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HomeMy WebLinkAboutJuly 19, 1994 Work SessionCITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS 590 40th Avenue N. E. Columbia Heights, MN 55421-3878 (612) 782-2800 Mayor Joseph Sturdevant Councilmembers Donald G. Jolly Bruce G. Nawrocki Gary L. Peterson Robert W. Ruettimann City Manager Patrick Hentges NOTICE OF OFFICIAL MEETING i Meeting of: 'Date of Meeting: i Time of Meeting: Location of Meeting: ~Purpose of Meeting: Notice is hereby given that an official meeting is to be held in the City of Columbia Heights as follows: MAYOR, CITY COUNCIL, AND CITY MANAGER TUESDAY, JULY 19, 1994 7P.M. CONFERENCE ROOM WORK SESSION AGENDA 1) Zaidan/CHBC Taxes 2) Election Changes 3) Ethics Bill Policy The City of Columbia Heights does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the admission or access to, or treatment or employment in, its services, programs, or activities. Upon request, accommodation will be provided to allow individuals with disabilities to participate in all City of Columbia Heights' services, programs, and activities. Auxiliary aids for handicapped persons are available upon request when the request is made at least 96 hours in advance. Please call the City Council Secretary at 782-2800, Extension 209, to make arrangements. (TDD/782-2806 for deaf only) "SERVICE IS OUR BUSINESS" EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER THE CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF DISABILITY IN EMPLOYMENT OR THE PROVISION OF SERVICES ANOKA COI]NT¥ ECOa4 D£V 612+786+9051 ANOKA COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP 299 Coon Rapids Boulevard, Suite 12 Coon Rapids, Minnesota 35433 (612) 786-0869 July 1§, 1994 l,tr, Pat Hontgel City of Co!~bia Helght~ 590 40th Avenuo NE Columbia Heigh=g, ~innosuta 55421 OUTLINE OF THE ANOKA COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOP~ENT PARTNERSHIP/GENESiS BUSINESS CENTER LTD COLLABORATIVE BUSINESS DEV~LOPMENT CENTER PROJECT Dear Bat: Per our recen~ meeting, the purpose of this letter is to provide you wltk an example scenario of how the Genesis BullnesB Center/Anoka County Economic Developmmnt Partnership Collaborative Business Development Project could work within the Columbia Heights Office Center. It is our opinion ~hat iZ the third floor space of approximately 16,000 mquare feet Can be obtained, =he proJe¢~ could location there of many promising young companies ~hat would help bring vitality, employment and economic growth to Columbia Heights and Anoka C~unty. Assuming the City negotiate~ own~r~hip or control of on~-~hird of the Columbia Heights Offic~ Center, th~ ACEDP (a 501(o)(3) non- profit corporation) could occupy the third floor as-im and pay the property taxe~ due and payable each year of occupancy. The initial term we would hods ~o secure would be five The Aaoka County Economic DevelOpment Partnership and/or Anoka County Capital Fund would es=er into a management con%tact with Genesi~ Business Centerm, LTD. Genesis would b~ r~$ponsible for recruitment and selection of the tenan~ companies day-to-day management of the facility and ~nw ..... ~,. ' '-- = ......... ~ ~h~-.Cumpa~£~s-~ifh ............ access to business and tochnical a~Istance as well as capital resources. It is estimated ghat the 16,000 s.f. will approximately 15 companies in an average space of 1,500 s.f. per space. Each company's space would be furnished wi:h the business furni~hinqs needed to operate exclu~ive of any specialized equl ~age Two July 15t 1994 There would be a common reception a~ea, fax machines, copy machines, postage machine, etc. ThB spacB as it iB currently is relatively Open with few internal walls. Iu is anticipated =hat al=hough Some Anterior walls will be necu~sary, many of the spaces cOuld be divided by movabl~ Pardi=ions o~ walls. Since the companies Selectmd by design will all have working product P~oto=ypes and be ready for the market in a relatively short period of time, we anticipate that all occupants will outgrow the space within one ~o two yea~B or cease to exist. As the ~ucce$~ful companies relocate to other parts of the building or area, new companies would be brought into the center. The following resource~ are aware of ~h£s project and would be available to mesident companies through a formal or informal affiliation With Genesis. Direct Bu~~s and Technical ~N Technology Znc.' - - -- MN Project Innova:ion State/SBA Small Busines~ Development Centers University of Minnesota, Office of Technology Transfer Note, Genesis would arrange and cOordinate ~hese services to resident co~panies. CaDital Re.so_91tr~9~ A~oka County Capital Fund MN Technology Inc Fund (existing) A~gel Network (being developed) Tho premise of this incubator concept is to in essence bar=er space, equipmen~ and services fo~ equity in the company. Over time, the cash value of the stock portfolio will grow through the success of some of the companies. This will make the project, if we are successful, eventually self-sufficient and ~ven profitable. Of even greater value to the area will be eCOnomic growth and Job cmea~ion =hat wall occur. The following organizations are the target for the financial resources we will ne~d during =he start-up ~tage~ sUrban Initiative Fund in whose area Columbia Heights iS located sHN Technology Inc. %MN Technology Inc. Fund for investment in ~esident companies eAnoka County ~conomic Developmen~ martnershtp and/o= Anoka County Capiual Fund sClty of Columbia Heights ANOKA COUNTY E IS CI I'I ]~E'~ 612+~'86+9051 P. 84 Page Three July 15, 1994 