I wanted to touch on a few upcoming items for the January 20th Council meeting. We will be taking advantage of our newly awarded A+ bond rating and refinancing some of our old debt. We project on this latest refinance that $55,000 will be saved. This coupled with the $72,000 we already saved on the last bond issue and the Taxpayers have save $127,000 from the improved bond rates.
We will be discussing significant issues with the current proposed County Comprehensive Plan. The Council will have the option of passing on the concerns to the County Board such as the population projections for the year 2030 have already been surpassed to the lack of planning for the implementation and so on.
I will also be giving a preview of our plan to fundamentally change how we use LGA. The plan will allow us to only count on money we physically have and no longer bet on the State living up to its promises. It gives us greater ability to control our own future and helps stabilize our fiscal planning. It will also eliminate the need for any elimination in the Police Department or Public works in our budget cycle. It will take political courage to implement the plan but will ensure our own future for generations to come.....
About Me
- George
- I have served the City of Isanti as Mayor since 2007. We have accomplished great things together and I look forward to building on our success. United, we move forward to a better future. You may contact me at 763-442-8749 or e-mail me at george@georgewimmer.com.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Arctic Plunge is Coming
The Arctic Plunge is fast approaching. I hope everyone will seriously consider supporting this great event. This will be my 4th year jumping and sponsoring. I am so proud of the hard working Committee that puts this all together. I have pulled off a few lines from their website http://www.arcticplunge.com/...
The ARCTIC PLUNGE started in 2002 when Herb Knutson was the first brave soul to jump into the frigid waters of Long Lake to raise money for the Red Cross following the September 11th attacks. The event took off from there! Since 2002 the event has been a huge success raising money for the Isanti Fire Department 2003- 2006 and Isanti County Safety Rescue 2007-2009.
Most recently raising $23,958.72 at the 2008 ARCTIC PLUNGE which was donated to Isanti County Safety Rescue to purchase equipment and upgrade their capabilities.
ARCTIC PLUNGE Inc. is a non profit organization which is made up of seven volunteer board members. With the help of many volunteers and the donations from local businesses the event continues to grow each year.
If you are interested in sponsoring the event or brave enough to take the PLUNGE please contact Carrie at 612.282.6246 or Sue at 763.234.9691.
We look forward to seeing you at the 2009 ARCTIC PLUNGE, March 7th 2009!
Come early and enjoy Vintage Snowmobile Racing www.vintagesnowmobileracing.com
which benefits the LONG LAKE IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION.
The ARCTIC PLUNGE started in 2002 when Herb Knutson was the first brave soul to jump into the frigid waters of Long Lake to raise money for the Red Cross following the September 11th attacks. The event took off from there! Since 2002 the event has been a huge success raising money for the Isanti Fire Department 2003- 2006 and Isanti County Safety Rescue 2007-2009.
Most recently raising $23,958.72 at the 2008 ARCTIC PLUNGE which was donated to Isanti County Safety Rescue to purchase equipment and upgrade their capabilities.
ARCTIC PLUNGE Inc. is a non profit organization which is made up of seven volunteer board members. With the help of many volunteers and the donations from local businesses the event continues to grow each year.
If you are interested in sponsoring the event or brave enough to take the PLUNGE please contact Carrie at 612.282.6246 or Sue at 763.234.9691.
We look forward to seeing you at the 2009 ARCTIC PLUNGE, March 7th 2009!
Come early and enjoy Vintage Snowmobile Racing www.vintagesnowmobileracing.com
which benefits the LONG LAKE IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION.
League of Minnesota Cities Conference
I was at the League training conference this past weekend found it to be quite helpful. First, many of the suggestions to deal with all the issues we are facing are actions we have already taken. I was especially happy to hear that Councils need to have good committees, work sessions and goals. Items we have been using for a few years now. One strong statement that was nearly beaten into the group was there is a lot of work to do and you had better make the time to do it or get off your Council and let others who are willing to do the hard work on. I have long shared that sentiment.
