Room A 19 7:30 AM -9.00 AM MLC LEGISLATIVE BREAKFA6T, Radnaon Hole) b C. I. Center, 3131 Campus Dme 20 21 22 6:30 PM YOUTH ADVISORY COUNCIL, Parkers Lake Room 23 1145 AM PLYMOUTH 6201NESS COUNCIL. us Mkawtonka 12201 R dg.dale Dme, 700 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING, Counci Chambers 24 7.00 PM PLYMOUTH All ISORYCOMMITTEE ON TRANSIT (PACT) , M,d,, m Lake Room A 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Dec 2006 S M T W T F S Feb 2007 S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 modified on 12/8/2006 6? OFFICIAL CITY MEETINGS February 2007 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Mar 2007 S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 1 7:00 PM HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION -Parkers Lake Room 2 ? J 2:00 PM -7,00 PM FIRE 8 ICE FESTIVAL, Parkers Lake Jan 2007 S M T W T F S 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 4 5 6 7 7 00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION, Council Chamber 8 7'.00 PM PARK 8 REG ADVISORY COMMISSION (PRAC), Council Chambers 9 10 11 12 8.30 PM YOUTH ADVISORY COUNCIL, Parker Lake Rcom 13 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING. Councl Chamber 14 7:00 PM ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE (EOC). Medicine Lake Rooms A & B .15 7:00 PM MOUSING 8 REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (HRA), Medic- Lake Room A 16 17 18 19 PRESIDENTS DAY- City Offices Closed 20 21 7-.00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION. Coundl chamber 22 23 24 ASH WEDNESDAY (First Day of Lent) 25 26 27 1130 AM TWBN WEST STATE OF THE CITY- Plym'. Cr kCenter T- PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING, Council Chamber 28 7'.00 PM PLYMOUTH ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON TRANSIT (PACT). Mad— Lake Room A modified on 12/8/2006 I Tentative Schedule for City Council Agenda Items December 19, Special, 6:00 p.m., Medicine Lake Room • Board and Commission interviews • City Manager's evaluation January 9, Regular, 7:00 p.m., Council Chambers • Appoint 2007 Deputy Mayor • Appoint 2007 City Council Secretary • Designate 2007 Official Newspaper • Appoint 2007 Official Depositories • Ratify 2007 Surety and Blanket Bonds for City Employees • Approve 2007 Council Coordinating Representatives and other agency appointments • Announcement of "Walk with Me, Talk with Me" (Councilmember Sandy Hewitt) • Oaths of Office - Kelli Slavik, Mayor; Kathleen Murdock, Councilmember Ward 2; Ginny Black, Councilmember Ward 4, and Tim Bildsoe Councilmember at -Large • Presentation of 2006 MN Society of Arboriculture Volunteer Service Award to local resident Pam Darnell January 16, Special, 6:00 p.m., Medicine Lake Room • Discuss 2007-2011 Capital Improvements Program January 23, Regular, 7:00 p.m., Council Chambers Note: Special Meeting topics have been set by Council; all other topics are tentative. Reception for Mayor Judy Johnson Tuesday, December 12, 2006 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. (Program at 5:30 p.m.) Please join us as we express our gratitude to outgoing Plymouth Mayor Judy Johnson for her dedicated public service in Plymouth. Plymouth Creek Center 14800 34th Ave. No. Plymouth Refreshments will be served Mayor Johnson's Service • 2003- 2006 Mayor • 1997 -2003 City Council Member • 1998- 1999 HRA Commissioner • 2004- 2005 League of Minnesota Cities President (LMC) • 2003- 2004 LMC First Vice President • 2002- 2003 LMC Second Vice President • 1999- 2002 LMC Board Member • Active in numerous other civic and regional organizations Mayor Judy Johnson will also be recognized at 7 p.m. on December 12 at the start of the regular council meeting in the Council Chambers. io m'r MUNICIPAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION SAVE THE DATE FOR The Municipal Legislative Commission (MLC) Regional Legislative Meeting Friday, January 19th, 2007 7:30 A.M. - 9:00 A.M. Radisson Hotel & Conference Center, Plymouth Invitation to Follow Breakfast reception for MLC Legislators, Metropolitan Council Representatives, Mayors, Council Members & City Managers/Administrators Page 1 of 2 If you are still having problems viewing this message, please click here for additional help. ULI Minnesota 0 Regional Cound of Moors ULI Minnesota £t the Regional Council of Mayors present... 3rd Annual Regional Council of Mayors Meeting Moving out of Transportation Gridlock: What's Next for Minnesota? December 13, 2006 - 3:30-5:30 pm. Reception follows **Stay for the Holidazzle!** program location: Dorsey Et Whitney 50 S Sixth Street, Minneapolis MN Featured speakers: Maureen McAvey Senior Resident Fellow ULI/Klingbeil Family Chair for urban development 8 Douglas Foy first Secretary of Commonwealth Development in the administration of Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney Curt Johnson will lead a roundtable discussion immediately following the presentations. Watch your e-mail and mail for complete information and registration forms. i http://sdm3.rmO4.net/servlet/MailV iew?ms=Nj g4NTEySO&r=NTM4NzE2NDk5MAS2&j ... 12/5/2006 7 _j 7 ASSOCIATION OF r' it Minnesota School $ Boards Association LMC L111.MINNESOTA COUNTIES u s ". Mi 1" Who Does What? A GUIDE TO MINNESOTA'S PROPERTY TAX SYSTEM ASSESSOR Locates the property to be taxed, estimates its market value (how much the property would sell for in today's market), and assigns it to a class according to its use. Sends out notices in the spring to "all property owners." Multiplies the estimated market value of each piece of property by the tax capacity percentage set by law for its class. The result is the tax capacity. Adds together the tax capacities for all the property in the taxing district and gives the total to: Property owners who disagree with the assessor may appeal to: 4W BOARDS OF APPEAL AND EQUALIZATION CITY OR TOWNSHIP BOARD OF APPEAL AND EQUALIZATION: The city council or township board. Meets between April 1 and May 31. COUNTY BOARD OF EQUALIZATION: County board of commissioners. Meets for two weeks in June. STATE BOARD OF EQUALIZATION: Commissioner of Revenue. Meets between April 15 and June 30. The review board may change the estimate of the market value of the classification. MINNESOTA TAX COURT: Small clairTrs of regular division. TAXING DISTRICTS (YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT, CITY OR TOWNSHIP, COUNTY, ETC.) Determine the services (such as street maintenance, fire and police protection) to be provided in the coming year. Estimate the costs of those services and determine what portion