The following is an estimated first year budget: ~t Of SDa~l $30,000 Taxes on 16,000 S.f. ~ $2 per square foot, ~ Note: In subsequent years as the Business Development Center m~tablishes itself this arrangemeht could be modified. ~qn~iDment to furnish soace: 2 fax machines ..... $20,000 30 desks/chairs 2 copy machAnes miscellaneous tables/chairs conference table/chairs dividers/movable walls miscallaneous ce improvements $25,000 Contract management, $25,000 No~e~ Compensati~n also to include a percentage of the stock secured fr~m resident companies. Miscellaneous/con~lnuency; $10,000 $110,000 Anoka County Economic Development ~artnership/Anoka County Capital Fund $40,000 Urban Initiative Fund 8150,000, MTI $25,000 *A portion of these funds, say $50,000 Could be used for the establishment of ~he center a~ described above and the remainder would be used as a capital source to match ACCF and MTI fund investments in the companies. The above budget and revenue projections are at this time only conceptual and subject to approvals, including the ACEDP and ACCF ~o~rd of Directors. However, as mentioned, dl~cussions have entity identified. For your information, the Urban Initiative Fund will be taking requests for proposals in'AuguSt 1994. It appears that with the involvement of the Partn~rsh!p, also a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, the City and o~her resources ~uch a~ ~I, tha~ the pro,eot fits well into the prog=am objectives a~ we understand ~hem. ANOKA COUNTY ECON DEV 612+T86+9051 P. Page Four July 15, 1994 I have enclosed various information on Genesis including a newspaper article on the recent Genesis Business Center's open house in Columbia Heights. We hope to work with the City of Columbia Heights in an a~tmmpc ~o establish a proto:ype of a public/private business develo~men= collaborative unit =hat is unparallelled anywhere. Sincerely, Roger A. Jensen ll:20RN E 0 0 N C1:1 ':1 ,J-. _L I'-[ I-I 0 ;D k'J )'1 0 N ~:::1 League of Minnesota Cities Cities Bulletin Number 16 June 28, 1994 Law prohibits gifts to local officials Duke Addic~ and Joel Jamnik Effective August !, two provisions of a new law (Chapter 377) will prohibit almost every gift to local (city and county) officials. The portion of the new law which applies to local officials in all cities and counties is Minnesota Statutes 471.895. It states that "an inte~.sted per3on may not give · gift or request another to Gifts, or city." The def'mition of an interested · person implies that the type of local official who cannot accept a gift is a · local official who is authorized to make decisions which could impact someone financially. Clearly the law applies to all mayors, councilmembers, and · members of appointed bodies. Many appointed officials including inspectors, clerks, administrators, managers, finance officers, and people who purchase or advise on the pur- chase of supplies, goods, and services are also covered. The law goes beyond local officials who can make financial decisions. The law refers to local officials whose decisions (a recommen- dation is a decision)could impact someone financially. Finally, there is the question, "what is a gift?" A gift means "money, real or personal property, a service, a loan, a forbearance or forgiveness of indobted- ness, or a promise of future employ- ment, that is given and received without the giver receiving (from the local official) consideration of equal or greater value in return." To help clarify this, the law established some exceptions. The following are not prohibited gifts.' · A political contribution. · 'Services to assist an official in the performances of official duties, including but not limited to providing advice', consultation, information, and communication in connection with legislation, and services to constituents." But this exception seems to be more confusing than clarifying. · "Services of insignificant mon- etary value." · "A placque or memento reco?iz- ing individual services in a field of specialty or to a charitable cause." · "A trinket or memento of insignifi- cant value." What is insignificant value? Under a related law, a gift of a $2 pocket calendar was found to be a prohibited gift (E.RB. Advisory Opinion #141). Thus, give a gi~ to a local official. A local official may not accept a gift from an interested person." This sounds simple but it isn't Who is an "interested person?" The law states that an interested person "means a person or representative of a person or association that has a direct financial interest in a decision that a local official is authorized to make." This certainly includes anyone who is this exception, as with all of them, should be read very narrowly. "Informational materials of unexceptional value." "Food or beverage given at a reception, meal, or meeting away from the recipient's place of work by an orgurd_,~t__ion before whom the recipient appea~ to make a spee__ch or answer questions as part of a program." This is the only exception to what seems to be the rule: all other gifts of food and or beverage ar~ prohibited. Under a related law, vendor contributions to a meeting of local officials for breakfasts, hospitality rooms, snacks or refreshments were prohibited (E.P.B. Advisory Opinion #142). · Gifts to a group of non-local officials of which a local official happens to be a member, and gifts from a family member. There is a related law, enacted in Chapter 377, codified as Minnesota Statutes Section 10A.071 which applies to officials of metropolitan cities over 50,000 population and to legislators. It prohibits