Secondly, Isanti has tough problems but many cities are in far worse condition from much smaller reserve funds to high dependence on LGA to aging/failing infrastructure. This fit in well with our two main budgeting goals of maintaining infrastructure/essential City services and flipping our use of LGA. I will explain the LGA flip.
Currently most cities budget the promised LGA into their budget and expect to receive what was promised. The state has failed several times to live up to its promise in the last 5 years. What we trying to work out is operating only with the LGA we have physically received. So if in 2010 we are to get $500,000 in LGA we budget as if we are getting zero then use what we are given in 2010 for the 2011 budget - hopefully the $500,000. The difficult part of course is bridging the gap. I do believe it is possible to do by changing the timing of some of our expenses and using some of our cash reserves. If we do not accomplish this then we will always be at the mercy of a State Legislature and Governor that has proven they can not live up to their promises. If we are able to do this we added great stability to Isanti's Fiscal operation.
Lastly, the conference was a good chance to discuss many issues with other Mayors and Council Members and take a fresh look at our situation. It was an energizing experience and as I always do I paid my own mileage and lodging in the spirit of keeping City cost low.
Secondly, Isanti has tough problems but many cities are in far worse condition from much smaller reserve funds to high dependence on LGA to aging/failing infrastructure. This fit in well with our two main budgeting goals of maintaining infrastructure/essential City services and flipping our use of LGA. I will explain the LGA flip.
Currently most cities budget the promised LGA into their budget and expect to receive what was promised. The state has failed several times to live up to its promise in the last 5 years. What we trying to work out is operating only with the LGA we have physically received. So if in 2010 we are to get $500,000 in LGA we budget as if we are getting zero then use what we are given in 2010 for the 2011 budget - hopefully the $500,000. The difficult part of course is bridging the gap. I do believe it is possible to do by changing the timing of some of our expenses and using some of our cash reserves. If we do not accomplish this then we will always be at the mercy of a State Legislature and Governor that has proven they can not live up to their promises. If we are able to do this we added great stability to Isanti's Fiscal operation.
Lastly, the conference was a good chance to discuss many issues with other Mayors and Council Members and take a fresh look at our situation. It was an energizing experience and as I always do I paid my own mileage and lodging in the spirit of keeping City cost low.
The 2010 Census is coming to your community!
Every 10 years, we conduct a census of our population. The census count not only determines your community's representation in Congress, state legislatures, and local government—it's also used in distributing about $300 billion annually in federal funding of public programs in: education, community healthcare, public transportation, housing, and community development.
Thousands are needed for temporary jobs
Conducting the census is a huge undertaking. Thousands of census takers are needed to update address lists and conduct interviews with community residents. We want to hire census takers from your community.
Earn good pay
Census takers receive competitive pay on a weekly basis. In addition, they will be reimbursed for authorized mileage and related expenses.
The 2010 Census offers excellent opportunities for people in many walks of life: Retirees Full-Time Workers Job Seekers Students and Grads Community Leaders
Being a census taker is an exceptional opportunity to earn good pay in a temporary, part-time job and at the same time help your community and nation.For more information about Census jobs, please visit our website at www.2010censusjobs.gov or contact us at 1-866-861-2010.
Thousands are needed for temporary jobs
Conducting the census is a huge undertaking. Thousands of census takers are needed to update address lists and conduct interviews with community residents. We want to hire census takers from your community.
Earn good pay
Census takers receive competitive pay on a weekly basis. In addition, they will be reimbursed for authorized mileage and related expenses.
The 2010 Census offers excellent opportunities for people in many walks of life: Retirees Full-Time Workers Job Seekers Students and Grads Community Leaders
Being a census taker is an exceptional opportunity to earn good pay in a temporary, part-time job and at the same time help your community and nation.For more information about Census jobs, please visit our website at www.2010censusjobs.gov or contact us at 1-866-861-2010.
Woodland Development's Request
On Tuesday December 30th 2008 I had posted -http://georgewimmer.blogspot.com/2008/12/by-numbers.html which further broke down the financial issues we are facing as a City. I had the following paragraph that Woodland Development objected to:
3 more quick points... There would be no need for any of this if either the State lived up to its promises or if the delinquent taxpayers - especially developers- paid their taxes.
