12-14-2022 Improvement Hearing Minutes (Spruce-Sunrise-Sunset)

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING (IMPROVEMENT HEARING- SPRUCE, SUNRISE DRIVE & SUNSET COURT) DECEMBER 14, 2022 The Engineer then explained the assessment hearing process. He stated that=the hearings will be held in October 2023, after the projects are substantially complete, and property owners will have the opportunity to voice opinions on the proposed assessments. The Council would act on any objections received and then adopt the assessments. The assessment amounts can be paid within 30 days with no interest charged; otherwise they will be assessed to property taxes for a period of 10 years with an interest rate that depends on the market. The City Engineer reported on project funding, noting that sanitary sewer, water main and storm sewer repair costs would not be assessed. He explained that 50% of the street costs will be funded through special assessments to benefitting property owners. The Engineer then explained the special assessment process in detail which is based on the City's Assessment Policy that has been in place since 1995. Miller asked what the ramifications are if the projects were not done now. The City Engineer explained that holding off will allow the streets to continue to degrade, and they could get to the point where a full reconstruction would have to be done rather than being able to do a reclamation, so it would cost quite a bit more. Mayor Keis opened the public hearing for comments from the general public. There were eight residents in attendance. Jason Lum, 2440 Sunrise Drive, stated he loves living in Little Canada, but he has a problem with how this is being done. He stated that the City Engineer told him that street improvements are not emergencies, and feels this is the wrong time to be doing this because of the economic hardship, high inflation and ongoing job layoffs, and what harm would waiting one year do. He stated that Minnesota is taxed very high, and all alternate sources of monies should be looked at before moving forward with this next year. He stated this is the wrong thing to do at the wrong time. He reported that two other Sunrise Drive residents sent messages to him stating they were not in favor: Marissa Bloomer, 2455 Sunrise Drive, "We also agree that this is not necessary. Unfortunately we are not back from Arizona until Friday but mark us down as not supportive of this now," and Jeff McGrath, 2451 Sunrise Drive, "Especially during trying times like the current day, we need to be sure we do not put any undue financial stress on our friends, while continuing to provide great services and quality, which our city does." The City Administrator explained that other funding sources from the Federal or State are not for local city streets. Fischer stated that the Council hears these concerns every year, and the way the assessments have been allocated has beendone the same way for many years. He stated that 50% of the cost is paid for by the directly affected property owners, and 50% is paid for by the entire city, so everyone is in this together. Torkelson stated that this is part of a long-term strategy for keeping the streets in good condition. He noted that he understands where Mr. Lum is at, but it is hard to derail the whole 2