Page 6 • Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019
St. Louis Park
sailor.mnsun.com
St. Louis Park plans to borrow more than $22 million
Council member objects to measure that would require majority vote instead of supermajority for nature center
By SETH ROWE
[email protected]
St. Louis Park leaders
could borrow more than
$22 million for projects
ranging from light rail to
a new nature center build-
ing.
The council approved
the sale of general obli-
gation charter bonds for
more than $9.3 million
at a Feb. 19 meeting. The
money will go toward side-
walk and trails projects,
city funding for South-
west Light Rail Transit,
fi ber internet connections
and street work on Cedar
Lake Road. The vote re-
ceived the six votes neces-
sary for approval.
Separately, the seven-
member council voted
4-2 to approve a public
hearing Monday, March
4, on nearly $12.9 mil-
lion in general obligation
abatement bonds for the
new interpretive center at
Westwood Hills Nature
Center. Approval for that
type of bonds requires
only a simple major-
ity vote instead of the six
votes required for charter
bonds.
Mayor Jake Spano and
Councilmember
Mar-
garet Rog voted against
calling the public hear-
ing for the nature center
funding. Rog and Coun-
cilmember Thom Miller
have opposed the nature
center project due to the
cost. After nearly a half
an hour of debate, the
council declined a request
by Miller, who was travel-
ing, to delay the votes on
the bonding for the nature
center.
In an email, Rog ex-
plained that she is op-
posed to the use of a type
of bonding that requires
only a majority vote in-
stead of the six votes
required by the charter
bonds.
“I oppose the decision
to pursue tax abatement
bonds for the Nature Cen-
ter building project be-
cause I think it does an end
run around the superma-
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jority that’s always been
required for an investment
of this size in SLP,” Rog
wrote. “The other projects
we approved bonding for
on Monday, which totaled
more than $9.3 million,
had the full support of all
seven council members so
will be funded the tradi-
tional way, with general
obligation charter bonds.”
With the fi nancing pro-
posed, the nature center
project will cost more
than $13.5 million, Rog
wrote.
City staff members plan
to combine the bonds for
the nature center and the
bonds for other unrelated
projects like light rail and
sidewalks into one issue
for potential investors, ac-
cording to a staff report.
“They’re all being sold
together, so we’ll go to
market as one complete
package so the $22 million
will hit the market,” Chief
Financial Offi cer Tim Si-
mon said at the Feb. 19
meeting.
The bonds would have
an estimated interest rate
of 3.07 percent to 3.57
percent and would be
paid off over as many as
15 years through the city’s
tax levy or with municipal
state aid, according to the
staff report.
Rog wrote in the email
that she would have liked
to see more information
about the impact the na-
ture center building would
have on the city’s property
tax levy and the city’s abil-
ity to fund actions related
to the climate, housing af-
fordability and other pri-
orities.
“In the end, the new Na-
ture Center building will
be a beautiful resource,
but I’m concerned about
the opportunity costs giv-
en the many other wants
and needs we have as a
community,” Rog said.
“I’m hopeful we can fi nd
creative ways to fi nance
future projects without
raising property taxes be-
yond what many people
are saying they can’t af-
ford.”
Debate on
request for a delay
Most of the council de-
bate centered on Miller’s
request to delay votes since
he will not be able to at-
tend the March 4 meeting.
Under the current sched-
ule, council members
would approve the bonds
for the nature center at
the March 4 meeting, and
city staff would present
the results of offers to buy
all the bonds at a meeting
Monday, March 18. The
council would then vote
to award the sale.
City Manager Tom
Harmening said he did
not believe extending the
schedule for a couple of
weeks would impact the
sale. However, some coun-
cil members objected.
“I feel like it’s just a
slowing down what staff
and our consultants clear-
ly laid out on us to get our
work done, and to accom-
modate simply someone
to give comments at a
meeting feels like a mis-
weighted balance of what
the city priorities are,”
Councilmember
Anne
Mavity said.
Councilmember Steve
Hallfi n said in agreement,
“We have plenty of air
time to get our feelings
out. So, I would say that
we just follow the sched-
ule that staff has already
laid out for us and move
forward.”