will come from property taxes. Prepare proposed budget/levy amounts Send final levy amounts to: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hold Truth -in -Taxation (TnT) hearings on budgets (if required by state law). Send final levy amounts to: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • FINANCE DEPARTMENT AUDITOR/TREASURER Determines the tax capacity rates and also uses the state general tax rate by dividing the proposed levy by the proposed total amount of tax capacity in the taxing district. Auditor uses state general tax rate to compute taxes (certified by the Commissioner of MN Dept. of Revenue). Calculates the amount of each property owner's proposed state paid credits and net tax amount. Prepares TnT notice and mails to each taxpayer. Recalculates the arnount of each property owner's tax based upon the final levy amounts. Prepares a listing of the tax on all property owners in the county and gives the list f to: • • • • • • . . . • • • . • . • • . • • • . • • • • • . Creates the property tax statements from the county tax lists. Mails the statements by March 31 of the following year. Properly owners mail in their payments (due in two installments on May 15 acid October 15; except that the second installment of taxes on agricultural property is due on November 15). f f'1 t Do You Think Your Property is 1 -STEP APPEAL: Over-,4ssessed? THE DIAGRAM BELOW SHOWS THE STEPS IN CONTESTING YOUR PROPERTY VALUATION: VISIT YOUR LOCAL ASSESSOR'S OFFICE • Check the facts. • Compare neighboring property values. • Seek an adjustment. 3 -STEP APPEAL APPEAL TO CITY OR TOWNSHIP "BOARD OF REVIEW" • Meets in April or May. • Appeals in person or by letter. • Call city or township clerk for appointment. • APPEAL TO COUNTY "BOARD OF EQUALIZATION" • Meets for two weeks in June. • Appeal in person or by letter. • Call county auditor or assessor for appointment. APPEAL TO MINNESOTA TAX COURT • Appeal by April 30 of year following assessment. REGULAR DIVISION • Attorney recommended. • Decisions appealable to Supreme Court • Can be used for any property. • Must be used for property assessed over $100,000. L.V 4W SMALL CLAIMS DIVISION • Attorney riot necessary. • Decisions are final. • Use for your home, or any property assessed under $100.000. Property Tax Classffication Rates WHAT THEY ARE, HOW THEY WORK The classification rates on selected properties for taxes payable are shown below: PROPERTY TYPE '06 CLASS RATE PROPERTY TYPE '06 CLASS RATE Disabled homestead up to $32,000 0.045% Residential Homestead Up to $500,000 1.00 Over $500,000 1.25 Residential Nonhomestead z Single unit Up to $500,000 1.00 Over $500,000 1.25 2-3 unit and undeveloped land 1.25 Apartments Regular 1.25 Commercial -Industrial -Public Utility Up to $150,000 1.5 Over $150,000 2.00 Electric generation machinery 2.00 Seasonal Recreational Commercial Homestead resorts 1.00 Seasonal resorts Up to $500,000 1.00 Over $500,000 1.25 Seasonal Recreational Residential 1.25 Up to $500,000 1.00 Over $500,000 1.25 Agricultural Land & Buildings 1.25 Homestead 3 1.25 Up to $600,000 0.55 Over $600,000 1.00 Nonhomestead 1.00 Miscellaneous Properties Golf courses (open to public) 1.25 Nonprofit service organizations 1.5 Fraternity/sorority houses 1.00 Manufactured home park land 1.25 Metro indoor rec. facilities 1.25 Noncommercial aircraft hangars 1.5 ' School operating referendum levies (sometimes called "excess levy" referenda) and all county, city, and township referendum levies are levied on referendum market value. School debt levies are levied against all property based on net tax capacity. Includes dwellings located on agricultural nonhomestead property. House, garage, and one acre have same class rates and are generally treated the same as residential homestead. How to use class cation rates: Example: Suppose your home is valued at $90,000 and your local tax rate is 1.35 (135% of tax capacity) Then: Your Home's Tax Capacity = $90,000 times .01=$900 Your Property Tax = $900 times 1.35 = $1,215 3 Tax Glossary CATEGORICAL AID: Aid given to a local unit of government to be used only for a specific purpose. CIRCUIT BREAKER: See "Property Tax Refund." CLASS RATES: The percent of market value set by state law that establishes the property's tax capacity subject to the property tax. COUNTY PROGRAM AID: State property tax relief aid to counties, distributed with a formula based on needs (households on foodstamps, age of the population, number of serious crimes) and tax base equalization for counties with smaller tax bases. EDUCATION AID: The total amount of state dollars paid for K-12 education. This aid is paid to the school districts. FISCAL DISPARITIES: A program in the Twin Cities metropolitan area and on the iron range in which a portion of the commercial and industrial property value of each city and township is contributed to a tax base sharing pool. Each city and township then receives a distribution of property value from the pool based on market value and population in each city. GENERAL PURPOSE AID: Aid given to units of government to be used at their own discretion. Examples are Local Government Aid and County Program Aid. HIGHWAY AID: Motor fuels tax and license tab money the state distributes to counties, cities and townships for highways and bridges. HOMESTEAD: A residence occupied by the owner INDIVIDUAL INCOME TAX: A state tax on the income of residents and non-residents with Minnesota sources of income that is deposited into the state general fund. LEVY: The imposition of a tax, associated with the property tax. LEVY LIMIT: The amount a local unit of government is permitted to levy for specific services under state law. LIMITED MARKETVALUE: A state imposed limit on property value increases for the purpose of calculating property taxes. ASSOCIATION OF Zr 0 MINNESOTA COUNTIES www.mncounties.orq LOCAL GOVERNMENT AID (LGA): A state government revenue sharing program for cities with low property wealth or high service burdens that is intended to provide an alternative to the property tax. LOCAL SALES TAX: A local tax, authorized by the state, levied on the sale of goods and services to be used for specific purposes by the local government. LOCAL TAX RATE: The tax rate usual ly expressed as a percentage of tax capacity, used to determine the property tax due on a property. MARKET VALUE: An assessor's estimate of what property would be worth if it were sold. MARKET VALUE AGRICULTURE CREDIT: A state credit to reduce the property tax paid by agricultural homesteads to the local taxing jurisdiction. MARKET VALUE HOMESTEAD CREDIT: A state credit to reduce the property tax paid by a residential homestead to the local taxing jurisdiction. PROPERTY TAX: A tax levied on any kind of property. PROPERTY TAX REFUND: A partial property tax refund program for those who have property taxes out of proportion with their income. This program is available to homeowners and renters. SALES RATIO STUDY: A study conducted by the Department of Revenue of open market property sales, which is then compared to local assessments to ensure that local assessments adequately reflect the market. STATE GENERAL PROPERTY TAX: A state -imposed property tax on commercial, industrial, and seasonal recreational properties. STATE SALES TAX: A state tax (6.5%) levied on the sale of goods and services that is deposited into the state general fund. TAX CAPACITY: The valuation of property based on market value and class rates, on which property taxes are determined. 