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I I. I I I I I I I .. I I I I I I ~. I I ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL - JUL Y 8. 1996 4 Councilmember Malone stated he appreciates Mr. Schmidt's argument but the Council represents the residents as well, including having to pay for assessments themselves. He noted the trade-off if Mr. Schmidt's assessment is reduced, is that the money will have to come from other tax payers to make up the difference. Councilmember Malone agreed there is no perfect way to calculate assessments but the policy is to assess on a per front footage basis and try to be as fair as possible. However, this does not mean the assessments will be equal. He noted that assessments calculated on a square footage basis would probably result in a similar situation. Councilmember Malone pointed out the Council tries to be careful to use the assessment policy uniformly and only make adjustments if property cannot be built upon for some reason. Generally, adjustments are not made for other reasons and undeveloped land is not the case with Mr. Schmidt's property. Councilmember Malone stated the City has done the best job possible in looking at the interests of all parties and he believes the proposed assessment is as reasonably appropriate as possible. Also, if the Council were to make an arbitrary adjustment, it may establish a precedent for others to request an adjustment. Councilmember Malone clarified that drainage improvements are designed and constructed to benefit all property regardless of the location of the actual drain. Mr. Schmidt stated no one else will be able to appeal because the deadline is tomorrow. Councilmember Malone reiterated the need to find a solid basis in order to consider an adjustment and stated he does not find that rationale with Mr. Schmidt's property. Mayor Probst inquired regarding the status of other appeals. Brian Fritsinger, City Administrator, advised that one has been received but none on this recycling improvement. Mayor Probst noted if there had been no drainage problem to correct, McCracken Lane could have been extended to the east property line and recycled from that point forward. But, this was not possible due to the need for drainage work. Since the recycling was necessary to install the drain tile, Mayor Probst suggested this may be the basis to consider an adjustment. Also, the amount of adjustment being requested is less than the City cost to become involved in the appeal process. Councilmember Aplikowski noted the difference is $557. She stated that in principal she agrees with Councilmember Malone, that streets need to be assessed according to the assessment policy. However, she is open to consideration since Mr, Schmidt's driveway is not on that front footage. Council member Aplikowski stated she is not prepared to make a decision on $557 but is willing to discuss possibly one-half of that amount. Mayor Probst agreed the Council meeting tonight is not the proper forum to play "lets make a deal" due to concern of precedent of future adjustments, but there are some issues which may make a case for some modification.