By Anne Thom

The Stacy City Council met for the second time during the week on July 26. The council returned to Stacy this evening for its second regular monthly meeting.

Chisago County Deputy Shane Carol provided a comparison sheet to show numbers of initial complaint report (ICRs) by city and the number of hours law enforcement is contracted for within other Chisago County municipalities.

Carol said he and other deputies had put in many additional hours in 2004 for which they did not bill the city. Mayor Michael Carlson asked ìHow much call time is where?î ìIs the majority spent across the road?î Carol said that of 201 calls in a quarter of a year, 149 were calls originating in the Sunrise Mobile Home Park. Carlson felt that numbers such as this warranted a meeting of the Sheriffís office, the mobile home parkís management and the city council. Carol advised the council that the patrol division is currently short staffed, so deputies are spread out wide among the cities in Chisago County. Councilmember Barbara Otterson brought up the function known as community policing.

Community policing had been one of focal points of Sheriff Rivardís law enforcement efforts. It is, as the mayor pointed out, the nuisance crimes that affect the community on a daily basis that are of the greatest concern. City Clerk Sharon Payne put in for 40 hours a week for public safety in the upcoming budget, a 6 percent increase.

Announcing ìItís a great day for bond sales,î Stacy financial advisor Todd Hagen of the firm Ehlers and Associates had the results of two bond sales that had taken place on July 26. One for Public Project Lease Revenue Bonds in the amount of $1,460,000 sold to Dougherty & Company of Minneapolis, with their low bid on an interest rate of 4.91percent, for the cityís Municipal Liquor Store Project.

The other bonds approved were Temporary General Obligation Sewer Revenue Bonds in the amount of $1,700,000, to finance the cost of the expansion and upgrade of the cityís water and sewer system. The low bid was received from United Bankers Bank of Bloomington, Minnesota and will carry an interest rate of 3.18 percent. Closing on both sales will take place on Aug. 24. All resolutions tied to the bond sale passed the council.

At the July 12 meeting, the council had been advised that a development agreement for Foxtail Woods had expired and that City Engineer Chuck Schwartz and City Attorney Peter Grundhoefer would contact the developer Dan Birdsall and ask him to come in and resign the agreement. Birdsall went a bit further and came to the meeting to speak to the council in person. The council viewed the plat drawing of Foxtail Woods 2nd Addition. City Planner Samantha Crosby told the council the planning commission has approved the preliminary plats. The council had directed Schwartz to ask Birdsall if there on the south side of the development. was a way to include multi-family and more affordable units to this development. Birdsall presented some options including the exchange of the current plan for single family homes for townhomes. The price Birdsall quoted is a price range of $240,000 to $260,000.

Councilmembers John Daher and Otterson both said they had been hoping for something more affordable. Birdsall said he has a two bedroom, one and a half bathroom town home product that he might be able to bring in at a price of $190,000. Councilmember Walz told Birdsall, ìweíre not trying to push you into anything.î Birdsall didnít feel that the council was trying to push him into anything and acknowledged ìYouíre probably in need of more multi- family. Multi-family isnít always a real quick mover.î Otterson told him to continue with single family because the city had been hoping for something more affordable.

In other news:
ï The county auditor has sent to Grundhoefer a list of five tax forfeited properties. The city will have forty-five days to act on this. Grundhoefer recommended purchasing all five properties outright.

ï The community can now check the City of Stacy Web site for information about meetings and events at www.stacymn.org.

ï The city budget must be complete by September 15. A budget meeting is scheduled for August 22 at 4 p.m. Please call your council representative if you have any comments.

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