12-15-92 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL DECEMBER 15, 1992 the street. Dousi asked what the estimated assessment would be for her property. The City Administrator estimated the assessment to the Dousi property at $7,850. The Administrator agreed with previous comments made, that Nadeau Park has no bearing on the recommendation of the staff that the street be reconstructed. The Administrator reported that Lake Street is one of the two worst streets in the City. There are alligator cracks all over the street indicating that the base is insufficient. The street will continue to break up as long as there is moisture present. The Administrator pointed out that the City is trying to achieve an economy of scale by combining a number of projects in the City. Hopefully, the City Engineer's cost estimate is high. As regards the difference in price for improving East Brooks versus Lake Street, soil conditions are different in the two areas. The City Administrator reported that he would be recommending a change in the City's assessment policy to address situations like this. The Administrator reported that his thoughts are that property owners should pay their share of the cost of reconstructing a typical street section. If the conditions in a certain area are such that there are additional costs, the City would then pick up those costs. The City Engineer submitted a hand-out to the Council which outlines some thoughts on the City's assessment policy. Hanson pointed out that any assessment to a property must be justified by a like increase in property value. Aanson agreed that the assessment policy needed to be re-evaluated, and the amount of participation by the City in projects reviewed. Dousi stated that the City has spent too much money on parks in comparison to what it spends on streets. Dousi felt that the parks are sitting empty most of the time. Dousi felt that more money should be spent on street repair. Scalze agreed that the City has purchased a lot of park land, but pointed out that the City is still below the Metro average. Scalze noted that these park purchases have been made with money from charitable gambling donations and fees paid by developers. The taxpayers of the City have not spent much on the park system other than maintenance costs. Scalze pointed out that when a donation is made to the City for park purposes, the City cannot take that money and use it for other Page 14