Minutes - Council - 02/23/2016 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

7.05: Review DRAFT 2016 City of Ramsey Resident Survey Asst. City Administrator/Economic Development Manager Brama reviewed the staff report and the DRAFT 2016 Ramsey resident survey, noting that the Council can provide direction for a maximum of two custom questions. Councilmember Kuzma stated that in his opinion the franchise fee should be removed as that ship has in essence sailed and he did not want to make people think the City is going back to that discussion. Mayor Strommen stated that she would like to re -ask the question, although worded in another manner, as this was the first year of assessment and people may now have a different perspective. She noted that as more people receive assessments she would be curious to see how, and if, the perspective changes. Councilmember Kuzma stated that some people have already been assessed and are paying for that, and would continue to pay that assessment even if franchise fees are enacted. He believed that the question should not be asked until the bonding period expires. Mayor Strommen stated that including the question would be beneficial to provide the City with additional information and trends that occur throughout that period, noting that the figures can, and may change, as more people are assessed. She stated that there is still a gap in long-term road funding. Councilmember Riley stated that it would be interesting to track if the response does change over time. He stated that based on the assessments from 2015, 20 people have changed their mind and in 2016, 65 people will have changed their mind, as that is the number of people that have or will be assessed. He referenced the question regarding the community center and believed that the question should be worded more strongly to ensure people understand that if they respond yes, there would be a very large city cost associated with that element. Councilmember Johns stated that the first question would be whether or not residents want that element. She noted that people would understand that the element would not be free, but noted that the cost is not known because partnerships could be obtained. Mayor Strommen agreed with Councilmember Riley that asking the question would not provide the City with the information that would need to be known. She stated that she would prefer to use the additional question on another matter. Councilmember Williams agreed with the position of Mayor Strommen regarding street funding and regarding nuisance violations as the most important questions. She noted that the budget discussions focused a lot on funding for streets. Councilmember Kuzma confirmed that this was preliminary and the final questions would come back before the Council. City Council / February 23, 2016 Page 7 of 9