1999 CAFR - Laserfiche WebLink

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TRANSPORTATION Ramsey currently owns and maintains 133.80 miles of paved roadways after the addition of 0.53 miles of new street construction in 1999. We also maintain 6.82 miles of dirt and gravel roadways and Anoka County and. the State control another 38.46 miles of paved arterial highway corridors. A major effort over the past few years has been toward the ongoing maintenance of those roadways. Annually, the City completes sealcoating or overlays on approximately 15 miles of existing City streets. In 1993, the Council created the Public Improvement Revolving Fund (PIR) to provide the dollars necessary to pay for half of the cost of this maintenance program. Without the PIR Fund, either the property owner would pay for all of the necessary costs, or a tax increase would be required for the City portion. The PIR isself-supporting through its interest earnings. The City has been approved for federal and state financial assistance to improve State Highway 47 between 142nd Avenue- and 153rd Avenue. Construction. is expected to begin in June 2000, with substantial completion in the fall of 2000. UTILITIES Some improvements were also made to the City's utility system in 1999. A total of $266,833 worth of water and sewer lines were installed in new subdivisions or to interconnect (loop) lines within the urban. section of the community. A second water tower is to be constructed during 2000 in order to service the industrial parks and the western part of the urban district. -The City's fifth well will also be constructed in 2000. PARxS Ramsey is fortunate in being the home to 522 acres of State and County park space, in addition to over 500 acres of City owned parks and trails. Included in the City inventory is almost nine miles of trails and over 125 acres of active park space. The balance of the system is either yet to be developed or dedicated as nature preserves. The City contributes an ever-increasing amount of maintenance for the upkeep of the developed park system. To keep pace with the increasing number of park and trail users, the City uses a threefold approach. The first approach is committing adequate maintenance hours to the existing system. High school and college students provide a substantial number of hours during the summer and volunteers provide their services year-round. The second approach is to meet service expectations to improve existing parks. The City has 20 actively used parks. Development of these parks in 1999 ranged from simple landscaping to the construction of the tennis courts in Central Park. The third and final approach, is the development of new parks and trails. In 1999, Elmcrest Park was added to the City's park and trail system. -viii-