02/13/2012 Council Packet (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Background In a 2006 Quality of Life Survey, 60% of respondents favored changing the Lino Lakes City Charter so that the City Council can plan and fund the reconstruction of streets in a responsible manner. The sentiment was echoed throughout the 2030 visioning process (September 2006- February 2007) in a public forum and in visioning issue team discussions, resulting in a 2030 Vision Plan recommendation to change the charter. The 2030 Plan also stated that a citizen's group should initiate the effort. Citizen's Task Force Created by City Council In February 2007 the Lino Lakes City Council adopted Resolution No. 07 -30 (see Appendix A) appointing the 2030 Visioning Committee to form a task force from its members. The 2030 group was made up of citizens randomly selected from the community. Seven interested members of the Visioning Committee formed the Citizen's Task Force, which was charged with studying the charter's impact on the Council's ability to manage streets and consider the need for an amendment. Over the past four months, the task force met 14 times. Detailed information on the Task Force is available at www.ci.lino- lakes.mn.us. Task Force Process The Citizen's Task Force to Review Charter Provisions Pertaining to Local Improvements began meeting in March with a series of presentations that provided background information on the City's Pavement Management Plan, financing recommendations to fund projects in the plan, a comparison of statutory and charter cities, and the process for assessing the costs of public improvements under state statutes and under Lino Lakes' charter. In an effort to hear from all stakeholders in this issue, joint meetings were held with members of the Charter Commission, City administrators, and members of the City Council. Public comment was taken at a public forum and through the city's website. The Issue and Its Significance At issue are the city's authority and apparent inability to reconstruct its streets —a vital public improvement and infrastructure asset —in the most responsible, timely and cost - effective manner. Lino Lakes has 84 miles of paved roads valued at $90 million —a significant asset that is in the city's best interest to preserve in order to provide for the safe and efficient travel of its citizens, retain property values, keep the city attractive and desirable, and minimize costs to property owners and taxpayers. In its Pavement Management Plan, the city has outlined a schedule for the reconstruction of roads rated "problem" (see Figure 1) and a financing plan that would pay for the reconstruction at the lowest cost overall (see Appendix B), yet the city has not been able to fully execute the plan because of provisions in Section 8 of the Charter. Current charter provisions for referendum force a citywide election for each localized street reconstruction project rather than having issues be resolved by affected property owners and the City Council. Referendums failed in 2003 and 2005.