Agenda Packets - 1997/02/24 - Laserfiche WebLink

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11")fJi 1 in 1 11 f Page4 ru il 2 • L L) January 27, 1997 III Mounds View City Council Council member Trude stated she if very concerned about spending money to solicit opinions from perhaps 4% or 5%of the community(based on the turnout of one of the last special elections),when a survey has already been completed,which she feels is a good tool. She feels another survey could be done to solicit opinions that would be a cross representative sampling of the city. She is against holding an advisory election. She noted that other cities do not have advisory elections as they are non-binding. Council member Stigney feels a mail ballot would direct the votes to 100%of the registered voters and give them an opportunity to respond to it,and it would be at a minimal cost A discussion followed as to the estimated cost for a mail ballot Jerry Linke,2319 Knoll Drive, estimated that there are approximately 7,500 registered voters in Mounds View. If this were conducted,at$.32 per mailing it would cost the city$2,400 to mail the ballots,plus an additional$2,400 for a stamped,return envelope. Additionally there would be a cost to print the ballots and informational literature and the administrative costs involved in counting the ballots. He would estimate this to run the city$10,000. He feels the information has already been given to the citizens. To further complicate the situation,many citizens do not even know what Tax Increment Financing is or how much the city has of it Mayor McCarty noted the costs the city has incurred to date on the building. He feels that$10,000 is a minimal cost to the residents in comparison to what the overall costs are expected to be to remodel the property and that residents should be allowed to voice their opinion on the project. Council member Stigney stated he understood from information gathered earlier that a mail ballot would be III roughly$2,000. He feels that in addition to the acquisition and remodeling costs,the city must relay the operational costs to the residents. Steve Larson(no identified address),suggested that the city consider including the ballot with the Mounds View Matters newsletter or have it distributed with the Focus Newspaper to help reduce costs. He feels the city owes it to the residents to have a voice in the matter. He personally does not trust the results of the survey. Susan Do,2274 Oakwood Drive,stated she feels the property needs to be identified by a new name. It is no longer the Bel Rae Ballroom. She stated people need to focus their attention on what great possibilities there are for the building. The city needs a place where people can gather together. It doesn't need to be a fancy place,but there needs to be something to attract families to the community. However,she does not feel that a mail ballot will give the council a true answer from many of the people who will actually use the community center. The council needs to consider the opinions of all of those who will use the center-perhaps opening the vote to students at Edgewood and Irondale schools. She feels confident that she could get 3,000 signatures of people who are in favor of keeping the building and using it as a community center. She would be willing to pay more in taxes to have a place in her own"backyard"to bring her kids. Ed LeTendre,2088 Rustad Lane,stated most of the problems in the Crime Watch program involves kids. They don't have any place to play. He stressed the need to keep the Bel Rae and to provide for the kids in Mounds View. He feels confident also that he could obtain 2,000 signatures himself of people who are in support of the community center. Mayor McCarty stated he must balance those in favor of the Community Center with those who are opposed to the Community Center. He feels the city must give everyone a chance to provide their input. III