gifts from lobbyists. The exceptions are virtually the same. Thc only real difference is that the law applying to all cities will be enforced by criminal prosecution whereas the law dealing with lobbyists will be enforced by the Ethical Practices' Board. The real enforcement of these new laws will be through public opinion. The media and political opponents of those in office will be watching to see how carefully local officials follow the · law. That is why we are advising caution. As a general rule no elected official, member of an advisory hoard, or public employee should accept any gift unless the city attorney is of the opinion that the gift is one of the rare exceptions to the rule. The League will continue to advise city officials of the developments as this new law is interpreted. Watch future issues of the Cities Bulletin for more details. 0 or may provide goods or services to a city, such as engineers, fiscal advisors, contractofx, atton~eys, fades representa- fiVeS, etc. But virtually every resident of a city could have a direct financial interest in a decision that a local official could make. Until this issue is clarified our advice is simple: local officials should not accept a gift from anyone. But who is a "local official?" The law defines local official to mean "an elected or appointed official of a county or a city or of any agency, authority, or instrumentality of a county See Gifts, page 7 CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS DATE: TO: FROM: RE: JULY 15, 1994 PAT HENTGES CITY MANAGER FINANCE DIRECTOR CHANGES TO ELECTION DATES New legislation passed in May 1994 and effective August 1, 1994, states that all cities (including charter cities) must hold primary, general and special elections on certain dates and prescribes uniform filing, publication posting and voting hours, as well as a transition schedule for changing election dates. City and school district primary elections must be held on the first Tuesday after the second Monday in September. The general elections must be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Filing dates are now not more than 70 nor less than 56 days before the primary election. We must be in compliance with this law by January 1, 1998. Cities may still hold elections in odd or even years. Those cities that decide to move local elections to even-numbered years prior to January 1, 1995, must follow a transition schedule to select by lot officials whose terms will expire in three and five years. This would apply to newly elected officials in 1995 and 1997. Current members' terms would not be affected. After that date, cities changing the date of elections to even-numbered years may adopt a plan to have half the councilmembers' terms expire in three years, half in five years. Discussions with Jeff Sigurdson at the Secretary of State's office on July 14, 1994, confirm that this law does apply to us, and we must be in compliance by January 1, 1998. At this time, Blaine, Fridley and Spring Lake Park have even-year elections and Coon Rapids is currently reviewing it and anticipates making the change. Going to even-year elections would save the City in excess of $20,000 every odd year. I recommend changing the filing and primary dates for the 1995 City election. WE:tin 9407151 Attachments: Excerpt, State Statutes Excerpt, Ballot Bulletin terms being, filled. Law enforcement vacancies shall be filled by appointment by the town board. Sec. 26. [TRANSITION SCHEDULE FOR EVEN-YEAR ELECTIONS.] Subdivision 1. [APPLICATION.] The transition schedule in this section applies to political subdivisions that choose, before Januar~ ~, 1995f to conduct their primary and general elections in the cyan-numbered years. A political subdivision ~hat.later determines to chan~e from an odd-numbered yea~ 91action to ·n even-numbered year election may do so by adoption 9f · new resolution or ordinance that contains an orderly plan for the transition. Subd. 2. [CITY OFFICES.] For city. officials elected in ~995, the ~overnia~ bo~y o~ the cit~ shall select by lot the officials whose terms of office will expire on the first Monday in January of 1999 or on the ~lrst Monday, in January of 2001. TO the extent practicablef ~he terms of one-half of the member~ of the governing bod~ to be elected in 199~ must expire in January of 19~9. The ~overning body of the city must complete election in 1995. The terms of ·11 city officials elected at a_~eneral election in 1996 expire on the first Monday in January of 2001. The terms of &ll city o~£icials elected at a~eneral election in 1998 expire on the first Monday in January of 2003. For cit~ officials elected in 1997{ the. governing body. of the city shall select b~ lot the officials whose ~erma of office will expire on the fi=at Monday in January of 2001 or on the ~izst Monday in Januarx of 2003. To the extent practicable, the terms of one-hal~ of the members of the gover~$ng body to be elected in 1997 must expire in January 2001. The of the city must COmP%ets the selection required by this p~rag~ph no later than 30 days before the first day to file affidavits of candidacy for the election in 1997. Subd. 3. [SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS.] The terms of all school MINNESOTA BALLOT BULLETIN ballots correctly and election officials wanting to give everyone the opportunity to cast their ballots was evident. Fo~ all intents and purposes, the election went remarkably The most common question I'm asked is, did I feel saris? All the news reports showed the violence that was i~~g i~rring. I had