Posted 1/3/01 Keys to the city of North Branch change hands Dec. 26 By Jason Sileo The keys to the city of North Branch are in new hands today after outgoing Mayor Ellis Johnson transferred them to the hands of Mayor-elect John Pinsonneault at the conclusion of the city councilís meeting Dec. 26. Fresh faces will be seated at the boardroom table when the council reconvenes for the first time in the new millennium proper next Monday, Jan. 8. Councilman Rodney Lofquist presented Mayor Johnson with a handsome plaque and framed portrait in honor of the Mayorís 11 years of service to the city. ìIn working with Ellis for the past six years, I consider him as a mentor,î Lofquist said during the presentation. ìIíve learned lots of things from him. Itís a privilege to work with another Swede.î ìWe didnít always agree,î Lofquist said. ìBut one of the things I respect about him is that he respects your opinion.î ìWeíve had hundreds and hundreds of meetings and to my knowledge heís missed only one,î Lofquist said. ìI also know that he scheduled a surgery between meetings, too; so I think that illustrates the dedicated service that heís given to us.î ìI certainly wish him well in the years of after-city/political life,î Lofquist said in closing. The ceremony was followed by a round of applause from those in attendance, and Mayor Johnson proceeded to hand off the keys to city hall to Pinsonneaultóand he will take office following formal ceremonies at the council meeting Tuesday. Regular business During the meeting, the councilónumbering just three with the absence of council members Don White and Amy Oehlersósplit a 2-1 vote on a motion to deny any further action on a second reassessment of Cedar Street property improvements in the city. Fifty-seven property owners paid legal fees and went to court to fight the original round of assessments. They won that fight and the city re-assessed those 57 properties, resulting in a reduction in taxes for those properties. Fifteen property owners did not fight the battle, did not win in court and did not have their assessments reduced along with their neighbors. Grumblings among the minority group have led the city to consider a whole new round of re-assessments. City Attorney Tom Miller indicated he didnít think re-assessing the re-assessment was a very good idea, but did say it was within the cityís power to do just that. ìJust consider the precedent that you would set, if you do this, for future assessments,î Miller said. ìCan you do it? Yes,î he said. ìIt is up to the council, but I think you should take a look at all the factors.î ìI make a motion we just leave things as is,î Councilman Roger Else said. Councilman Lofquist agreed: ìWe certainly donít want a replay of whatís happened over the last year, and I think itís time to put this to rest.î Mayor Johnson said he felt poorly about the situation because he had told constituents thatówhatever the results of the original re-assessment might beóany changes would be made across the board for all 72 property owners in question. ìI just feel terrible about this because anybody that asked me... I felt that whatever the end result was; it would be the same for everybody,î the mayor said. ìThe other thing is that you people have heard me complain about our assessment policy for a long time,î Mayor Johnson added. ìOur assessment policy is not a good policy.î One Cedar Street resident said that to re-open the issue would be like ìopening up a can of worms.î If a decision to re-assess was made, the man said, ìIt will not make the group of 57 people happy; and thatís an understatement.î The vote to close the book on the deal then went 2-1, with Mayor Johnson dissenting, and this issue remains an active hot potato for the new council to begin dealing with in January. The council voted to re-appoint James Demming to the parks committee, and John Phillipsen was re-appointed to his post aboard the cityís planning commission. ©Post Review