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Mr. Olson stated all want good businesses and restaurants and thanked the Council for doing a <br />good job for its residents. <br />Mitch Peterson, 17252 Potassium Street NW, stated residents need roads and putting the cost on <br />the levy without oversight creates a "pothole." He stated he has not had a raise for a long time as <br />a private consultant but has not raised his rates since 1999. Mr. Peterson felt the City had not <br />lived within its means as his taxes have increased yet his property values have gone down for <br />three years. He stated people have to look at cuts such as going to community college instead of <br />a collage they want to. He stated he has been in Ramsey for 20+ years and believes the railroad <br />tracks and train going by every fifteen minutes will block any big businesses from The COR. He <br />stated the businesses that have been attracted don't pay taxes and the City needs to figure out <br />how to get taxes to pay for roads. He stated the City needs to look at infrastructure and asked <br />why it builds roads that have service roads that dead end so you have to turn around or roads that <br />go in circles. Mr. Peterson stated it is time to look at what is important and that is infrastructure <br />because if in place, businesses will come to Ramsey. He stated the Municipal Center is nice and <br />maybe more than the size of Ramsey should have and he would like the train station to be a <br />success, but it is also subsidized. Mr. Peterson stated it always comes from the pocket of people <br />who work day in and day out for a society of people who always want more. <br />Jim Bendtsen, 14131 Junkite Street NW, stated no one said the roads don't need to be fixed and <br />stated again why he believed the costs should be tied to property values that should be <br />increasing. He stated he supported putting the cost on the water bill, since it is a tax, instead of <br />using gas and electric utility companies that will charge a fee. It would also be more transparent. <br />Jeff Wise, 7901 165th Avenue NW, stated he appreciates the Council's position and agrees with <br />many comments made that a lot of the money can come from savings found in ways other than <br />increasing the budget. He stated the franchise fee idea could possibly be a good idea if it had <br />major "teeth" and done at the Charter level to make it difficult for future Councils to spend the <br />fees in another way. Mr. Wise supported the funds being dedicated and had favored franchise <br />fee while on the Council because it gets everyone in Ramsey to pay, not just those who own <br />property. He stated it may be that 65% to 75% of residents are property owners but all use roads <br />even if they do not own property and would now pay their fair share. Mr. Wise stated support <br />for getting rid of special assessments due to the staff time it takes and ability of residents to kill a <br />project so the $150,000 spent on engineering is completely useless. He believed the majority of <br />funds can be found in the current budget by eliminating things the City does not need, or may be <br />a want. He stated if a franchise fee is passed, he would support a tiered fee that is eventually <br />eliminated. Mr. Wise stated if the money is dedicated for road reconstruction, it would remove <br />most of his concern. <br />Motion by Councilmember LeTourneau, seconded by Councilmember Johns, to close the public <br />hearing. <br />Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Strommen, Councilmembers LeTourneau, Johns, Backous, <br />Kuzma, and Tossey. Voting No: None. Absent: Councilmember Riley. <br />The public hearing was closed at 9:38 p.m. <br />City Council / October 8, 2013 <br />Page 16 of 24 <br />