bought a t-shirt from the ANC headquar- in Johannesburg just two days before the car bomb- ere killed 9 people. Smaller bombs exploded e our hotels in provincial cities. We were lectured daily by U.N. officials about safety precautions and not taking any risks. We discarded our official U.N. caps and ve~ts when stationed in pro-apartheid, anti-election ar- ea~ SU en tha an~ ev~ an, wa ret OU gr~ all~ all' 3ochum Township was all black and very heavily in )ort of the ANC. Our driver indicated that it was safe agh to sleep outdoors. I smile when I think of his wish t there be only one party, because "then there would no fighting." ::)verall, the experience was exciting, overwhelming certainly more than I bargained for. I attended a hering at the ambassador's residence on the last ~ning, and he said "our two countries, the United States South Africa, have much to learn from each other." I s sent to observe a fair and open process and I Jmed with a greater respect for the process. We take right to participate and our right to vote too much for ~nted in this country. People in South Africa had liter- died for the right to vote, and it's a good reminder for of us. IN PLEMENTATION OF UNIFORM EI.ECTION DAY LAW During the last session, the legislature enacted a law esbablishing a uniform election schedule and providing uniform election procedures for local elections. A sum- m;~ry of the law follows. 1. i Applicability: The law, in whole or in part, applies to the elections of all municipalities, school dis- triCts and special districts in Minnesota. The scheduling of special elections of municipalities, school districts arld special districts is not affected by this law. .2.1 General Elections: Effective January 1, 1998, the general election of every city, school district and special district must be held on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November. Effective August 1, 1994, townships located in the metropolitan area may _choose to hold their general election in November, sub- jeCt to the approval of the voters. 3.j Primary Elections: Effective January 1, 1998, the primary election of every city and school district (Where applicable) must be held on the Tuesday follow- ing the second Monday in September immediately pre- ceding the general election. 4. Election Schedule: By January 1, 1995, the goveming body of every city, school district and special district must decide to conduct its general elections in either the odd-numbered years or the even-numbered years. The governing body may choose at a later date to change from odd-year elections to even-year elec- tions, and vice versa. (Under existing law, dries may change the dates of their elections by ordinance )assed by June I of any year.) 5. Terms of Office: Effective August 1, 1994, the term of office of all township officers elected at a gen- eral election conducted in November is four years. Ef- fective January 1, 1995, the term of office of all members of school boards elected thereafter is four years. 6. Filing for Office: Effective August 1, 1994, the filing period for all ciries having a primary election be- gins 70 days before the primary and ends 56 days be- fore the primary. (Note: in even-numbered years, this is the same as the filing pedod for state, federal and county candidates.) The filing period for cities that do not have a primary and for township offices elected in November begins 70 days before the general election and ends 56 days before the general election. The fil- ing period for township offices elected in March begins eight weeks before the election and ends six weeks be- fore the election. Effective in 1996, the filing period for soil and water conservation districts will begin 70 days before the state primary and end 56 days before the state pri- mary. The filing officer will be the county auditor. Effective January 1, 1998, the filing period for all school districts having a primary will begin 70 days before the primary and end 56 days before the primary. The filing period for school districts that do not have a primary · will begin 70 days before the general election and end 56 days before the general election. 7. Notice of Election: Effective August 1, 1994, the municipal clerk in every city of the first, second and third class and of every township located in the metro- politan area must publish a notice of election during the two weeks preceding the municipal elections. The mu- nicipal clerks of fourth class cities and of all townships located outside the metropolitan area may either pub- lish the notice of election during the two weeks before the municipal election or post the notice during the ten days before the municipal election. 8. Sample Ballots: Effective August 1, 1994, the municipal clerk of every city of the first, second and third class and of every township located in the metro- politan area must publish a sample ballot at least one week before the municipal elections. MINNESOTA BALLOT BULLETIN 9. I Voting Hours: Effective August 1, 1994, all poll!ng places must be open for voting in municipal and schOol district elections from 5:00pm to 8:00pm. The governing body of the municipality or school district may adopt longer voting hours. 10.! Optical Scan Ballots: Effective August 1, 1994, all optical scan ballots must be on white stock. 