11, Minnesota SchoolT-7/m Boards Association T www.mnmsba.o� November 2006 LMC l.eagare 11f 1%111112,11110 (';ries ( i(ies f -miudi)Ig OXCLIXI) O www.lmnc.o StarTribunexom 3 MIN APOU - ST. PAUL MINNESC IT Last update: December 02, 2006 — 7:46 AM The Nation's Housing: Yes, sales fell, but not prices You might have seen the scary news reports just before Thanksgiving: Housing prices fell nationwide last quarter, the first such decline since 1993. Even grimmer, total sales of houses and condominiums plunged 12.7 percent across the country, compared with the same period the year before. Kenneth Harney, Washington Post Writers Group You might have seen the scary news reports just before Thanksgiving: Housing prices fell nationwide last quarter, the first such decline since 1993. Even grimmer, total sales of houses and condominiums plunged 12.7 percent across the country, compared with the same period the year before. You might have wondered: Is this the long -predicted popping of the housing -boom bubble or the beginning of an extended period of eroding values in American home real estate? How bad could it get in the months ahead? And what might that mean for the equity I've got in the home I own? Before considering those questions, it's important to focus precisely on the statistical data that drew all the sobering news coverage. The third-quarter median prices and sales numbers were generated from local, state and regional data collected by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The association has been compiling these statistics since 1981 in the case of housing sales and since 1982 for prices. Although the realty association might be viewed as having an ax to grind, its quarterly reports on median prices and sales generally are viewed as authoritative by economists and are cited by the federal government. The quarterly pricing data, however, do not deal with housing values -- the appreciation or depreciation rates for homes located in specific markets. A government agency, the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, produces those quarterly numbers. The NAR pricing statistics focus instead on the median price of existing homes sold during the previous quarter. The median is the midpoint, with as many home prices above as there are below. The latest pricing data showed that the median price of all single family homes resold in the United States during the third quarter was 1.2 percent below the median during the third quarter of 2005. The slippage year to year came to $2,700. Decreases not common How bad is that? Not so bad, but it's still important: Median -price decreases have been unusual events in recent years. They signal that something negative is underway in the marketplace. But given the unprecedented run -ups in real estate prices during the boom years, plus near -record low mortgage rates fueling those fires, who is really shocked by a 1.2 percent decline? Something else that didn't get a lot of attention in the news reports: If you examine the 148 metropolitan markets covered by the NAR survey, you find that median prices in 102 of them actually increased, 45 declined, and one -- high-cost San Jose -- remained flat. In other words, in 69 percent of the local markets where median prices changed year to year, the directional arrow was up, and in 30.6 percent the arrow pointed down. Some of the median price jumps were surprisingly high: Seattle (up by 14.6 percent), Salt Lake City (19.2 percent), Beaumont, Texas (12.9 percent), and Portland, Ore. -Vancouver, Wash. (12.3 percent). Some of the most populous metropolitan markets saw net gains, including New York -northern New Jersey (up 3.6 percent), Chicago (1.7 percent), Los Angeles (5.2 percent), San Antonio (6.4 percent), San Francisco (3 percent) and Philadelphia (3.8 percent). Without question, there were significant declines in major metropolitan markets as well: Sarasota, Fla. (down 9.4 percent), Miami -Fort Lauderdale (5.6 percent), Boston (4.3 percent), Providence, R.I. (5.5 percent), metropolitan District of Columbia (2.2 percent), San Diego (2.1 percent) and Detroit (10.5 percent). Those decreases suggest that prices continue to outstrip buyers' economic ability -- or willingness -- to pay. What's the real news? Now to the really important news that got lost in the latest statistics: The only real bust underway nationally -- and in many local markets -- is in sales volume, not prices or property values. The quarterly numbers could hardly be more dramatic: Sales in Nevada plunged 38 percent; Arizona, 26; Florida, 34.2; California, 28.6; and metropolitan Washington, D.C., 15 percent. All of these areas were hot spots during the boom years, and all of them saw significant percentages of sales to investors. They also were leaders in loan programs that allowed buyers to acquire houses they couldn't afford if they had to pay traditional monthly costs. But if home sales are down so dramatically, why aren't median prices down more than 1.2 percent? The answer is that absent severe reversals in national or local economies, housing prices and values move glacially in retreat. Most home sellers in stable local economies aren't forced to sell if they don't get the price they want; they can postpone the sale until market conditions improve. That's what you're seeing right now: Sales volumes in the frothiest markets have tanked. But the statistical fact remains: Median prices in 70 percent of the nation's metropolitan areas are still growing, and are likely to continue to do so. Distributed by the Washington Post Writers Group. Kenneth Harney is a nationally syndicated real estate columnist. He can