Jordan Independent - Looking Back - Comments

The projects will save ten

Johnnie14 — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 22:02:53 -0500

The projects will save ten times over your $5000 by being combined.

The project is in a different situation now than it has been in the past. The reason past councils delayed it was because they wanted more money from MNDOT. The past year hold up can be explained by issues with one property owner. The bonds have been issued already, the city can't back out now with out breaking the law.

Once this whole thing is done, people will wonder what all the controversy was about. We all pay for our upgrade in water/sewer services, just at different times. New home owners paid for it in their lot costs, and those residents in older Jordan are payng their portion through an assessment, which by the way is the only legal way to do it and be able to issue municipal tax-exempt bonds to pay for it.

I attended the meeting on

Wed, 08 Oct 2008 13:31:53 -0500

I attended the meeting on monday and I live on second street.I'm not happy about paying for the project but feel I would pay as much if not more to fight it.My fear is I pay the 5,000 and we go another year with nothing happening again,I lose in terest on my money and the use of it.I have been told for three years the project was going to happen and it hasn't whats different this year? After the meeting I was made aware the lawsuit is still not settled.The city made the mistake of making the two projects one,I beleive the lawsuit should be taken care of before anything happens.This being an election year the mayor's seat and three council seats up for grabs, could again delay or end this project.

I think the feelings of a

dart chucker — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 12:54:30 -0500

I think the feelings of a few people on 2nd street is why should they pay before work is started. This project has been talked about for 5 years. Delayed because of the hypocrites at the stop lights and tied up by MNDOT. Call us when you actually start.

Back in the early 1990's the

Ray Sandey — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:53:12 -0500

Back in the early 1990's the City put together a plan to reconstruct the streets of lower town Jordan and to rebuild the aging infrastructure beneathe it. The second street project is pretty much the end of the that reconstruction plan. It should have been done a couple of years ago but because it is also a state highway the city has had to wait for funding from the state. The assessments are less on these properties because of the portion paid by the state.

Because this project is done when the economy is down and home values are down does not mean that you don't get the value from the assessment.

With out the water and sewer service your land would hold very little value as it would not be buildable and because of zoning ordinances you could not use it for other purposes.

All of us business owners and homeowners in downtown and lowertown have gone through this reconstruction even though it sucks during construction, the finished project is well worth the assessment.

I thought the city wanted

swansonmej — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 15:35:44 -0500

I thought the city wanted this project because of the money coming from MNDot. Funny how the city also wants money from the residents who did not want the expansion in the first place.

All of the 40 property

dapa2 — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:57:08 -0500

All of the 40 property owners should be objecting to the Highway 282 assessments, based on being asked to pay $5,000 each prior to the beginning of construction. This is not how the assessment process is supposed to work in Minnesota.

Minnesota Statutes Chapter 429 (Chapter 429) gives cities authority to levy special assessments. Court decisions and attorney general opinions have added to the complexity of the issue.

In short - the amount of the charge must bear a direct relationship to the value of the benefits the property receives. Special assessments must reflect the influence of a specific local improvement on the value of specific property. No matter what method the city uses to establish the amount of the assessment, the real measure of benefits is the increase in the market value of the land because of the improvement. I highly doubt that if all the property owners were assessed the same value that this can be true and thus the assessment if challenged in court would not stand.

The hearing on the assessments will require the city to present direct evidence of the benefit in the form of expert testimony by a person qualified to appraise real estate, and determine the increase in market value as a result of the improvement. The evidence presented by the city must fairly support a finding that the market value will increase at least as much as the amount of the proposed assessment. Again, I doubt this is the case.

A special assessment that exceeds the special benefit is a taking of the property without fair compensation in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Article X, Section 1 of the Minnesota Constitution reads, in part: “The Legislature may authorize municipal corporations to levy and collect assessments for local improvements upon property benefited thereby without regard to cash valuation.” As the courts have made clear, the special benefit is the increase in market value of the land as a result of the improvement. See: Buettner v. City of St. Cloud, 277 N.W.2d 199 (Minn. 1979), Southview County Club. v. City of Inver Grove Heights, 263 N.W. 2d 385 (Minn. 1978) and Minn. Const. art X, § 1.

