CC MINUTES 10142008 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

City Council Regular Meeting Minutes October 14, 2008 Page 2 1 IV. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE. 2 3 (Moved in the agenda to follow Agenda Item 5A). 4 5 Congressman Keith Ellison was present to provide the legislative update. He stated his office is 6 well aware of the needs of the people of St. Anthony Village. He provided an overview of the 7 following legislation: 8 ■ $750 billion bailout package recently approved by Congress 9 • Program passed by the Senate and House in July to provide assistance to homeowners 10 experiencing difficulties with their mortgages 11 • Encouragement to the community to engage in the conversation on what the financial 12 services sector should look like 13 ■ Efforts with Congressman to get G.I.'s their full benefits 14 15 Congressman Ellison stated the following will be big legislative issues coming up: health care, 16 "No Child Left Behind ", and immigration. He stated he is committed to support ofNorthstar. He 17 cannot guarantee earmarks, but he will work hard to get earmarks that are important to St. 18 Anthony Village passed. His opinion is that this is the system they have, and he will use the 19 system to try to get projects passed that will benefit his constituents until there is another system 20 in place. 21 22 Mayor Faust thanked Congressman Ellison for the lead he has taken in administering his work 23 with Islamic countries and members of the armed forces. 24 25 Congressman Ellison stated the U.S. has a lot of allies in the Muslim world. They will be safer if 26 they can expand their allies and isolate their enemies. He thanked the City Council for being the 27 closest unit of government to the people. 28 29 V. PUBLIC /ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING. 30 31 A. Resolution 08 -067: Approving the a Property Tax Abatement for Emerald Park. Stacie 32 Kvilvang, Ehlers & Associates presenting. 33 34 Mayor Faust opened the public hearing at 7:04 p.m. 35 36 Ms. Stacie Kvilvang, Ehlers & Associates, provided an overview of Resolution No. 08 -067 and 37 the proposed property tax abatement for Emerald Park. She stated the City will be issuing these 38 bonds in early 2009, along with its annual road reconstruction bonds, in order to realize cost 39 savings by issuing the debt at the same time. To meet the City's financing parameters, the City 40 will issue the abatement bonds with a 20 -year term. The City can grant tax abatement for this 41 term if the School District or County declines to participate in the abatement, which is typical of 42 these entities for park improvement projects. The County will be considering approval of a 43 resolution declining to participate in the abatement project at their October 21" meeting. 44 45 Councilmember Stille noted that rates are coming in very high due to liquidity in the 46 marketplace. He inquired about the recommended action if rates spike higher. Ms. Kvilvang