11.1 Transition schedule to elections in even- numbered years: 1995 1996 1997 199~ 1997 199B 1999 13. tha~ or ( (or go~ by JanuarY, 1999 (l~ council or board) JanuarY, 2001 (1~ council or board) JanuarY, 2001 JanuarY, 2001 (1~ council or board) JanuarY, 2003 (1,~ council or board) JanuarY, 2003 Transition schedule to elections in odd- numbered years: JanuarY, 2000 (1~ council or board) JanuarY, 2002 (1,~ council or board) JanuarY, 2002 JanuarY, 2002 (~,~ council or board) JanuarY, 2004 (1~ council or board) JanuarY, 2004 StaggeringTerms for Members of Goveming lies: Effective January 1, 1995, the governing y of every city, school district and special district is either moving the general election to November hanging from the odd to the even-numbered years vice versa) must select by lot the members of the eming body to be elected in each year, as indicated he appropriate transition schedule. ;I'o the extent practicable, one-half of the members of th~goveming body are to be elected at each biennial general election. The selection must be completed by the governing body no later than 30 days before the first day to file affidavits of candidacy for the offices affected. an( COt mo go~ ele sar pla ~ecretary Growe strongly encourages all municipal school district election officials to meet with their nty auditors to discuss a coordinated strategy for ¢ing to the November election schedule. 'One of the ~ls of this legislation was to improve the efficiency of ,'tion administration by holding local elections on the ~e date, dudng the same hours and at the same :e", Growe said. "To make this happen, it is important that local officials work together to develop a common election schedule." 'One altemative may be to hold all local elections with the state and county elections in the even-numbered years. This would eliminate the need for odd-year elec- tions entirely. Another alternative would be to hold all local elections in the odd numbered year, where the candi- dates would get greater public exposure. It is solely up to the local officials to make these decisions and the best decisions will occur as the result of close consultation with neighboring election jurisdictions," Growe said. COMBINED POLLING PLACES AUTHORIZED EffectiveAugust 1, 1994, a single polling place may be used for more than one precinct in the circumstances described below in item number 2. Please note that separate ballots must be used for each precinct voting in the polling place and a separate record of votes cast must be made for each precinct. Combined precincts, where the votes of several precincts are reported together, are no longer permitted in state elections. 1. Combined precincts will no longer be permitted. A single polling place may be established to serve the following combinations: a. a city of the third or fourth class; b. a township; c. a city with territory in more than one county; two contiguous municipal precincts with a combined total of fewer than 500 registered voters; or up to four contiguous municipalities outside the metropolitan area that are in the same congressional, legislative and county commissioner district. The precinct boundary freeze for redistricting purposes will begin on January 1, 2000. No precinct may be in more than one congression- al district. o No precinct boundary changes may be made after June 1 of a state election year. School districts designating a single polling place must notify the county auditor within 30 days after the polling place is established. The school district must notify all affected voters when the single polling place is established. Pst }ientfe~ C~ Manager Columbia Heights city Haii 590 - 4Otb AYe. NE Columbia Mei~hts, MN 55421 4s a foilow up to,e~;~- *~-'+ series of dism)sszons,. ' Zaidan Holdings has carefully. considered its po~ition as to a proposed settlement of matter~ between itself, the City of Columbia Heights, the Housing Redevelopment Authority, and Anoka County, T~ · ,,e fundamental consideration at hand ~ economic viability of the Busines~ Center. Current market conditions permit gross rental rates onlF in the range $?-$9 per sguare foot, The buildin~ is significantlF oYe~bui!t for the ~rket and, thus, full cool, panty ~or any per~od o? time is highly unlike- iy. Our be~t estimates for a stable occupancy fop thi~ buildin~ would be 75- BO%. Further, the property has fundamental construction defects that will require several hundred thousand dollars in repairs and continuing maintenance at an abso[ut~ mintmum. To attract ne~ tenants~ an awrage of $!O PSF ~ill have to be put into lease~ hold improvements for finishes alone. This does not consider the cost of adding a sprinkler syste~ to leve]~ nco t~ough thre~. Attached you will find the current level of income and expense for the property and an alternati,~, projuoted income and expense based on 80% occupancy, Under either scena~'~o there is no way that tbs current level of real estate ~axes, $295~070,00, can be p~id, Neithe? Zaidan Hoidin~s or any othe~ prudent investo~ will put requ red conies into leasehold improvements and buildin~ ~epai!, given current tax structure. These are the ?otentia] solutions to .-'.he City/HRA/County problem and Zaidan'$ problem would be to maximize occupancy and thus income of the building and tax base. cent'_'./ i was appr~ac:hed by Roger Jenaen of the Anoka Count}, Economic Develop- mef~t 48%ociation ~ith a company called Genesis which provides incubator space for ~-tapt-up companies. Ro~er was Inqu~rin~ as to whethe~ we would be inter- ested ~n donatln~ ~pace fo~ the incubato~ fo~ the possibility of ~uture busi- nes~ ~om i:~cubato~ tenant~, ne ~u~e~ted we might u~e it a~ a ",;-; write-off. We don't need a tax w~ite-off as ~'e have already lost in excess uf $3 million on the p~ope~ty. ~cwever, we sub,est that Ro~e~'s idea could be an impetus County to part, icipa{e in the ~e~~ :.