A formula not based on an analysis of the increase in market value of each parcel may be invalid. A front-footage method of calculating assessments for street improvement projects based on costs of street improvement projects from previous years has been found arbitrary and prima facie invalid. A city may not combine assessments for an improvement made in one year with an improvement constructed in the following year. See: Bisbee v. City of Fairmont, 593 N.W.2d 714 (Minn. Ct. App. 1999) and Quality Homes, Inc. v. Village of New Brighton, 289 Minn. 274, 193 N.W.2d 555 (1971).

With greater frequency, courts find that the city’s determination of the special benefit was either invalid or more than the increase in market value as a result of the improvement. In recent unpublished opinions, the appellate courts have routinely upheld decisions that went against the city because the district court found a lack of adequate evidence of a market value increase equal to or exceeding the amount of the special assessment. Especially with regard to street improvements, it may be very difficult to demonstrate that there is any significant increase in market value as a result of the resurfacing or reconstruction.

Some cases to note: Shorma Family Trust v. Maine Township, 2002 WL 555323, C9-01-1548 (Minn. Ct. App. April 16, 2002); Belanger v. City of Long Lake, 2000 WL 563896, C1-99-1347 (Minn. Ct. App. May 9, 2000);Reiling v. City of Lino Lakes 2000 WL 369384, C7-99-1594 (Minn. Ct. App. Apr. 11, 2000);Anderson v. City of Buffalo, 2000 WL 31791, C7-99-641 (Minn. Ct. App. Jan. 18, 2000); Rohling v. City of Champlin, 1999 WL 71484, C3-98-1209 (Minn. Ct. App. Feb. 16, 1999) (unpublished decision); Gullard v. City of Lake Park, 1997 WL 457453, C8-97-207 (Minn. Ct. App. Aug. 12, 1997). In re Appeal by Eastside Development, 2001 WL 1035280, C4-01-582 (Minn. Ct. App. Sept. 11, 2001). Blomquist v. City of Eagan, 2001 WL 436187, C2-00-1591 (Minn. Ct. App. May 1, 2001).

I think all the 40 should be objecting as that is the only way you can get your appeal to stand up in court. If your neighbors object and you dont and they win... only they win - you dont!

I believe it's officially

Mathias Baden — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 15:14:51 -0500

I believe it's officially happened once in the majors. Jered Weaver gave up no hits in an eight-inning game this year, but according to Major League Baseball, it's not a no-hitter unless it's nine innings long.

(Mathias Baden is the editor of the Jordan Independent. He can be reached at editor@jordannews.com.)

Later today, you can buy

Mathias Baden — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 11:50:38 -0500

Later today, you can buy these and other Heimatfest-related photos at http://www.jordannews.smugmug.com/.

(Mathias Baden is the editor of the Jordan Independent. He can be reached at editor@jordannews.com.)

To where did Jordan Car Care

Mathias Baden — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 22:50:58 -0500

To where did Jordan Car Care move? Check out its first blog at http://www.jordannews.com/community/jordancarcare/jordan-car-care-moves-....

(Mathias Baden is the editor of the Jordan Independent. He can be reached at editor@jordannews.com.)

That’s kind of a fun piece

Brandon — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:03:34 -0500

That’s kind of a fun piece of trivia. I’m guessing that doesn’t happen very often.

Draven422, read the story

Mathias Baden — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:56:07 -0500

Draven422, read the story here: http://www.shakopeenews.com/news/deaths/renaissance_festival_mourns_deat....

(Mathias Baden is the editor of the Jordan Independent. He can be reached at editor@jordannews.com.)

I wonder if anyone still has

Ray Sandey — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 22:09:42 -0500

I wonder if anyone still has the recipe?

RIP Snot. You will be

draven422 — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 15:06:08 -0500

RIP Snot. You will be missed.

Interesting to me was this

Mathias Baden — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 09:02:42 -0500

Interesting to me was this part of Paul's column: "The outside reporters estimated the crowd to be bigger -- 6,000 to 7,000 people." I've seen this happen countless times. Some things never change, but nobody's perfect either.

(Mathias Baden is the editor of the Jordan Independent. He can be reached at editor@jordannews.com.)

I've heard nothing but good

Mathias Baden — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 12:23:03 -0500

I've heard nothing but good things about it. Enjoy your time in the wilderness, Jordan Scouts!

(Mathias Baden is the editor of the Jordan Independent. He can be reached at editor@jordannews.com.)