Mr. Carlson of Woodland decided to write a memo of complaint to me and copy the entire Council for reasons I can only imagine. The statement I made is true, if delinquent taxpayers did pay the City would not be in such a difficult situation. Some of our largest delinquent taxpayers are developers..... my statement did not say all developers just as it did not say all citizens or business or anything else. There is a line in Hamlet Act 3, scene 2, 222–230 that sums up my feelings about this leap of logic.
Mr. Carlson did call me several days later, which would have been useful before the memo was sent, asking to discuss his concerns. Mr. Carlson however had chosen to make a very public display, again for reasons only he knows, by sending a memo of complaint to the entire City Council. I have never spoken to or met Mr. Carlson but have met and worked with Mr. Westlund of Woodland Development on many different developments within the City. I have always been impressed with Mr. Westlund and have used Woodland and their proposed Farmstead development as a model project. I had also appointed Mr. Westlund to represent me on the Committee tasked with developing ordinances for the City under our new Comprehensive Plan.
I have offered Mr. Carlson the opportunity to place his letters of complaint here and he has accepted - with another letter written to the entire Council.... still not sure what he is trying to do with that. Of Course the last time a developer, Mr. Iverson, involved the Council in my blog my readership increased by well over a 1000% so it is not all bad. I did try to make the point to Mr. Carlson that my blog is personal and not a City funded entity but he seemed not to understand. I write the blog about City issues and I am the Mayor but Mr. Carlson the Council nor anyone else has the right to infringe upon our most sacred Freedom of Speech.
A past Council tried this before and was told it could not. That battle was at least based on something. Mr. Carlson seems to have taken a very large leap in logic and against all my past actions and words pertaining to Woodland Development as a good company.... But as I said I will publish his words -
Mayor George Wimmer
City of Isanti
110 First Ave North
PO Box 428
Isanti, MN 55040
RE: YOUR COMMENTS IN THE BLOG TITLED “WIMMER’S RHETORIC”
Honorable Mayor Wimmer,
I have taken the liberty of copying the other council members on this letter since I do want my comments to be taken very seriously.
I’ll start by saying that Woodland Development has been in business for 40+ years. I am the owner. Not once in those 40+ years has my company not timely and fully met its obligations to any municipality that we have ever been involved with. I consider our track record, and therefore our reputation, to be without a single blemish. I am not only proud of that but intend to keep it that way. Byron is now the principal from our office that represents us with the community and I can assure you that he feels the same. Let it be said that we are good corporate citizens of Isanti.
There have been times over the years when I/we have had to fight to retain our reputation and I have and always will do so. I believe that your comments in the blog titled “Wimmer’s Rhetoric” are slanderous to our company. I am not only asking that this be stopped but that you correct your earlier statements.
Specifically the latest comment in your blog dated December 30, 2008, is “3 More Quick Points…there would be no need for any of this if either the state lived up to its promises or if the delinquent – especially developers – paid their taxes.” I believe this is the third time that you have put all developers in the same rotten barrel rather than specifically naming perhaps who should be in that rotten barrel and which developers should not be which would include Woodland Development.
You will probably recall meeting with Byron Westlund on November 10th, 2008, and this matter of your comments in the blog were on that meetings agenda. I am confident that Byron did a good job explaining how important our reputation is to us; that we believe we have been and will continue to be a good partner/citizen for the City of Isanti; that certainly we need the city’s support and understanding as we work through ongoing land issues and finally, he asked that you end these misleading comments.
Obviously citizens that read your blog, including fellow council members, will not be as prone to work with us if they are misled by comments such as you have made. As far as I know, and surely you have the wherewithal to correct me if I am wrong, I believe we have timely and fully paid our real estate taxes in Isanti County going back to the very beginning through today’s date.
I don’t understand why you feel compelled to destroy all developers’ reputations just because of one or two “very bad developers” that may have been involved in your community. I ask for two things from you as Mayor (please understand that your blog may be personal in one sense but it clearly identifies you as Mayor).