The council has been
debating the nature center
project for years, Coun-
cilmember Rachel Harris
said.
As for objections to
the bonding process for
the nature center, Harris
said, “It won’t change the
outcome of funding for
the project, and therefore, I think it’s important to
continue with the planned
steps for the bonding as
staff has laid out.”
However, Rog and
Spano supported Miller’s
request.
“I feel like it’s an impor-
tant enough issue for the
community,” said Rog,
who added that Mill-
er’s business travels had
been planned long ago.
“It seems fair to include
Councilmember
Miller
in that conversation and
push things out a little
bit.”
Spano said he disagreed
with Miller’s views on the
nature center project but
said he wants to accom-
modate opportunities for
people to weigh in.
“Members of this body
who are suggesting that
we’ve talked about it for
a long time, you’re abso-
lutely right,” Spano said.
“But I also think that ...
I would imagine that oth-
ers would want that same
courtesy extended to them
if at all possible.”
Harmening said council
members will still have a
chance to voice their views
before the vote to award
the sale of bonds to the
fi nancial institution that
offers the lowest interest
rate March 18.
portunity to adopt ranked-
choice voting.
The bill had its fi rst hear-
ing in the House Subcom-
mittee on Elections Feb. 20.
Ranked-choice voting
consolidates local nonpar-
tisan primaries and general
elections into one election
in which voters rank candi-
dates in each race by pref-
erence. When candidates
are mathematically elimi-
nated during tallying, the
next-highest preferences of
people who voted for them
are considered instead.
The bill, HF 983, would
allow all cities, townships,
counties and school dis-
tricts to use ranked-choice
voting if they choose to do
so. It also establishes imple-
mentation standards for
consistent use of ranked-
choice voting across Min-
nesota and equipment
guidelines to ensure re-
placement voting equip-
ment is capable of using
the system.
Currently only charter
cities, which make up 15 percent of Minnesota’s cit-
ies, are able to implement
ranked-choice voting with-
out Legislative permission.
Minneapolis, St. Paul and
St. Louis Park are charter
cities that have adopted
the system. Youakim’s dis-
trict includes a section of
St. Louis Park along with
Hopkins.
Minnesota Secretary of
State Steve Simon, who au-
thored a similar bill while
representing the district
Youakim now represents
in the Minnesota House of
Representatives, continues
to support the measure. He
called it a “Goldilocks op-
tion.”
In a statement, Simon
said, “It’s a compromise
that says not that any ju-
risdiction should have
Ranked Choice Voting, but
if they want to have it, they
shouldn’t have to come on
bended knee to ask the leg-
islature to ask special per-
mission.”
COMMUNITY BRIEFS
Driver discount
courses planned
in March
The Minnesota High-
way Safety Center will of-
fer 55-plus Driver Discount
Courses in St. Louis Park.
An eight-hour course for
fi rst-time participants will
be offered 1-5 p.m. Tuesday,
March 12, and Wednesday,
March 13, at Lenox Com-
munity Center, 6715 Min-
netonka Blvd.
A four-hour refresher
course will be offered 1-5
p.m. Thursday, March 14,
at the Lunds & Byerlys
Community Room, 3777
Park Center Blvd.
Another four-hour class
will be available 12:30-4:30
p.m. Monday, March 25, at
Sabes Jewish Community
Center, 4330 Cedar Lake
Road S.
Courses are also avail-
able online at mnsafetycen-
ter.org.
Classes can help partici-
pants save drivers up to 10
percent on auto insurance.
Completion of an eight-
hour course qualifi es par-
ticipants for the discount.
To maintain the discount,
they must complete a four-
hour refresher every three
years.
A certifi ed instructor will
discuss defensive-driving
tips, changes in laws, ve-
hicle technology and traffi c
safety. The cost of the four-
hour course is $22, and the
eight-hour course is $26.
For more information
or to register, visit mnsafe-
tycenter.org or call 1-888-
234-1294.
Youakim
supports ranked-
choice voting bill
Rep. Cheryl Youakim
(DFL-Hopkins) is sup-
porting a bill that would
allow more local govern-
ments in Minnesota the op-
– Compiled by Seth Rowe