Process Begins for New Centerville Trails

At its Feb. 25 meeting, the Centerville City Council started the process of making sure the Transportation Enhancement Trail Grant project becomes reality.
“We want to make sure we are poised to take advantage of that money if it comes available to us,” said City (Bonestroo) Engineer Mark Statz. The Minnesota Department of Transportation has said that Centerville is a viable candidate to receive funding, he added.

The first order of business for the council was to approve consideration of a plan and fee proposal from Bonestroo, a St. Paul-based engineering firm, for the Transportation Enhancement Trail Grant project. For its designs and permit submittal work, Bonestroo will receive $128,000 in fees.
The next task for the city is to make offers to purchase right of ways from property owners along the proposed trail.
In other actions, the council:
*Unanimously awarded the contract for the 2009 Pond Dredging Project to the lowest qualified bidder, Dresel Contracting Inc., for $73,525.
*Unanimously approved consideration of Bonestroo's scope and fee proposal of $3,000 for construction services on the 2009 Pond Dredging Project. Work will begin immediately to take advantage of cold temperatures and last approximately three weeks, Statz said.
*Unanimously authorized the city administrator to enter into a contract for soil borings and engineering reports, not to exceed $10,000, for a pedestrian bridge.
*Unanimously authorized the city attorney to begin litigation for delinquent assessment payments against Fairview Street (Royal Oaks Realty).
*Approved special assessment agreements for the 2009 Street Improvement Project.
Quad Press
Full Story Here

Classic Cadillac Diner True to Name

Walking into the Classic Cadillac Diner is literally a step back in time.

Coca Cola memorabilia and classic car posters line the walls. Colorful vinyl booths provide a cozy retro atmosphere. And then there’s the mint 1907 Cadillac, which justifies the diner’s name.
Tucked inside Jason’s Bobby & Steve’s Auto World at the junction of Interstate 35E and Cty. Rd. 14, the diner received a complete makeover recently when Jason Snyder and partner Bobby Williams ended a franchise agreement with Embers.

Centerville Elementary will be getting a $750 grant through Exxon Mobile on behalf of Auto World and Jason’s Bobby & Steve’s contributed to Centerville’s Adopt a Family last year, a benefit for the Jay Hauer family.

Link Here
Quad Press

What's Going on With the State Audit?

This is a question we have received from several Centerville residents. We are expecting the State Auditor to release the investigation results very soon. We are aware that the audit has been completed and is in review.
As soon as we obtain a copy of the audit report, we will post the highlights and link directly to the OSA website where every resident will be able to read the complete findings.
It is our understanding that the report will be delivered to the citizens and the City officials the same day but we have not been given any further information.

Thank you for all your support.

Centerville City Finance Director Posting

The City will be accepting applications for the position of Finance Director in the near future. Please check the Pioneer Press for this posting.
Link Here

Street Project Still Riling Residents

The 2009 Street Improvement Project, the topic that won’t go away, took over the Feb. 11 Centerville City Council meeting.
A dozen residents of Peltier Lake Drive showed up at the meeting to speak their minds about assessments, appeals, attorneys and recent actions of the City Council.
Although City Attorney Kurt Glaser said the public forum was not supposed to be a question and answer session, the bulk of the meeting turned into a dialogue between the council and the residents.
Several residents of Peltier Lake Drive reported that they had met before the council meeting to discuss ways to reduce their assessments short of litigation. “For the most part, people on Peltier Lake Drive want to have a win-win and work with the city. We don’t want to litigate,” said resident Daniel Skoog.
Despite recent public hearings and consultations with Glaser, the residents still had questions for council members. Among them: why the city holds closed-door sessions, why residents can’t get appraisal data, whether it’s worthwhile to obtain a special appraisal to appeal and why residents have to pay for the street project.
As the council moved through its agenda, discussion stemming from bid rejections and the reopening of bidding for the 2009 Street Project consumed the meeting again. William Svetin wondered whether savings from the new bidding process would lower their assessments.
“If the bids come back lower, pass it on to the people,” he said.
Glaser said assessments only represent 20 to 25 percent of the project’s cost, so if the overall project costs drop, it will affect the taxpayers paying for the remaining 75 to 80 percent — not the individual assessment amounts.
If the total cost of the project doesn’t go up, no public hearings will be necessary, and residents appealing their assessments must keep following the same time line as a matter of law, Glaser said.
Quad Press

Grants are Great When You Can Afford Them

BENSON, Minn.—Minnesota cities are struggling in the down economy and in Benson, finances are so tight that it's decided to send back $167,000 in state transportation money.

City Manager Rob Wolfington says they money is going back to the Minnesota Department of Transportation because the city can't afford its share of matching funds.

Wolfington says the city received the grant in 2006 for a trail extension that would cost about $280,000 to build.

With matching funds and the required engineering costs, the city would be on the hook for nearly $115,000 to build the project.

The City Council could have rolled the project back to 2012, but Wolfington says the city doesn't think it will be in any better financial shape in three years.

The council took the action on Monday.

Associated Press

The Hunt for a New Finance Director is On!

The Centerville City Council accepted Finance Director John Meyer's letter of retirement at its Jan. 28 meeting and quickly took steps to find his replacement.
Meyer submitted a short letter on Jan. 23, citing a “deteriorating medical condition and related limitations” as the cause for his retirement, effective Jan. 30.
“It's really with a heavy heart that the City of Centerville accepts Mr. Meyer's retirement letter,” Mayor Mary Capra said. “Meyer was an outstanding employee for the city, leaving big shoes to fill with all the talents that he brought to the council.” The mayor added there would be a potluck for his retirement. “If he is able to come back, we will certainly welcome him,” she said.
Because Meyer leaves an important position open, the council went to work immediately to seek a new financial director. The opening will be posted immediately. City Administrator Dallas Larson expects a new financial director on board within two to three months at the earliest.
Quad Press

Centerville paid Mr Meyer the Finance Director over $80,000 annually. We are currently paying over $90,000 to our City Administrator Dallas Larson. Could these positions be shared with Lexington and Circle Pines? We already share our police with them. Many small cities team together for these larger salaried positions in the interest of saving their citizens tax dollars.

More Bad Press for Centerville...

Pioneer Press 2/1/2009

Centerville residents are finding strength in numbers as they fight what they consider hefty and poorly timed special assessments.

The Peltier Lake Drive Group is made up of dozens of residents who have banded together to contest the assessments for a $4 million road and water project meant to improve streets and hook up homes with private wells to city water. The group is considering several options — from negotiating a smaller bill to a lawsuit, should it come to that.

"The neighbors are very concerned about having to pay for a road for the third time. Everyone is of the same feelings and, therefore, formed a group to find a solution to this problem that would mutually benefit both sides — a win-win situation," said organizer Daniel Skoog, who lives on Peltier Lake Drive.

A battle over the project has been brewing for months. Many of the 250 affected residents are baffled that the city is forging ahead. They say now isn't the time to hit homeowners with special assessments.

This will be the third time in 30 years that many of his neighbors have paid for a new road on Peltier Lake Drive, Skoog said. They were most recently assessed in the late 1980s, he said.

"We're talking about large assessments against the neighbors at a time when the economy is terrible," he said.

Full Story Here

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.