03-11-1999 Council Work Session - Laserfiche WebLink

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CIVU «>•«.•» m. Acrimony may turn to matrimony The western Hennepin County communilies of Orono and Long Lake have quit Uckering and are taking a serious look at merging. The time is oflUals of both ddes say. SiOT TrQntm Staff Writtr . Merflng Long Ltk« and Orono *iort of Kreimf common scnst.* uys Long Lake Mayor Mike Bath. Contkkr. he layi. that rural wealdUer Orono (pop. 7.700) already turroundt more tuhurban Long Lake (pop. 1.930) In western Heiuiepin County. Orono lelU police service to Loire like; Long sells fire protection to Orono. incy're connected try two*laoe Hwy. 12, whkh also b Long Lake's main street and the two dttea* link to Minneapolis. Many Orono residenu — the Mwn is home to such influential families u th^ Day- tons and Cargo's MacMillans ~ consSier Long Lake's commodal distiks thdr own downtown. For aD these conneettons. hovrever. the history of the two cities contains a bitter Hatfleldl-and- McCoys relationship — over such issues u sew age ueatment ana vrater towers — that has generated lawsuits, name-calling and other pub- Dcinsulta. — CUy officials toy rimf bright MEMEfroaiBl If merger occurs, mayors say, workers won't lose their jobs Because of those controwrsin, •We sold a lot of (newslpapen for a while," uid Orono Mayor Gabriel labbour. But last wreck their two city councils voted unanimously to : follow Bash and labbour's recom- \ mendations to begin studying a i potential merger. If the study bears fruit. It : would be one of me few success- : ful Twin atlet area consoUda- : tions In recent history, said Chris- I tine Scoifllo. executive director of the Mirmesota Municipal Board. : Althou^ St Bonifacius and Min- i netrisu are considering merdng. : other effoiu involving Deephav- i en and Greenwood, as wretl as : lino LaS^es and Centerville, have : falterei twice. But in lanuary j 1997. Norwood and Young Amer- * tea nerged and became Norwood 1 Young America. i In Washington County, the * \ wity of Lake ^o and Baylown : Township are talking about con- * solidaiion. but the plan has t drawn protest from some res- : ideois. One sign of past disagree- : roents between Orono and Long Lake was a decision by Orono. : whose residents relied mostly on : I well water, to build its o\sn water lower rat^r than buy water from LoogLake. • But now the time for a merger ! Is right, city ofRcials say, because of good-faith effons by two gen-• _^______ - : cradons of mayors Oty offlcials also say the time's right because of the settle ment of a lawsuit over a sewage treatment drainage pond and the 1 agreement over the rerouting of a ‘ e-mlle stretch of Hwy. 12 — not to mention several yean of low- profBe nesvspaper co\*erage. The chanM emerged from monthly breuiasu ben^cen for mer Long Lake Mayor Tod Olson and former Orono Ma>*or Ed Cal lahan. who began meeting ihorfr ly after their elections in 1992. •We %wrc both really cautious about each other, but we knew if we did not talk there would neser be change.* Olson said. CaUanan is a lavryer %vith the Minneapolis firm of Gray. Plant. Moofy. Mooty & Bennett, and Ol son Is a retired business planner and analyst for General Mills Inc. and Control Data Corp. •We quit having contract dis putes in public, in the newspa per* bv negotiating ihrce-year. mstead of one-year, police and fire agreements, Olson said. They also helped reach agreement on the long-pending H%vy. 12 project. The two-lane. $79 million highway, whose completion is at least seven years away, will run subtly south of the current high* way and require moving railroad tracks to land now occupied by Long Lake's City Hall, fire station and public works garage. Tom O'Keefe, a planner with the Minnesota Department of Traiuponation. said the new road will allow a consistent 55 miles per hour speed limit, com pared vsith 35 to 55 mph on the cuneni H%vy. 12. It will run below grade throuf^ Long Lake and will require mosine 47 households in Long Lake and IS in Orono. he said. Six businesses also will be moved. It's expected that the new hi^way vrtll relieve traffic con gestion that crimps mobility in Long Lake and settle a traffic cor ridor dilemma that festered for 40 >*cars. Beyond traffic flow, the new route prompted Lung Lake to ask whether to invest in new munici pal buildings or share ssith Oro no. Bash ^d i* at Long Lake might be better served by moving into vacant space in Orono's Oty Hall. And that added momentum to discussions of potential merger. Taxes and a name But council members said last week that residents are more like ly to ask about property taxes and the name of the mertra commu nity. Olson said another issue for Long Lake residents would be: •Whit about my s*ote? Will it van ish In a sea of Orono s-oiesT* Bash said Long Lake's property * taxes probably would decline no ticeably at first because its ex penses will be spread against a much larger tax base, while Orono's taxes might increase subtly. Long Lake ^dministrltor loe Lynch said property taxes on a $125,000 homestead in his dtv. before assorted credits and aa- justments. is $2,291. including the city’s share of $443. Orono Administrator Ron Morse said the comparable tax on an identically valued house in his city is $2,102. including the city's share of $246. But labbdur said short-term comparisons arc •phony balo ney.* A better approach, he said, is to consider tlie long run. For example. %\1ihout the merger. Or- ono eventually would have to es tablish its own fire department, which could con more than ar V Siar TriMwmapby merging with Long Lake. Whatever efnclencies merw might bring, layoffs wouldn't DC among them. Bash and labbour said: Any personnel cuts would come via attrition, labbour also said that a voting prednet s>stem could help preserve Long Like's \t)ke In a merged community. Bash is reluctant to discuss the pouibflities of a new city name because of emotional arguments that could generate. •For some people, that v^lll poison the waters... one way or the other.* he said. Olson, however, offered a light-hearted solution: Tiy a hy- ihenated name such as Orono- x)ng Lake for a few years. The nconsTnlence of writinc three words ought to persuade resi dents to embrace a shorter name, he said. To consider the pros and cons of merj^a. each city council will consider the mayors’ proposal to appoint a 12-membcr commis sion including the two city ad ministrators. the ma)-ors. three citizens from each city and two outside members. labbour said one outsider might be David Childs. Minne tonka's clt)' manager. Childs said he has a “checklist" of roerger- reiated criteria he developed while observing consolidation of cities In Tasmania, a state in Aus tralia. during a municipJ es- m * , it# • v' -: ^ ■ Sttr Md d feuoi BiWg Oraiw Mayw Oibriil Jibbow. Mt Uag Ulm MI along Hwir. 12, ;*iat one of many c otmocfloiia bitwoow flm twa T oiteba. ira not th.'w yot to tak about a now nama. tboy toy. change program i- the early 199(H The Long Lake/Oron • study, if approved, might take the rest of the year. It could lead to a refer endum in each city and applica tion to a sute board that aomin- islers grant programs for merging cities. Although Long L^ke fcsuiret such suburban trappings as poj^ ular fast-food franchises while Orono prizes large retkkntiallots and rural flavtir. Olson said a merger might bring a blending of housing chokes. And Orono ’s fo cus on tight zoning could encour age orderly grrvih of Long Lake’s comm ercial district, he said.