01/12/1982 - City Council SpecialMINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE EAGAN CITY COUNCIL
EAGAN, MINNESOTA
JANUARY 12, 1982
A special meeting of the Eagan City Council was held on for January 12,
1982 at 6:30 p.m. at the Eagan City Hall concerning the continued public
hearing regarding storm sewer assessments for Project #246 - Carlson Lake
Outlet and Project #257 - Thomas Lake Outlet. All Council members were
present. Also present were City Administrator Hedges, Public Works Director
Colbert, City Consulting Engineer Rosene, Appraiser - Robert Hutchinson, Assi-
stant City Attorney Brad Smith and City Attorney Hauge.
The Mayor further indicated that a Court Reporter was present to report
the hearing and that a cassette recorder was also being used to tape the
proceeding. A copy of the transcript would be available for purchase by any
interested person.
Due to the fact that the Council had interviews with prospective members
of the Advisory Planning Commission and the Advisory Park and Recreation
Committee, commencing at 5:30 p.m., the Hearings did not begin until approxi-
mately 7:00 p.m.
At 7:00 p.m. Mayor Blomquist convened the continued public hearing and
made a statement indicating that the first part of the reassessment hearings
concerning the projects was held on December 1, 1981 and objections were
received from about 50 property owners of 87 owners who were involved in the
assessment appeal from the May 1980 assessment hearings.
The Council closed the hearing on December 1, 1981 as to all parcels
where no objections were filed and adopted the assessment rolls to those
parcels. Those assessments are being certified at the Dakota County Auditor
and will be added to the tax rolls.
Also, on December 1, 1981 the Council continued the hearing as to the
parcels where objections to the assessments were filed and scheduled the
continued hearing on those parcels for January 12, 1982 at 6:30 p.m. A letter
was sent to all of the approximately 50 owners with a list of the owners and
general procedure to be followed during the course of the evening.
City Administrator Tom Hedges indicated that Paul Hauge and Brad Smith of
the City Attorney's office will be representing the City and will ask ques-
tions and present exhibits for the first part of the hearing. He stated that
an attempt will be made to make the hearings as brief as possible and yet
complete as many hearings during the course of the evening as practical.
However, it was further noted that the owners or their representatives would
be given the right to ask questions or testify and further, that one objector
had written a letter indicating he would not be able to be present and asked
for a hearing at a later time.
Mr. Hedges further stated that refunds on the 1981 payments covering the
storm sewer assessments made by each of the 87 property owners would be sent
to the owners within about 10 days.
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Special Council Minutes
January 12, 1982
City Attorney Paul Hauge then reviewed a statement in detail explaining
the procedure for the evening, covering submission of the testimony from the
City staff, including City Consulting Engineer Robert Rosene, City Public
Works Director Tom Colbert and City Appraiser Robert Hutchinson. He stated
that each land owner will then have an opportunity to present his or her case
on that assessment and recommended the council close the hearing as to each
parcel at the end of the council hearing, if there is no further testimony to
be submitted on that parcel. He also indicated the record would remain open
as to each parcel for the receipt of additional evidence, objections or writ-
ten motions, etc. for 20 days from the close of the hearing on that parcel.
Property owners were asked to mail or bring in such written information to the
Eagan City Clerk.
Further, any land owner may submit briefs and proposed Findings of Fact,
Conclusions and Orders as to any parcel owned by him before 20 days from the
close of the Hearing on that parcel; and the City also be required to submit
its proposed Findings and Briefs within 20 days.
The City Administrator then administered the oath to all of the City
witnesses, as well as all persons present who expected to testify during the
course of the Hearing.
PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR - THOMAS COLBERT
Thomas Colbert, the Eagan Public Works Director was introduced and was
asked to give a project summary for Projects #246 and #257. He reviewed the
dates concerning the Public Hearings, the contracts awarded, the amounts of
the final costs, the dates of the Assessment Hearings, and the amounts of the
assessments levied on May 6, 1980 and proposed to be levied against each of
the parcels. He further reviewed the assessment policy of the City concerning
the storm sewer assessments and stated that the assessments proposed to be
levied relate to the rates that were in effect for storm sewer trunk improve-
ments in 1978. He also used 3 transparancies explaining the Large -Lot Policy
of the City. He further explained the credits given for the installation of
storm sewer improvements in each of the subdivisions where such improvements
were installed by the developer at the time of development of each plat.
