City Council Work Session April 1, 2025
1. Call to Order 2. Roll Call 3. Meeting Topics 3.1. Vernon Ave & Highway 100 Interchange Project Update 3.2. Assessing Services Discussion 4. Adjournment Where to Watch: Meetings of the Edina City Council are typically held 7 p.m. the first and third Tuesdays of the month in Edina City Hall, 4801 W. 50th St. The Council holds other special meetings from time to time. Meetings of the Edina City Council are shown live on Edina TV and the City’s website. They are rebroadcast on Edina TV at 3 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sundays and Wednesdays, and 7 p.m. Tuesdays and Saturdays until the Council’s next meeting. Edina TV is available to Comcast subscribers (https://www.xfinity.com/) on Channel 813 (high definition) and Channel 16 (standard definition). Listen Online: Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/6Xz19PKI4KRbV1CBjOKDHz?si=f8c977f118ad426f) Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/edina-city-council-meetings/id1760404514) YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLlz4oOYMFxF-E7lwoGL2RHd38IO2fLVM2) Amazon Music (https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/36681e98-f083-4c32-9ba4-085727009b8f/edina-city-council) Pandora (https://www.pandora.com/podcast/edina-city-council/PC:1001090290) To learn more about the Edina City Council, visit EdinaMN.gov/citycouncil.
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Topics Discussed (4)
Vernon Avenue and Highway 100 Interchange Project Update
Traffic Management and Communication Strategy for Highway 100 Project
Project Funding and State Legislative Request
Transition of City Assessing Services to Hennepin County
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“Project goals improve safety and mobility of all users create those new separated pedestrian routes improve traffic operations consolidate all those access points on Highway 100 improve that connectivity between residential and commercial areas of the district limit construction impacts...enhance that economic viability with all the improved access for both walkers and bikers and the traveling public by automobiles”
“The railroad is holding us up because of that easement agreement and continue to hold us up and we finally got uh that approved in January early February of 2025 so it was months of delay”
“I remember even driving been being like 'How do I get to 50th of France is that completely closed?' So as much communication as we can include please”
“We asked Mandot if we could do special signs that say Grand View businesses and 50th and France district out on the highway so north to here and they're allowing us to put some specific signs like that out on the highway”
“It's state right yep it's already can't think of the term we'll probably think of it here in a little bit but we keep seeing that's secured and ready to go the agreements already”
“Could we use more tiff dollar unspent tiff how much unspent tiff could be applied to this project...we have more than this in the Centennial Lakes TIFF and that's the only one that would that could one could not be used at the time where this one was the most flexible”
“Once you're under construction come back okay because they're like there's no point unless unless it's happening...if we do get funding we're hoping that stays in there excellent so if we do get funding we're hoping that stays in there excellent so then it's just done all right”
“The one we're in now that would reduce uh our rate of growth the trajectory of our property tax uh levy...we've looked at three main areas where we can do that from this capital spending its debt service and its operational spending”
“All of this is um about Edina residents and reducing costs for them and I want to know if this is simply um meaning that instead of paying the city for assessment services they're going to be paying the county for assessment services and there's going to be no net financial benefit for the Edina resident”
“I don't think that the way you framed the question was the original ask and so we may not all be on the same page so I just want to restate what I was asking for...the ask I had was the original general levy was projected to be 13% and I said...we need to have budget stabilization and I felt like we should target a 5 to7 million reduction in the general levy”
“If we do that because I agree in the context then the question is how are those costs if they do move how are they allocated right what is the allocation method is it and I'm totally making this up is it the bigger your house the larger your share is it you know some other factor we don't know that but that would be the question I would ask because that's how you would then know what is the impact on a smaller level”
“For approximately 37 years Hennepin County did or has provided assessment services for many many of the cities in Hennepin County...we would go to every city council we would negotiate 37 agreements uh try to create consistency and and staff appropriately so there were discussions conversations that were had last year...we wanted consistency so we went to the board uh last year and proposed that the county would absorb the 5.4 million that was then being paid in fees uh by those cities to the county and we built it into our tax base”
“We know that we can do this uh with fewer staff when you look at the eight cities...when we look at their combined FTEES their combined costs we believe that we can do it and we've we've done proformas uh with fewer staff and in respect to the question this is not cost shifting it would be built into the county's levy but the county levies on 400,000 parcels so the impact there will be an impact but it'll be slight”
“The other day two 90year-old ladies came in they don't call they come into city hall their homestead was removed they don't know why they've lived in the house forever nothing changed homestead's removed like we called Henipin County they told us we have to go online and reapply we don't have a computer we don't know how to use a computer so Jamie has them call Henipin County directly with on speakerphone...So Jamie gets the ladies up to the computer and helps them apply online...we have somebody in the office every day during business hours we have people answering the phone in the office every day during business hours being not 100% remote at the county means they're out in the field”
“The appraisers here have worked for years to get those quality levels of the houses and the rates so that those things will appraise out as near to market value as possible and that process takes over five years so if the county has a 2 to threeyear time to build out their new system then they're going to have another 5-year period of time to get all the buildings in eina in the KMA system to a point where KMA calculates it not where they're just rolling values with an adder”
“We have a lot of value we're the sixth highest valued city in the state we get a lot of tax court 2024 Henipin County and their 37 cities got 510 tax court petitions we had 114 so last year we had over $2 billion under petition i mean we have you know very complex and I'm I'm sorry i'm a little bit like I'm mad we do a great job for the city the county is not going to give you that service”
“I think it's dangerous for us to um move forward with a frame that suggests...that the customer experience is the same because it's not going to be uh with system changes the best system anyone ever used was the one they just switched from and so that's universal”
“We went through this debate several years ago about whether or not we had to switch our dispatching from our PD to the county yes and we made that question I think part of the quality of life survey as to whether or not our residents wanted to uh have their dispatch done by Henipin County and they said no they wanted it done locally they didn't care about the cost”
“This is not about a takeover i mean it's an offer and uh we extend that and we are open to having dialogue you don't have to make a decision by May one uh in all likelihood we may only hear from one other city...why I did this is to plan for my budget because I'm planning for a 2026 budget right now and this is operational...if we're going to do something I want to be planful and intentional about how we set this up to do it in a smooth orderly manner”