Special Assessment Hearing in the Press

Quad Press 1/27/2009
Some residents briefly questioned the various water fees; the financial burden placed on the community as a whole; how the 5.5 percent interest rate was calculated; why their assessment was higher than the neighbors; how the city went about assessing an odd-shaped lot; why they couldn't find information on the city Website and why the most-traveled part of the street was being assessed the least.
Other residents were more direct in expressing their displeasure.
Resident Daniel Skoog noted that the city reduced the project from $8 million to $4 million, but didn't reduce his assessment by half.
"You haven't done a good job," he said. "I'll bet if I asked everyone in this room who was disappointed, they'd stand up and yell." Loud clapping followed his remark.
Cheers also greeted resident William Svetin's comments. "You place the burden of proof (of property appraisal) on the people," he said. "It shouldn't be that way. You should prove to us." Svetin said he couldn't get a copy of his property appraisal when he went to City Hall.
Skoog and resident Scott Klemann disputed the city's statement that assessments are based on the assumed property value increase due to the street improvements. Klemann said the appraiser his neighbor consulted stated that street improvements "wouldn't raise the value of a home one penny."
Dozens of property owners submitted written protests to city officials, but the time period for oral and written objections is now closed. After the meeting, City Attorney Kurt Glaser met with citizens individually to answer their questions. Citizens will have to hire their own appraiser to provide the numbers to back up their objections, he said.
Full Story Here

Welcome to Centerville!

Centerville Finance Director Abruptly Retires Citing Health Issues

Yes, our finance director John Meyer retired this week. Mr. Meyer was paid at a Grade 12 step 9 which put his annual salary at $81,505.76
Council approved the replacement of his position during the last session 1/28/2009. The general consensus of our elected leaders was that the next finance director would have some very large shoes to fill. Tom Lee even joked that the City might want to add "walk on water" to the job description.
Although we wish John Meyer well and pray his health issues are not grave, we will save our assessment of his job performance until the State Audit is made public.

Exit question:
Does a City of our size need to pay a salary of $81,500 for a finance director?

Special Assessment Updates From the Centerville City Website

2009 Street & Utility Improvement Project

Click here to view the Power Point Presentation from the January 21, 2009 Assessment Hearing. The hearing will also be broadcast daily January 24 to February 24, 2009 from 10 a.m. to noon on Government Channel 16.

One Resident Seeking a New Appraisal Says...

I have done a bit of calling around and actually, quite accidentally, tripped across the company that is doing the appraisals for the City of Centerville.
Nagell Appraisal's St. Paul office is doing the city's side. Being that the Council seemed reluctant to disclose said information so far, I thought it should be made known.
Nagell had to bow out in appraising my property due to conflict of interest. Since the City Council did not state that they were refusing for legal reasons, I assume they chose not to disclose because they didn't want the appraiser to be swamped with angry phone calls.

You can forward this to the e-mail list as you see fit.

Link Here

Special Assessment Hearing Tomorrow Evening

The Council is holding a meeting at St. Genevieve's Community Parish beginning at 6:30 pm. You may make your objection writing or take the opportunity to speak directly to Council at this time.

What a Mess

CIRCLE PINES — Centennial Lakes police officers hoping for quick action after a no-confidence vote against their chief might be in for a long wait.
Last October, the patrol and sergeants’ unions gave Police Chief Bob Makela a unanimous vote of “no confidence” on his “ability to lead the department.” In a letter sent to then-Joint Governing Board Chair Dave Kelso last December, two members of the police force listed several complaints against their boss, and demanded action from the board. Another letter was sent to the board in October, but the union members have not requested that Makela be removed as police chief.
A unanimous vote of “no confidence” and a list of complaints isn’t enough for the board to take dramatic action to address the complaints, according to newly appointed board chair Mary Capra, who is the mayor of Centerville. She says the complaints the board received are too “generalized.”
“We received a written statement Oct. 17 and it didn’t relate to a specific instance or instances, charge, accusation, or complaint against the chief,” Capra said. “Even the one received Dec. 29, that statement from the union stewards, there is no specific accusation.”

Some of the complaints in the Dec. 29 letter were as follows:

• “Is unwilling to make important decisions within his authority.”

• “Does not listen.”

• “Takes matters personally and retaliates.”

• “Degrades employees by screaming at them and has created a hostile work environment.”

In response to the vote and letters to the board, Makela wrote in a prepared statement that some officers are resistant to new changes to the police department that he has been tasked with enforcing by the Joint Governing Board.
“During our recent implementation to problem-oriented policing (POP) there has been resistance by some employees to embrace this change,” he wrote. “Efforts to change for the betterment of the community are difficult when employees perceive that some of their duties and responsibilities will increase or change due to our changing community needs.”
Capra also said police officers wanting the board to take action have bypassed the Labor Management Committee and haven’t submitted a grievance to their unions.

