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Council Information Memorandum 04-17-1998
0 APRIL 17, 1998 1. COUNCIL MEETING SCHEDULE. NOTE: Ward 1 Councilmember Tim Bildsoe meets with residents and receives their comments in the Administration Library, beginning at 6:00 PM before each Regular Council meeting. APRIL 22, 6:00 PM SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING TO REVIEW CITY CENTER STREETSCAPE PLANS, Council Chambers APRIL 22, 7:00 PM MAY 6, 7: 00 PM 2. FRI., APRIL 17 — SUN., APRIL 19 3. MONDAY, APRIL 20, 7:00 PM 4. TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 7: 00 PM S. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 22, 7: 00 PM BOARD OF REVIEW (RECONVENED), Council Chambers REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers PLYMOUTH FINE ARTS COUNCIL PRIMA VERA ARTS FESTIVAL, City Hall. Entertainment schedule is attached. (M-2) SPECIAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION MEETING, Medicine Lake Room CHARTER COMMISSION —DISCUSSION OF POSSIBLE ALTERNATIVES TO SUPERMAJORITY ISSUE, Public Safety Training Room. PACT, Hadley Lake Room 1. CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION MEMO April 17, 1998 6. THURSDAY, APRIL 30, S: 00 PM -8:00 PM 7. TUESDAY, MAY S, 7: 00 P.M. PUBLIC INFORMATION MEETING ON CITY CENTER STREETSCAPE PLAN, Center Ice Arena, Plymouth Ice Center PLANNING COMMISSION, Council Chambers This Meeting was previously scheduled for April 28th.) 8.. MEETING CALENDARS April and May calendars are attached. (M-8) 1. NEWS ARTICLES, RELEASES, PUBLICATIONS, ETC. a) AMM and LMC Fax News. (I -]a) b) Fiscal Focus - from Minnesota Taxpayers Association(1-lb) c) Materials provided by Mayor Tierney regarding Omnibus Tax Bill and Transportation funding (I -1c) 2. MINUTES a) Minutes of the March 18`h, I-494 Corridor Commission Meeting. (1--2a) b) Minutes from the Suburban Transit Association Meeting on March 19. (I --2b) c) Minutes from Communities in Collaboration Council - March 12. (I -2c) d) Minutes from the Bassett Creek Water Mgmt. Commission, March 19. (I -2d) e) Minutes from Park & Rec. Advisory Commission Meeting, April 9. (I -2e) 3. CITIZEN COMMUNICATIONS POLICY— CORRESPONDENCE A status report on the most recent correspondence is attached. (1-3) a) Response to petition for a walkway on 36`h Avenue from Pilgrim Lane to Zachary Lane. (I -3a) b) Letter from Arthur Fretag regarding his property classification. Response from City Assessor Nancy Bye is also attached. (I -3b) CITY COUNCIL INFORMATION MEMO April 17, 1998 4. COUNCIL ITEMS a) Letter to Ron Moorse, City Administrator of Orono requesting a joint Council Meeting regarding the Ferndale Road project written by Dwight Johnson (1--4a) S. CORRESPONDENCE a) Letter from Innsbruck Investment, Inc. D.B.A. Cub Foods Plymouth expressing their concern regarding a Interim Use Permit for the sale of produce and flowers by Untiedts Vegetable Farm (I -5a) b) Thank You from Interfaith Outreach and Community Partners for all the hours of service and an invitation to a Luncheon on Monday, April 27`h or Tuesday, April 28`h at the IOCP Conference Room. (I -Sb) c) Letter from Judy Sventek, Watershed Coordinator for the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services Division (MCES) advising of recently appointed watershed coordinators and their assigned geographic areas. (I --5c) d) Letter from Thomas C McElveen, Deputy Director of Housing, Development, Implementation requesting that local communities submit draft copies of their comprehensive plans to the Council at the same time they submit them to adjoining governmental units. (I -5d) e) Invitation from Riverside Bank to their grand opening of their Plymouth branch office (I -5e) Report from West Suburban Mediation Center reporting on first quarter closed cases for residents. (I -5f) n1- Second Annual Entertainment Schedule Friday 5-8 p.m. Opening Reception 5:00 - 6:45 Mike Bond, pianist 7:00 - 7:30 Official Welcome and Presentation by Plymouth Mayor joy Tierney 7:30 - 8:00 Plymouth Westside Players Saturday 10 a.m.-4 p.m. 10:30-11:00 Youth Ballet of Minnetonka 11:30-12:00 Claudia Rudolph, classical pianist 12:30-1:00 Plymouth Westside Players 1:30-2:00 Plymouth Rockers 2:30-3:00 Marie jeannotte-Cur, soloist/pianist Sunday 12 noon -4 p.m. 12:30 -1:00 Ann Sterosta, pianist 1:30 -2:00 Plymouth Recorder Ensemble 2:30 - 3:00 Plymouth Westside Players 3:15-3:45 AWARDS PRESENTATION PLYMOUTH� • FINE ARTS COUNCIL 0 H v W he CCS H PbN� V/r1`^v l00 -NN rl '3 b_rr d • .-i ami cC$i a °' L' O a gNaUv=i rn CL z o_ V go; g 3 V 96 jw96 co C,3 rs;' d a yyaI C13 z_v o r ta $OQh {L ANN LL.Qn j�Nw+y�y ado$ PbN� a �+V7J' oG YYY 444... ZhCC gxUHa v N T ' 9 C O 3 � t to q Q rl � r k)� � m 'n2}� � C13 C |s § 2\/ u$ g � � ! ! § 8 �- ! �§. (.CA CD ƒ § gu3 Ln § kc � §\\$ 0 �f� o}�§ c §��§ )� a o u2�u |f� � / 2 � c � ) . - � r From: AMM To: Dwight Johnson AMM FAX NEWS DTED Reminder: f your city entered into a business agreement between July 1, 1995 and Dec. 31, 1997, and provided assistance to the business, you must submit a com- pleted Minnesota Business Assistance Form by Wednesday, April 15, 1998. If you have questions, call the Department of Trade & Economic Development (DTED) at 297-2335. AM�Ilfax�'ewsil�Ap�e►i�ita��tea9,4�'ldty manyenanidbiaiffratan. the i11ft,60 if 111mied t® le fhired Ath ma/- ers, (®andianifural miertokW f da* Are, fft afimparMllt lli&i dly iffier © Apymiwy 1hff i4fOnirmlIfAymeNert ft pall, Aliff7012044 Td AAW 25-44V fax 207-72yy &M. ams(vosf4fer1 Date: 4/13198 Time: 4:49:02 PM April 13-17, 1998 Page 2 of 2 as Association of Metropolitan Municipalities AMM seeks TAB candidates Due to a recent resignation of a city official from the Transportation Advisory Board (TAB), the AMM Board is seek- ing candidates to fill the position. Candidates must be a mayor or councilmember. The TAB is an important transportation related advisory board which provides input to the Metropolitan Council and the Minnesota Department of Trans- portation (MnDot). The group usually meets monthly on the third Wednesday of the month at 2 p.m. However, in May, the TAB will meet on the last Wednesday (May 27) and the last Wednesday in July (July 22). Nominations for the vacancy are solicited from all parts of the metro region. In considering the nomination, the AMM Board will consider such factors as gender, geogra- phy, city size and relevant experi- ence. Nominations with a brief re- sume should be sent to Gene Ranieri by Friday, May 1, 1998 at 145 University Ave. W., St. Paul, MN 55103. They may also be faxed at 281-1299. Other AMM city officials serving on the TAB include: ♦ Charlie Crichton (Burnsville) ♦ Dale Gustafson (Brooklyn Pk) ♦ Bill Hargis (Woodbury) ♦ Jean Harris (Eden Prairie) ♦ Gary Humphrey (Apple Valley) ♦ Paul Malone (Arden Hills) ♦ Julie Newton (Coon Rapids) ♦ Terry Schneider (Minnetonka) ♦ Barb Johnson (Minneapolis) If you have questions, please call the AMM at 215-4000. AMM Annual Meeting set for May 21 Sen. Hottinger to address state, local relationship he AMM Annual Meeting will be held Thursday, May 21, 1998 at the Sheraton Midway Hotel. A social hour will kick off the evening at 5:30 p.m., with dinner and the business meeting to follow. The agenda includes a legisla- tive report of the 1998 Session and the election of new Board members and officers. Sen. John Hottinger (DFL - Mankato) will be the keynote speaker. He will comment on the state and local relationship and other issues such as redevelop- ment, corporate subsidy and property tax reform. A more detailed meeting notice and program agenda will be mailed to all AMM members in early May. APR 10 '98 01:08PM LEAGUE OF MN CITIES P.1 �...�� •� ''moi. FRIDAYFAX =� APR 17 '98 11:13AM LEAGUE OF MN CITIES -T P.1 1 ----.FRIDA Y Ax ----- Vol. 3, No. 16 A weekly legislative update from the League of Minnesota Cities April 17, 1998 Special session announced Barely a week after the end of the 1998 regular legislative session, the governor called a special session for Monday to discuss several issues that were unresolved during the 1998 regular session. The main issue re- lates to a bill that died during the regu- lar session that would have clarified state law to allow businesses to sue other businesses for fraud in disputed transactions under Minnesota's Uni- form Commercial Code. The bill is in- tended to address ambiguity in state law that has surrounded the Marvin Windows Corporation lawsuit against another company. The other issues that will likely re- ceive legislative consideration are funding for child abuse prevention, early childhood and family education, funding for economic development projects, and $5 million for affordable housing. During the regular session, the governor vetoed the omnibus fam- ily and early childhood education pro- grams supplemental appropriation bill and the omnibus jobs, housing and economic development bill that had in- cluded funding for housing. The gov- ernor has reportedly agreed to con- sider a second bill that could address the housing issue. Once the special session is con- vened, the Legislature can technically introduce and pass legislation on any issue. However, the governor and leg- islative leaders have apparently worked out a compromise that in - eludes the Marvin Windows bill, and a bill that includes no more than $12 million in appropriations for other childhood and housing issues. The balance of the legislation from the 1998 regular session has not been acted on by the governor. He has until April 27 to decide whether to sign or veto all bills passed during the last three days of the session. in- cluded in those bills are the omnibus tax bill, the bonding bill, and the K-12 education finanoe bill. He can also line -item veto specific items of appro- priation from bills. Most notably, this could affect the outcome of the bond- ing bill. LEAGUE OF �AI'IV1rsOTA CITIES L `slativ ' ' f Sessions "Dangerous Ding" "Unicameral Le0slaWe" "Reverse Referendum" "Ekli W met Comm" "Banning Local Government LobbOsb" Ever wonder what happened to the hundreds of bills processed through the legislative hopper this session? We've got the answers to these and other bills affecting our cities and communities. The LMC Intergovernmental Relations staff will hold five legislative review sessions on April 24, and April 27-30 to help city officials weed through the outcomes of the 1998 Legislatttrc. illlw6eift"awlip ss Registration will begin at 3:30 p.m.: meetings will begin promptly at 4 p.m. and end at 6 p.m. Registration for the April 24 meeting at the League Building will start at 8 a.m.; the meeting is from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. 1. Friday. April 24 in the 1st floor St. Croix Room at the League Building in St. Paul, 145 University Avenue. This will be a joint meeting with the Association of Metropolitan Municipalities (AMM). 2. Monday, April 27 in Rochester at the Olmsted County/City of Rochester Government Center, 701 4th Street SE. The meeting will be in the City Council cbamber/board room (enter by the middle door of the building between City Hall and the County building). 3. Tuesday, April 28 in Montevideo at the Hotel Hunt, 207 No. First St. 4. Weduesday, April 29 in Detroit Lakes at the Holiday Lin, I lighway 10 East. 5. Thursday, April 30 in Hibbing at the Hibbing Park Hotel, 1102 E. Howard (corner of Howard and U.S. 1.69). This meeting is in conjunction with the RAMS board meeting. At 6:30 p.m. RAMS will hold a discussion of able commutricat+on in the future of telecommunication in northeast Minnesota. Registration is $10; advance payment is not required but seating is limited. To receive a registration form, call the LMC Fax library at (612) 215-4039 and request document 64030. Please contact Mary Diedrich at (612) 281-1.259 or Doni Mikacevich at (611) 281-1261 if you have any questions. _ Fiscal Focus Our Goal is Fiscal Responsibility February 1998 Volume XXIV No. 2 transportation Funding—a Brief Primer Background Through most of this century, Minnesota has relied primarily on two taxes to fund the construction and mainte- nance of highways, the motor vehicle registration tax and the motor fuels excise tax. The motor vehicle registration tax is the older of the two, having been a part of Minnesota law since 1911, when the legislature enacted a $1.50 regis- tration tax per vehicle. Though it was initially a regulatory tax, it quickly became a significant source of revenue for the state as more and more people bought cars. Today the tax is assessed in lieu of personal property taxes, which were eliminated in the late 1960s for all non -business taxpayers and in the early 1970s for all businesses except public utilities. Passenger cars, trucks, and vans which use public streets and highways are annually assessed the tax at $10 plus 1.25% of a base vehicle value (the manufacturer's suggested retail price with no optional features). The value declines with the age of the vehicle, but the minimum registration tax is $35. Commercial vehicles are assessed the tax based on the type, weight, and age of the vehicle, with a minimum tax for each vehicle type. The motor fuels tax (mostly applied to gasoline, but also to diesel and other special fuels) was imposed begin- ning in 1925 at 2 cents per gallon. The state gasoline tax today is 20 cents per gallon. This was the median rate for the 50 states and DC as of last August, according to the Commerce Clearing House State Tax Guide, between Con- necticut's 36 cents and New