The Spring Valley City Council met on Monday, August 22, 2016. All members were in attendance: Tony Archer, Todd Jones, Mayor Jim Struzyk, Bill Bires, Jeff Vehrenkamp and City Administrator Deb Zimmer. The council approved minutes of the previous meeting, and Final Accounts Payable. No visitors had signed up to speak to the council.
Mike Bubany gave a presentation on the various capital improvement projects the city is planning to do in the next seven years, and showed the financial impact and tax rates resulting from such spending. He stated, “Washington and Buchanan are the two big ones. They’re roughly $8 million worth of stuff” (combined). He then showed a variety of scenarios regarding which street projects would be done, and when, and when the city would purchase several planned major pieces of equipment. Deb Zimmer pointed out that High Street needs to be done at the same time as Washington.
There was discussion about “Fund 255,” which is the city’s Capital Improvement fund. Bubany pointed out that every dollar the city could take from that to help pay for street projects is one dollar less that would need to go into bond payments, but Zimmer said the city also needs to use Fund 255 to purchase several expensive items in the coming years. She mentioned that the snow plow is about 40-years-old, and parts are no longer available for it. She said it will be a very expensive item to replace, but should last many years.
Bubany stated, “I think what would probably be helpful is for us to identify the absolute needs” and build them into the plan, prioritizing which projects and purchases must happen, and how soon. Zimmer said the Washington and High Streets project are a priority because of sewer and water issues involved. She said, “It’s not always just the streets, it’s the underground”.
After the council and Bubany tweaked the numbers and the target years involved, Bubany said, “I’ll PDF this up and send it to you, Deb,” so that the city would have something concrete to work with in making decisions. He also suggested, “If Washington’s going to happen next year, you’re going to have to get cracking.”
Next, the council discussed Minnesota’s new Temporary Medical Housing law, commonly referred to as the “granny pod” law. Zimmer said one of the concerns is that law is not clearly defined. After brief discussion, the council voted unanimously to opt out for now.
The council heard from Aaron Kolling, of AMD Distribution. He’d written a letter to the city inquiring about the possibility of acquiring more land in the industrial park, for expansion of the business. Zimmer said the city has empty lots in the industrial park, and should consider attracting businesses to build there, especially since any increase in the city’s tax base will help as the city works on all of the capital improvements discussed earlier in the meeting. After discussion, the council voted (by a four to one vote, with Jones voting nay) to OK a three-year option to sell the parcels for $1 each for AMD’s expansion, contingent on building specifications. The council also voted to approve Resolution 2016-25, amending the boundaries of the TIF District 1-10.
John Fenske gave an update on parks, stating that the pool has been losing water (about three inches per day) and will bring in someone to locate the leak and see if it can be fixed. Chad Hindt reported his crew has been painting lines and sweeping streets, as well as “continually mowing, I’ve never seen a year like this.” Deputy Tim Rasmussen reported that there have been more “suspicious activity” reports, but that many are due to the new Pokemon game that many young people are playing.