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n <br />A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING LEGISLATION TO PROVIDE IMPROVED FUNDING <br />OPTIONS FOR CITY STREET IMPROVEMENTS <br />WHEREAS, Minnesota contains over 135,000 miles of roadway, and over 19,000 miles or 14 <br />percent —are owned and maintained by Minnesota ’s 853 cities; and <br />WHEREAS, city streets are a separate but integral piece of the network of roads supporting <br />movement of people and goods; and <br />WHEREAS, existing funding mechanisms, such a Municipal State Aid (MSA), property taxes, <br />special assessments and bonding, have limited applications, leaving cities under-equipped to <br />address growing needs. <br />WHEREAS, maintenance costs increase as road systems age, and no city-large or small—is <br />spending enough on roadway capital improvements to maintain a 50-year lifecycle; and <br />WHEREAS, the Council of the City of Orono finds it is difficult to develop adequate funding <br />systems to support the City ’s needed street improvement and maintenance programs while <br />complying with existing State statutes; and <br />WHEREAS, the League of Minnesota Cities, the Minnesota Public Works Association and the <br />City Engineers Association of Minnesota, have jointly sponsored the development of a report <br />entitled Funding Street Construction and Maintenance in Minnesota’s Cities wherein (1) the <br />street systems of the cities within the State are inventoried; (2) the existing funding systems are <br />detailed and evaluated; and (3) recommendations are made; and <br />WHEREAS, cities need flexible policies and greater resources in order to meet growing <br />demands for street improvements and maintenance. <br />NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF <br />ORONO that this Council concurs with the findings of the above referenced report, and fully <br />supports the recommendations contained in that report; and <br />BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ORONO that this <br />Council supports the adoption of legislation that would provide cities with the policy options <br />they need to address current and future challenges in providing adequate street improvement and <br />maintenance programs. <br />1 of 2 <br />J