York's 8 cents per gallon. Minnesota's gas tax was last increased effective May 1, 1988, from 17 cents to the current 20 cents. (The federal gas tax adds an additional 18.4 cents per gallon, but is not further discussed in this article.) Both of these taxes are based on a user fee concept, namely, that the users of the services (in this case, those who drive on highways) pay for the service (through the tax on vehicles and the fuel to operate them). The registration tax for passenger cars has less of a connection to the use of the highways than the gas tax, since there is no difference in the tax based on how frequently the vehicle is driven on public roads. The commercial vehicle registration tax is--• higher for heavier vehicles as a way to compensate for the increased wear and tear of the highways that heavier vehi- cles cause, but the bulk of this tax can be viewed as dedicated to certain fixed and recurring costs of highway maintenance rather than to level of use. The gas tax is more closely tied to the level of use, since it is paid on each gallon of gas consumed, but even it is not perfectly corre- lated with use. It is true that the heavier a vehicle is and the more miles a vehicle travels, the more gasoline will be consumed and the more tax will be paid. However, studies have shown that the increased tax does not fully compen- (Continued on page 2) Distribution of Highway Mileage, Vehicle Miles, and User Taxes by Type of System 11,955 8.9% 27,792 60.7% 60.3% 45,362 33.8% 10,806 23.6% 28.4% 17,620 13.1% 6,156 13.4% 8.9% 56,180 41.9% 1,023 2.2% 2.3% 3,089 2.3% 41 0.1% — 134,206 100.0% 45.821 100.0% 100.0% FISCAL FOCUS Vol. XXIV, No. 2 February 1998 From Rising and local govemmer reluctant to raise loca Director... ierty Taxes... Right Diagnosis—Wrong Medicine likes rising property taxes, especially, legislators facing re-election. So this year's House Bill modifies the current 10% limit on market value gro1 1,wth, replacing the 10% cap with a ed on `the rate of inflation, extending the `limit to al classes of property, and eliminating the .ton that brings limited values up to the assessor's "full marketvalue" over four years. Under values remain capped until properties are sold, at which time they are brought up to her corrupt the property tax system .with mor Aassification system with anew, random fora ty tax is automatically shifted to those with les twenty years ago. Owners of identical propel ,rences reflecting the length of tenure of the c on personal freedom. People who stay put p� Auld do nothing to reduce property tax levies. I dem. Values serve only one purpose=that's tl ng with valuations. Worse, this valuation del ack to the business of doing real reform, deli ilities, and compressing classification rates oters will more likely oppose them. (Continued from page 1) sate for the greater maintenance requirements of heavier and more frequently driven vehicles.' Distribution Consistent with the user fee concept, motor vehicle registration and gaso- line taxes are dedicated to the Highway User Tax Distribution Fund (HUTDF) by Article XV of the Minnesota Constitution. The distribution of most of the dedicated money is also provided for in the constitution. Using the Fiscal Year 2000 forecasts for motor vehicle registration and motor fuels taxes of $1.107 billion, the flow chart on the next page shows how the money from the HUTDF is distributed. (The table on page 1 shows the distribution by type of highway compared to vehicle miles traveled.) 1998 Legislative Action Though there have been no increases in the gas tax since 1988, there has been no shortage of attempts to raise the tax, usually to 25 cents per gallon. The consensus seems to be that our road and bridge infrastructure is definitely in need of additional dollars. However, an ongoing disagreement between non -metropolitan areas (which want more highway funding) and metropolitan areas (which want more money for transit), along with a general reluctance to raise any tax, have worked to block increases from passing or being signed by the Governor. This year, the attempt to increase the tax was not even made, since a gasoline tax increase in the face of a $1.9 billion surplus would be very difficult to justify to voters, especially with an election for House members only a few months away. ' "Minnesota Highway User Taxes: Issues and Alternatives" by Thomas F. Pogue, Univer- sity of IA, in Final Report of the Minnesota Tax Study Commission Vol II, p. 189, 1986. (Continued on page .3) February 1998 FISCAL FOCUS Vol XXIV No 2 There has been an attempt this year to allocate more money to highway and transit spending, with the added incen- tive of providing matching funds for many more federal dollars that appear likely to be available once the federal transportation bill is passed later this spring. House File 3265, introduced by Rep. Sharon Marko, (DFL, Newport) and its companion Senate File 3046, introduced by Senator R. C. Kelly (DFL, St. Paul), proposed a constitutional amendment to establish a Transportation Trust Fund using all revenues from motor vehicle license taxes (now constitutionally dedi- cated to the HUTDF) and 20% of revenue from the 6.5% motor vehicle sales tax (currently going into the general fund). Though there was no gas tax increase in either bill, they specified transportation spending goals of $500 million per fiscal year (FY) from the trunk highway fund by FY 2002 for construction and reconstruction of trunk highways with the specific purpose of providing more state money to match federal funds. Spending goals were also set for transit, with a goal of $32 million per year outside the seven -county metro area (split $15 million and $17 million on capital improve- ments and operating assistance respectively) and $92 million per year in the metro area (split $32 million and $60 million for the same categories). (Continued on page 4) MENNESOTA Periodical Postage Q� Paid St. Paul MN 85 East Seventh Place Suite 250 St. Paul MN 55101 Robert Kenner Attorney At law Messerli & Kramer 145 University Avenue W Suite 450 St -Paul.- MN 55103-2044 FISCAL FOCUS Vol. XXIV No. 2 February 1998 (Continued from page 3) The Senate passed SF 3046 on the floor by a vote of 65-0 on March 18. Before passage, the bill was stripped of all but a proposed constitutional amendment to dedicate 25% of the sales tax on motor vehicles to a Surface Trans- portation Fund. Money from this fund can be spent for any state surface transportation purpose. The House bill keeps the 100% dedication of motor vehicle registration taxes, the 20% of the sales tax on motor vehicles, and the spending goals language. It passed both the House Transportation and Tax Committees and has been referred to Ways and Means as of this writing, in the form of the House version of SF 3046. The Transportation Conference Committee report revised the 5% of the HUTDF not constitutionally desig- nated, so that the entire 5% goes to the county state -aid fund, rather than as diagramed on page 3 from 19891egisla- tion. From there it is put into a flexible account for county and city turnbacks and for regular trunk highway projects. The report also provides for an additional $40 million for state road construction and an additional $6.8 million for design and construction engineering. The conference com- mittee finished its work March 16, but as of this writing, at 4 least 3 of the 5 House conferees are unwilling to sign the conference committee report. The cotlerence agreement may need to be opened again for further consideration. At least one of the conferees feels the new formula for the 5% of the HUTDF subject to some legislative discretion is not constitutional because it would vary over the next six years instead of remaining constant. One final note: the House has approved as part of its bonding bill (IF 3843) $56 million for light/commuter rail projects, primarily along the Hiawatha Avenue corri- dor. The Senate bonding bill (SF 3388) includes $40 mil- lion for that project. Both of these amounts are responses to proposed new matching federal funds for transit in the federal transportation bill mentioned earlier. The Governor has indicated his tentative support, if operating funding will not impact property taxes in the metropolitan area. For the fust time in many years, a light rail project has a serious possibility of proceeding toward construction. This gives a certain immediacy to the problem of operating funds for light rail, and gives the proposed constitutional amendment a greater visibility and likelihood of passing, though there is still no certainty that it will. fur 151T ce CITY OF PLYMOUTH 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD, PLYMOUTH, MN 55447 DATE: April 17, 1998 TO: Plymouth City Councilmembers FROM: Mayor Joy Tierney Subject: Information of Interest Received at Two of This Week's Meetings I am passing along to you two pieces of information that were handed out at two meetings I attended this past week. The one on Transportation Funding came from the Suburban Transit Association meeting on Wednesday. The summary of the Omnibus Tax.Bill was put together by the League of Minnesota Cities staff for Thursday's monthly meeting. This is strickly FYI. Omnibus tax bill Chapter 389 (HF3840/SF2985) DRAFT SUMMARY- April 16, 1998 Governor's action pending Levy limits Levy limits will be imposed for one more year on all counties and on cities with populations over 2,500 with the exception of St. Peter. Levy limits will be calculated in the same manner as last year with growth factors for inflation and household growth, except that an additional adjustment will be made for increases in market value due to construction of new commercial and industrial properties. In addition, levies for property tax abatements may be counted as special levies outside the levy limit calculation. The Commissioner of Revenue will notify cities and counties of their allowable levy limits by August 1st. Class rate changes The 1998 tax bill continued the class rate compression begun by the 1997 tax bill. As the table below shows, commercial, industrial, utility, and apartment property received the greatest reductions in their property class rates. The class rate compression will cause a shift of property tax burden from these classes of property onto homesteads. The bill includes many mechanisms to mitigate these shifts. Four different education levies are decreased approximately $80 million dollars. The education homestead credit established last year is increased from 32% of the school general education levy with a maximum credit of $225 in 1998 to 68 percent up to a maximum of $320 for taxes payable in 1999 and 69 percent up to a maximum of $335 in 2000. Cities and counties will also receive additional aid, described below. State aid programs In addition to the current law annual inflationary increase in LGA, cities will receive $3 million a year of new LGA. The pool will increase to $380.5 million in 1999, approximately $13 million more than in 1998. Jurisdictions in the metropolitan area will also receive increases in HACA in the year 2000 to partially offset the decrease in the fiscal disparities pool due to class rate compression. The legislature did not address Local Performance Aid this year. Because the $1 million increase in the aid last year was a one-time appropriation, the total 1999 LPA will be less than in 1998. A new low-income housing aid is established for cities that lose more than 2.5 percent of their tax capacity due to conversion of existing apartment buildings to the new 4d low-income housing property class. The aid will equal the amount of lost tax revenue due to conversion. After 3 years this aid is folded into the city's LGA base. A separate aid program is established for apartments constructed after January 1, 1999 that qualify for the 4d class. This aid will go to all cities where qualify property is built. Rebate Included in the tax bill was another $500 million property tax rebate for homeowners and renters. The rebate is essentially the same as last year, with qualifiers applying for the rebate on their 1998 income tax returns based upon their 1998 property taxes. New this year is a rebate limit of $1,500. This limit will only affect homes valued in excess of approximately $350,000. Homestead <$75,000 1 % 1 % 1 % Homestead >$75,000 2 1.85 1.7 Qualifying low income rental various rates from 2.0 to 3.4 various rates from 1.9 to 2.9 1 Single -unit rental <$75,000 2.3 1.9 1.25 Single -unit rental >$75,000 2.3 2.1 1.7 2-3 unit rental 2.3 2.1 1.7 4+ unit rental 3.4 2.9 2.5 Commercial/industrial <$150,000 3 2.7 2.45 Commercial/industrial >$150,000 and utility 4.6 4 3.5 Cabins <$75,000 1.5 1.4 1.25 Cabins >$75,000 2.5 2.5 12.2 Education homestead credit %/maximum none 32%/ $225 68%/ 1$320 *This change was included in the 1997 tax bill but was not effective until taxes payable in 1999 Truth in Taxation hearings Beginning this fall, the first and second Mondays of December are reserved for cities' TNT hearings. If a city wishes to claim these dates, the city must notify the county by September 15. The initial hearing date for all counties is moved from the second Tuesday to the first Thursday in December, the initial hearing date of the metropolitan special taxing districts from the first Monday to the first Wednesday of December, and the continuation date of the metropolitan special taxing districts from the second Monday to the Second Wednesday of December. Corrections