be reached at the Washington Post Writers Group, 1150 15th St. NW., Washington, DC 20071-9200 or by e-mail at kenharney@a earthlink.net. 02006 Star Tribune. All rights reserved. to affrIb1inexom I+ R-INEAPOUS -ST, PAUL MINf+tES�'I' Last update: December 05, 2006 — 1:57 PM Wireless net is on hold for many cities in west metro The sparsely populated cities around Lake Minnetonka worry wireless might be too costly. Jenna Ross, Star Tribune After the Lake Minnetonka Cable Commission chose this summer to suspend plans to offer wireless Internet, each of the 17 cities the commission covers had to decide whether to go it alone. In recent weeks, the cities that had remained interested have come to the same conclusion: Not now. Medina and Loretto, which had planned to look at how citywide wireless would work, have decided not to fund such a study in their 2007 budgets. Council members said they want to watch St. Louis Park's wireless effort play out. They worry that wireless could be too expensive. And in Medina, they said they're not sure the technology is adequate to serve the hard -to -cover area. The reasons setting up wireless Internet in western Hennepin County would be difficult are the same reasons that there is high demand for it. Much of the area around the western end of Lake Minnetonka is sparsely populated. Almost 52,000 people live in the service area of the LMCC, but they're spread over 17 cities and hundreds of square miles. About three-fifths of that area has cable service available, said Sally Keonecke, director of the LMCC, and out of the approximately 25,000 homes in that area, about half subscribe to cable. That means many don't have access to high-speed Internet via cable. "Rural areas out here can't get high-speed Internet," Keonecke said. "There's a digital divide." If these cities used wireless technology similar to that in operation in Chaska and St. Louis Park, they could need twice as many of the expensive radio transmitters to service the same area. In Medina, sight -lines between a central hub, transmitters and residences could also be a problem, said City Administrator Chad Adams. The city's many trees and hills could require even more radio transmitters. Only a third or less of Medina's 27 square miles are covered by local cable or Qwest's DSL service, Adams said. In a September survey of about 550 residents, 60 percent said the city providing high-speed Internet was either "essential" or "very important." The City Council had set aside $25,000 in its 2007 budget to look into the costs and gauge the interest in citywide wireless. But the council recently removed that funding from the budget. Loretto, a quarter square mile of a city surrounded entirely by Medina, doesn't have the same problems as other LMCC cities. Almost 100 percent of the city is served by local cable. So a city -led service would compete with the cable provider for subscribers. "There was some risk involved," said Mayor Kent Torve. The city had considered hiring a consultant to study wireless, but in October the council decided against such a step. Torve said he expects that put the issue on hold for a few years. Medina, like the LMCC and other cities, is keeping open the possibility of wireless Internet. With a new city council and possibly new technology coming, the area could see renewed interest next year. This summer, the LMCC tried to raise $45,000 to do a feasibility study, but only one of the 17 cities offered its share. Even so, LMCC representatives attended a municipal wireless conference this fall and met with a consultant from the Minneapolis project. "It's still possible," Koenecke said. "But there's a feeling of 'Let's wait and see."' Jenna Ross • 612-673-7168 • jross@startribune.com ©2006 Star Tribune. All rights reserved. I <�I Otaffrlbunexom,MINNEAPOLIS - ST. PAUL, MINNESfJTA Last update: December 07, 2006 — 12:25 AM Study: Subsidies bring hidden cost A new study finds taxpayer money is luring companies away to the suburbs and increasing the need for infrastructure spending. Mike Kaszuba, Star Tribune St. Croix Stone, a small manufacturer of lightweight stone products, was looking to grow and felt crowded at its facility in Forest Lake. Owner Rick Helps soon hit on a solution -- not only did he find a new location but also a city, North Branch, that would give him $252,945 in public subsidies to move. Such stories were common during a four-year span in the Twin Cities region, according to a major study being released today by Good Jobs First, a Washington nonprofit, with backing from the Ford Foundation. More than 85 local companies were given $90 million in public subsidy deals to relocate by cities that were mostly located on the urban fringe and eager to build tax base, the report says. In many cases, the subsidies moved jobs farther from the metro area, farther from public transit and farther from lower-income neighborhoods that needed the jobs most. "They brought that up right away," Helps said of the public subsidy deal that city officials in North Branch quickly offered. Without the subsidy, he said, the 50 -employee company would have kept approaching other cities willing to offer public money. Researchers from Good Jobs First, who targeted Minnesota for their study of subsidies and job movement, said the suburban practice of luring companies with taxpayer money had created a damaging competition among cities. The study encompassed the period from 1999 to 2003 and often involved tax -increment financing, a popular municipal subsidy tool. Tax -increment financing defers a project's increased property taxes from going to cities and schools and instead uses the money to pay for project costs. The nonprofit, whose study was assisted by former DFL state Sen. Myron Orfield, a longtime critic of public subsidies, said it focused on Minnesota because of state laws that made data regarding subsidies more accessible to the public. "There's a lot of deals where the market is doing just fine, and the money should be spent in other ways," said Greg LeRoy, the nonprofit's executive director, who added that what is happening in Minnesota might be typical of a nationwide phenomenon. Cities that do the recruiting, however, defend the practice. David Stutelberg, North Branch's economic development director, said most cities understand the competitive atmosphere involved in using subsidies to attract industry. The study listed North Branch as one of the big winners, attracting four companies, including the 110 -employee Summit Concrete, which also left Forest Lake for North Branch