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cracks. Blacktop construction was rushed and the contractor should be held <br />responsible. <br /> <br />Citizen - Agreed that very little preparatory work was done in Countryside <br />Estates prior to blacktop construction. <br /> <br />Bob Bruce - Contacted City Engineer from Minneapolis and he says sealcoating is <br />definitely a maintenance item. If allowing for funds to cover sealcoating <br />costs was an oversight on Council's part, the citizens should not be expected <br />to pay for the error. <br /> <br />City Engineer Raatikka replied that the process has been that bonds were sold <br />to cover just the cost of blacktopconstruction and not sealcoating. <br /> <br />Don Brown - ~here was an agreement that the City would take care of <br />maintenance and this is what I told my neighbors when I petitioned for <br />blacktopping. Was not allowing enough funds to do so an oversight on the <br />City's part.? <br /> <br />Councilmember COx stated that Mrs. Kenneth Beckman contacted him and wanted it <br />expressed at the hearing that she has the same concerns being expressed by her <br />neighbors in Riverwood Hills. <br /> <br />Councilmember Reimann stated that not bonding enough funds to cover the cost of <br />sealcoating was not an oversight on Ramsey's part. Bids are let for actual <br />street construction only. In order to increase the streets budget enough to <br />cover the cost of sealcoating, the City would have to increase property taxes <br />and rather than do that the City chose to assess the benefitting property <br />owners. If the residents do not want the assessment, the roads will not be <br />sealcoated and continued deterioration will eventually require re-blacktopping; <br />the City is trying to protect the inves~ent of the citizens. <br /> <br />Bob Bruce - Council has the citizens over a barrel; the roads are deteriorating <br />and it was agreed that the City would take care of maintenance through taxes. <br /> <br />Councilme~ber Reimann stated that property taxes will have to be increased if <br />the citizens want sealcoating to be included in the City budget; it has been <br />Ramsey's past policy to assess for sealcoating. <br /> <br />Councilmember Cox stated that when the City refers to maintenance, it is <br />referring to snowplowing and repairing potholes and cracks. <br /> <br />Bob Bruce - Stated that last year it took him 6 months to finally get the City <br />crew to even look at the roads in his area. Council never indicated that <br />seal(Dating is not an aspect of maintenance. <br /> <br />Councilmember Cox explained that initially all developments in Ramseywere with <br />dirt roads until the City required all new developments to have blacktopped <br />streets. Many existing developments then wanted blacktopped streets and <br />petitioned for same. Because those people wanted blacktop and because Ramsey <br />does not receive it's fair share of local government aids, a decision was made <br />to assess benefitting property owners for the benefit. Councilmember Cox noted <br />that if a citizen's taxes are $700 in Ramsey, the City only gets about $112.00 <br /> March 25, 1986 <br /> <br />Page 3 of 5 <br /> <br /> <br />