~emen~. of issues between the p~Ptles, - .nurpe..~e,~ of tke City's '~ b- hired to conduct an appraisal ^~ ~-he ~"~,~ng'~ value~ The attached parking ramp ~-~; ' ' ' .a lity would be exciuded frc~ the appraisal of the property and a new agreement wonla. ~._~ e×ecuted ~.llc,~it-~g +~-~-,..~ airy. to lease space to building tenants at the fair market value of the ;ar~ing. The Housing Redevelopment Authority would receive an ownership equity inter- est in the Columbia HeiKhts BuAinesa Center equal to the lesser of the value of the prior year's taxes (exclusive of penalty and interest) or 33% of the appraised value of the building, in return, all prior real eBtate taxes will be considered paid through the first half taxes payable in 1994, Real estate taxes for the balance of 1994 and future years will be determined by an arms- length, fair market valuation. This arrangement would entitle the HRA to a share of the net operating income from the property and its share could be taken in cash or in trade for space or a combination of both. All rental monies could be placed in an e~crow bank account with dispersions authorized for normal operating expense~ for the building and payment of real estate taxes. This would ~!ve assurance that future taxes payable would be given a priority and the HRA's economic interest would be protected~ The HRA's share of net operating income generated by the building could be used at its d~scretlon toward~ the debt service for the tax increment district or other pro,tect~ if additions] value is created. The HRA could donate part of it~ equity for the use by Anoka County Economic Development Association for incubator office space, Th~s would eventually lead to an increase in the net operating income of the property and, thus, the val~e received by the HRA. The HRA would not be responsible for any operating shortfalls of the building, Zaidan Moldings, aa part of an overall settlement~ would agree to drop its $2.5 million lawsuit, a~ainst th~ City, County and HRA regarding breach of contract o~ the tax a~ree~ent for the Columbia Heights Mail. The Banks that the proceeds of th~s potential lawsui~ are pledged to have tentatively agreed to part4c~pate in thi~ ~ttlement if the MRA will agree to reduce the minimum assessed value on the mall to a level where it Days no more than $2 PSF per year in taxes going forward, The second pro forms projecting 80% occupancy shows that the building could ~enerate approximately $235~§00 NOi a year after lease-up, During this time income is used for tenant improvement and repair, After 80% occupancy is achieved, the HRA would receive its share of annual NOI up to a maximum of 33%. If the fair market value of the property is $!.5 million based on 80% occupancy, then the C~ty and County and HRA would receive approximately $75,000 in real estate taxe~ and up to an additional $77,715 in net operating income (33%) that could be uBed for the tax increment district. Upon sale of the property, the City would receive up to 33% of the net proceeds which given a little inflation and holding time, could amount to over one million dollars. This proposal has a little pain for all parties but i~ a win-win situation and will get the building to maximum economic potential, Until such time as an agreement may be executed, please consider this and all other correspondence for the purpo~e~ of discussion only, It is non binding on either party. Very tru 1~', ~ordon Awsumb Vice President · ii I1 il CITY OF COLUMBIA HEIGHTS DATE: TO: FROM: RE: JULY 15, 1994 PAT HENTGES CITY MANAGER WILLIAM ELRITE FINANCE DIRECTOR CHANGES TO ELECTION DATES New legislation passed in May 1994 and effective August 1, 1994, states that all cities (including charter cities) must hold primary, general and special elections on certain dates and prescribes uniform filing, publication posting and voting hours, as well as a transition schedule for changing election dates. City and school district primary elections must be held on the first Tuesday after the second Monday in September. The general elections must be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. Filing dates are now not more than 70 nor less than 56 days before the primary election. We must be in compliance with this law by January 1, 1998. Cities may still hold elections in odd or even years. Those cities that decide to move local elections to even-numbered years prior to January 1, 1995, must follow a transition schedule to select by lot officials whose terms will expire in three and five years. This would apply to newly elected officials in 1995 and 1997. Current members' terms would not be affected. After that date, cities changing the date of elections to even-numbered years may adopt a plan to have half the councilmembers' terms expire in three years, half in five years. Discussions with Jeff Sigurdson at the Secretary of State's office on July 14, 1994, confirm that this law does apply to us, and we must be in compliance by January 1, 1998. At this time, Blaine, Fridley and Spring Lake Park have even-year elections and Coon Rapids is cun'ently reviewing it and anticipates making the change. Going to even-year elections would save the City in excess of $20,000 every odd year. I recommend changing the filing and primary dates for the 1995 City election. WE:dn 9407151 Attachments: Excerpt, State Statutes Excerpt, Ballot Bulletin i terms being, filled. Law enforcement vacancies shall be filled 2 3 4 5 7 9 l0 11 12 13 14 15 17 19 20 21 22 24 25 26 27 30 31 32 34 