Agenda - Council - 01/23/2024 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Local Priority: Sales and Use Tax Exemptions for Water Treatment Plant Trunk Watermain Improvements During the 2023 legislative session, state sales and use tax exemptions were approved for the purchase of materials for the new Water Treatment Plant. Unfortunately, sales and use tax exemptions were not approved for the necessary Trunk Watermain improvements so the City is seeking legislative approval in 2024 for state sales and use tax exemptions for the necessary Trunk Watermain improvements. • In 2023, sales and use tax exemptions were approved for the Water Treatment Plant. • The City will work with legislators to amend the approved language to authorize applying sales and use tax exemptions to the necessary Trunk Watermain improvements. Local Priority: State Funding for Water Treatment Plant Trunk Watermain Improvements During the 2022 and 2023 legislative sessions, the City of Ramsey requested $10M in state bond funds for construction of a Water Treatment Plant to address a public health need. In 2019, the Minnesota Department of Health informed the City that its water supply contained unsafe levels of manganese. In 2021, the City completed a feasibility study that recommended constructing a Water Treatment Plant to address this public health need. In 2023, the City began constructing a $42M Water Treatment Plant. During the 2023 legislative session, $3.2M was awarded for the Water Treatment Plant. The City respectfully requests the remaining $6.8M be awarded in 2024 to help fully fund construction of the Water Treatment Plant by 2025, as well as the necessary Trunk Watermain improvements that will be constructed in 2024. • In 2023, Ramsey received $3.2M in state bond funds for the Water Treatment Plant. • The City requests an additional $6.8 million in state bond funds to fully fund the Water Treatment Plant, as well as the necessary Trunk Watermain improvements. • The City will work with legislators to amend the approved language to authorize applying awarded funds to the necessary Trunk Watermain improvements. Local Priority: Tax Increment Financing District 14 (TIF 14,The COR) Language in the original 2010 legislation included, but did not limit to, the city's share of the costs necessary to provide for the construction of the Northstar Transit Station and related infrastructure as eligible expenditures. This included structured parking, a pedestrian overpass and roadway improvements. State Statute requires interfund loan resolutions when a city borrows funds to a district for improvements with plans to repay itself back through future tax increment. However, these expenses were funded without the required interfund loan resolutions pursuant to the TIF statute. Special legislation did not exempt the City from the interfund loan requirement. • The City will work with legislators to amend the special TIF 14 legislation to exempt the interfund loan requirement. Thus creating the potential repayment of such interfund loans through TIF 14 revenue through 2040. 2020 City of Ramsey Legislative Platform Page 2 of 6