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CITY OF HAM LAKE PROCEDURES AND POLICIES SPECIAL ASSESSMENT PROJECTS In order for the City Council to consider a special assessment project in the City, a petition containing 35 per cent of the real property abutting on the proposed improvement must be presented, although the Council may initiate proceedings without a petition if they deem it necessary. The purpose of the petition is simply to provide a means for residents to initiate proceedings for an improvement project. In all cases, the final decision to proceed or not to proceed rests with the City Council. Following the receipt of a petition, the City Council will schedule an informational meeting for all affected residents. This meeting will include information from the City Engineer giving a preliminary estimate of the cos~ of the project'; and, also, the procedures that will be followed for advertising for bids, awarding the bids, possible construction schedules, and assessing. Property owner input is extremely important at this point to provide the Council with background necessary to make this decision. If after this informational meeting the City Council still feels it is the general consensus to continue with this project, they will have the assessment rolls prepared and schedule an assessment hearing to determine if any appeals are filed. Property owners are assessed all costs relating to the bituminous (blacktop) improvement projects, including engineering, construction, drainage, legal, financing of bonds, secretarial, etc. However, once the blacktopped street has been completed, the City pays for maintenance and sealcoating during its useful life from the General Fund. It is the policy of the City Council to assess on a per-parcel basis rather than front footage. In the event that there is a large parcel abutting the improvement, the City Council has a policy to assign one active assessment against the parcel and defer assessments until a future subdivision is requested based on requirements of the City Code (300 ft. of frontage and minimum lot size of 2 1/2 acres) or for twenty years. It is also a policy of the City Council that non-abutting benefiting parcels be assessed an amount equal to 15 per cent of the abutting parcels. An owner may appeal an assessment to district court by serving notice of the appeal upon the Mayor or Clerk of the City within thirty days after the adoption of the assessment and filing such notice with the district court within ten days after service upon the Mayor or Clerk; however, no appeal may be taken as to the amount of any individual assessment unless a written objection signed by the affected property owner is filed with the City Clerk prior to the assessment hearing or presented to the presiding o~ficer at the hearing.