for HACA errors Effective beginning with taxes payable in 1999, taxing jurisdictions may apply to the commissioner of revenue to recertify final levies if the levy was incorrect due to a taxing 0 jurisdiction error in deducting HACA on the levy certification form. The commissioner must receive the request by January 2 and must notify the jurisdiction of any change' allowed by January 15. The taxing jurisdiction must publish the revised levy and examples of tax impact of the change in the official newspaper. In the recent past, several cities have incorrectly certified their levies. Prior to this law, the only recourse was special legislation to authorize the increase. Senior citizens' property tax deferral program The bill changes the application procedure for participation in the senior citizen property tax deferral program established last year. Rather than requiring that participants apply for the deferral annually, participants are only required to annually certify by July 1 that they still meet the $30,000 income limit. Penalties are established for failure to notify the department if the income limit is exceeded. Other technical and notification changes are made. Sales tax exemptions Despite growing support among legislators, we were again unsuccessful in reinstating the sales tax exemption for local government purchases. The tax bill does include a minor exemption for all purchases made by public libraries. Local sales taxes Included in the bill are authorizations for 1/z percent local general sales taxes for Rochester, Owatonna, Hutchinson, Two Harbors, Winona, Bemidji, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, and the St. Cloud area cities of Sartell, Sauk Rapids, St. Joseph, Waite Park and St. Cloud. The taxes are subject to local voter approval. The proceeds for these local taxes are earmarked for a variety of projects of regional benefit and the taxes will sunset when bonds are paid off for the projects. The bill also includes a requirement that any city requesting authority for a local sales ,• tax in the future must first adopt a resolution indicating its approval of the tax and the proposed rate of the tax, the uses of the revenues, the total revenues to be raised, and the estimated length of time that the tax will be in effect. State budget reserve Any surplus from the November 1998 budget forecast is to be allocated to the following: First, the state budget reserve is to be increased to $622 million; Second, $200 million is placed in an account for future tax reform and reductions; Third, $400 million is to be used to pay cash rather than issuing bonds for capital projects authorized by the 1998 bonding bill. SCORE tax The moratorium on the collection of SCORE (solid waste) tax that was included in the 1997 tax bill has been extended one more year through the end of 1997 and expanded to include the sales tax and solid waste management service charges for all political subdivisions. The original moratorium was limited to use taxes only. Corporations created by political subdivisions Nonprofit and for-profit corporations created by local units of government were temporarily permitted to continue to operate as if they had been authorized under state law. A 1997 law change prohibited the future creation of corporations by local governments. A state auditor review of a Brown County corporation raised questions about the validity of previously created entities. The temporary grandfather expires July 1, 1999. In addition, cities and other political subdivisions are required to report to the state auditor by October 15, 1998 on all nonprofit or for-profit corporations created by the subdivision. The auditor will send a letter and forms to all subdivisions requesting this information. The auditor then must report the findings to the 1999 legislature and make recommendations for changing statute as it relates to corporations created by political subdivisions. Any corporation that does not report will be prohibited from receiving public funds or contracting with public entities after July 1, 1999. This reporting requirement is designed to inform the auditor and legislature about what corporations exist and what controls they have in place to ensure the proper use of public funds. This provision replaces a temporary "grandfather" provision in 1998 Laws Chapter 360, which also ratifies the existence of the nonprofit corporation created by Brown County. BAT study The bill appropriates $100,000 for a legislative study of the business activities tax (BAT) concept as a potential alternative to current business taxes. Flood provisions The bill establishes an aid program for counties that sustained significant losses in tax base as a result of the 1997 floods, grants temporary local government aid increases to East Grand Forks and Warren for 1998 and 1999, and provides a state guarantee of federal disaster loans to Ada and East Grand Forks. I494 Corridor Commission/JPO Meeting Minutes of Wednesday, March 18,1998 I. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 8:55 am by Chair Ross Thorfinnson and introductions were made around the table. Those in attendance were: Ross Thorfinnson, Eden Prairie City Council Dave Lindahl, City of Eden Prairie Barb Senness, City of Plymouth Lisa Raduenz, LJR, Inc. Jim Hovland,City of Edina Alan Gray, City of Eden Prairie Jill Schultz, JMS Communications Joy Tierney, City of Plymouth Mike Opatz, City of Maple Grove Russ Susag, City of Richfield Clarence Shalbetter, Metropolitan Council II. Review of Minutes. Minutes from the February 11, 1998 meeting of the I-494 Corridor Commission were reviewed. Motion to approve the meeting minutes was made by Lindahl with a second by Susag. Motion carried. Minutes from the February 27,1998 Special Meeting of the I- 494 Corridor Commission were reviewed. Motion to approve the meeting minutes was made by Senness with a second by Opatz. Motion carried. III. Other Business. Raduenz reported on the March 3rd meeting between the City of Eden Prairie and MnDOT over possible TDM and facility improvements for Supervalu. A letter has been sent by Supervalu to the City which indicates that Supervalu will participate at "some financial level" in a partnership with Eden Prairie and MnDOT to install a HOV ramp meter bypass northbound at Valleyview Rd. and I-494 in addition to a traffic signal at Valleyview Rd. and the entrance to the Supervalu campus. Raduenz is meeting with Supervalu representatives on March 31st to assist them in developing a TDM Plan for submittal to MnDOT. Len Simich of Southwest Metro will also work with Supervalu to determine how best Southwest Metro can assist Supervalu in TDM and transit efforts and will also be in attendance at the March 31st meeting. More information on this initiative will be shared with Commission members as work progresses. In Lee's absence Raduenz also reported on the presentation made by Lee and Raduenz at the February 26, 1998 meeting of the Executive Committee of the Bloomington Chamber of Commerce. Raduenz indicated that Lee did an excellent job in outlining the past history of the 494 corridor, and both were well-received by the Chamber's Board. Many questions were asked of Lee and Raduenz with regard to construction schedules of 494, queuing at ramp meter bypass locations and ring road issues. LRT was also brought up by the group during the discussion. The Chamber agreed to develop a resolution of support for the I-494 Corridor Commission to take to Washington D.C. during the Transportation Alliance Fly -In, and the Executive Director of the group, Don Groen, also offered his assistance in bringing together other local Chambers within the Commission boundaries to discuss transportation issues and concerns. Raduenz told the group that they would be notified of the future planned "Transportation Tour" in the Spring of 1998. Raduenz reported on the Transit Providers Subcomittee meeting held of February 19, 1998 at Eden Prairie City Hall. She indicated that a survey of employers of 100+ employees will be distributed by the group via mail that requests information on the number of employees at corridor commission city facility locations, shift times, if possible home origin points by shift times and any other pertinent information needed to obtain work trip data for the Commission's 1998 work plan products. Lindahl mentioned that the McKnight Foundation is also looking at linkages between jobs, daycare and transportation and have funded a $200,000 pilot project that includes many of the Corridor Commission's member cities within its boundaries. He encouraged Raduenz to contact Jeff Harden, the consultant working on the effort, to determine if there are any possibilities in working together on the employer survey. Raduenz had already heard of this effort and had made preliminary contacts through Kate Garwood of Southwest Metro, who also is working on Hardens committee. More information on this initiative will be forthcoming in future reports. Tierney reported on her successful trip to the Minnesota Transportation Alliance Fly-In, held in Washington, D.C. March 10 through 12,1998 (Raduenz was ill and unable to attend the Fly-In at the last minute). Tierney met with about 60 other attendees on Tuesday and Wednesday before returning to the Twin Cities Wednesday evening. Senator Wellston briefly addressed the group at breakfast on Wednesday morning, as did Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater. Both Wellston and Senator Grams believe that the BESTEA effort will pass by its deadline of May 15t (BESTEA passed the Senate while the Minnesota delegation was in Washington, D.C.) of this year. Raduenz asked if anyone else had read the article about the group's meetings in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on Thursday, March 12? Susag indicated that he had read about the progress of BESTEA funding made by Congressman Oberstar in a recent publication and would mark it for the group. (Hovland came in at this point in the meeting) Raduenz updated the group on the latest happenings at the State Capitol with regard to transportation funding. During the week of March 161h, the Senate was meeting in full session extensively, while the House was primarily meeting in full session. A bonding bill was passed on March 12th in the House, according to Raduenz, which included $34 million for local Twin Cities bridges, and $56 million for the development of transit ways including the Hiawatha corridor. The Senate capital bonding bill was passed on March 5 and included $56 million for transitways and commuter rail, $31 million for local bridges, and other dollars for statewide projects. The Senate plans to use more general fund dollars to finance the capital budget, according to Raduenz, while the House proposes to bond for more of the projects, in the amount of approximately $680 million. The main transportation funding bill in the House, HF 3625, authored by Rep. Sharon Marko, was to be heard in the House Taxes Committee during the week. This bill establishes a new multi-modal fund by undedicating vehicle registration fees and rededicating 20% of MVET. The companion bill in the Senate, SF 3046 authored by Sen. Carol Flynn, passed out of Senate Rules Committee on March 13. It constitutionally dedicates 25% of the sales tax on motor vehicles (MVET) to a multi-modal fund. The bill is to be heard on the floor next week. Senness asked the I-494 Corridor Commission to sponsor a half day session sometime in May 1998 that has to do with transit issues (agenda not yet confirmed) to be put on by the Sensible Land Use Coalition. Her request in the amount of $100 was moved by Lindahl, with a second by Tierney and the motion was approved. Raduenz told Senness that she would request a check in the amount of $100 from Craig Larson, the Commission Treasurer, made out to "Sensible Land Use Coalition" and have it mailed to Senness shortly. Chair Thorfinnson reported that he and Raduenz met with Attorney General Skip Humphrey for lunch on Feburary 191h in St. Paul. He indicated that the gubernatorial candidate was "well prepared" and "very interested in what the transportation community had to say". Thorfinnson stated that he thinks it is important for transportation representatives to also meet with other candidates, especially Norm Coleman, to hear their views regarding future transportation policy and funding issues. Raduenz has sent a letter to Coleman requesting a meeting to discuss issues and has not yet received a response. L ndahl asked if the Commission should contact Senator Flynn, Chair of the Senate Transportation Committee? Raduenz indicated that she had already been in contact with Flynn's staff and that they had asked that the Commission not meet this year during the short bonding session if the group's concerns were not immediate. IV. Treasurer's Report. In Larson's absence, Raduenz reported that all cities have paid 1997 membership dues, according to Larson. Larson also told Raduenz that most of the cities have paid 1998 dues which were sent out after the February 196, meeting. The Chair asked that Larson forward report materials to Raduenz in the event he cannot attend future meetings of the Commission in order to have a report based on the current financial conditions of the Commission. A brief discussion was held as to whether or not the Corridor Commission's funds are currently held in an interest-bearing account, and, if so, at what percentage rate are funds bearing