Thanks to Blue Sky Bookkeeping for their support.
A handful of residents complained about being assessed for a regular street project at the West St. Paul City Council meeting. Other business included abatement of 1037 Humboldt, an athletic facilities rental policy, and future observance of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
2024 Road Work
City Council held a public hearing for the 2024 mill and overlay projects. A mill and overlay is an in-between approach to street maintenance that extends the life of a road between complete reconstructions.
- Where: The project includes Kraft, Richard, Teresa, Vivian, Kathleen, Muriel, Audrey, Carol, Westview, Scott, and Holiday streets (see map below).
- Cost: Home owners will be assessed about 35% of the street work, which amounts to $1,900 for a single family home. This is comparable to last year’s mill and overlay assessment, which averaged $1,988 for a single family home.
- Timeline: Construction work will happen in the summer of 2024.
- Impact: Mill and overlay projects have minimal impact and won’t cause major detours or restricted access for more than a couple days.
- Pushback: The public hearing drew an audience of about 20 people and seven spoke. Concerns included the cost of the assessment, whether homeowners should be assessed at all, the fairness of charging interest if the assessment is added to property taxes over 10 years, poor work done on the last major work 20 years ago, ongoing maintenance, traffic, too many garbage trucks, parking from nearby apartments, and more. Every speaker admitted the work needed to be done. Two former City Council members, Tim Haubrich and Greg Shepherd, were among the speakers.
- Response: Council Member Robyn Gulley agreed that residents shouldn’t be assessed for street work, but said there’s not enough support for the alternative—increasing property taxes city-wide to cover the cost.
Council ultimately approved the mill and overlay plan unanimously.
Other Items on the Agenda:
- Abatement: After issuing an emergency order to secure 1037 Humboldt at the last meeting, Council approved an abatement process to continue to address this problem property.
- Rental policy: During the Open Council Work Session (OCWS), Council considered a proposed athletic facilities rental policy. The Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee reviewed multiple iterations of this policy and recommended approval at their September meeting. The next step is for staff to meet with some of the primary users (athletic organizations, community groups, etc.) to get further impact before bringing it forward for official approval.
- Snow removal: Council held another public hearing for Robert Street sidewalk snow removal, which covers Butler to Mendota Road and be assessed to properties after the season. No one spoke during the public hearing. North of Butler has been left to property owners due to various issues, though will see increased enforcement this winter.
- Indigenous Peoples’ Day: Council proclaimed October 9 to be Indigenous Peoples’ Day. During the OCWS they discussed whether or not to reschedule future Council meetings to avoid being scheduled on the holiday. A majority preferred shifting that meeting to Tuesday in the future.
Note: The City Council chambers are one step closer to finishing the remodeling process, the last piece of the city hall rehab.
Engage
- Watch: City Council and OCWS meetings are archived online. You can also watch a video recap with Ward 2 Council Members Robyn Gulley and John Justen.
- Learn more: Guide to West St. Paul City Council.
We believe in government transparency and provide these West St. Paul City Council previews with the support of our members.
