HomeMy WebLinkAbout#23 Staff Report-Recommendations from Finance for Downtown Project (2)MAYOR AND COUNCIL COMMUNICATION
DATE: June 21, 2016
CONSENT
ITEM #: 23
MOTION
AGENDA ITEM: Requests from Finance Related to Old Village Downtown Improvement Project
SUBMITTED BY: Kristina Handt, City Administrator
_____________________________________________________________________________________
BACKGROUND:
At the June 14th Finance Committee meeting, staff mentioned there were a number of ways to influence
the financial impact to property owners effected by the Old Village Downtown Improvement Project.
These included lowering the assessments and fees, deferring costs over a period of years through special
assessments or the Met Council deferral program, city financing contractor costs related to individual
hook ups on a project basis rather than individual property owners, and lowering the interest rate to name
a few. The committee made a recommendation regarding connection and SAC charges (see later agenda
item) but other items were put off to another meeting.
ISSUE BEFORE COUNCIL:
Should the Council direct the Finance Director and Finance Committee to provide recommendations
within 45 days regarding the financial options related to the Old Village Downtown Improvement
Project?
PROPOSAL DETAILS/ANALYSIS:
Mayor Pearson and Council member Bloyer would like a recommendation from the Finance Director in
conjunction with the Finance Committee regarding all the possible ways to reduce the financial impact to
property owners downtown.
Some specific items they’d like discussed and a recommendation made on include:
1) commercial properties in the village are to be assessed their street / landscaping improvements at the
residential equivalency rate of 30%, yet are not to be lower than any residential property within phase
1&2 (IE: 30% v 100%).
2) city allows carrying the debt for private internal sanitary sewer hookup costs to an amount not to
exceed 5k
3) for those transitioning to city sewer, a lowered interest rate shall be provided for aggregate city
assessments totaling higher than 14k
4) consideration of a universally lowered assessment amount, in anticipation of future growth for the
phase 1 and 2 properties. I.E. existing properties are subsidizing future growth potential. Existing
assessment policy takes little if any consideration of future hook ups for the phase 1 and 2 projects.
5) with regards to phase 1 and 2, for those properties being charged 3 or more RECs, prior to any
assessments being levied, a cost benefit appraisal is to be performed in order to ascertain a more exacting
incremental value increase for those properties. That appraisal shall be the actual assessed amount.
FISCAL IMPACT:
NA-will be determined with recommendations
OPTIONS:
1) Request a summary of all recommendations within 45 days from the finance director in
conjunction with the finance committee related to the Old Village Downtown Improvement
Project
2) Don’t request this information from finance
RECOMMENDATION:
If removed from the consent agenda:
Motion to request a summary of all recommendations within 45 days from the finance director in
conjunction with the finance committee related to the Old Village Downtown Improvement Project.