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| FL Council says no to metro transit tax |
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| Wednesday, 25 March 2009 | |
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Jennifer Larson Staff Writer Route 288 provides bus service to Minneapolis now, but a proposal to levy city dollars to secure transportation to the Twin Cities beyond 2009 may be derailed. A motion to approve joining the metropolitan transit taxing district failed to garner support at the Forest Lake City Council during Monday’s regular meeting. Voting against the measure were Mayor Stev Stegner along with council members Bo Bogotty, Jim Dufour and Jackie McNamara. The proposal presented by City Administrator Chip Robinson would have enabled Route 288 to continue to operate as well as other transit services provided by the Metropolitan Council, such as a bus route from Forest Lake to St. Paul that could have started as soon as this fall. The city council held a workshop earlier this month to illustrate that the creation of the levy is just one part of a plan that the city has been implementing over a number of years. “The city now has the opportunity to move into the next phase of its transit planning and create a long-term operational commitment to provide bus service to the Twin City metropolitan area,” Robinson said. He said funding for Route 288 came from special federal money made available after the I-35W bridge collapsed, in an effort to relieve traffic congestion while the new structure spanning the Mississippi River was being constructed. However, Robinson said the federal funding ended the same day the bridge opened in September 2008. The Metropolitan Council agreed to split the costs with Washington, Anoka and Chisago counties to keep the route going through the end of last year, said Robinson. Washington and Anoka counties ponied up to fund service through 2009. He explained the transit capital levy would be effective in 2010 and is estimated at $270,000. The levy would be used to purchase buses servicing Route 288. All operational costs would be funded by ridership fares and the Metropolitan Council. Robinson said the impact of the regional transit capital levy would be about $25 annually on a $200,000 home and $37.50 on a $300,000 home. Currently, Route 288 provides service weekdays, four times per day. The fare is $4.75 each way. Washington County Commissioner Dennis Hegberg, who was instrumental in the development and building of the government center/library and transit site at Headwaters in Forest Lake, spoke not as an elected official, but as a citizen. He has two rentals in town and said one of his tenants would not have moved into the home if it wasn’t for access to the bus system. Hegberg said the service is worth the additional taxes. Resident Eugene Huerstel spoke out against Forest Lake opting into the transit taxing district, saying he doesn’t want to subsidize riders North Branch or Chisago City. “I’m done with the socialism,” he said with conviction. Robinson said a bill has been introduced to force communities, like Forest Lake and Columbus that fall outside the taxing district, in the seven-county metro area into joining. He sent an e-mail to Elizabeth Mursko, city administrator for Columbus, notifying her of the council’s denial. The city of Columbus approved the capital transit levy contingent upon Forest Lake’s. Both communities would need to enter the district to continue Route 288, he said. He said the Metropolitan Council will need to make a decision based on Forest Lake’s action. Young said that offering mass transit is a community selling point. She said it is also an important piece of the future and vision for Forest Lake. “The way you have something in the future is to start with today,” Young said. She also recommended withdrawing from the Rush Line Corridor Taskforce. She noted that council members will need to be accountable to people when asked why the city didn’t opt-in. Bogotty, Dufour and McNamara were in agreement that money saved by waiting could be substantial. Stegner said the cost to tax payers is a lot to only benefit a few. Pleas heard Pleas made by bars and restaurants in Forest Lake not to increase on-sale intoxicating liquor license fees from $3000 to $5000 were heard by the council, which voted 4-1 to leave them at their current rate. Councilwoman Young was the lone dissenting vote. Two weeks ago at a public hearing, Stegner and Dufour said they’d favor a small increase; the proposal for on-sale would have been a 67 percent hike to the liquor license fees. In an interview on Tuesday, Stegner said he supports the council decision to leave the fees as is for now. “I believe in this business climate we need to make sure these businesses are successful,” he said. In fact, Stegner said he would favor lowering the current fees if a city analysis showed it does not cost as much to monitor establishments. “I suspect we’ll have some good information by the end of the year,” he added. Earlier this month Stegner said the council is not looking to offset the expenses of the Forest Lake Police Department. State statue says, “The license fee is intended to cover the costs of issuing and inspecting and other directly related costs of enforcement.” Establishments have expressed a willingness to work with the city in order to lower some its law enforcement expenses. And with that, Stegner said the city is requiring bars and restaurants to have additional security at outdoor entertainment events. Council backs 4-H The council also passed a resolution requesting Washington County continue funding the 4-H Program through Dec. 31, 2009. Young abstained from the vote. The county is proposing to discontinue funding the program, which had over 800 youth participate in 4-H last year. Social Bookmarking ...       |
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