Don’t slander our company any further
Make a specific correction in your blog stating that your use of the term developers not paying real estate taxes refers either specifically to named companies or specifically does not include named companies such as Woodland Development.
If you would please handle it as I am asking, then the matter is finished.
In closing, I want to make it clear that I am truly sorry that this letter is necessary. We do want to continue working amicably and cooperatively with you and the other council members and staff. It is our hope and intent to be a part of the Isanti community for many years to come. It is a matter of all of us at Woodland being just as concerned and protective over our reputation as I must assume you and all the other council members would be about your own reputation. I would also say that there are too many in the development business that are “less than trustworthy”. I hope that these slow times will drive many of them out of the business which would certainly be beneficial to the citizens, the city as a whole and we remaining developers. Thank you.
Yours truly,
Lary Carlson
sll
cc: Council Member Jim Kennedy
Council Member Jeff Kolb
Council Member Sue Larson
Council Member Ross Lorinser
His second letter to the Council:
DATE: January 13, 2009
TO: George Wimmer
FROM: Lary Carlson
RE: A RESPONSE TO YOUR JANUARY 9, 2009, EMAIL
In order to put an end to my genuine concerns regarding the reputation of our company, perhaps the most important issues must be understood by all concerned.
It is my absolute impression through discussions with Byron and from what I read, that you have in fact been a solid, hardworking mayor. Your efforts on behalf of a financially stressed community is commendable. I have absolutely no goal or wish to “go after” Mayor George Wimmer.
Woodland Development is admittedly in an industry that has more than its share of shysters. Therefore, having a good reputation doesn’t just help our conscience. It is a most important business tool. We need that tool at all times, not just from time to time, to operate a successful business. Our business philosophy is caring for the people we do business with and to always be open and honest with everyone.
Frankly, when you say your blog is personal, this seems to be a somewhat foolish statement. You are speaking as Mayor through that blog. For example, when you campaigned against Sue Larson you used the blog. You are talking directly as Mayor to the citizens. I absolutely commend you for having this blog. However, with it comes the responsibility of being quite careful of what is included. You have stated that developers are a problem. I think you would see quite a backlash if you stated that council members are the cities problem if you were actually referring to only one of them. Likewise, if you said farmers aren’t paying their taxes or city residents aren’t paying their taxes. The broad brush just doesn’t work and I think you know very well that is where I am coming from.
I have dictated this after leaving a message for you yesterday. Hopefully you will have an opportunity to return my call.
Finally, at this moment I can only say I certainly see no problem with publishing my letter to you on your blog. I also would ask that you clarify that your earlier comments were never intended to include Woodland. I believe this is a reasonable request.
Lary Carlson
sll
cc: Council Member Jim Kennedy
Council Member Jeff Kolb
Council Member Sue Larson
Council Member Ross Lorinser
3 more quick points... There would be no need for any of this if either the State lived up to its promises or if the delinquent taxpayers - especially developers- paid their taxes.
Mr. Carlson of Woodland decided to write a memo of complaint to me and copy the entire Council for reasons I can only imagine. The statement I made is true, if delinquent taxpayers did pay the City would not be in such a difficult situation. Some of our largest delinquent taxpayers are developers..... my statement did not say all developers just as it did not say all citizens or business or anything else. There is a line in Hamlet Act 3, scene 2, 222–230 that sums up my feelings about this leap of logic.
Mr. Carlson did call me several days later, which would have been useful before the memo was sent, asking to discuss his concerns. Mr. Carlson however had chosen to make a very public display, again for reasons only he knows, by sending a memo of complaint to the entire City Council. I have never spoken to or met Mr. Carlson but have met and worked with Mr. Westlund of Woodland Development on many different developments within the City. I have always been impressed with Mr. Westlund and have used Woodland and their proposed Farmstead development as a model project. I had also appointed Mr. Westlund to represent me on the Committee tasked with developing ordinances for the City under our new Comprehensive Plan.
