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w <br />-ARDEN HILLS <br />Approved: October 28, 2024 <br />CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA <br />CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION <br />OCTOBER 14, 2024 <br />5:30 P.M. - ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS <br />CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL <br />DRAFT <br />Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor David Grant called to order the City <br />Council Work Session at 5:30 p.m. <br />Present: Mayor David Grant, Councilmembers Tom Fabel, Brenda Holden, Tena <br />Monson and Emily Rousseau <br />Absent: None <br />Also present: Interim City Administrator Jessica Jagoe; Finance Director Joua Yang; <br />Public Works Director/City Engineer David Swearingen; Assistant Public Works Director, <br />Lucas Miller and Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Julie Hanson <br />1. PUBLIC INQUIRIES/INFORMATIONAL <br />Gregg Larson 3327 North Snelling Avenue - He wants to address the issue of franchise fees. He <br />thinks some of the tables in the agenda are not correct in how the calculations were done and how <br />the comparisons were made. He spoke to Finance Director Yang but couldn't resolve the issue. <br />First item is the survey conducted by Arden Hills' residents, which is not a legitimate survey. That <br />should have nothing to do with determining whether Arden Hills' residents want a franchise fee. It <br />wasn't a scientific survey with a randomized group of participants. He thinks the survey was a <br />meaningless exercise. His second point is there is a table in the packet that talks about the revenue <br />requirement for bonding. For a 15-year bond that comes to $395,000 annually. The bottom of the <br />table talks about raising a revenue requirement of $395,000 for residents. That is not a good way <br />to go about this because homeowners pay up to 40% of the income tax that is raised in Arden <br />Hills. The third point is the franchise fee is a regressive tax. If you take the 1,454 homes that fall <br />within or below the median market value, they will end up paying 55% of the franchise fees. The <br />1,195 homes valued above the median market value would pay 45% of the franchise fees. So the <br />people who are most able to pay for increased taxes are not the people who will pay the majority <br />of these increases. This is especially evident if you compare the franchise fee monthly increase <br />with property tax increase for manufactured housing. His final point is, if the expectation was that <br />non-profit franchise fee revenue would produce a significant amount of revenue, it's not true. If <br />the table reflects accurate estimates, Bethel and North Heights Lutheran Church will pay $3,348 <br />