Crystal City Council Meeting Recap – April 1, 2014

I attended the Crystal city council meeting on April 1, 2014.  It was a short one, wrapping up by about 7:30.

The meeting convened, and then immediately recessed so a meeting of the Local Board of Appeal and Equalization (BAE) could convene.  The BAE is really just the City Council, so the convening/recessing was a technicality required by the law.

The point of the BAE meeting was to allow citizens a method to appeal the valuation of their property.  Residents were recently mailed property valuation notices.  All in all, 5 property owners came forward to appeal their valuations.  One man said he was looking at a 24% increase in his value.  The valuations are important because property taxes are calculated using them.  The BAE listened to the property owners, and then asked the county assessor to review the valuations in more detail and report back at the next meeting, which will be in a few weeks.

The BAE meeting adjourned, and then the council meeting reconvened.

There was a public forum on the agenda to discuss new liquor license fees, but it was tabled because there was a question about if notice was delivered properly.

The council then considered a motion awarding the contract for a $200,000 remodel of the council chambers.  Apparently the project was sent to multiple vendors, but only one vendor bid on each phase of the project, so the bids were awarded to that vendor.  This strikes me as odd.  We also found out that apparently the remodel will allow a council member to Skype in to council meetings.  I really don’t know why this is necessary, or was included in the project.  It was a last minute addition that put the project slightly over budget.

Finally, the council passed a resolution establishing the election dates and offices to be considered during the 2014 election.

After the meeting, the council went into a closed work session to discuss pending litigation.

Prepared and paid for by the Kolb for Crystal Committee, PO Box 28373, Crystal, MN 55428