City Council

City of South St. Paul COUNCIL AGENDA SPECIAL MEETING OF CITY COUNCIL Monday, April 8, 2013 7:00 p.m. 1. CALL TO ORDER: 2. ROLL CALL: 3. AGENDA: A. Approval of Agenda Action – Motion to Approve Action – Motion to Approve as Amended 4. GENERAL BUSINESS: A. Consider Resolution Supporting Senate File #558, a bill for an act that would amend levy limits currently applicable to EMS Taxing Districts B. Consider Resolution Supporting Senate File #607 and House File #745, which would authorize cities to create street improvement districts C. Consider Resolution supporting the position presented by SSD#6 for consideration in a special building bond election May 21, 2013 5. MAYOR AND COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS: 12. ADJOURNMENT: Respectfully Submitted, Stephen P. King, City Administrator  Agenda 4-A City of South St. Paul Dakota County, Minnesota Resolution No. 2013-50 RESOLUTION SUPPORTING SENATE FILE #558, WHICH WOULD AMEND MINNESOTA STATUTES 2012, SECTION 144F.Ol, SUBDIVISION 4 WITH REGARD TO LEVY LIMTS APPPLICABLE TO EMS TAXING DISTRICTS. WHEREAS, the cities of West St. Paul and South St. Paul approved a Joint and Cooperative Agreement for Fire Protection Services in October, 2005 and created the South Metro Fire Department, which provides fire services, first responder medical services and basic life support (BLS) ambulance services for the two communities; and WHEREAS, the SMFD operating and capital budgets include substantial expenditures for first responder medical services and BLS ambulance services; and WHEREAS, the cities of West St. Paul and South St. Paul approved a second Joint and Cooperative Agreement in April, 2012 that created and organized an emergency medical services special taxing district for the areas of the City of West St. Paul and the City of South St. Paul, as authorized by Minnesota Statutes, Sections 471.59 and 144F.Ol; and WHEREAS, the current emergency medical services special taxing district levy is constrained by the levy limits expressed in Minnesota Statutes 2012, Section 144F.Ol subdivision 4 and therefore does not fully fund the SMFD expenditures for first responder medical services and BLS services; and WHEREAS, Senate File #558 would expand the ad valorem tax levy potentially available to SMFD through the emergency medical services special taxing district by amending Section 144F.Ol, subdivision 4 to make the levy limits applicable to each of the participating political subdivisions, rather than a single limit applied to the joint powers entity as a whole. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council ofthe City of South St. Paul that it supports and encourages enactment of Senate File #558, which would amend the levy limit methodology in Minnesota Statutes 2012, Section 144F.01, Subdivision 4. Adopted this 8th day of April, 2013. City Clerk  Agenda 4-B City of South St. Paul Dakota County, Minnesota RESOLUTION NO. 2013-49 A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING LEGISLATION AUTHORIZING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF MUNICIPAL STREET IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS WHEREAS, Minnesota contains over 135,000 miles of roadway, and over 19,000 miles, 14 percent, are owned and maintained by Minnesota's 853 cities; and WHEREAS, 84 percent of municipal streets are ineligible for dedicated Highway User Tax Distribution Fund dollars; and WHEREAS, the more than 700 Minnesota cities with populations below 5,000 are ineligible for dedicated Highway User Tax Distribution Fund dollars; and WHEREAS, city streets are a separate but integral piece of the network of roads supporting movement of people and goods; and WHEREAS, existing funding mechanisms, such as Municipal State Aid (MSA), property taxes and special assessments, have limited applications, leaving cities under-equipped to address growing needs; and WHEREAS, maintenance costs increase as road systems age, and no city, large or small, is spending enough on roadway capital improvements to maintain a 50-year lifecycle; and WHEREAS, for every one dollar spent on maintenance, a road authority saves seven dollars in repairs; and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of South St. Paul finds it is difficult to develop adequate funding systems to support the City's needed street improvement and maintenance programs while complying with existing State statutes; and WHEREAS, cities need flexible policies and greater resources in order to meet growing demands for municipal street improvements and maintenance. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council ofthe City of South St. Paul supports enabling legislation that would authorize cities to establish street improvement districts to fund municipal street maintenance, construction and reconstruction. Adopted this gnd day of April, 20 13. City Clerk  Cit!J of c:South c:St. rfJauf Beth A. Baumann Mayor April 8, 2013 Senator James Metzen Senator Katie Sieben 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Capitol Room 322, St. Paul, MN 55155 Capitol Room 322, St. Paul, MN 55155 Representative Rick Hansen Representative Dan Schoen 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. 451 State Office Bldg., St. Paul, MN 55155 533 State Office Bldg., St. Paul, MN 55155 Dear Senators Metzen and Sieben and Representatives Hansen and Schoen, I am writing to request your support for HF 745 (Erhardt, DFL-Edina) and SF 607 (Carlson, DFL- Eagan), legislation that would allow cities to create street improvement districts. This authority would allow cities to collect fees from property owners within a district to fund municipal street maintenance, construction, reconstruction, and facility upgrades. If enacted, this legislation would provide cities with an additional tool to build and maintain city streets. Here are some answers to questions that have been raised about the legislation: • This is enabling legislation. No city would be required to create a municipal street improvement district. • The street improvement district authority legislation is modeled after Minn. Stat. 435.44, which allows cities to establish sidewalk improvement districts. • This authority would provide a funding mechanism that is fair. It establishes a clear relationship between who pays fees and where projects occur, but stops short of the benefit test that sometimes makes special assessments vulnerable to legal challenges. It also does not prohibit cities from collecting fees from tax exempt properties within a district. • This tool allows cities to perform maintenance and reconstruction on schedule. Timely maintenance is essential to preserving streets and thereby protecting taxpayer investments. • This tool would allow property owners to fund expensive projects by paying relatively small fees over time. The tool could be used to mitigate or eliminate the need for special assessments. If you have further questions on this bill, please contact me. You may also contact Anne Finn at the League of Minnesota Cities at (651) 281-1263 or afinn@lmc.org. Thank you for considering this request. Sincerely, Beth A. Baumann Mayor, City of South St. Paul 125 Third Avenue North • South St. Paul, MN 55075 • (651) 554-:3203 • Fax (651) 554-3201 Printed on Recycled Paper, 30 r. Po5t-Con5umer