CITY CONSULTING ENGINEER - ROBERT ROSENE
Mr. Rosene was then asked to give a detailed report concerning the need
for the projects, the background of construction and policy of the City con-
cerning storm sewer planning, including the Master Storm Sewer Plans of 1965,
1972 and 1978.
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January 12, 1982
CITY APPRAISER - ROBERT HUTCHINSON
Robert Hutchinson next testified that he had been asked by the City of
Eagan to prepare investigation reports covering all of the 87 parcels that
were ordered to be reassessed by the City Council and submitted a detailed
report including a summary report of all 87 parcels of property. He explained
that his report was prepared effective December 1, 1981 and a copy of the
summary report for each property was distributed to each of the persons pre-
sent during the course of the evening. He also prepared transparancies using
an overhead projector, covering his entire narrative report and explained his
report in detail. He stated that the purpose was not to do an exhaustive
appraisal of before and after values for all the parcels, but he used a cost
to cure method to determine the benefit to each of the parcels involved in the
hearing. He also stated that it was his opinion that if the City did not
install a storm sewer system and development occurred without any means of
getting rid of the storm water, that the neighborhood would gain a reputation t
of inadequate control over surface water runoff to the detriment of at least
part of the area owners creating a loss in value of at least 1% up to 5% of
the value of each surrounding parcel. He further stated that using these
methods, the benefit for each of the parcels in the subject neighborhood would
exceed the assessments being proposed and further, that if not properly cured,
the properties abutting the lakes and ponding areas also may lose valuable
property to encroaching waters.
HEARING REGARDING SPECIFIC PARCELS
The Mayor then requested that testimony be given by the Public Works
Director and Mr. Hutchinson concerning the assessments for each parcel and any
special benefit that may have occurred to the installation of the storm water
trunks. The procedure followed the letter that was distributed to the proper-
ty owners on January 6, 1982. After hearing the testimony concerning the
assessments and the benefits for each parcel, the owner or his /her reprsenta-
tive was then allowed an opportunity to make a statement and ask questions
concerning that specific parcel of any witness. The individual hearings
commenced at approximately 8:30 p.m. and the Council generally followed the
list of 50 property owners attached to these Minutes, indicating name,
address, parcel number, benefit and the amount of the assessment. A large
number of affected property owners were present at the hearing and asked to
make statements and asked questions during the course of the hearings. Speci-
fic testimony was taken by a Court Reporter and by a cassette recorder and is
not laid out in detail in these Minutes. Mr. Colbert, Mr. Rosene and Mr.
Hutchinson were asked questions at length concerning the testimony they'd
given and asked to present other information regarding the assessments and the
investigative reports. A number of exhibits were submitted both by the City
and by property owners, including a map of the storm sewer system in the City
and a storm sewer map indicating the area being assessed within the two
projects.
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Special Council Minutes
January 12, 1982
A letter was submitted by Mr. & Mrs. John Ahnert asking for continuance
of their hearing. A letter from Mr. & Mrs. Bernard Vogen, 1271 Vildmark Drive
asking to set aside the assessments was removed. Mr. & Mrs. Arnold Anton,
1366 Wilderness Run Drive were present but left before their hearing was
commenced and left a written statement for consideration by the Council. A
number of other property owners were present and during the course of the
hearings, picked up the copies of their reports from the appraiser and asked
that they be permitted to submit written statements to the Council within the
next 20 days.
At approximately 1:15 a.m., the witnesses completed their testimony and
it was noted that approximatley 16 property owners did not appear and that Mr.
& Mrs. Ahnert and Mr. Thomas A. Buckman had requested continuances. After
discussion, Councilman Egan moved and Wachter seconded the motion to close
each of the individual hearings on the parcels objected to on the list
attached to these Minutes regarding the two projects, with the exception of
the property owned by Mr. & Mrs. Ahnert and Mr. & Mrs. Buckman and to continue
the hearings until the regular City Council meeting on February 16, 1982;
further, that all property owners would be given the opportunity to submit
written statements, motions, briefs or findings within the next 20 days to the
City Clerk for review by the City Council. All members voted in favor.
Councilman Smith then moved and Councilman Egan seconded the motion to con-
tinue the assessment hearing regarding the parcels owned by Mr. & Mrs. John
Ahnert at 4470 Oak Chase Way and Thomas A. Buckman at 1405 Waldrid Street,
until the February 2, 1982 regular meeting and the staff be requested to send
a letter to each of those objecting property owners indicating the opportunity
to be heard. All members voted yes.
ADJOURNMENT
Wachter then moved, Thomas seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting at
1:20 a.m. All voted in favor.
PHH
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City Clerk
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