The inside story on Minnetrista local issues: This blog is to inform citizens and give them a perspective on matters of importance in Minnetrista, MN. Opinions posted here are my own and do not reflect official positions of any public body or official.
2018 Archived MGB Facebook posts
Read the Laker’s voter’s guide on the Minnetrista council candidates. There are two seats to fill in November. Voters can choose up to two from the candidates below. Click the candidate’s name to view their responses to the Laker’s questions:
I picked up literature from all three candidates and noticed something profoundly different about them. The flyers from the “Our Minnetrista” supported incumbents Pam Mortenson and John Tschumperlin have all the political platitudes expected on a flyer but don’t give any insight into how they make decisions about matters that come before the council. Who doesn’t support our police and fire services, road maintenance, and promise to listen to residents?
I was struck by the difference in Elroy Balgaard’s flyer that actually declared his core, fundamental principles and values: His support of private property rights, determination to stop wasteful spending and debt growth that drive up taxes, and putting an end to the conflict of interests of special vendor relationships at city hall.
As a city council member I know how difficult it can be to stand on principle. I’m not very popular with the tax & spend “Our Minnetrista” crowd, staff or mayor. I suspect Mr. Balgaard won’t be either but he’s the only candidate running that isn’t afraid to say what he thinks and he proved that at the candidate forum last Thursday.
Were the League of Women Voters candidate forum questions given ahead of time to incumbents? It certainly appears that way. Watch the two clips below and decide for yourself. I can assure you they were not provided to challenger Elroy Balgaard. Also note how the questions were designed specifically for incumbents starting off with eliciting gratuitous praise of current council members.
Mortenson indicates a question will be coming up:
Mortenson again knew the question was coming up:
It appeared answers were memorized and rehearsed rather than extemporaneous. Residents want to know who candidates are, not how well they can memorize “Our Minnetrista” scripted responses.
I attended the League of Women Voters city council candidate forum at Minnetrista city hall Thursday night. Once the video is available I’ll post it and give a recap. For now just wanted to post some information city council candidate Elroy Balgaard shared that night on the surrounding communities and how their preliminary tax levy changes compare to Minnetrista’s.
This information didn’t go over well with the incumbents who asserted these communities can’t be compared but it should be noted that the city of Orono is quite comparable to Minnetrista in size and growth yet their increase is 40% lower than Minnetrista’s. Yes, there’s always a chance preliminary tax levies may come down before they are adopted in December but I’d be shocked if Minnetrista’s increase came down to even Wayzata’s at 4.29%.
Minnetrista grew 2.5% last year. Why do we need a 6.01% budget increase to pay for that?
Even though there will be a public hearing on December 3, the Minnetrista final 2019 tax levy will most likely, given history, be adopted without change that same evening and the public hearing is not likely to influence that. Sort of makes one wonder what the point is of having a public hearing.
It seems our friends at the “Our Minnetrista” organization have deleted their WordPress site after Minnetrista Governance Blog quoted statements from it here calling into question their support for “independent and ethical leadership”. Now is that something an organization with nothing to hide would do? I suspected they might. Glad we screen captured it all. #ElroyBalgaardForCityCouncil
Minnetrista residents seldom hear reports on council work session meetings because official votes are rarely taken there but direction is, nonetheless, given to staff and decisions are made, however informally. A glimpse into our work session last night where council was given a recommendation by staff to increase both the Sanitary Sewer utility rate (3% increase) and the Storm Water fee (7.7% increase) for 2019:
The largest expense increase used to justify the utility rate hike request was for the Met Council’s wastewater charge that amounted to an increase of around $26K. When I asked how much additional revenue the city would take into the Sanitary Sewer Fund from all the new residents added this last year the answer came to around $40K in new revenue. Isn’t $40K more than enough to cover a $26K increase in the Met Council’s charge? Council directed staff to bring back a 0% increase Sanitary Sewer budget for council’s review.
A similar discussion around the city’s storm water management (SWM) fee followed. City residents saw a 10% increase last year and an 8.5% increase the year before in 2017. They also pay storm water management fees to the county and state via their private waste collection bills. Asking for another 7.7% for 2019, even though it was argued the dollar amount per household is small (SWM fee would increase to $112 annually from $104), just doesn’t appear justified. I asked if there were no increase in the 2019 fee would the city still be able to meet it’s obligations and complete at least some of the SWM projects [the highest priority ones] planned. Council directed staff to bring back a 0% increase storm water fund budget showing projects prioritized for consideration.
None of the above means there won’t be an increase in either of these fees for residents in 2019. But it is a good sign the council knows, in this election year, that voters are paying attention.
If you’re concerned about:
Vote for change in November. Protect the rural landscape of Minnetrista from the destructive cycle of growth & debt. #ElroyBalgaardForCityCouncil
“A DROP IN THE BUCKET”? The Minnetrista City Administrator thinks an estimate, provided by a frequently used engineering vendor, that is more than 60% higher than it should be is just “a drop in the bucket” when considering the total cost of a potential water project ($2.3M) in Hunters Crest.
At the September 17, 2018 council meeting a resident, structural engineer, addressed the council with concern over what he considered a “ridiculously high” estimate on conducting soil and water level testing on a preferred site in Hunters Crest. The two options by the city’s preferred vendor are below:
The gentleman addressing the council during the “Persons to be Heard” portion of the meeting contacted a soils engineer that indicated an overly generous estimate for this work shouldn’t be more than $6,000.
Perhaps a $4K-$5K overcharge to the city is a “drop in the bucket” to our city administrator who isn’t a taxpayer in Minnetrista. Multiply these “drops” that will accumulate as this water project is designed and built. Hmm, what’s 60% of $2.3M?
Here is the video from the September 17th meeting cued up to the comment: City of Minnetrista 9/17/18 Council Meeting
MISLEADING LAKER HEADLINE. If you read the Laker today you may have seen the headline “Golf carts no longer prohibited…not permitted either.” Minnetrista’s city code doesn’t specifically “permit” all kinds of things we do every day like jogging on city roads or even walking on them. That doesn’t mean we can’t do these things, they simply aren’t prohibited and that’s exactly how it will be for golf carts. They will no longer be prohibited in the city code.
This headline incorrectly leads readers to think residents will still not be allowed to use their golf carts on city roads (if they read only the headline which many people do). The word “permitted”, as used in the Laker headline, technically refers to the city officially regulating and issuing “permits” for the operation of golf carts on city roads. The city council has chosen, wisely in my view, not to do that, which means residents will be free to drive their golf carts on city roads without violating Minnetrista’s city code.
City staff and the Mayor were advocating for the regulation and permitting of golf carts and would still like to see that happen. After all, when hasn’t more government regulation been a good thing? I’m disappointed in the Laker for misleading Minnetrista residents.
Minnetrista Governance Blog 