I have offered Mr. Carlson the opportunity to place his letters of complaint here and he has accepted - with another letter written to the entire Council.... still not sure what he is trying to do with that. Of Course the last time a developer, Mr. Iverson, involved the Council in my blog my readership increased by well over a 1000% so it is not all bad. I did try to make the point to Mr. Carlson that my blog is personal and not a City funded entity but he seemed not to understand. I write the blog about City issues and I am the Mayor but Mr. Carlson the Council nor anyone else has the right to infringe upon our most sacred Freedom of Speech.
A past Council tried this before and was told it could not. That battle was at least based on something. Mr. Carlson seems to have taken a very large leap in logic and against all my past actions and words pertaining to Woodland Development as a good company.... But as I said I will publish his words -
Mayor George Wimmer
City of Isanti
110 First Ave North
PO Box 428
Isanti, MN 55040
RE: YOUR COMMENTS IN THE BLOG TITLED “WIMMER’S RHETORIC”
Honorable Mayor Wimmer,
I have taken the liberty of copying the other council members on this letter since I do want my comments to be taken very seriously.
I’ll start by saying that Woodland Development has been in business for 40+ years. I am the owner. Not once in those 40+ years has my company not timely and fully met its obligations to any municipality that we have ever been involved with. I consider our track record, and therefore our reputation, to be without a single blemish. I am not only proud of that but intend to keep it that way. Byron is now the principal from our office that represents us with the community and I can assure you that he feels the same. Let it be said that we are good corporate citizens of Isanti.
There have been times over the years when I/we have had to fight to retain our reputation and I have and always will do so. I believe that your comments in the blog titled “Wimmer’s Rhetoric” are slanderous to our company. I am not only asking that this be stopped but that you correct your earlier statements.
Specifically the latest comment in your blog dated December 30, 2008, is “3 More Quick Points…there would be no need for any of this if either the state lived up to its promises or if the delinquent – especially developers – paid their taxes.” I believe this is the third time that you have put all developers in the same rotten barrel rather than specifically naming perhaps who should be in that rotten barrel and which developers should not be which would include Woodland Development.
You will probably recall meeting with Byron Westlund on November 10th, 2008, and this matter of your comments in the blog were on that meetings agenda. I am confident that Byron did a good job explaining how important our reputation is to us; that we believe we have been and will continue to be a good partner/citizen for the City of Isanti; that certainly we need the city’s support and understanding as we work through ongoing land issues and finally, he asked that you end these misleading comments.
Obviously citizens that read your blog, including fellow council members, will not be as prone to work with us if they are misled by comments such as you have made. As far as I know, and surely you have the wherewithal to correct me if I am wrong, I believe we have timely and fully paid our real estate taxes in Isanti County going back to the very beginning through today’s date.
I don’t understand why you feel compelled to destroy all developers’ reputations just because of one or two “very bad developers” that may have been involved in your community. I ask for two things from you as Mayor (please understand that your blog may be personal in one sense but it clearly identifies you as Mayor).
Don’t slander our company any further
Make a specific correction in your blog stating that your use of the term developers not paying real estate taxes refers either specifically to named companies or specifically does not include named companies such as Woodland Development.
If you would please handle it as I am asking, then the matter is finished.
In closing, I want to make it clear that I am truly sorry that this letter is necessary. We do want to continue working amicably and cooperatively with you and the other council members and staff. It is our hope and intent to be a part of the Isanti community for many years to come. It is a matter of all of us at Woodland being just as concerned and protective over our reputation as I must assume you and all the other council members would be about your own reputation. I would also say that there are too many in the development business that are “less than trustworthy”. I hope that these slow times will drive many of them out of the business which would certainly be beneficial to the citizens, the city as a whole and we remaining developers. Thank you.
Yours truly,
Lary Carlson
sll
cc: Council Member Jim Kennedy
Council Member Jeff Kolb
Council Member Sue Larson
Council Member Ross Lorinser
His second letter to the Council:
DATE: January 13, 2009
TO: George Wimmer
FROM: Lary Carlson
RE: A RESPONSE TO YOUR JANUARY 9, 2009, EMAIL
In order to put an end to my genuine concerns regarding the reputation of our company, perhaps the most important issues must be understood by all concerned.
