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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes January 10, 1995 Page 8 • 1 Ranallo stated that those assessments were done by Hennepin County and he did not know if 2 those residents would be assessed due to State and County Aid. 3 Wagner expressed his concern in changing policy midstream. He asked city attorney if it is legal 4 to do so. 5 Soth stated that it was legal to permanently change the policy but he would not recommend a 6 dramatic change. He did not recommend using a valuation method. The current policy is based 7 solely on front footage and is appropriate. He stated that for specific cases, such as cul-de-sac 8 and corner lots, if the council thought there was a better way to handle these, a change could be 9 made to that specific part of the policy. He stated a change could also be made to individual 10 assessments, if it was found that the policy produced an individual assessment that seemed 11 unfair. He then explained the appeal process. The individual would need to submit a written 12 objection to the assessment and then within 30 days, as stated in the notice, need to serve the 13 mayor's clerk and file notice with the district court. At the court proceeding,the individual will 14 have to be prepared to present evidence of the inappropriateness of the assessment. He explained 15 that if planning to appeal,the objection must be filed tonight. 16 Dr. Ferguson stated that he had investigated the appeal process and it does not pay off. 17 Fleming stated that she did not think that Mr. Froehlich had imagined when he bought the lot, • 18 with such small front footage,that he would be paying such a high assessment. She compared 19 his situation to a resident with a corner lot. She questioned if there was some other conclusion 20 the council could come to. 21 Anderson stated that if Mr. Froehlich's lot was a straight lot,he would have 130 feet of front 22 footage. 23 Fleming stated that this was not a straight street and she could understand Mr. Froehlich's 24 argument. 25.. Mr. Anderson,stated there is more street to be maintained in a cul-de-sac. 26- Mr. Froehlich again stated that the entire neighborhood benefits from the cul-de-sac, not just the 27 people living on it. 28 Marks noted that the project area was unusual and had many meandering streets. He could see 29 the difficulty in applying the policy and having it come out right. 30 Ranallo stated that there are cul-de-sacs and corner lots all over the city. 31 Marks stated that this particular area seemed more difficult than most.