The union stewards wrote in their Dec. 29 letter that the board has refused requested meetings and completely disregarded their vote of “no confidence.”
“We are surprised that the unanimous level of dissatisfaction of your workforce resulting in the vote of no confidence appears to be of so little importance to you,” the letter said.
Quad Press 1/20/2009
Link Here

2009 Street Special Assessment Hearing Scheduled for 1/21/2009

Another resident request today at 10:26 a.m.

Please move this to the top of the blog - our next meeting is next week.

I'm concerned that the city is going to be faced with budget cuts, but just to shove this down the residents throat, they will go ahead, despite the economy and pending city cuts!

Well, if they do go through with this, which is the MOST IDIOTIC THING this city could do, they will just have to cut the City Administrator's, City Attorney and City Clerk's salary to make up for revenue loss!

Bonestroo $35,000 Request Shaved to $16,632

The request made last fall by Bonestroo representative, Mark Statz for an additional $35,000 to oversee work done on CSAH 14 was finally decided this evening.
New Council member Ben Fehrenbacher crunched the numbers and suggested a dollar amount between 0-$16,000. After discussion, it was determined to pay out $16,632 for the additional 189 hours submitted. Significantly less than the original request.
Great job Ben!
Ben Fehrenbacher and Jeff Paar voted against.

Homes Currently For Sale Next Door

Courtesy of the Pioneer Press
1/11/2009
Full Story Here

Police Chief Gets a No Confidence Vote

Centennial Lakes police rank-and-file are going public with gripes about their boss.

The patrol and sergeants unions are demanding action from community leaders after earlier passing a unanimous vote of no confidence in Chief Bob Makela, calling him a poor leader since he took the job three years ago. The department serves Centerville, Circle Pines and Lexington.

"We want change. We want leadership. We want communication," said an officer in the department who asked not to be identified out of fear of retaliation.

"The commission makes directives, and the chief follows those directives. Some ... might not be well-received," Capra said. "Change is hard."

Officers said problem-oriented policing was not a factor in their no-confidence vote.

They spelled out concerns about Makela in a letter to the police board two weeks ago:

He is indecisive.

He does a bad job of communicating.

He delegates his work.

He doesn't instill confidence in others, and union members avoid interacting with himm.

He has created a hostile work environment.

The letter asks the board to address the problems but does not seek the chief's ouster or suggest solutions.

Several members of the department have grown so frustrated that they have begun to look for other jobs. The unions warned the governing board — which includes the mayor and a city council member from each city the department serves — last month it could lose its trained officers.

The governing board shouldn't dismiss the no-confidence vote, suggested Dennis Flaherty, executive director of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association.

"I think it signals in a very loud way to the city's policymakers or elected officials and the community at large that there are problems in the Police Department that bear very close attention," Flaherty said.

The unions notified the board of their no-confidence vote in October and requested a meeting. But the board responded a month later with a closed meeting. The unions were not invited.

Full Story Here
Pioneer Press
1/10/2009
Centennial Lakes Police Governing Board

One Resident Reacts to Recent Council Actions

In watching the recent City Council meeting a couple of disturbing ordinances were approved. First, it is unlawful to discharge a gun in your house unless it is self-defense. What is this? We already have an ordinance that says we cannot discharge a gun within the city limits. Law abiding gun owners are not going to be discharging their guns in their homes unless it is self defense. Why should law abiding citizens be grouped in with a few criminals. No I say. It is an outright attack on the second amendment. Why have an added ordinance about discharging a gun in your house? Why??? Are they trying to pick away at our second amendment rights? Our own City? How ridiculous? Is this to protect them if they feel they need to enter your home and you refuse? What is their definition of self-defense?
Second, the other ordinance that they approved is that they can shut down your private well if there is a natural disaster. They claim they want to do this is so our wells don't contaminate their city well. What is their definition of a natural disaster? Is this a way to pressure people into thinking that their well could be shut down and that they would not have water at a time of a natural disaster and might go ahead now and agree to be hooked up to city water? Is this a scare tactic to get us to accept city water when our wells are fine? What if the city well is contaminated during a natural disaster and not the private wells. How can they claim that we could have contaminated their well. Do they test our water or just shut us down? This is unbelievable.
These two ordinances were passed at the same time. Do they go together? In other words, if they force their way into your home claiming they need to shut down your well because of a natural disaster and you disagree, then you cannot protect your home from this. Would they even test your well or just say we don't have time or even if it is not contaminated now, it could become contaminated, and, therefore, contaminate the city water? They would not consider this self-defense.
As far as we are concerned this is way out of line. We do not need these ordinances. First of all it is none of their business to tell us what to do in our own house when it comes to the second amendment and second they do not need to have an ordinance on the books ready to go regarding shutting down our wells at their whim and their definition of natural disaster.
Do the Centerville residents group still meet? This needs to be addressed immediately and try and overturn these ordinances. I think we could be looking at a real problem in the future if we do not hold their feet to fire on this.
In other Council action...
Amended Chapter 50 of the city Code to require connection to public water and sewer systems if private systems “fall into disrepair,” defined as when the cost of repair exceeds $500.
The Citizen

Who Has the Best Interest of Centerville at Heart?

