07-23-08 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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right -of -way we have north of Beam Avenue along Kohlman Lane. We may want to have the City Attorney explore this issue to detennine what rights we have in this regard. Little Canada Road Bridge Improvements: The Mayor has been doing a good job of pushing MnDot to complete the installation of a new railing and concrete painting this summer. We have been assured by MnDot that the work will be done this summer, but we don't have specific dates as of yet. We are also double checking the anticipate cost as some recent information seems to indicate quite an increase from previous discussions. I hope to have more information for Wednesday's workshop. Sheriff's Budget Options The Mayor and 1 met with Sheriff Fletcher and Undersheriff Altendorfer the other day to talk about the proposed revision to the patrol formula whereby 10% of patrol costs will be allocated based on calls for service (events) in 2009 and 20% in 2010. This change will cost us about $30,000 more in 2009 and I estimate about $50,000 more in 2010. By spending these dollars, we will have no increase in service to our residents. Therefore, we pitched the Sheriff on holding off the formula increases (he agreed to do so for two years). In return, we would add one officer to the afternoon shift (peak activity times). The cost for this position is approximately $120,000 per year. By doing so, we can focus on some of our problem areas that may enable to reduce our call load in the future. We told the Sheriff that this would be a trial position on our part as well and that it was subject to the review and approval of the City Council. Funding could come from our LGA increase /special levy authority. The position would be available to respond to calls in other jurisdictions just like all officers would currently do. After two years, we would also any formula changes. Therefore, we have two options to consider. 1. Keep service levels the same and pay the formula revisions. 2. Add an officer for two years to measure the impact on problem areas. We would like your reaction to this concept with the understanding we have more time to consider the best course of action. Sherman Development Items: Staff met with George Sherman this past week to address a number of issues. They are as follows: • A revision to The Villas Development Agreement reducing the townhome count from 45 to 44. This is due to the 45th unit being located where a possible connection to other development property could occur. Even at 44 units, Mr. Sherman has exceeded the market value he was to provide (He has achieved $12,977,200 in estimate market value and our development agreement only required $11,837,760.) With the market being rather depressed, building this 45°i unit does not make sense and we still keep the potential for a future connection to adjacent property a possibility for the future. • Related to the market value stated above, Mr. Sherman is looking for some relief in terms of his Villas TIF guarantees. While he has exceed the estimated market value, his annual tax increment collections are running about $39,000 a year under our agreed upon amount. This is due to the decline in our tax rate since the project's inception. Staff has looked at the financial projections for this district and it is doing very well due to the other properties that are included 4