and $108,336 in public subsidies. "They're going to shop around," Stutelburg said of companies. "They're going to try to get the best bang for the buck." LeRoy said many companies were also playing one city against another, often without the knowledge of officials in either city because they were not talking to each other. "I don't think a single one of them ever said they picked up the phone" to compare notes, he said. "It absolutely does give companies the advantage." Other city officials said the Twin Cities region's dramatic growth minimized the subsidies' effect, and said a variety of factors were at play. "Maybe the owner lives there," Doug Borglund, Forest Lake's community development director, said of why a company moves to a certain city. But the study said the practice had large, harmful effects on the metro area, contributing to suburban sprawl and the wasteful spending that goes with having to build new public infrastructure -- roads and sewers - in more undeveloped, outlying cities The impact on low-income populations, the study added, was also negative. In analyzing the 86 corporate moves, which involved mostly smaller companies, the study found that census tracts in cities that lost three or more companies had a minority population of 18.1 percent. Those that gained three or more companies, the study added, had a minority population of 6.6 percent. The study listed Minneapolis as the biggest loser, with seven companies leaving the city during the period. The loss, the study said, was typified by Omni -Tract Surgical, a 40 -employee company that received $421,941 in subsidies to move to White Bear Township. Another, the 12 -employee Holiday Sales Inc., left Minneapolis for Rockford after receiving $146,028. The study comes as Minneapolis has moved to preserve thousands of acres of land to help attract companies now leaving for the suburbs. Since 2000, the city said, more than 13,000 jobs have left the city. Bloomington and St. Paul, the study said, lost three companies apiece. Tradehome Shoe Stores, an 800 - employee company, left St. Paul after getting $296,840 in subsidies to move to Cottage Grove. Ryan Schroeder, Cottage Grove's city administrator, said Tradehome Shoe Stores left St. Paul's Midway area because the company could not find enough space there to expand. Schroeder said his city, as a policy, typically asked a company wanting to leave another city for Cottage Grove whether it had fully explored opportunities at its current location. According to the study, Cottage Grove was one of the biggest winners, luring five companies with subsidies. "New construction was less expensive for them," Schroeder said of Tradehome Shoe. "Every one of those businesses ... had their own specific reason [to move]. It wasn't like, 'Yeah, St. Paul wants to keep me, but I don't care.'" Though Schroeder said Tradehome Shoe probably would not have moved to Cottage Grove without a public subsidy, he said Cottage Grove frequently faced the same dilemma. Company owners in Cottage Grove, he said, tell him that "I'm probably going to go to Wisconsin unless you can do something for me." Mike Kaszuba • 612-673-4388 • mkaszuba.@startribune.com 02006 Star Tribune. All rights reserved. 24 Ebt�25tw ork �:imes PR6NT'£R�PRIENi,3.'7 F4RMA7 �'� °�'�j SfXTN SflREO B'Y nytit-n.com December 6, 2006 Spam Doubles, Finding New Ways to Deliver Itself By BRAD STONE Hearing from a lot of new friends lately? You know, the ones that write "It's me, Esmeralda," and tip you off to an obscure stock that is "poised to explode" or a great deal on prescription drugs. You're not the only one. Spam is back — in e-mail in -boxes and on everyone's minds. In the last six months, the problem has gotten measurably worse. [Worldwide spam volumes have doubled from last year according to Ironport, a spam filtering firm, and unsolicited junk mail now accounts for more than 9 of every io e-mail messages sent over the Internet. Much of that flood is made up of�nettlesome new breed of junk e-mail called image spam, in which the words of the advertisement are part of a picture, often fooling traditional spam detectors that look for telltale phrases. Image spam increased fourfold from last year and now represents 25 to 45 percent of all junk a -mail depending on the day, Ironport says. The antispam industry is struggling to keep up with the surge. It is adding computer power and developing new techniques in an effort to avoid losing the battle with the most sophisticated spammers. It wasn't supposed to turn out this way. Three years ago, Bill Gates, Microsoft's chairman, made an audacious prediction: the problem of junk e-mail, he said, "will be solved by 2006." And for a time, there were signs that he was going to be proved right. Antispam software for companies and individuals became increasingly effective, and many computer users were given hope by the federal Can -Spam Act of 2003, which required spam senders to allow recipients to opt out of receiving future messages and prescribed prison terms for violators. According to the Federal Trade Commission, the volume of spam declined in the first eight months of last year. But as many technology administrators will testify, the respite was short-lived. "At the beginning of the year spam was off our radar," said Franklin Warlick, senior messaging systems administrator at Cox Communications in Atlanta. CNow employees are stopping us in the halls to ask us if we turned off our spam filter," Mr. Warlick said. Mehran Sabbaghian, a network engineer at the Sacramento Web hosting company Lanset America, said that last month a sudden Internet -wide increase in spam clogged his firm's servers so badly that the delivery of regular e-mail to customers was delayed by hours. To relieve the pressure, the company took the drastic step of blocking all messages from several countries in Europe, Latin America and 11_ Africa, where much of the spam was originating. This week, Lanset America plans to start accepting incoming mail from those countries again, but Mr. Sabbaghian said the problem of junk e-mail was "now out of control." (Antispam companies fought the scourge successfully, for a time, with a blend of three filtering strategies. Their software scanned each e- mail and looked at whom the message was coming from, what words it contained and which Web sites it linked to. The new breed of spam — call it Spam 2.0 — poses a serious challenge to each of those three approaches. Spammers have effectively foiled the first strategy — analyzing the reputation of the sender — by conscripting vast