by appointment by the town board. Sec. 26. [TRANSITION SCHEDULE FOR EVEN-YEAR ELECTIONS.] Subdivision 1. [APPLICATION.] The transition schedule in this section a lies to olitical subdivimions that choose, before January %, 1995! to conduct their primary and general elections in the even-numbered years. A polit~cal subdivision that later determines to change from an odd-numbered Yga~ ~lection to an even-numbered year election may do so by adoptio of a new resolution or ordinance that contains an orderly plan for the transition. Subd. 2. [CITY OFFICES.] For,city officials elected in 1995~ the governin~ bo~y of the city shall select by lot the officials whose terms of office will expire on the first Monday in January of 1999 or on the first MondeF in January Of 2001. TO the extent practicablef the terms of one-half of the members January of 1999. The governing body of the city must complete the selection ragu%red by this_ paragraph no later than 30 day~ before the first day to file affidavits of candidacy for th. election in 1995. The terms of all City officials elected at a general election in 1996 expit9 on the first Monday in January Of 2001. The terms of all city officials elected at a ~enatal election in 1998 expire on the first Monday in January of 2003. For city officials elected in 1997, the governinq body. of the city shall select b~ lot the officials whose terms of office will expire on the first Monday in January of 2001 or on the [irst Monday in Januarx of 200~. To the extent ~racticable, the terms of one-half of the members of the gover~$ng body to be elected in 1997 must expire in January 2001. The ~9verninq body of the city must complete the selection required by this affidavits of candidacy for ~he election in 1997. Subd. 3. [SCHOOL BOARD MEMB£RS.] The te~ms of all school 36 boar~ membezs alectad in 1~96 expire on t~,,~i[st Monday in MliNNESOTA BALLOT BUItFI'IN ballots correctly and election officials wanting to give everyone the opportunity to cast their ballots was evident. FoUr all intents and purposes, the election went remarkably well. The most common question I'm asked is, did I feel sa' 'e? All the news reports showed the violence that was oc :urring. I had bought a t-shirt from the ANC headquar- ter in Johannesburg just two days before the car bomb- in(. there killed 9 people. Smaller bombs exploded ou ;ide our hotels in provincial cities. We were lectured daily by U.N. officials about safety precautions and not tal :lng any dsks. We discarded our official U.N. caps and vests when stationed in pro-apartheid, anti-election ar- eas. IBochum Township was all black and very heavily in sulpport of the ANC. Our driver indicated that it was safe erlough to sleep outdoors. I smile when I think of his wish that there be only one party, because "then there would beno fighting." Overall, the experience was exciting, overwhelming ar d certainly more than I bargained for. I attended a g~thering at the ambassador's residence on the last e~ ening, and he said "our two countries, the United States ar d South Afdca, have much to learn from each other." I wils sent to observe a fair and open process and I re :umed with a greater respect for the process. We take o[ r right to participate and our right to vote too much for granted in this country. People in South Africa had liter- ally died for the right to vote, and it's a good reminder for allof us. IMPLEMENTATION OF UNIFORM ELECTION DAY I~W ~ During the last session, the legislature enacted a law establishing a uniform election schedule and providing uniform election procedures for local elections. A sum- mary of the law follows. 1~ Applicability: The law, in whole or in part, applies to the elections of all municipalities, school dis- tracts and special districts in Minnesota. The scheduling of special elections of municipalities, school districts and special districts is not affected by this law. .21 General Elections: Effective January 1, 1998, ti' e general election of every city, school district and )ecial district must be held on the Tuesday following e first Monday in November. Effective August 1, 1~)94, townships located in the metropolitan area may ci ~oose to hold their general election in November, sub- j~ ct to the approval of the voters. 3 Primary Elections: Effective January 1, 1998, tt ~e primary election of every city and school district (~ vhere applicable) must be held on the Tuesday follow- ir g the second Monday in September immediately pre- c.~ding the general election. 4. Election Schedule: By January 1, 1995, the governing body of every city, school district and special district must decide to conduct its general elections in either the odd-numbered years or the even-numbered years. The governing body may choose at a later date to change from odd-year elections to even-year elec- tions, and vice versa. (Under existing law, cities may change the dates of their elections by ordinance by June 1 of any year.) 5. Terms of Office: Effective August 1, 1994, the term of office of all township officers elected at a gen- eral election conducted in November is four years. Ef- fective January 1, 1995, the term of office of all members of school boards elected thereafter is four years. 