CC MINUTES 09242013 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes September 24 , 2013 Page 2 IV. V. VI. A. Consider September 10.2013, Council meeting minutes; B. Consider licenses and permits; and C. Consider payment of claims. Motion by Councilmember Jenson, seconded by Councilmember Gray, to approve the Consent Agenda items. Motion carried unanimously. PUBLIC HEARING -NONE. REPORTS FROM COMMISSION AND STAFF -NONE. GENERAL BUSINESS OF COUNCIL. A. Metro Cities Update. Patricia Nauman. Metro Cities Executive Director. presenting. Ms. Nauman provided an update on the 2013 legislative session and stated that Metro Cities ' priorities included reinstating the sales tax exemption, reforming LGA , organized waste collection streamlining, promoting tools for economic development, and 1&1 legislation. She reported that Metro Cities and the League worked on the sales tax exemption bill and Senator Rest of the Senate Tax Committee provided assistance in getting the bill passed. She advised there are some issues with joint powers entities that are not exempt and Metro Cities is working to get that clarified , adding it was not the legislature 's intent to exempt joint powers entities from the bill. She stated another key issue this year was reforming the LGA program to fix inequities in the program and avoid instabilities in the program, noting that 70% of LGA was going to greater Minnesota and 30% to the metro, and Metro Cities was able to get reforms to bring more money into the metro area , with 31 cities now receiving LGA that did not receive LGA in the past. She advised that Metro Cities also worked on streamlining the organized waste collection process resulting in a new law requiring a 60-day negotiation period before a waste collection study is established. She stated there was a study recently completed on the fiscal disparities program and this has been a fairly contentious issue, adding they expected to see legislation this year that would have sought to diminish fiscal disparities and there was legislation proposed to assist the Mall of America with its expansion and in the end, a bill was passed that provides $250 million to Mall of America. She reported that Metro Cities was able to secure $1 million for 1&1 mitigation under the Legacy Bill that will allow cities to assist private property owners in cities identified as being excess 1&1 contributors. She advised that Metro Cities continued to push for more flexible economic development tools including expanding TIF to allow cities more time to spend the increment but these efforts were unsuccessful. She indicated that Metro Cities is monitoring the Met Council 's work on Thrive MSP 2040, including Met Council's role in economic development, climate change, and whether to expand Met Council's scope of authority as it relates to water supply. She stated Metro Cities will be establishing an advisory committee to assist in reviewing and responding to the Thrive MSP 2040 ; in addition, Metro Cities will be asking Met Council to revisit how they allocated the affordable housing numbers. She stated she is co-chairing a working group of cities and the Met Council to discuss options regarding the Sewer Availability Charge (SAC). She discussed the next legislative session that will be a bonding year and will likely include significant transportation projects, adding she felt the next session would also include some revisiting of the tax bill since there was a lot of controversy