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November 2001 Status Report
It is once again my pleasure to submit my status report for your review and consideration. If you should have any questions about any of the items listed, please do not hesitate to contact me.
1. Wastewater Treatment Plant
The contractor is still making good progress at the plant. Dave Goffnett tells me that the media material began arriving for the oxidation towers on November 19th. If I am not mistaken, he indicated there would be 70 truckloads of this material to be assembled and put into the towers. He also told me that they are finishing up some masonry work and are now awaiting delivery of some of the new mechanical equipment to be installed. He did indicate, however, that there is a delay in the delivery of the mechanical equipment and it may not be in until sometime after the first of the year.
2. Public Safety Building
This project is also moving along well. If you have been by the building recently, you will note that most of the construction activity is taking place on the east side of the building where the new bays will be located. This project is moving along fairly well, but as you know it is a year and a half project, so progress may seem slow on occasion.
3. Mission Creek Sledding Hill
The new hill has been completed and will be ready for use by sledders this coming winter. Because of wetland problems at the bottom of the current hill, the new hill was reoriented from east-west to north-south and was lengthened and heightened quite a bit. This new hill should be a lot of fun for kids of all ages. If you get a chance, you may want to go out and see the hill. It looks rough because we did not have time to have it seeded, which will be done next spring.
4. Airport Hangar
The new airport hangar is very nearly complete. The Airport Advisory Board and staff took a tour of the building last Thursday night and were very impressed with the size and quality of the building. We will now be able to park large corporate jets and smaller planes inside. On Thursday the Board also set the rates for rental of the hangar on a daily or monthly basis. The rates to be charged depend on the size and type of the aircraft. Pilots have expressed an interest in storing their larger planes overnight, but at this point we do not have anyone interested in any kind of long-term rental of the facility. While it would be nice to get a long-term rental, we are very fortunate in that we do not need a long-term rental to cover the cost of borrowing the money to build the project since it was almost totally funded with 2 percent money.
5. Two Percent Allocations
I am assuming that the Tribe will keep the schedule they have had in the past by announcing the 2 percent allocations sometime before the end of this month. As is also the case, I have no idea what those allocations will be since they do not contact us prior to the notice.
6. Project 2000 Tax Case
Dave and I are currently preparing for the Tax Tribunal hearing, which will start on November 27th. As I have indicated before, we have been scheduled for a four-day hearing but do not anticipate it will take that long. You may wonder if there is any opportunity to settle this matter prior to going to trial. I do not believe so, since this is simply a question of whether or not the property is taxable. As you know, our position all along has been that the purchase of property to extend roads, build an industrial park, and increase our tax base is a legitimate governmental purpose. The property therefore should not be subject to taxation. The State Tax Commission has taken the opposing position that it is taxable, and therefore there is no middle ground in this issue.
7. SmartZone
There is not much new to report on the SmartZone. I did speak to Bob Berry on November 19th, and he indicated that he was still in negotiations with IBM for the purchase of a supercomputer and he expected to complete those negotiations by the end of this year.
8. Capital Improvement Projects
Our last major capital improvement projects were finished within the last couple of weeks with the reconstruction of Tomah and Forest Lane. The contractor was behind schedule and we did charge him a per-day penalty fee as called for in the contract. Staff is now involved in the design phase for projects to be undertaken in 2002.
9. New Phone System
The changeover to our new phone system went very well. It is a period of change for both staff and citizens. We still have a few bugs to iron out, but on the whole I was pleased with the changeover process. A special thank-you must be extended to Mary Ann Kornexl, Tom Robinson and Jeremy Howard for the fantastic job they did in implementing the new system. Verizons phone company was here for almost a two-week period helping with the installation of the equipment and training our folks to use the new equipment. After a short learning curve the new system will feel more and more comfortable for both staff and citizens.
10. Smokey The Bear
As you know, Smokey died sometime Friday afternoon. I was quoted in the newspaper as saying that I felt we ought to have some community input on the question of whether or not to replace the bear. As you know, there are strong feelings about the bear and its current home, and I'm sure people would like an opportunity to express their opinion about whether or not the bear should be replaced, and if it is the type of home in which it should be lodged. Obviously this is not a decision that needs to be made in a rush, and I would appreciate your thoughts on how best to proceed with that discussion.
11. State Legislation
A couple of bills were recently introduced in the legislature that could have negative impacts on the City. The first was a change in the election laws which could have meant that all Commissioners could be elected at one time instead of being staggered. According to the MML this problem has now been corrected with new language.
The second dealt with possible controls on what an elected body could say about a proposed bond issue or referendum. Essentially it would have prevented elected bodies from supporting their own proposals. Again, according to the League, this has been corrected. The new language now focuses on non-profits. This is a direct shot at the MML and their referendum initiative on the attack against our home rule authority.
12. Thanksgiving Holiday
I hope that you and your family have a very nice Thanksgiving holiday, and if you should be traveling, I wish you a safe trip.