First things first. Do I support the city of Brainerd to continue with a program of responsible street improvement? Yes! However, as I read over the definitions of the Chapter 429 Process (provided to impacted property owners at the Jan. 8, 2019, Public Meeting No. 2) and how that Minnesota Statue is being misapplied to the Buffalo Hills Lane extension and Mississippi Drive Construction Project, the more concern I have about the lack of logical linkage with the design criteria, construction timeline, cost estimates, assessment policy and assessment methodology.
For the impacted owners of the 271 parcels of record as of 2018 not in attendance, the following notice was included as part of the information packet, which is the basis for my comments and describes the future agenda for the next meeting:
Improvement Notice and Hearing - Winter/Spring 2019
You will receive a letter in the late winter with an estimated assessment and a Notice of Improvement Hearing. This Improvement Hearing is generally at a Council Meeting and provides an opportunity for testimony for or against the proposed improvement and whether it is feasible and necessary. A feasibility report, prepared by the Engineer, will outline project feasibility, need, and estimated costs. This is not the time to appeal assessments.
After reading the above meeting notice, I have to ask, why exclude a discussion of the assessments and the methodology used to calculate those assessments during the improvement hearing, and prior to the subsequent vote of the city council, when the method and amount of payment is the single most important decision element facing the majority of the 271 property owners? Buffalo Hills Lane has long been designated a state-aid municipal street by MnDOT, therefore improvements are eligible for annual Minnesota state funding and do not require special assessments.
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Jerry Doyle
Brainerd