Council Spurns Engineer's Compensation Request

Louise Edwards The Citizen

At the last Centerville City Council meeting of the year, council members spent considerable time in discussion over a request for $35,000 in additional compensation for construction observation services performed this summer by the city’s consulting engineers, Bonestroo, on Anoka County’s Main Street reconstruction project. Council held a similar discussion at its Sept. 24 meeting and tabled the matter.

City Engineer Mark Statz stated in a letter dated Sept. 16, 2008 that although the total budget for inspection services agreed upon at the beginning of the CSAH 14 project was $55,428, he said that the company provided additional services throughout the summer after city inspectors, who had planned to supplement Bonestroo’s efforts, were unable to assist because of higher-than-expected construction activity related to the hailstorm of May 25. “Our proposal was clear in saying that it was based on a [specific] number of hours per week,” said Statz. “Since our proposal was based on our expectation, and since we were directed to be out there more, I think [our request is] in line.”

“We would have expected them to step up and pick up any slack … because we wouldn’t have wanted the project to go on unsupervised,” agreed Council Member Linda Broussard Vickers. “We overestimated what our staff could do.” “Well, I’m concerned about the communication,” said Council Member Jeff Paar, referring to the delay before council was officially presented with the request in September. A motion to compensate Bonestroo for $21,000—the extra work for this past summer—of the $35,000 requested failed, 3-2. Mayor Capra and Council Member Broussard Vickers both supported the motion.

In reviewing the Council meeting, it is clear that Mr. Statz (City Engineer) working with Bonestroo was requesting additional payment of 12 oversight hours per week times 20 weeks. It was determined by the City that is was necessary to oversee the County on the CSAH 14 project. B-Vickers got out the calculator and determined that 12 hours per week at 20 weeks came to the grand total of $21,600 and not the $35,000 requested. Mr. Statz stated that he would have to look back at the records to see if Bonestroo had worked more than 20 weeks. Mr. Statz was afforded the opportunity to bring in documentation to back the additional work hours, which he declined, stating he wanted to resolve the issue that evening. This motion was not approved and scheduled to be discussed during the 1-7-09 work session which is not taped. For further information, please feel free to contact your City officials.

2009 Street Improvement/Special Assessment Hearing Postponed Again.

The City of Centerville has not updated the website, nor utilized the City Hall sign to make the announcement that the special assessment hearing scheduled for two days from now has been postponed yet again. City officials have opted to inform residents via US mail and will be sending out notices which may not be received in time.
Per Teresa Bender, the special assessment meeting has been rescheduled to January 21st.

Happy New Year! We're Back!!!!

Fee Schedule Changes to Affect Residents

The council also adopted Ordinance No. 22, the city’s 2009 Fee Schedule.

Changes include a 5% increase in water and sewer rates and storm water drainage fees as well as changes to the way drainage fees are calculated for commercial and industrial property.

Taxpayers will also notice the addition of a $21 quarterly water base charge which represents the benefit of accessibility to hydrants for all city residents and business owners whether they have municipal water service or not.

Centerville has been upgraded to a Fire Class 5, effectively lowering fire insurance rates because of hydrant availability, Administrator Larson said.

This charge will appear on municipal April 1 quarterly drainage and/or sewer & water statements.

It's not a tax increase, it's a new water charge... Something we look forward to this New Year!

Link Here

The Citizen 12/24/2008

Update From City Administrator in Response to a Copy and Paste of The Citizen News Article Linked Above

Monday, January 5, 2009 9:21 AM

From: dlarson@centervillemn.com

To: Centervilleblog@yahoo.com

Your blog states that the city water charge of $84 will apply to all residents. The charge at $80 is already on the bill of the majority of residents (all who are connected to city water) and for them only the 5% increase will apply. This fee will be new to those that are not connected to city water, but receive benefits due to the fire insurance rating.

Dallas Larson, Administrator
City of Centerville
651-429-3232

UPDATE
The ISO Fire Protection Rating System
The link above will open a PDF file created by the Minnesota League of Cities.
There appears to be no difference in estimated premiums ranked classifications four through seven, based on a $150,000 residential property. (page 3 of 4)
Class 1-3 average annual premium $653
Class 4-7 average annual premium $662
Class 8-9 average annual premium $667
Class 10 average annual premium $670
Estimated premiums based on insurance companies which recognize the ISO protection rating.

Check you individual policy for any reduction the new lower class five rating may have on your premium.