6. Filing for Office: Effective August 1, 1994, the filing period for all cities having a primary election be- gins 70 days before the primary and ends 56 days be- fore the primary. (Note: in even-numbered years, this is the same as the filing period for state, federal and county candidates.) The filing period for cities that do not have a primary and for township offices elected in November begins 70 days before the general election and ends 56 days before the general election. The fil- Ing period for township offices elected in March begins eight weeks before the election and ends six weeks be- fore the election. Effective in 1996, the filing period for soil and water conservation districts will begin 70 days before the state primary and end 56 days before the state pri- mary. The filing officer will be the county auditor. Effective January 1, 1998, the filing period for all school districts having a primary will begin 70 days before the primary and end 56 days before the primary. The filing period for school districts that do not have a primary - will begin 70 days before the general election and end 56 days before the general election. 7. Notice of Election: Effective August 1, 1994, the municipal clerk in every city of the first, second and third class and of every township located in the metro- area must publish a notice of election during the two weeks preceding the municipal elections. The mu- nicipal clerks of fourth class cities and of all townships located outside the metropolitan area may either pub- lish the notice of election during the two weeks before the municipal election or post the notice during the ten days before the municipal election. 8. Sample Ballots: Effective August 1, 1994, the municipal clerk of every city of the first, second and third class and of every township located in the metro- politan area must publish a sample ballot at least one week before the municipal elections. MINNESOTA BALLOT BULLETIN sc~ go~ m~ 10. Voting Hours: Effective August 1, 1994, all lng places must be open for voting in municipal and ool distdct elections from 5:00pm to 8:00pm. The 'eming body of the municipality or school distdct adopt longer voting hours. Optical Scan Ballots: Effective August 1, 1994, all,)ptical scan ballots must be on white stock. 11 .i Transition schedule to elections in even- numbered years: 1995 January, 1999 (1.~ council or board) ~ January, 2001 (1,~ council or board) 1996 January, 2001 19~7 January, 2001 (~/~ council or board) ~ January, 2003 (l~ council or board) 1998 January, 2003 12~ Transition schedule to elections in odd- numbered years: 1996 January, 2000 (~,~ council or board) / ~ January, 2002 (1/2 council or board) 19~7 January, 2002 1998 January, 2002 (1/~ council or board) I January, 2004 (1,~ council or board) 1999 January, 2004 13. Bo b(~ tha or~ (or go, by the go to' StaggeringTerms for Members of Governing dies: Effective January 1, 1995, the governing ly of every city, school district and special district t is either moving the general election to November ',hanging from the odd to the even-numbered years vice versa) must select by lot the members of the ~eming body to be elected in each year, as indicated the appropriate transition schedule. ro the extent practicable, one-half of the members of governing body are to be elected at each biennial ~eral election. The selection must be completed by the /eming body no later than 30 days before the first day fie affidavits of candidacy for the offices affected. Secretary Growe strongly encourages all municipal an.J school district election officials to meet with their co~Jnty auditors to discuss a coordinated strategy for m( ,ving to the November election schedule. "One of the als of this legislation was to improve the efficiency of ction administration by holding local elections on the He date, during the same hours and at the same ca", Growe said. "To make this happen, it is important that local officials work together to develop a common election schedule." "One altemative may be to hold all local elections with the state and county elections in the even-numbered years. This would eliminate the need for odd-year elec- tions entirely. Another alternative would be to hold all local elections in the odd numbered year, where the candi- dates would get greater public exposure. It is solely up to the local officials to make these decisions and the best decisions will occur as the result of close consultation with neighboring election jurisdictions," Growe said. COMBINED POLLING PLACES AUTHORIZED Effective August 1,1994, a single polling place may be used for more than one precinct in the circumstances described below in item number 2. Please note that separate ballots must be used for each precinct voting in the polling place and a separate record of votes cast must be made for each precinct. Combined precincts, where the votes of several precincts are reported together, are no longer permitted in state elections. 1. Combined precincts will no longer be permitted. A single polling place may be established to serve the following combinations: a. a city of the third or fourth class; b. a township; c. a city with territory in more than one county; two contiguous municipal precincts with a combined total of fewer than 500 registered voters; or up to four contiguous municipalities outside the metropolitan area that are in the same congressional, legislative and county commissioner district. The precinct boundary freeze for redistricting purposes will begin on January 1, 2000. No precinct may be in more than one congression- al distdct. No precinct boundary changes may be made after June I of a state election year. School districts designating a single polling place must notify the county auditor within 30 days after the polling place is established. The school district must notify all affected voters when the single polling place is established.