interest? Senness asked if it makes sense to move the funds every two years as the treasurer's position changes? Thorfinnson indicated that the checkbook of the Commission could simply be "audited" by the city that currently has control of the treasurer position, and that this would not be an issue. Hovland asked what the current bylaws of the Commission say about funds, and what the legal status of the JPO is? The Chair directed Raduenz to research this issue in the bylaws of the organization and tabled discussion about the issue until the April 1998 meeting, when Larson would be in attendance and could answer the interest question, and when research had been done on the financial issues outlined by the group's bylaws. V. Engineers' Subcommittee Draft Mapping Resolution/Process Memo. As directed by the members of the. Commission at the February 276, meeting, Gray passed out a "process" memo that explains to each Commission member city the process that will occur if cities pass a resolution requesting MnDOT to prepare an official map of the 1-494 right-of-way. Raduenz also passed out a copy of sample resolution language for cities' use if so desired, or they can adopt their own language. Raduenz asked that each city representative take the materials to the appropriate city official or staff member and return a city resolution to the Corridor Commission within the several weeks. Shalbetter asked when MnDOT will make a decision on facilities along the corridor? Gray responded that he does not believe MnDOT will deal with facilities in the right-of-way process. Senness remarked that the resolution language should be amended as it refers to "I-494 from 394 south to the Minnesota River". Raduenz suggested that they simply change "394" to "94" on the sample resolution document. Opatz asked if MnDOT was to include Maple Grove and Plymouth in the process or not? Raduenz reiterated that the Commission prefers that each of the seven member cities should be requested to pass a resolution. If any of the cities is uncomfortable for whatever reason in doing so, then the Commission will submit those resolutions that are returned to it. Tierney added that since there is no cost to the cities for the official mapping process, why not do so? VI. Communications Plan Update. Schultz passed out a finalized Communications Plan and briefly reviewed it with members. There were no questions or comments on the Plan, other than a typographical error noted by Hovland. The plan included a communications product list and timetable for product implementation, and Schultz asked members for comments on these items in particular. Hearing none, Schultz went on to review the draft "Fact Sheet" that she has been working on for the past two months. Schultz outlined the problems she has had in identifying specific pieces of information to include on the Fact Sheet. Feedback from members indicated that they preferred more white space and making the document easier to read than how it currently appears. Thorfinnson stated that we need to get certain pieces of information and if there is a problem obtaining it from either MnDOT or the Met Council, would a letter signed by him help the process? Hovland asked what percentage of metro travel occurs on 1-494? Senness asked what amount of delay on I-494 is related to incidents? Senness also remarked that the Commission should be stating what percentage of jobs and employment is located within the I- 494 "travelshed", and that the Fact Sheet could state the number of work trips between Point A and Point B, thereby concentrating on the economic vitality of the region. Hovland asked Schultz if she had contacted the Department of Public Safety to get accident information. Scliultz responded that she had not, as MnDOT's Traffic Management Center should have b tter information and that she had requested this information previously from them and had nW yet received it. Senness reiterated that the Fact Sheet should outline 1) Employment within the Corridor; 2) the fact that 494 is one of the regions "oldest" freeways and not up to wci,lent standards; and 3) that it is the region's "Main Street" and vital to economic stability in the rei;ion. Lindahl asked if there aren't other organizations around the country trying to do the same thing and that research should be conduced on the Internet. Thorfinnson directed Raduenz to draft a letter with his signature (he is on vacation until April 5) and to send it along with a list of questions that Schultz needs answers to to whichever agencies need to be contacted. Raduenz agreed to do so. In terms of the Commission's Communications Plan work, Raduenz indicated that Schultz had completed the Plan and has only spent about half of the funds appropriated for the task ($15,000 budget). She asked the Commission for Schultz' assistance in further developing other products identified within the Plan, including an upcoming newsletter and other materials, up to the previously -agreed budget number. Lindahl made a motion to allow Schultz to continue working on Communications Plan products, with a second by Hovland. The motion passed. VII. Next Meeting/Adjournment. The next meeting of the I-494 Corridor Commission is set for Wednesday, April 15,1998 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. in Heritage Room 2 of the Eden Prairie City Center. Meeting adjourned at 11:00 a.m. SUBURBANTRANSITAssOCIATION League of Minnesota Cities Building 145 University Avenue West, Suite 450 St. Paul, Minnesota 55103 Phone: (612) 228-9757 Fax: (612) 228-9787 SUBURBAN TRANSIT ASSOCIATION LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE MEETING MARCH 18, 1998 MINNESOTA VALLEY TRANSIT AUTHORITY OFFICES MINUTES The meeting was called to order. Minnesota Valley Transit Authority voting members in attendance: Dave Wuellner, Prior Lake; Councilmember Sandy Masin, Eagan; Executive Director Beverley Miller, MVTA. Southwest Metro Transit Commission voting members in attendance: Executive Director Len Simich, SMTC. Plymouth Metrolink representative in attendance: Mayor Joy Tierney, Plymouth. Shakopee Area Transit representative in attendance: None. Others in attendance: George Bentley, Plymouth Metrolink; Margaret Shreiner, Dakota County; Bob Renner, Jr., Tom Poul and Jennifer Peterson, Messerli & Kramer P.A. It was moved by Beverley Miller and seconded by Joy Tierney that the minutes be approved as presented. The motion was approved. Bob Renner reviewed the appointments to the Omnibus Tax Bill Conference Committee. He explained that the Conference Committee would begin working shortly and would likely meet until early in April. Bob Renner discussed an issue that had arisen regarding the STA transit zone legislation. He explained that the inclusion of retail property in the special C -I rate was causing some controversy at the legislature. He explained that Senator Carol Flynn, a tax conferee, had stated that she would remove the opt -out portion of the Met Council bonding request if the retail provision were not dropped. Bob Renner also told the Committee that Senator Dave Knutson was still pushing hard for the Members: Minnesota Valley Transit Authority, Plymouth Area Transit, Shakopee Area Transit, Southwest Metro Transit Commission inclusion of retail. He asked the Committee to determine which was most important for the STA — bonding money or inclusion of retail. It was moved by Beverley Miller and seconded by Dave Wuellner that the STA no longer pursue the retail provision and ask Senator Dave Knutson to help guarantee the $4.9 million in bonding for opt -out communities. The motion was approved. Bob Renner then briefly reviewed provisions of interest in the Omnibus Tax Bill. He explained that the STA tax statement provision had been incorporated. He also explained that the city of Minneapolis had proposed language that would allow the city to capture portion of the C -I property tax that was reduced by the initial transit zone legislation. This would allow the cities to collect 100 percent of a parcel's property taxes, but 15 percent would be dedicated to a circulator vehicle pilot project. The Committee set Wednesday, April 18 as the date for the next Legislative Committee meeting. The meeting would be held at Southwest Metro Transit at 11:30 a.m. is COMMUNITIES IN COLLABORATION COUNCIL MINUTES - MARCH 12, 1998 PRESENT: Joy Tierney, Brian Hubbard, Judy Johnson, Karen Anderson, LaDonna Hoy, Carol Vannelli, Mick Johnson, Barb Struffert, Jim Brandl, Brian Beniek, Wayne Dreyman, Mandy Little, Therese LaCanne, Dwight Johnson, Joe Manion, Barbara Carlson EXCUSED: Paul Beilfuss, Ellen Rusin, Mary Anne Young, John Dettloff, Karen Parks, Ramona Steadman, Robyn Cook, Robin Maynard, Charlene Barghini ABSENT: Nathan Seely, Signe Hillestad, Kris Korsmo, Jim Johnson, Bob Ambrose, Ken Guenthner The meeting was called to order by chair Joy Tierney. The minutes were approved. FUTURE FUNDING: Jim Brandl reported that the Finance Committee will meet about soft money before our next meeting. We must involve members of the council in presentations to our cities. He then presented the 98-99 budget and it was approved. LCTS MONEY: Jim gave a presentation on the Local Collaborative Time Study money. This is federal money that goes to the state, then the county then the CICC. 517o is taken off at each level for administration. The amount is determined by the hours that our school staff spends working with high risk children. Jim estimates that we should receive $30-60,000. This money could disappear at any time. It must go towards enhacing services to these at risk families. The question was raised, "What is an at risk family?" Any family asking for help. (Perhaps with behavior, chemicals, underachievers etc.) A sub committee will be formed to determine where the money will be used, with representation from IOCP, CONECT, Joy Tierney, Carol Vannelli, Jim Brandl, Barbara Carlson, Rex Holsheimer from the county and school district personnel. The question was raised if we want to take 57o from the top or put it into programs? UPDATES: • Monthly Calendar - Barbara will meet with Lutheran Brotherhood to assess their willingness to help underwrite this project. The council agrees that a monthly calendar of family fun events, asset building ideas etc. would be very beneficial to our families as well as our agencies that serve families. Brian Hubbard will check to see if we could get our printing done under the Y's exclusive printing contract. • Skate Parks - The Plymouth City Council voted to go out for bids for the outdoor park. It will go back to the council for a vote to put it next to the Plymouth Ice Arena. A private park will open this weekend near 55 and 494. This owner may also put in a bid for the city park. There is concern that the city park may compete with private enterprise. The city park would be summer only. • Mentor Match - 40 people attended and heard presentations from five mentoring agencies. Brian Hubbard and Kris Korsmo did wonderful jobs presenting their mentoring opportunities. Co-pilots has received 20 calls interested in mentoring. Family Resource Center - Carol Vannelli reported on the progress of the Resource Center. The district looked at the city site but has chosen to stay at 1: Central Middle School. They were looking at 18,000 sq. ft. at a cost of 3.2 million. A referendum in September will ask for funding for remodeling and updating. The center will be located in the D Wing - ECFE, ABE, Hennepin County office, IOCP, Sanctuary, Children and Family Services, job training, Employment Action Center, juvenile probation and Early Childhood Special Education all want space. They hope to keep resources in one place but may have to spread to the art wing. There are many questions - parking, security etc. Once the center is functioning, the CICC could fit in by getting information out, referrals etc. The site in Plymouth depends on a Bond Referendum. There will be space left for future development. The Plymouth site would have had 20,000 SF, Central site has 17,500 SF: LaDonna pointed out the importance of a seamless place for people to get resources like skills building, childcare, place to train volunteers etc. The discussion did help the city decide to move their site and allow for more expansion. • Community Gala - the March meeting about a carnmunity gala/ fund raiser found that there were too many players with different needs. A gala is a costly event and very time consuming. The Foundation's Gala tickets are $150 @. Judy J. plans to go ahead with a city celebration in the fall. Jim B. suggested open houses at our new facilities and perhaps tie in performances by our students. It could celebrate the new millennium. • Minnesota's Promise - We are already doing it! Barbara will obtain grant proposals for funding. • CONECT Community Dinner - the CICC voted to serve the Oct. 29th dinner. Judy Johnson will ask Famous Dave's to contribute to the dinner. We talked about making it a Halloween Party! • League of Women Voters - held a City Government event for students. Five students served on a panel, discussing how to get students involved in government. It is on tape if you'd like to see it. The city is forming a Youth Advisory Council to help bring young people to the table. • Caring Youth Award - Karen talked about the award program. Every student nominated gets an award. Barb will make copies of the materials from Minnetonka. Karen also gave us the good news that Ridgedale is interested in a "We LOVE Our Kids" event. • Nominating Committee - Joy, Mary Anne Young, Bob Ambrose and Barbara will serve on a norninating committee. Please call 745-5217 if you are interested in serving on the executive committee. COME READY TO SIGN IJP FOR A COMMITTEE 1 The meeting adiourned at 6:15. INTERFAITH OUTREACH PRAYER BREAKFAST Thursday, April 23 Please support this important euent. If you'ue neuer been to one, come, and you will neuer miss it again! call 473-2436 Call to Order: The Bassett Creek Water Management Commission was called to order at 12:15 p.m., Thursday, March 19, 1998, at the City of Golden Valley City Hall by Chairman Enck. Roll Call., Crystal: Commissioner Tom Mathisen Counsel: Charlie LeFevere Golden Valley: Commissioner Edward Silberman Engineer: Jim Herbert Medicine Lake: Commissioner John O'Toole Recorder: Pat Schutrop Minneapolis: Alternate Jodi Polzin Minnetonka: Commissioner Lee Gustafson New Hope: Commissioner Peter Enck Plymouth: Commissioner Ron Quanbeck Robbinsdale: Commissioner Maria D'Andrea St. Louis Park: Commissioner Mike Rardin Also present: Ms. Nancy Azzam, League of Women Voters Mr. Jeff Oliver, Assistant City Engineer, City of Golden Valley Mr. Phil Behrend, ATS&R Mr. Don Belinski, Minneapolis Schools Mr. Paul Pasko, SEH Mr. Scott Harri, SEH Approval and/or Correction of Minutes: The minutes of February 19, 1998 were presented. Mr. Gustafson moved and Mr. Mathisen seconded approval of minutes. Carried unanimously. Financial Statements: 1. Mr. Enck presented the Treasurers Report as of March 19, 1998. The checking account balance is $163,865.58. The investment balance is $86,680.90, plus two commercial papers in the amount of $99,762.75 (due April 7, 1998) and $207,303.40 (due June 17, 1998) for a total investment balance of $393,747.05. The construction account is as follows: Construction Account Balance ..................................... $81,622.53 Commercial Paper ............................................ $199,496.04 Long -Term Investment ........................................ $1,010,138.89 Total Construction Account Balance .............................. $1,291,257.46 The construction escrow amount held by the City of Minneapolis is $218,341.31. Mr. Silberman noted the following item changes to the year-end report: Administration: includes the 1997 Annual Report cost Water Quality: the Water Quality amount of $79,533.14 will be carried over to the 1998 budget as a separate line item Page I Overall Plan/Assembly: includes Wenck & Associates' review costs of the Minnetonka Stormwater Management Plan in the amount of $3,000 The Treasurers report was accepted as presented and ordered to be filed subject to audit. Presentation of Invoices to be Paid: The following invoices were presented for approval: 1. An invoice was received from Kennedy & Graven for the period through December 31, 1997 in the amount of $6,418.90. The invoice was presented at the Commission's February 19, 1998 meeting, but not approved for payment. Mr. Silberman moved and Mr. Quanbeck seconded approval for payment of claims as set forth on the invoice presented. Upon call of the roll, the vote was unanimously carried. 2. An invoice was received from Barr Engineering Company for professional services during the period of January 31, 1998 through February 27, 1998, in the amount of $13,475.35. Mr. Silberman moved and Mr. Quanbeck seconded approval for payment of claims as set forth on the invoice presented. Upon call of the roll, the vote was unanimously carried. Communications: Chairman: 1. Mr. Enck received a Lake Harriet Watershed Awareness Project brochure which was passed around for the Commissioners to review. Counsel: No communications. Corps of Engineers: No communications. Commissioners: 1. Mr. Silberman received a copy of an interoffice memorandum from Mayor Mary Anderson, City of Golden Valley, concerning the Memorandum of Understanding proposed to the Commission by the Minnesota Department of Transportation. Engineer: 1. A copy of the EAW was received from the Crescent Ridge Corporate Center in Minnetonka. The document states that an environmental impact statement is not necessary for this large redevelopment project north of I-394 on the east side of County Road 73. The Commission will review the project's final plans in the future. 2. A copy of a Snowmelt Runoff Manual was received from the Metropolitan Council. The Commission engineer will review the manual and provide pertinent information to the Commission at a later date. 3. A letter was received from Kevitt Excavating concerning a wetland filling project in the City of Crystal. The Hennepin County Conservation District informed Kevitt Excavating Page 2 that mitigation sites need to be found within the metro watershed which is established by the Wetland Conservation Act (WCA) or within Crystal or Hennepin County. Kevitt is proposing mitigation sites located outside Crystal and Hennepin County in Buffalo, Minnesota. At this time, the Commission would need to decide if they will require the mitigation to take place within the City of Crystal, the Bassett Creek watershed, or allow Kevitt to mitigate outside the Bassett Creek watershed which is allowed by the WCA. Mr. Mathisen said Kevitt has looked within the City of Crystal to comply with the Commission's mitigation policy, but were unsuccessful. He suggested that the Brow•nwood Pond, which is a dry pond, on 42nd Avenue may be a possible solution. Mr. Enck said, as was discussed at the Commission's February meeting, the Commission requests that the mitigation take place within the watershed or that Kevitt come back to the Commission with a significant reason explaining why they cannot comply. New Business: 1. Commission Administrative Files. The Commission's official administrative files (two 4 -drawer file cabinets) are located in the City of Minnetonka. Due to restructuring and remodeling at the City of Minnetonka, the Commission will need to find another permanent location for the cabinets. Options include moving the cabinets to the City of Golden Valley or to the office of the Commission engineer. The City of Golden Valley can probably store the files in 6 to 8 months after some reorganization of their files takes place. Mr. LeFevere said there is no legal reason the Commission files cannot be kept at the engineer's office. Barr staff will need to be familiar with and comply with the Data Practices Act. Mr. Enck asked about a record retention policy. Mr. LeFevere stated since the Commission does not have its own record retention policy, the files could be subject to the policies in place where the files are stored. Ms. D'Andrea asked if microfiche is an option for the Commission to consider in long-term storage of the files. Mr. Enck asked Mr. Gustafson to check for storage possibilities at Barr and if there will be a storage charge for the cabinets. The Commission will discuss this subject again at its April meeting. 2. Harrison School and Community Center. This project is located in Minneapolis, west of Irving Avenue North and south of Fifth Avenue North. The project consists of redeveloping 6.4 acres of the 15.5 -acre site and includes demolition of an existing schoollpark building and construction of a new school. Runoff from the site will discharge to the main stem of Bassett Creek. The project involves a public redevelopment greater than 5 acres. Therefore the project is subject to the requirements of the Commission's Water Quality Management Policy. This area of Bassett Creek is characterized as a Level III water body. Based on the policy, a wet detention basin designed according to Level III criteria is required for the redevelopment. The Commission engineer reviewed a plan submitted by the School Board that showed a smaller onsite pond. A letter was drafted to the City of Minneapolis setting forth modifications required for conformance to the Bassett Creek Water Management Plan. The Minneapolis Public Schools prepared a revised plan and submitted a variance request to the Commission. The plan is divided into eight areas referred to as Area 1, Area 2, etc. Page 3 Discussion followed concerning possible water quality alternatives for the site. Ms. Polzin said if the proposed Sumner Olson project, discussed at a Commission meeting in 1997, should take place, one of the water quality ponds from that project will help capture some drainage from this site. Mr. Silberman asked if there could be a tie-in of the approval of this project with ponds in the Sumner Olson project area. Mr. Enek asked if the utilities on the site are an obstruction to modifying Areas 4 and 5 so runoff can be routed through the pond. Mr. Behrend, ATS&R, commented the utilities include a gas line and a water main, but he does not know the depth or size of these utilities. Before the Commission makes a decision regarding the variance, Mr. Gustafson would like more information concerning drainage from the parking lot, the grading, and if the gas main will cause a problem. Mr. Gustafson moved and Ms. D'Andrea seconded the motion to table further review of the project until the developer locates depths and locations of utilities along vacated 4th Avenue and Area 4 and submit a revised plan that maximizes treatment of impervious surface runoff. The Commission also requests Ms. Polzin to find out if there is definitive action concerning the Sumner Olson project and how it will affect the drainage of this site for the Commission to review at the April meeting. Carried unanimously. 3. 1998 Phase 4 East Central Street Reconstruction. A request was received for review of a street reconstruction project in the City of Crystal. The project is located along 32nd Avenue, 34th Avenue, Brunswick Avenue, and Welcome Avenue in the east -central vicinity of Crystal. The work includes approximately 3.5 miles of street reconstruction over an 83 -acre drainage area. The project consists of street reconstruction to existing width, bituminous surfacing, storm sewer improvements and other improvements. Temporary erosion control features will be implemented during construction. Additional permanent BMPs are not proposed as part of project due to the recent completion of the Bassett Creek Park Pond. Temporary erosion controls are proposed as part of this project; however, no permanent controls can be installed because the project includes a highly -developed area where additional area for ponding is not available without removing homes. Bassett Creek Park pond (Level III water body) is located in the area and any proposed water drainage to the pond will need to be treated. Mr. Harri, SEH, said this project initially started in 1993. This is Phase 4 of the project and is a routine maintenance project. Mr. Harri said best management practices are proposed during construction, i.e., using normal silt fencing, hay bales, street sweeping, etc. The City of Crystal routinely does citywide street sweeping during the spring and fall seasons. Mr. Quanbeck said this is a type of project the Commission -4111 be reviewing in the future where there will be difficulty in addressing water quality treatment in reconstruction areas in order to meet the Commission water quality standards concerning street construction and reconstruction projects. Mr. Quanbeck recommended the Commission consider what additional guidance can be given to the Commission engineer to use in their review, and guidelines for suggestions to be communicated to developers. Mr. Rardin indicated St. Louis Park is extremely developed and when street reconstruction is necessary, taking homes to build a pond does not seem like a feasible solution to meet watershed district and WMO water quality requirements. St. Louis Park Wage 4 is proposing regional ponding within the city as a solution and are looking to meet water quantity and quality standards by a regional facility. Mr. Silberman moved and Mr. Quanbeck seconded the motion to approve the project subject to temporary erosion control features be implemented during construction and the storm sewer downstream of Manhole Structure 401 be directed in a downstream direction along Bassett Creek or discharged into the existing RCPA. Carried unanimously. Old Business: 1. Metropolitan Council—Stream Gaging Installation Agreement. This agenda item will be addressed at a later date after the agreement is received from the Metropolitan Council. 