networks of computers belonging to users who unknowingly downloaded viruses and other rogue programs. The infected computers begin sending out spam without the knowledge of their owners. Secure Computing, an antispam company in San Jose, Calif., reports that 250,000 new computers are captured and added to these spam "botnets" each day. The sudden appearance of new sources of spam makes it more difficult for companies to rely on blacklists of known junk e-mail distributors. Also, by using other people's computers to scatter their e-mail across the Internet, spammers vastly increase the number of messages they can send out, without having to pay for the data traffic they generate. "Because they are stealing other people's computers to send out the bad stuff, their marginal costs are zero," said Daniel Drucker, a vice president at the antispam company Postini. "The scary part is that the economics are now tilted in their favor." The use of botnets to send spam would not matter as much if e-mail filters could still make effective use of the second spam -fighting strategy: analyzing the content of an incoming message. Traditional antispam software examines the words in a tent message and, using statistical techniques, determines if the words are more likely to make up a legitimate message or a piece of spam. The explosion of image spam this year has largely thwarted that approach. Spammers have used images in their messages for years, in most cases to offer a peek at a pornographic Web site, or to illustrate the effectiveness of their miracle drugs. But as more of their text - based messages started being blocked, spammers searched for new methods and realized that putting their words inside the image could frustrate text filtering. The use of other people's computers to send their bandwidth -hogging e-mail made the tactic practical. "They moved their message into our blind spot," said Paul Judge, chief technology officer of Secure Computing. Antispam firms spotted the skyrocketing amount of image spam this summer. A technology arms race ensued. The filtering companies adopted an approach called optical character recognition, which scans the images in an e-mail and tries to recognize any letters or words. Spammers responded in turn by littering their images with speckles, polka dots and background bouquets of color, which mean nothing to human eyes but trip up the computer scanners. Spammers have also figured out ways to elude another common antispam technique: identifying and blocking multiple copies of the same message. Pioneering antispam companies like the San Francisco -based Brightmail, which was bought two years ago year by the software giant Symantec, achieved early victories against spam by recognizing unwanted e-mail as soon as it hit the Internet, noting its "fingerprint" and stopping every subsequent copy. Spammers have defied that technique by writing software that automatically changes a few pixels in each image. "Imagine an archvillain who has a new thumbprint every time he puts his thumb down," said Patrick Peterson, vice president for technology at Ironport. "They have taken away so many of the hooks we can use to look for spam." But don't spammers still have to link to the incriminating Web sites where they sell their disreputable wares? Well, not anymore. Many of the messages in the latest spam wave promote penny stocks — part of a scheme that antispam researchers call the "pump and dump." Spammers buy the inexpensive stock of an obscure company and send out messages hyping it. They sell their shares when the gullible masses respond and snap up the stock. No links to Web sites are needed in the messages. Though the scam sounds obvious, a joint study by researchers at Purdue University and Oxford University this summer found that spam stock cons work. Enough recipients buy the stock that spammers can make a 5 percent to 6 percent return in two days, the study concluded. The Securities and Exchange Commission has brought dozens of cases against such fraudsters over the years. But as a result of the Can - Spam Act, which forced domestic e-mail marketers to either give up the practice or risk jail, most active spammers.now operate beyond the reach of American law enforcement. Antispam researchers say the current spam hot spots are in Russia, Eastern Europe and Asia. While spammers are making money, companies are clearly spending more of it to fight the surge. Postini says that the costs for companies trying to fight spam on their own have tripled, mostly because of increased bandwidth costs to handle bulky image spam and lost employee productivity. The estimates should be taken with a grain of salt, since antispam companies are eager to hawk their expensive filtering systems, which can cost around $20,0oo a year for a company of l,000 employees. But the onslaught of junk e-mail does affect business operations, even if the impact is difficult to quantify. At the headquarters of the Seattle Mariners this summer, the topic of the worsening spam problem came up regularly in executive meetings, and the team's top brass began pressuring the technology staff to fix the problem. Ben Nakamura, the Mariners' network manager, said he tried to tighten spam controls and inadvertently began blocking the regular incoming press notes from opposing teams. Two weeks ago, the situation grew so dire that the team switched from software provided by Computer Associates, whose suite of security programs sat on the team's internal server, to a dedicated antispam server from Barracuda Networks, which gets regular updates from Barracuda's offices in Silicon Valley. Mr. Nakamura said the new system had greatly improved the situation. On a single day last week, the team received 5,000 e-mail messages and the Barracuda spam appliance blocked all but 300. Still, some employees continue to see two or three pieces of spam in their in -boxes each day. Some antispam veterans are not optimistic about the future of the spam battle. "As an industry I think we are losing," Mr. Peterson of Ironport said. "The bad guys are simply outrunning most of the technology out there today." Copyright 2006 The New York Times Company PLYMOUTH FIRE DEPARTMENT MONTHLY REPORT OCTOBER 2006 Z�- PLYMOUTH FIRE DEPARTMENT MONTHLY REPORT October 2006 Monthly Synopsis Year-to-date (YTD), the Department answered 1151 calls for service. This compares to 1113 calls for service in 2005 (YTD). The highest call volume in October occurred between the hours of 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. and also 