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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, September 24, 2012 Page 11 property tax increases. Mr. Torgerson advised that he was currently in the pro- cess of putting his home up for sale due to ever-increasing property taxes over the last 3-4 years. Mr. Torgerson referenced the Vadnais Heights Sports Center project bonding and current status of that project; and asked that the City Coun- cil consider that in their thought process. Mr. Torgerson asked that, now that costs are in, the specific allocation for the fire station and parks; with a letter sent to each Roseville resident with those numbers and new taxes created by a bond issue; and seeking their individual responses as to whether they are inter- ested in proceeding or not. Mr. Torgerson stated that this would allow the entire community, not just a City Council majority, to have a choice in the matter. Mr. Torgerson opined that another letter should be sent the following year; and sug- gested that any bond sale be delayed. While the fire station could have been de- layed in the past as well, but was now being pushed through, Mr. Torgerson questioned the need for such an elaborate fire station rather than one that would be sufficient and show the City Council as fiscally responsible. Mr. Torgerson referenced a current City Councilmember who ran a campaign on fiscal respon- sibility, opining that this action did not represent that. Robert Delao,280 Minnesota Avenue Mr. Delao referenced a letter from the City to residents last year that stated, due to mismanagement of its water system and lack of maintenance, residents would experience a 60% increase in their water bills to correct that. Mr. Delao noted that, now the City says that due to mismanagement of them, parks are deterio- rating due to running out of money. Mr. Delao questioned where that money had gone; and questioned how the City intended to maintain new facilities and parks when it could not maintain the current ones. Mr. Delao took issue with the City shoving the "Port Authority" down taxpayers' throats as an excuse to bypass public input; and took further issue in pushing it ahead even sooner. Mr. Delao provided his perspective on the impact of increased taxes and water rates, with his property value continuing to drop. Mr. Delao opined that cities, coun- ties, and states and the entire country were in deep financial trouble, while the City Council continued to spend money like drunken sailors. Mr. Delao sug- gested that the City dispose of infrastructure if it couldn't maintain it; and ques- tioned if the intent of the bond sale was for park maintenance or expansion. Mr. Delao opined that people not responsible for maintenance or for doing their job should resign and those responsible for spending this money needed to be fired. Tim Callaghan,3062 Shorewood Lane Mr. Callaghan noted that the City used to have three (3) fire stations with a rap- id response time for the fire department. Mr. Callaghan questioned the current response time; and opined that by now having only one (1) luxury fire station, it would reduce response time; and opined that this seemed unreasonable. Re- garding the park system, Mr. Callaghan referenced community surveys and res- ident support for trails; with the apparent response of the City to rebuild build- ings, add new fields and playground equipment, which was not what the com-