2. Memorandum of Understanding—Mn/DOT. Mr. Gustafson, Mr. Quanbeck, Mr. Kremer, and Mr. LeFevere met again to discuss the Mn/DOT Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Mr. LeFevere distributed copies of a proposed response to the MOU for the Commission to discuss. The response is broken down into five areas: (1) background information, (2) the general contract framework discussing pond banking credits by Mn/DOT, (3) how credits are earned, (4) how credits may be used, and (5) other issues. Mr. LeFevere stated the proposed response is a first draft containing ideas to generate discussion by the Commission. Mr. LeFevere said the portion of the response which discusses pond banking options may result in better water quality benefiting Mn/DOT and the Commission, or may not be feasible at all. Mr. LeFevere reviewed the document with the Commissioners. A final point of discussion by the Commission is the credits cashed in by Mn/DOT and the possibility of Mn/DOT not being able to comply with the city's local plan. How should the Commission secure the approval of cities affected by the "underbuilding" of the project at which credits are to be used? Some possibilities discussed include: Advance approval by the city councils adopting resolutions approving the MOU and the use of credits for projects within that city. Amending the Commission's Joint Powers Agreement authorizing the Commission to approve Mn/DOT projects which do not meet city management plan requirements under a pond banking agreement with Mn/DOT. Approval by the city at a later date when details of project where credits are to be used have been determined. Ms. Polzin asked if Mn/DOT were to use the credit, would they go through the variance process. Mr. LeFevere said that would depend on how the credits will be used and suggests the Commission predetermine the variance guidelines Mn/DOT would be required to meet. Mr. Mathisen would like to see standards developed by the Commission that all city councils will agree on and allow the Commission to decide credit use. Mr. Gustafson stated Mn/DOT is not regulated by each watershed district's conditions and water quality goals, but regulated in part by PCA requirements. Mn/DOT is required to meet certain water quality standards attached to each project and is having problems meeting the PCA water quality goals within certain project time lines. Ni'ith this in mind, Mn/DOT can always apply for a variance and in the process, Mn/DOT would be required to do all practical water quality improvements. Can we incorporate the MOU into our Page 5 s variance process? This would avoid involving city councils because they are involved in the process before it comes to the variance request. Mr. LeFevere suggested the use of credit banking parallel the variance process. He also said the Commission needs to find out to what extent Mn/DOT is subject to local jurisdiction. Ms. Polzin asked if the Commission is establishing a process that other agencies and groups will want to use. Should the Commission be thinking more generically and not just Mn/DOT? Mr. Enck repeated what Mr. Mathisen said earlier concerning setting standards and that the Commission present a resolution to the member cities stating it would be the Commission's option to decide where the credits are to be applied. This would take it out of the hands of the individual cities and allow Mn/DOT and the Commission to work together to accomplish the water quality issues that are necessary for the overall watershed and avoid "sandbagging" in the individual cities processes. Mr. Enck recommended the group meet again to discuss further and add this item to the April meeting agenda to update the Commission at that time. - [Mr. Enck left the meeting at this point. Mr. Gustafson conducted the remainder of the meeting.] Mr. Gustafson added that Mn/DOT receives a water quality permit from most watershed districts, but the Commission gives recommendations to the cities and the cities generally provide approval process. He asks that this be kept in mind when discussing the MOU and whether to incorporate into the variance process or take some other action. The Commission provides recommendations to the participating city, and is not a permitting authority. 3. 1997 Lake Monitoring Report. The 1997 Lake Water Quality Study for Crane Lake, Lost Lake, and Westwood Lake was distributed to the Commissioners. Study Summary Crane Lake—a Level U water body. The water quality goals were met for the first half of the rainy season and later in the year showed some elevated phosphorus levels that contributed to some algae growth and a reduction in water transparency. Lost Lake—a Level II water body. During 1997, the water quality data indicates that the lake is far from achieving the water quality goals set forth. Historically, the water quality does not show much change in the lake. Westwood Lake—a Level H water body. The lake generally meets the water quality goals for chlorophyll a and total phosphorus concentrations, but not the Secchi disc transparency goal. An ongoing concern to watch for Westwood Lake is an invasion of the curlcleaf pondweed and purple loosestrife because they often displace native species. Direct further questions concerning the study to the Commission engineer. 4. Water Quality Policy Resolution. After brief discussion, the Commission decided to move this agenda item to next month's meeting. Mr. Silberman moved and Mr. Mathisen seconded the motion to table taking action on adopting the Water Quality Policy Resolution until the Commission's April meeting. Page 6 Adjournment. It was moved by Mr. Gustafson and seconded by Ms. D'Andrea that the meeting adjourn. Chairman Enck adjourned the meeting at 2:15 p.m. W. Peter Enck, Chairman Pat Schutrop, Recorder Date: Tom Mathisen, Secretary 57870J Page 7 Minutes of the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission Meeting April 9, 1998 Page 12 Present: Chair Anderson, Commissioners Musliner, Priebe, Thompson, Wahl and Willegalle; staff Bisek, Blank, Busch and Pederson; summer intern Gross; resident Jim Carpenter Absent: Commissioner Fiemann 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Anderson called the April meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. in the Council Chambers. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made by Commissioner Willegalle and seconded by Commissioner Musliner to approve the minutes of the March meeting as presented. The motion carried with all ayes. 3. VISITOR PRESENTATIONS a. Athletic Associations. b. Staff. Mary reminded everyone of the Primavera event, and she handed out a flyer about it. There will be a fairly large display of student art this time. She also had exciting news regarding our touch tone registration. The biggest demand of the year was Tuesday April 7, and unfortunately, there was a problem with the process, so people were being hung up on. That day we did about $10,000 in mail -in registrations and $10,500 in touch tone registrations. Hennepin Parks staff came in to look at the TTR system to see if it would work for them. Eden Prairie Parks & Recreation will be coming in to look at it, too. Mary introduced Kevin Gross, our intern from St. Cloud State. He'll be with us until the end of May. He will be working on several different projects. c. Others. Jim Carpenter, 1425 Shadyview Lane, representing adult soccer attended the meeting. He is the President of the Men's Soccer League, and VP of the American Soccer Association. He has lived in Plymouth for nine years, played soccer for 22 years and coached soccer for three years. There are 100 teams in the league he is in and 2,000 players. There are two more soccer leagues in state, doubling the number playing soccer. Unlike youth, the adults are organized through many affiliations, i.e., college, work, etc. They have reached the point where they can no longer accept teams into league, because there is no place for them to play. The first question asked when they try to find place to play is how many players live or work in the particular city they have called. They get turned down, because they don't have enough players from that particular city. He wants cities to consider a method of granting field usage that is fair and equitable to all age groups, not just youth. He is asking Plymouth to reconsider how it grants fields to user groups. He understands our 50% resident policy, but feels that we already allow outsiders to play on our facilities. He thinks the adults are being discriminated against. Last year, 61 Plymouth players were in his league, alone. They pay taxes, many are PRAC Minutes/April 1998 Page 13 professionals. The average age on his team is 34. They play for the love of the sport, fitness, social reasons. They have an over 30 division and are planning to have an over 40 division soon. Some players in the league are 60 years old. He understands an indoor facility is being planned. He would like to get behind that, but he doesn't like being charged a fee to use facilities. Commissioner Thompson wanted to know how many players from his team work in Plymouth. He could not answer that. Commissioner Wahl wanted to know more about our policy. Director Blank said at least 50% of a team's roster has to live or work in Plymouth before we grant field use to them. This policy has been in place since 1980 and was approved by the City Council. Director Blank suggested a meeting between Mr. Carpenter and the Minnesota Recreation and Parks Association to address the issue on a metro -wide basis. Director Blank stated that the six new soccer fields at Elm Creek are not ready to play on. We have 300 youth soccer teams ready to play summer soccer with limited fields. We will provide fields for teams that meet the 50% criteria. Director Blank said he would like cities to work together to come up with a solution. St. Paul has only one field on which to play soccer. Plymouth has 40 fields. Mr. Carpenter said he recently attended a meeting in Nashville and found that adult soccer is organized the same way all across the country. Commissioner Priebe asked if they are totally dependent on cities providing fields, as opposed to county fields, etc. Mr. Carpenter said yes, they rely entirely on city fields. Director Blank agrees with Mr. Carpenter that adult soccer is going to continue to grow. For every kid playing baseball, two are playing soccer. Soccer is a lifetime sport, unlike football. Director Blank informed Mr. Carpenter that Plymouth would provide fields for at least five teams based on his league having 60 Plymouth players, if other cities would do the same. Commissioner Priebe asked where they play now? They play all over and are matched against teams of like ability. Mr. Carpenter said he plays in Eagan, the National Sports Center, basically all over the metro area. Commissioner Priebe suggested that the west metro teams get together and attempt to play in the west metro area. Mr. Carpenter said they have a 14 game season and he enjoys meeting these different teams from all over the metro area. The league is willing to be flexible to a certain degree and is willing to play later at night if more fields were lighted. Commissioner Willegalle discussed the popularity of all sports amongst the 30, 40 and 50 year old age brackets and how we will probably never be able to meet everyone's needs. Mr. Carpenter intends to approach other cities and keep at it until some kind of solution is reached. Chair Anderson thanked Mr. Carpenter and said that this issue would continue to be researched by city staff. Director Blank discussed our lights out policy of 10:30 p.m. in order to keep the residents happy. He is concerned that if we went much later, we would get into trouble with our neighbors. All of our facilities are surrounded by homes. Rick Busch said playing more than two games per night on a field really adds to the wear and tear of the fields. Rick has had many conversations with Mr. Carpenter. He agrees that it is a problem and hopes we can come up with a solution. In the summer there are three different organizations running youth soccer. The Plymouth Soccer Association is our major house league and they have now added a travel division. There are 196 house league teams, and 70-80% are Plymouth residents. The Wings Soccer League serves Dist.. 281 and their enrollment from Plymouth is around 60%. Our fall program has 150 PRAC Minutes/April 1998 Page 14 teams. If you total all the teams playing soccer it comes to over 500 teams year round, or about 6,000 kids and adults playing soccer. We will be redoing some of the fields at the old high school, etc. Adult softball operates entirely differently. Numbers are declining and doing so rather rapidly. In other communities softball is declining, also, but soccer continues to rise. There are a number of bars adding softball fields and volleyball courts. We are trying to do what we can to accommodate these adult soccer teams. We consider full time Plymouth company employees the same as residents. We do not verify rosters when teams claim they have 50% Plymouth residents. Rick agrees with Director Blank that we should get something going through MRPA on a metro -wide basis. Commissioner Priebe asked if we could convert softball fields to soccer fields, if softball is declining. Rick said we have done that in some cases. Rick said the new softball fields at Elm Creek will accommodate all of our adult softball teams. We will be using 40 fields of various sizes for soccer this summer. This is the equivalent of about 18 full size fields. Most of these are Plymouth facilities. Some are school district facilities that we maintain. Commissioner Priebe thinks we should start trying to even up field usage. Increase the number of fields for soccer by converting some softball fields, if demand is decreasing for softball. Director Blank said that youth baseball numbers are increasing, so even though we have moved adult softball to Elm Creek freeing up Zachary, it will be used by youth. There are some facilities in neighborhood parks for sports. Chair Anderson thanked everyone for their presentations. 4. PAST COUNCIL ACTION Council approved election on May 19 for fieldhouse/activity center. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. West Medicine Lake Park update. We will be the first to get sod when fields start being cut. Some signs need to be installed as well as lifeguard towers. The beach will open in June. We are not opening on Memorial Day weekend anymore. Weather is iffy and guards are hard to get. Some time in June on a Saturday morning we will schedule a ribbon cutting for this new park, said Director Blank. b. Elm Creek Pla field update. Staff is having a meeting there tomorrow to go over punch list with all the contractors. Adult softball will begin there in three weeks. Some trails still need to be paved. c. East Medicine Lake Regional Trail. As soon as asphalt plants open, the trail will be paved. d. Activity center/fieldhouse. There were three options to consider for bonding, $3.5, $4.5, and $5 million. The Council settled on $4.5 million level. Bond interest rates are so favorable right now that we can bond for under 5%, around 4.9 or 4.7. These will probably be 15 year bonds. The communications coordinator is working on a brochure that will go out with the May city newsletter informing citizens of the election. PRAC Minutes/April 1998 Page 15 e. Develop rental policy for mobile stage. A draft policy was included in the PRAC packet. One addition is that the insurance representative wants an insurance binder put in the policy. Renters of the showmobile will need a $750,000 policy naming the City as co- insured. Some organizations may have difficulty getting an insurance rider. Director Blank thinks our risk manager might be able to come up with some type of written guidelines for how to go about getting a rider. Commissioner Priebe thinks the policy needs to specify which groups may use it, so there will be no question as to who may NOT use it. Planning Commissioner Koehnen wondered why we weren't asking $700 for rent, like Robbinsdale. Director Blank believes $700 is too high for renting the showmobile. Commissioner Wahl agreed that Robbinsdale's rate is a little out of line. Commissioner Koehnen asked if we plan to have a recripocal use policy? Director Blank said we probably would not. Staff will update the draft policy with the recommended changes before PRAC gives final approval next month. 6. NEW BUSINESS a. Select date for annual park tour. Director Blank suggested having the tour the same night as a regular meeting in place of the regular meeting. June 11 is the regular meeting night in June. The tour would be in lieu of the meeting. 7. COMMISSION PRESENTATION Commissioner Wahl gave a brief overview of the Open Space Committee and the work they accomplished over the course of four years. Several sites were purchased and now a plan of action for managing the open space needs to be developed. What kind of usage and how to manage/maintain these open spaces are questions that need to be resolved. All sites could stand some improvements. Mark Peterson will help define these improvements. It was agreed that the sites all need some form of management rather than being allowed to just "sit idle." Possible uses are more challenging matters to decide. It has been requested by the new high school that the site over there be improved to include trails through the woods for the track team to use, etc. Commissioner Thompson asked if this was initially presented to the residents with the understanding that no one would be "using" the open space? No replied the commission. Commissioner Priebe said he understood that the open spaces would be preserved and would not be considered the same as a typical park; no paved trails, no fences, etc. Commissioner Wahl believes that each site will probably have its own unique plan for use and management. He stated that the citizens of Plymouth paid a big chunk of money to purchase these sites and therefore they have a right to use them. He believes that woodchip trails would be appropriate and that it's okay to limit access somewhat by manipulating where people go by the placement of these woodchip trails. The high school has planted some prairie grass on the high school site but not near the open space. Director Blank explained that when the open space comes up with a use/maintenance policy, it will be forwarded to PRAC for their review. Commissioner Thompson wanted to know why we have a policy of charging adult groups to use facilities, but not youth, and would like this issue discussed at the next meeting. PRAC Minutes/April 1998 \ . Page 16 8. STAFF COMMUNICATION Director Blank said that PRAC will visit the open space sites on their park tour. Kim Koehnen wants to also visit the Little Peninsula. Director Blank said that the extended stay hotel developer has submitted a new plan, so PRAC will be discussing this again at future meetings. 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m. 00 00 � o0 00 00 00 00 00 00 DD a0 00 00 00 DD 00 vl � a; O M G\ N N Q� � C� O� Q\ i O� O� O, CD1 .-, M ' ' I- O N t- �i WA 00 � " N •-- N N N N 00 00 00 00 00 N O M M � j 4 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 DD a0 00 00 00 DD 00 01 O� O� O� C� � C� Q� � C� O� Q\ i O� O� O, CD1 .-, M ' ' I- O N t- �i WA 00 00 �O r- N N N N � ^-' CV N N 0 99—. i � •--• � N N .-- ^+ .� C N N N N N N Aw M M M M 4 4 �� 4 00 00 00 00 00 00 w 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 N C� O� C� O� O� O� O� C\ O\ �O O 99-1 [� O M •- N "" O r' O %b — �i 000 ON N O O r- O O— 1 N � WW N N � � � i � � � � � 00 00 00 00 00 00 w 00 00 w 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 N = c* M e C c O O= �i C= O O O OO O O O— a, N = •>l WW � O • L .-- .-- r. .-. .-. r., tI-; N N N N N M 4 4 4 y N O N = c* L e C c O O= �i C= O O O OO O a, = •>l WW � O • L � L A m +C-4 tI-; y l-� 00 � ID .i. � OL. 'a• � �O l� o a �p a. 0. U J Oi c bA O E C= •0 rz �. 0ti r-_= Y 0 .� N O «s O y N 0 0 a� vE ►++ ' t __ C43 cz a� -°'v a ° E co O= O C i= O C a� N U to L cl CC U Cf U • N " 0 E= C •L EO • 0 0 L y O O THJT aMonC4F-'C� ML1]V)000 iE= OL _ 0 3 0 0 N C t'' ,0 a) fy, U ti to O to to H U �xs a .r 3w ,code � `x°AG� a� a 2Ua;v�m3�U�C7aF 404aGCati C7d e C c O O O= �i C= O O O OO O a, WW A m +C-4 tI-; l-� 00 O� ID .' �' � � 'a• v1 �O l� March 20, 1998 Terry Terireak 3605 Trenton Lane Plymouth, MN 55441 SUBJECT: PETITION FOR A WALKWAY ON 36TH AVENUE FROM PILGRIM LANE TO ZACHARY LANE Dear Mr. Terireak: I am responding to your letter and petition from homeowners in neighborhoods along 36`' Avenue from Pilgrim Lane to Zachary Lane requesting that the City instruct, at their expense, a walking path along the north side of 36' Avenue. The City Council received this petition at their March 4, 1998 meeting and directed City staff to prepare a Pedestrian Traffic Safety Study. After this study is completed in approximately one month, it will be forwarded to the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission for their consideration on a recommendation to the City Council on whether the requested walkway should be included in the City's Trail/Sidewalk Plan. Subsequently, the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission, after due consideration, would make a recommendation to the City Council. For your information, the Robbinsdale School District is in the process of preparing plans to modify the entrance off 36' Avenue to the Armstrong Senior High School. In addition, the school district has also requested some additional walkways along 36' Avenue to accommodate students within the walking areas for both their senior high school and their middle school. Any information we receive from the school district pertaining to this request will be included in the Pedestrian Traffic Safety Study. We will inform you when the study is completed prior to sending it to the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission for their consideration. In the meantime if you have any questions, you can contact me at 509-5520. Sincerely, Daniel L. Faulkner, P.E. City Engineer cc: Fred G. Moore, Director of Public Works Ronald S. Quanbeck, Assistant City Engineer Daniel K. Campbell, Sr. Engineering Technician PLYMOUTH S1' Beautifu(Place To Live DATEMMTerireuk.doc 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD • PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447-1482 • TELEPHONE (612) 509-5000 ®r...�.M. www.ci.plymouth.mn.us March 20, 1998 CITY OF Judy Lokken PUPIOUTR 3615 Saratoga Lane Plymouth, MN 55441 SUBJECT: PETITION FOR A WALKWAY ON 36TH AVENUE FROM PILGRIM LANE TO ZACHARY LANE Dear Ms. Lokken: I am responding to your letter and petition from homeowners in neighborhoods along 36' Avenue from Pilgrim Lane to Zachary Lane requesting that the City instruct, at their expense, a walking path along the north side of 36' Avenue. The City Council received this petition at their March 4, 1998 meeting and directed City staff to prepare a Pedestrian Traffic Safety Study. After this study is completed in approximately one month, it will be forwarded to the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission for their consideration on a recommendation to the City Council on whether the requested walkway should be included in the City's Trail/Sidewalk Plan. Subsequently, the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission, after due consideration, would make a recommendation to the City Council. For your information, the Robbinsdale School District is in the process of preparing plans to modify the entrance off 36' Avenue to the Armstrong Senior High School. In addition, the school district has also requested some additional walkways along 36' Avenue to accommodate students within the walking areas for both their senior high school and their middle school. Any information we receive from the school district pertaining to this request will be included in the Pedestrian Traffic Safety Study. We will inform you when the study is completed prior to sending it to the Park and Recreation Advisory Commission for their consideration. In the meantime if you have any questions, you can contact me at 509-5520. Sincerely, Daniel L. Faulkner, P.E. City Engineer cc: Fred G. Moore, Director of Public Works Ronald S. Quanbeck, Assistant City Engineer Daniel K. Campbell, Sr. Engineering Technician Eric Blank, Park and Recreation Director PLYMOUTH ABeauti}ulPlace 'ry Live DATEMMakkenAm 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD • PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447-1482 - TELEPHONE (612) 509-5000 9 .— www.d.plymouth.mmus April 14, 1998 Arthur Fretag 17010 County Road # 47 Plymouth, Minnesota 55446 CITY OF PLYMOUTH Re: 1998 Property Classification on 17010 County Road # 47 PID #05-118-22-21-0004 Dear Mr. Fretag: This letter is a follow up to our telephone conversation on April 10, 1998 and your letter to Mayor Joy Tierney. On your appeal before the 1998 Local Board of Review you stated and wrote that you have produced a cash crop of hay on your property and have sold hay to neighbors and construction companies. You offered to produce documentation of these sales by having the people who had purchased the hay provide signed statements. In our phone conversation on April 10" we discussed other forms of documentation which could be easier to obtain and are used to establish the sale of an agricultural product, these are copies of actual sales receipts or a copy of the schedule "F" form, which is a supplementary form used to report income received from agricultural sources on the tax form( not the entire tax return). As I tried to assure you then and also now, it is not our intent to harass anyone and that any documentation you can provide on this issue could strengthen your appeal to the Local Board of Review. If you would like us to include any documentation in the report to the Board, we would appreciate receiving it as soon as possible, but no later then 3:00 p.m. on Friday, April 17`h. To save on time, I am faxing this letter and will follow up with the original by mail. If you have any questions, please call me at 509-5351. Yours truly, >1 7 4� Nancy Bye, CAE City Assessor PLYMOUTH A Beautifu(Pface To Live 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD • PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447-1482 • TELEPHONE (612) 509-5000 sr--� W www.ci.plvmouth.mn.us April 10, 1998 Mayor Joy Tierney City of Plymouth 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55443 Dear Mayor Tierney: On Wednesday, April 8, I appeared before the Review Board to appeal a change in the classification of our property. It was my impression that all I needed to produce were signed statements from people who had purchased hay from us and signed statements from people who knew that we actually harvested our land annually. Today I received a call from the City Assessor, Nancy Bye, requesting two things. One was permission to come out to our property to take pictures for her report to the Board of Review. The other was for a copy of our income tax return from last year to substantiate that we reported our crop income to the IRS. Permission to take pictures was immediately granted but giving her a copy of my tax returns was not. If the purpose were to establish that I received "cash" for my crop, the signed statement should provide validation. I told Ms. Bye that invoking the name of the IRS gave the perception of continued harassment. She said that was not her intention. It still seemed an intimidating gesture to me. While on a speaker phone conversation with Ms. Bye and Ms. Moos, the question was asked if we purchased hay. I responded "Yes." After the fact, it seemed to be an inappropriate question. I certainly hope that my candid response could not be used against our appeal. We only feed the upland hay we harvest. We sell the low quality reed canary grass hay. In order to have a split classification of agricultural for my land and residential for my home, I