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. Tuesday was the busiest day of the week. Seventy-two percent of calls occurring in October were "Duty Crew" calls. Responses were divided between the fire stations as follows: Station I (13205 Co. Rd. 6) 35 Station II (12000 Old Rockford Rd.) 39 Station III (3300 Dunkirk Ln.) 37 October 2006 in-service and on -scene (total response) times for emergency events are as follows. Duty Crew and non -duty crew times, as well as station responses, are noted. Sigrcificant or Unusual Events In September, the following responses are notable: October 11 Extrication (7:33 a.m.) October 16 Extrication (3:23 p.m.) October 26 Building Fire (7:22 p.m.) October 31 Vehicle Crash with Injuries (8:01 p.m.) During the month of October, eleven calls were paged general alarm. The average number of firefighters who arrived on the scene for these calls was seven. Committed Time In October, the 66 active paid -on-call firefighters worked an average of over 33 hours. Training During the month of October, four topics were offered during eight regularly scheduled in-house training sessions. These topics included Company Operations, Firefighter Safety and Survival, 1St Truck 1st Truck 2nd Truck 2nd Truck Number In -Service On -Scene In -Service On -Scene of Calls Dpty Crew 1:01 7:09 6:51 12:01 24 Non -Duty Crew 4:56 9:15 5:38 10:20 4 Station I 0:55 6:43 N/A N/A 1 Station II 3:06 7:32 5:38 10:20 1 Station III 7:52 11:22 N/A N/A 2 Sigrcificant or Unusual Events In September, the following responses are notable: October 11 Extrication (7:33 a.m.) October 16 Extrication (3:23 p.m.) October 26 Building Fire (7:22 p.m.) October 31 Vehicle Crash with Injuries (8:01 p.m.) During the month of October, eleven calls were paged general alarm. The average number of firefighters who arrived on the scene for these calls was seven. Committed Time In October, the 66 active paid -on-call firefighters worked an average of over 33 hours. Training During the month of October, four topics were offered during eight regularly scheduled in-house training sessions. These topics included Company Operations, Firefighter Safety and Survival, Pump Skills, and Pre -Plans. Additional training opportunities were offered during Rookie Training and Duty Crew, and for members of the Hazardous Materials Team and RAD Team. Sixty-five members participated in training activities during the month. The total number of hours spent on in-house and outside training activities was 472 — an average of over seven hours per participating member. Recruitment During the month of October, 70 paid -on-call firefighters served the City of Plymouth. One member left the department. We conducted second interviews and extended conditional offers to seven probationary firefighter candidates. Duty Crew The Duty Crew Program was in operation on all 22 weekdays during the month. Forty-five members participated in the program. In October, 89% of all shifts were fully staffed with four operational firefighters. A staffing summary for the month, by shift, is included below. Staffing: 0600-0900 0900-1200 1200-1500 1500-1800 1800-2100 5 Firefighters 14% 14% 0% 0% 14% 4 Firefighters 86% 86% 100% 95% 77% 3 Firefighters 0% 0% 0% 5% 9% No Staff 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% During the month of October, the Duty Crew operated on Saturdays, from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Only 50% of those shifts were fully staffed with at least four firefighters. 2 2-1 Plymouth Fire Department Public Education Programming October 2006 M, Programs Hours Station Tours 1 1 Birthday Club Bookmobile/Literacy Preschool Visits 5 5 K-6 Education 26 26 Career Talk/Nights Bike Helmet Sales Car Seat Check-ups 31 23 Assist North Memorial Smokebusters/Seniors 4 4 Smokebusters/Families 1 1 Ski Helmet Sales Adopt a Hydrant Block Parties Parades NNO Open Houses 1 8 Fire Ext. Training Business Safety Fairs Business Fire Drills 1 1 Pub. Ed Training 1 16 Pub. Ed Meetings 1 1 Literature Drops Diversity Outreach Misc. Programming Special Projects 2 4 Totals 74 90 M, 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 PLYMOUTH FIRE DEPARTMENT MONTHLY REPORT Calls by Time of Day ;00-0900 0900-1200 1200-1500 1500-1800 1800-2100 2100-0000 0000-0300 0300-0600 Oct -05 ® Oct -06 Events By Category Other 0% Fires Severe Weather 18% Overpressure/ 0% Explosions 2% False Alarms 32% Good Intent Calls 24% Rescue/EMS 8% Hazardous Conditions 9% Service Calls 9% 12/1/2006 �� 60 50 40 30 20 100 PLYMOUTH FIRE DEPARTMENT MONTHLY REPORT Station Comparison 16:48 14:24 12:00 9:36 7:12 4:48 2:24 0:00 1 2 3 Response Time for Emergency Calls $1,600,000 $1,350,000 $1,100,000 $850,000 $600,000 $350,000 $100,000 Duty Crew Not Duty Crew Fire Loss Summary Year -to -Date 1/1/05-10/31/05 1/1/06-10/31/06 12/1/2006 DUTY CREW STAFFING October 2006 :z,T 89% M. 05 Firefighters 04 Firefighters 03 Firefighters CALLS FOR SERVICE October 2006 28% 0 Duty Crew ............. ............. ............. r Non -Duty Crew f 72% -71 DUTY CREW STAFFING October 2006 Saturday Program no/ 13% 31% ® 5 Firefighters 0 4 Firefighters El 3 Firefighters ® 0 Firefighters CITY OF PLYMOUTH Police Department Montly Statistical Sumamry SUMMARY STATS WORKSHEET: October Total Calls 8, Officer Initiated - 5,366 (YTD - 55,857) 2005-5,144 Offensesubtotal ` TOTAL YTD Oct -05' Arson 2 14 0 Assault 28 270 27 2nd degree 1 3rd degree 0 4th degree 1 5th degree 9 domestic assault 13 terroristic threats 4 Attempt to evade taxation 1 8 0 Burglary 36 236 30 Apartment 1 Business 7 Garage 21 Home 4 Storage Locker/Area 1 Attempt (no entry made) 1 Other (School, vacant home) 1 Crime against family 2 22 2 Criminal sexual conduct 4 29 2 Criminal vehicular operation causing injury 0 2 1 Death investigation 0 47 1 Disorderly conduct 17 88 18 Driving after cancelation (GM only) 3 21 0 Drugs 23 149 17 cocaine 5 marijuana 9 methamphetamine 1 paraphernalia 5 prescription 0 other 3 DWI 13 182 12 Underage dk 8s dry (18-21) 2 14 0 Underage dk 8v dry (under 18) 0 5 1 Escape/fleeing officer 1 8 1 False information to police 5 33 3 Fighting on School Property 0 2 1 Forgery 6 59 9 Harassment 121 1121 7 33 CITY OF PLYMOUTH Police Department Montly Statistical Sumamry Offense subtotal ,;Total YTD Oct 05 Homicide 0 0 1 impersonating police officer 0 0 0 Interfere with emergency call 0 1 0 Juvenile alcohol offense 2 48 2 controlled substance 0 3 0 curfew 0 17 3 runaway 10 83 11 tobacco 0 7 1 Furnishing alcohol to underage - cc 0 12 1 Furnishing tobacco to underage - cc 1 4 6 Kidnapping incl depriveparental) 0 117 2 Leaving scene