Third Time's a Charm?

In other infrastructure plans, the council unanimously agreed to apply for a grant — for the third time — to fund a tunnel under County Highway 14 along Clearwater Creek. Larson said this may be the last chance for the city to secure such a grant.
The route would be used for bicyclists and students who want a safer way to cross the road on their way to school, Capra said.
City Engineer Mark Statz (Bonestroo Consultant) said the project has a better chance of getting funded this time by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
“(The safe route) is rising to the top of this next budget cycle,” he said.
One concern about the proposed tunnel is spring flooding of Clearwater Creek, which could submerge the path and render it useless for extended time periods. Partially draining the creek and lowering its level below the proposed path could help alleviate the problem, Statz said.
Another concern was voiced by council member Tom Lee, who believes the added construction will make things worse on Highway 14.
“It will be a nuisance for everyone for more than a day,” he said.
Statz estimated that construction of such a path would take about a month and a half.

Quad Press
Nicholas Backus
Tuesday, 11/18/2008

How much money do you suppose this will cost the citizens of Centerville? Partially draining a creek could be a pretty penny if not completely covered under the proposed grant. The tunnel on Birch Street frequently floods...

Reality Check 2

We have been getting comments and phone calls from the press asking the blog representatives about the idea of the consolidation between Lino Lakes and Centerville. We are not involved with this idea or are participating in any such discussion.

Kindest Regards,

Centerville Citizens for Ethitical Taxation

The Centerville State Audit Petition Has Been Certified by Anoka County and Sent to the State!

Selective Ordinance Enforcement Part Five

Is the City using the selective ordinance enforcement to impact the election?
City ordinance is quite clear, there shall be no more than one political
sign per candidate per residential property. Why have some residents received letters from the City asking to remove signs in opposition of Mary Capra and Jeff Paar while their signs are left standing? What makes this issue particularly disturbing is the fact that Tom Lee is currently in violation and as a sitting council member, he should know better. Does the current council think they are above the ordinance laws?


The City has been removing signs they consider to be in violation of the ordinance and is dropping them behind the Public Works building, near the dumpster. If you are missing any, this might be a good place to look first.

UPDATE! Council Member Tom Lee is in compliance with the sign ordinance as of this evening. (10/27/2008)

Another Citizen Speaks Out About Misinformation

I cannot tell you how betrayed I felt when the City Council did not listen to us. The insult was added to injury when I saw the ridiculous expenses added to County RD 14 in the downtown area! All I can think of is that we have to pay for the colorized concrete and fancy lights because someone has buyers remorse for moving into Centerville. The audit issue concerns me because the signers can be billed for the auditing, if I understand it correctly. That makes sense: it would keep people from making false claims. On the other hand, it is precisely because of the cost of living in Centerville that the audit is being requested.

As a single person I am sick about the assessments I am facing. Retirement is a very distant possibility at this point but there is no way around it! It's far too late to escape by selling, even if anything was selling. Since the Council feels free to increase our liability, just to satisfy their vanity, there could be no end in sight! It is obvious that they wish they had bought their homes in a classier community.

Disinformation can really be hard to overcome. Certainly, there are folks who would want to frighten people to prevent an audit.

Unfortunately, some residents believe that they will have to personally pay for the State Audit if they sign. This is incorrect. The City will be billed and how they choose to pay the fee is up to the City officials. Currently, the City pays $30,000 for an audit that is not transparent. The State will complete a FULL audit and charge on an hourly rate. The State Auditors office is on record that the expense can be anywhere from $1,800 to $30,000.

What Results Can We Expect From a State Audit?

We can not say with any certainty what a State audit will reveal. The reason we are requesting one is to determine if our City is being managed properly. Citizens want to address the debt and understand why it has increased over a million dollars for each of the past two years. The audit will also address spending. Why did Council spend $517,000 for unnecessary streetscaping which caused an additional bill of over $54,000 for engineering and administrative costs? Why do we now own a second public works building at the cost of 1.4 million dollars? Are the people behind the walls of City Hall managing the City correctly and being good stewards of our money? The audit will answer these questions!
The City will be billed hourly by the state. Hugo is expecting a price tag of under $20,000. If Centerville spends this much but the audit reveals how to save $50,000, isn't it worth it?
The following links detail the results of a State audit completed for each city. In reviewing the audits you also get an understanding how each city is managed.

Cambridge
Crosby
Bena
Kenyon
Phillips
Ronneby
Harris
Albany
Stacy

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