need to show that we farm 10 acres exclusive of our home site. Ms. Bye obviously wants to prove we do not farm ten acres by definition or size. We feel we are right -- but she has the power of her office. It is hoped this was appropriate information to share with you. Feel free to call me if you have any questions. Yours truly, Art Freta g 17010 County Road 47 Plymouth, MN 55446 559-1110 (I) 993-5444 (0) cc: Nancy Bye, City Assessor CITY OF PLYMOUTH+ April 16, 1998 Mr. Ron Moorse City Administrator City of Orono P.O. Box 66 Crystal Bay, MN 55323 Dear Ron: The Plymouth City Council has requested a joint meeting with the Orono City Council regarding the Ferndale Road project in the near future. They would be quite willing to meet either in Orono or to host your Council in Plymouth. As we discussed on the phone today, most of our council members would prefer to meet after 5:30 p.m. The Plymouth Council normally meets on Wednesday nights, but since April 29`h is a fifth Wednesday this month, it would be open for us. In fact, any night the last week of the month should work for us. Please let me know if a joint meeting can be arranged and what dates, times, and location would work best for Orono. We look forward to working cooperatively with you on the Ferndale Road project and hope to hear from you soon. Sincerely, Dwig t D. Johnson , City Manager PLYMOUTH ABeauiifulP(aceToLive 3400 PLYMOUTH BOULEVARD • PLYMOUTH, MINNESOTA 55447-1482 • TELEPHONE (612) 509-5000 ©�^° ���• www.d.plymouth.mn.us INNSBRUCK INVESTMENTS, INC. } DBA Cub Foods Plymouth Erickson's Foods Erickson's Newmarkets Erickson's Bake Shop April 9, 1998 Barb Sennes, Planning Supervisor City of Plymouth 3400 Plymouth Blvd. Plymouth, MN 55447-1482 Thank you for the information regarding the Interim Use permit for Untiedts Vegetable Farm. We are definitely not in favor of the issuance of an Interim Use Permit for the sale of produce and flowers. We can't deny that our own self interest isn't a concern. Anytime someone enters the marketplace, someone else is going to contribute to the success of the new entity. We are not afraid of competition and would agree that the public's best interest is generally served when there is a competitive marketplace. However, this type of competition in our view raises a number of concerns that should be considered before issuing the permit. 1. There is no incremental taxable investment that Untiedts will be making to earn the right to service the Plymouth marketplace. Other business enterprises invest in properties that pay substantial real estate taxes that support local schools and government infrastructures. Those taxable business properties are in place to serve the needs of the public all year long. An Interim Use Permit as proposed by Untiedts is virtually a free license to skim the marketplace at the most favorable time of the year. 2. Interim Use Permits of this nature do little if anything to bring new employment opportunities to the community. The employment that is offered is generally temporary and at entry level wages. Temporary business as proposed by this request have the potential to have a negative impact on the employment of permanent business in the community. 3. It is doubtful that the temporary businesses that will apply for Interim Use Permits will have the same long term commitment to the needs of the community that permanent businesses provide. Community businesses such as ours are the backbone of support for local food shelves, team sponsorships, and other worthwhile causes. 4. Retail food stores, restaurants, and other businesses are regulated by multiple government agencies. Regulations are in place and enforced to ensure that employment laws are not violated, food and other products offered to the public are safe, to ensure a safe work environment is maintained, and insurance is in place to protect the victims of 160.5 County Road 101 Plymouth, AIN 55447 Phone: 473-1387 Fax: 473-3424 accidents. I have a concern that temporary businesses often fall through the cracks in the enforcement of various laws. 5. We understand that there is a .certain customer appeal to buying fresh fruits and vegetables at a roadside stand. However, the product they will be selling is no different than what supermarkets sell. I am not aware of any Minnesota homegrown product available until mid-July. If the request was for an opportunity to sell used cars or some other activity that might potentially be less desirable, will you be able to selectively pick and chose what you can allow? We have on numerous occasions requested permits from the City of Plymouth for various parking lot activities. For the most part these permits have been to address seasonal needs such as a greenhouse in the spring and an opportunity for Family Hope Services to raise money for. their community services by selling Christmas trees .during the holidays. Many of these parking lot activities are necessary and in the community's. best interest and generally relatively short in duration. We think Untiedts request is unfair to those of.us that have made substantial investments in the community to serve the public. Please do not grant them a six month Interim Use Permit. Thank you. Sincerely, Steve Erickson SE/ms K, O COULDN T HAVE ;DONE IT :WITHOUT YOU... _d r INTERFAITH OUTREACH AND COMMI UNITY PARTNEF 4 `. � S .,Aiw�t'�i'+''F .#2 �,'�+e>tw Fr°k+•t P<'??-tt*aF#�'xt M' Wa-�:$'�-t'� "��+Sa-."��':UW?�;:�i t -'.HAS HAD A WONDERFUL YEAR, ONCE AGAIN..:,:. -e A NAND WE WANT TO�SAYTHANK YOU' .,yr���!'i"Y� r� ¢ FOR MORExTHN 28;000HOt7RS z _ { I TIDSR F M ' �H'Y f l'�%•�. a'bl''d�4 � 7 IN 1997,i=� 63 PLEASE OINFUS�:FOR LUN, fi J ti MOl�IDAY,��APRIL,27OR TUE S a, - EDAY'I 8 L 2N00 �� �����...�' t ri s �+ `�R �- ✓ � � a'$���vr� at :fie sag IOC"p CONFERENCE { .`- ! :.Y"�+ .�c* P`�'f �+�' i i9! �..rt �w�� yeti` a,`:�^'# ✓ ><.'3:dSzP��lA yeS��"� .'d yx�l � �Pi`.;�. �a PLEASE LET: US KNOWWHIH'D .Y OU'LL'BE TAT Dl 4ir'yx Ali' ,j F LOOKIN-OR,ARD TOEEING O tai KN �I Metropolitan Council Working for the Region, Planning for the Future April 10, 1998 Environmental Services Dwight Johnson City Manager City of Plymouth 3400 Plymouth Blvd. Plymouth, MN 55447-1482 Dear Mr. Johnson: A new service in environmental planning is now available to metro area communities and watershed management organizations. Recently, the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services Division (MCES) appointed three watershed coordinators to provide planning assistance and on-going community contact on water -related issues. The watershed coordinators and their assigned geographic areas are: Patricia Oates, watersheds and communities in the St Croix River basin, as well as the Cannon River Watershed; Jack Frost, watersheds and communities within the Minnesota River basin and the Minnehaha Creek watershed; Judy Sventek, watersheds and communities in the Mississippi River basin with the exceptions of Minnehaha Creek and the Cannon River watersheds. Our focus is on issues of water resources management and watershed planning. To help your community address those issues I would like to meet with you or your designate to review the Council's policies and objectives for environmental protection, brief you on the types of assistance available through MCES and discuss what services are of interest to your community. For communities in the metro area, 1998 is an important year as local comprehensive plans must be reviewed and updated. In an enclosed letter, Community Development staff provide further details about local comprehensive planning matters. The comprehensive plan update may require a local water management plan and water supply plan, all of which need to be submitted to the Council for review. I call your attention to the reminder of comprehensive planning requirements in the accompanying letter and urge that you take advantage of the informal review process. As part of this informal process, *N,e will be pleased to work with you on any environmental aspects of your plan. Also, other planning resources continue to be available through the Council's sector representatives and Regional Data Center. I will contact you in the next few weeks to schedule an appointment, or I can be reached at 602-1156 or via e-mail at judy.sventek@metc.state.mn.us. I look forward to working with you and your community. Sincerely, Judy Sventek Watershed Coordinator 230 East Fifth Street St. Paul. Minnesota 55101-1633 (612) 222-8423 Fax 229-2183 `'�Y 229-3760 An Equal Oppwrtwdty Etrydoycr Metropolitan Council Working for the Region, Planning for the Future April 10, 1998 Dwight Johnson City Manager City of Plymouth 3400 Plymouth Blvd. Plymouth, MN 55447-1482 Dear Mr. Johnson: As communities throughout the region prepare comprehensive plans, I would encourage you to consider a couple suggestions I hope will simplify and expedite the process. As you know, Minnesota Statutes Sec. 473.858 subd 2, requires communities to circulate comprehensive plans among adjoining governmental units, including cities, towns, counties and school districts, six months prior to submitting them to the Metropolitan Council for review. We are urging local communities to submit draft copies of their comprehensive plans to the Council at the same time they submit them to adjoining governmental units. This will allow the Council to do a cursory review of the draft plan, within 10 working days, to ensure the plan is complete and determine whether it poses any significant regional issues. We believe a review of the draft plan will provide an opportunity to alert local officials to any potential problems and avoid difficult and costly delays at the time the plan is submitted to the Council in its final form. Council staff will provide written comments and, if requested, meet with community representatives to discuss the plan further. Enclosed is a letter introducing your new watershed coordinator explaining their roles in relation to watershed management organizations and individual communities. Thank you for your cooperation and I hope you will take advantage of our offer to provide assistance as your community plans for the future. Though the Council plans to continue to provide reviews of draft plans even after July 1, it will be more difficult to guarantee a 10 -day turn around due to an expected influx of comprehensive plans as we move toward the end of the year. If you have any questions about the planning process, please don't hesitate to call the sector representative for your community, Tom Caswell at 602-1319. Sincerely, Thomas C. McElveen, Deputy Director Housing, Development and Implementation 230 East Fifth Street St. Paul. Minnesota 55 101-1 634 (612) 291-6359 Fax 291-6550 TDD/TIY 291-0904 Metro Info.Line 229-3780 An Fqunl Opporttirdly Fmployer K Riverside Bank celebrates the grand opening of its new Plymouth branch office Please join us on Thursday, April 30, 1998 4:30 - 7:30 pm 2655 Campus Drive Plymouth MN 55441 located at Hwy 55 and Northwest Blvd, just east of 494 RSVP to Mary at 557-0700 Riverside � Bank WEST SUBURBAN MEDIATION CENTER 1011 First Street South, Suite 200, Hopkins, MN 55343 April 16, 1998 Mayor and City Council City of Plymouth 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55447 Dear Mayor and City Council: (612) 933-0005 Fax: (612)933-6046 i j17- S e,l - Z First quarter report, 1998, on closed cases for residents, businesses and city staff of Plymouth: 1. Juvenile vandalism, referred by Operation de Novo (OdN), mediated with signed agreement 2. Juvenile malicious mischief, OdN referral, other party never responded 3. Juvenile vandalism, OdN referral, mediated with signed agreement Our present lease for our office space expired February 28`x' and as the new owner of the building raised the net rent, we have been trying to find new office space that would fit our needs and be less expensive. That effort has proved to be most difficult and after a futile search, the decision was to remain at our present location with an "escape clause". Our Annual Meeting and Volunteer Recognition event will take place May 21" from 6 - 8 p.m. at the Double Tree Park Place Hotel. Invitations will be coming soon. A meeting was held recently with Judge Ann Alton and others at Probate Court at the Government Center regarding using our Center for mediations in guardian/conservator court cases. We believe they will be referring cases. Also, we are now doing visitation/expediting cases as referred by Family Court and/or private attorneys. Sincerely, Susan A. Nelson Executive Director DATE: April 17, 1998 TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: Dwight D. Johnson, City Manager SUBJECT: Summary of Events Ferndale Road. The information meeting with the residents is now scheduled for Tuesday, ;May 5`h. I have been in telephone contact with the Orono City Administrator about a joint meeting and have also sent them a letter. Northwest Plymouth Open House. The open house was held Thursday evening. We believe that about 100 people came. 36 surveys were returned so far, but we expect more to come. The results of the first 36 surveys indicate that people favor the three options almost equally. As before, the majority of no growth opinions came from people west of Vicksburg. The survey also allowed other comments and questions, which staff will be responding to. We will forward the survey results to you when they are all received and compiled. \lply_nttntdisklWdministratiun Depaement\Staf \DWIGHT\MEM0\sum417.dtx