of accident (hit & run) 6 123 17 Liquor/underage consumption/ poss 8 78 5 Obscenity/ indecent exposure 4 27 2 Obstructing legal process 0 4 0 Possession stolen property 3 20 2 Criminal damage to property 37 428 46 Robbery 0 10 7 Solicitation 0 0 0 Theft general 41 service 4 identity 0 items/parts from MV 32 employee 0 shoplifitng 10 by check 2 by fraud/ swindle 9 mail 1 bicycle 1 100 1,059 129 Tampering with MV 2 14 0 Trespass 4 10 0 Unlawful deposit of garbage 6 8 2 Vehicle theft 6 52 8 Violation order for protection 5 56 5 Weapons 4 13 3 TOTAL 353 3,495 385 *NOTE - Many incidents involve multiple offenses. This list uses only the highest offense code for the incident. CITY OF PLYMOUTH Police Department Montly Statistical Sumamry ARRESTS Offense I TOTALI YTDj Oct -05 A rnit assault 11 94 7 attempt to evade taxation 1 5 0 burglary 0 8 0 conservation (fish without license) 0 1 0 crime against family 0 4 0 criminal sexual conduct 0 3 0 criminal vehicular op causing injury 0 22 0 driving after suspension (GM only) 2 25 0 disorderly conduct 4 20 3 drugs 19 131 10 DWI 12 172 13 Underage drinking 8. driving 2 18 0 escape/fleeing officer 1 6 2 false information 4 28 1 forgery 1 8 0 furnishing tobacco to underage 1 3 0 homicide 0 1 1 impersonating olice officer 0 1 0 interfere with emergency call 0 1 0 leaving scene of accident (hit & run) 2 18 0 Liquor/underage cons 14 191 5 obscenity/ indecent exposure 0 3 0 obstructing legal process 0 4 0 possession stolen property 1 7 3 Criminal damage to property 0 2 0 robbery 0 0 2 solicitation 0 0 0 tampering with motor vehicle 0 2 0 theft 6 65 10 trespass 0 2 0 unlawful deposit of garbage 0 0 0 vehicle theft 0 0 0 violation order for protection 0 12 2 warrant 26 234 1 weapons 0 31 0 TOTAL 107 1,094 60 '35, CITY OF PLYMOUTH Police Department Montly Statistical Sumamry -1- Offense TOTAL YTD °Oct -05 assault 6 54 5 burglary 1 5 2 criminal sexual conduct 0 0 0 disorderly conduct 9 53 13 false information to police 0 4 0 fighting on school property 0 4 2 harassment 0 0 0 indecent exposure 0 0 0 interfere with emergency call 0 0 1 leaving scene of accident hit & run) 0 2 0 possess altered DL 0 0 0 possess stolen property 0 6 0 Criminal damage to property 0 6 1 robbery 0 2 0 theft 3 38 3 trespass 2 4 0 underage drinking & driving 0 5 1 vehicle theft 0 0 0 warrant 0 8 2 weapons offense 0 8 1 alcohol 8 105 30 controlled substance 7 42 7 curfew 0 39 4 runaway 5 44 5 tobacco 01 13 1 TOTAL 411 442 78 CITY OF PLYMOUTH Police Department Montly Statistical Sumamry CITATIONS Offense YTD -05 Oct -OS' Speeding 457 4,008 275 Careless/ Reckless driving 1 29 0 Disobey signs or signals 37 321 0 Stop sign violation 16 253 44 Improper passing 5 101 5 Improper turning 0 53 8 Improper lane/wrong way/HOV 5 26 10 Fail to yield 15 70 4 Follow too closely 2 35 2 Improper/no signal 0 13 0 Open bottle 0 12 1 Defective/ improper equipment 31 261 4 Inattentive driving 14 87 16 Other hazardous violation 1 43 6 School bus stop arm violation 2 15 5 TOTAL 586 5,3271 380 Fire lane/hydrant parking violation 31 189 22 Snow removal parking violation 0 16 0 Other parking violation (2 to 5 a.m.) 161 1,162 58 Handicapped parking violation 2 88 12 Junk/abandoned vehicle 0 0 0 Other non-moving violation 0 14 0 TOTAL 194 1,469 92 Driving after suspension/ cancelation/ revocation 97 1,032 77 No DL 23 200 20 Other DL violation 36 294 19 Improper registration 57 804 47 Motorcycle endorsement requirement 1 12 0 Overwidth/overweight (truck) 1 18 0 Blocking & obstructing traffic 1 1 0 Leaky/unsecure load 3 21 0 Unreasonable acceleration 1 4 3 Other non -hazardous violation 5 47 1 Seat belts 53 424 26 Child restraints 1 9 0 No insurance 74 697 64 Crosswalk/fail to yield for pedestrian 1 7 0 TOTAL 354 3,570 257 CITY OF PLYMOUTH Police Department Montly Statistical Sumamry ACCTDF.NTS Offense TOTAL YTD Oct -05 Fatal 0 3 0 PI 8 74 18 pD 74 771 90 TOTAL 821 8481 108 MTGCELLANEOUS ITEMS Animal calls 87 759 Disturbance (domestic, noise, unwanted person) 105 934 Medical/welfare check 41 473 Suspicious actions/persons 70 633 TOTAL 3031 2,799 CITY OF PLYMOUTH 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD, PLYMOUTH, MN 55447 DATE: December 8, 2006 TO: Plymouth City Council WA FROM: Barbara Senness, Planning Manager SUBJECT: Population Increases at the Hennepin County Adult Correctional Facility (ACF) For the past three months, the population at the ACF has exceeded the approved 601 limit. The attached memo indicates that the overage in November was substantial at 47. In mid 1995, the City approved a conditional use permit for the ACF that limited their inmate population to 601. At that time there was significant local concern over potential increases in the population at the County facility. The 601 figure was based on what the County identified in their Master Plan as an upper limit. In the late 1990's, City staff identified an overcrowding problem at the men's facility. At that time, the County had set up cots in non -cell areas for the overflow population. This arrangement posed a fire safety hazard and led the City to turn over the responsibility (and related liability) for fire inspections to the State Fire Marshall's office. Since that time, the City has been receiving monthly population reports from the County. As reflected in the attached memo, for the most part, the population has remained within the 601 limit since 1998. Staff will be contacting the County about the recent increases and any associated safety concerns and report our results. 31 DATE: December 5, 2006 TO: Laurie Ahrens, City Manager FROM: Barbara Senne� Planning Manager SUBJECT: Hennepin County Adult Correctional Facility (HCACF) Population Report Hennepin County Community Corrections staff has submitted their monthly report on average daily population for the month of November, 2006. The average daily population reported for the Plymouth facility was 648, which exceeds the occupancy limit of 601 set by the Conditional Use Permit. The figures for September and October, 612 and 618, respectively, also exceeded the limit. I reviewed the numbers over the last year and found that the increases appear to stem from 1) an increase in both the men's and women's counts and 2) an increase in the men's section population and work release beds, both from outside sources (e.g. Department of Corrections, Wright County). As I noted in the last report, staff will contact Hennepin County about what measures they will take to address this matter. The chart below shows the average monthly population since we began receiving reports in June of 1998.