January 20th Council Update

We had a good discussion regarding the paving of 3rd Ave adjacent to the soccer complex. All of us who have either had children play soccer there or watched it know the benefit of paving this stretch of road. The discussion revolved around what is called an urban vs rural section of road. The urban has curb and gutter and the rural section is like most county roads and even a few in Isanti proper that does not have curb and gutter. Both road options would eliminate all parking along 3rd but the rural section is roughly $140,000 less. Currently there is no parking allowed along the west side of 3rd. All the parking lots in the area will need to be used when parking is prohibited along both sides of 3rd.

City Staff and I have met with the Soccer Association and informed them of the road improvement and the change in parking status. We also explained we will need the Association to communicate the changes to their members to avoid parking violations. This will leave only 1 other section of road in the City that is gravel.

I briefed the Council on the LGA Flip concept and the importance of its approval. We will be discussing this at the Febuary 3rd Council meeting. I will provide the details in the next few days.

We have submitted our application for $552,855 in Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds. We will know in the next two weeks if we receive the funds. These dollars are federal funds managed through the state that provides help to qualified buyers of foreclosed homes. Two important facts: this can only be used to help purchase foreclosed homes and it is only within Isanti City Limits.

The Council has sent a letter of concern to the County Board regarding the proposed County Comprehensive Plan. We hope the Board will take the 10 points to heart and give them full consideration. The County Comprehensive Plan affects the entire County including the cities.