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Item #10 - CC Agenda - 04108/2013 <br />Street Imporovement District - Letter of Support <br />[Page 4 of 51 <br />AGUE vF CONNECTING &. INNOVATING <br />MINNESOTA SINCE 1913 <br />CITIES <br />Briefing paper ---2013 <br />Minnesota cities and street improvement districts <br />League position <br />The League supports HF 745 (Erhardt, DFL -Edina) and SF 607 (Carlson, DFL -Eagan), legislation <br />that would allow cities to create street improvement districts. This authority would allow cities to <br />collect fees from property owners within a district to fund municipal street maintenance, <br />construction, reconstruction, and facility upgrades. If enacted, this legislation would provide cities <br />with an additional tool to build and maintain city streets. <br />Supporters <br />HF 745/SF 607 is also supported by the following organizations: <br />• Association of Metropolitan Municipalities <br />• Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities <br />• Minnesota Association of Small Cities <br />• North Metro Mayors <br />• Minnesota Transportation Alliance <br />• City Engineers Association of Minnesota <br />• Minnesota Chapter of the American Public Works Association <br />Background <br />Just as the state has fallen behind in malting transportation investments, some cities faced with <br />budget challenges have made the difficult decision in recent years to hold off on scheduled street <br />improvement projects. Maintenance projects, such as seal coating and overlays, can prolong the <br />lifecycle of streets to 50 to 60 years. Without ongoing maintenance, the average life expectancy of <br />local streets is approximately 25 to 30 years. For every $1 spent on maintenance, a road authority <br />saves $7 in repairs. But this maintenance requires a reliable dedicated funding source other than <br />the current volatile property tax system. <br />For the same reasons, cities are also falling behind on the reconstruction projects necessary to help <br />peep property values stable; and, cities lath viable options for building new transportation <br />infrastructure to attract and retain the investments by businesses that peep Minnesota's economy <br />strong. <br />Existing funding mechanisms for street maintenance and reconstruction are inadequate. Special <br />assessments can be onerous to property owners and are difficult to implement for some cities. <br />Special assessments are not always useful for funding collector streets and other streets that do not <br />abut private property. Property tax dollars are generally not dedicated and are sometimes diverted <br />to more pressing needs such as public safety, water quality and cost participation in state and <br />county highway projects. Municipal state aid (MSA) is limited to cities over 5,000 population --147 <br />145 UNIVERSITY AVE. WEST €�a-€ow; (651) 281-1200 t>f%x: (651) 281-1299 <br />.ST. PAUL„ MN 55103-2044 To€.t HUE: (800) 925-1122 wars: www,€.MC0RG <br />