It is my absolute impression through discussions with Byron and from what I read, that you have in fact been a solid, hardworking mayor. Your efforts on behalf of a financially stressed community is commendable. I have absolutely no goal or wish to “go after” Mayor George Wimmer.
Woodland Development is admittedly in an industry that has more than its share of shysters. Therefore, having a good reputation doesn’t just help our conscience. It is a most important business tool. We need that tool at all times, not just from time to time, to operate a successful business. Our business philosophy is caring for the people we do business with and to always be open and honest with everyone.
Frankly, when you say your blog is personal, this seems to be a somewhat foolish statement. You are speaking as Mayor through that blog. For example, when you campaigned against Sue Larson you used the blog. You are talking directly as Mayor to the citizens. I absolutely commend you for having this blog. However, with it comes the responsibility of being quite careful of what is included. You have stated that developers are a problem. I think you would see quite a backlash if you stated that council members are the cities problem if you were actually referring to only one of them. Likewise, if you said farmers aren’t paying their taxes or city residents aren’t paying their taxes. The broad brush just doesn’t work and I think you know very well that is where I am coming from.
I have dictated this after leaving a message for you yesterday. Hopefully you will have an opportunity to return my call.
Finally, at this moment I can only say I certainly see no problem with publishing my letter to you on your blog. I also would ask that you clarify that your earlier comments were never intended to include Woodland. I believe this is a reasonable request.
Lary Carlson
sll
cc: Council Member Jim Kennedy
Council Member Jeff Kolb
Council Member Sue Larson
Council Member Ross Lorinser
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
January 6th City Council Update
2009 Oath of OfficeCouncil Members Kolb and Kennedy were sworn in right after I was. After a vacancy was declared since Council Member Duff was elected to the County Board - Ross Lorinser was appointed by the Council to fill the remaining two years of the term. The vote was 3-1 with me voting against. I do not believe in appointing Council Members with so much time left on the term of office. I believe Mr. Lorinser will make a good Council Member and my vote in no way reflects on him. I voted the same way in 2007.
.
I had the privilege to award a certificate of appreciation to Officer Valerie Zeman. Officer Zeman won the Isanti County Officer of the Year Award. We have excellent Officers working for us in the City of Isanti and we need to do everything we can to maintain our Police force.
.
I made the following appointments tonight to Council Committee Assignments -
Economic Development Authority - Wimmer, Kennedy
Park Board - Wimmer
Planning Commission -Lorinser, Larson
Community Education - Lorinser
C-I Arena Board - Larson
Cable TV - Kolb
Community Involvement - Larson
Fire District - Kolb (alternate-Kennedy)
North TH 65 Corridor Coalition - Lorinser (alternate-Larson)
School Liaison - Wimmer, Kolb
Development Advisory Committee - Wimmer, Lorinser
Finance Committee - Wimmer, Kolb
Building & Grounds Committee - Larson, Kennedy
Personnel Committee - Wimmer, Kolb
C-I Bike/Walk Trail - Wimmer
Liquor - Larson, Lorinser
Police - Kennedy, Lorinser
Public Works - Kennedy, Larson
Economic Development Authority - Wimmer, Kennedy
Park Board - Wimmer
Planning Commission -Lorinser, Larson
Community Education - Lorinser
C-I Arena Board - Larson
Cable TV - Kolb
Community Involvement - Larson
Fire District - Kolb (alternate-Kennedy)
North TH 65 Corridor Coalition - Lorinser (alternate-Larson)
School Liaison - Wimmer, Kolb
Development Advisory Committee - Wimmer, Lorinser
Finance Committee - Wimmer, Kolb
Building & Grounds Committee - Larson, Kennedy
Personnel Committee - Wimmer, Kolb
C-I Bike/Walk Trail - Wimmer
Liquor - Larson, Lorinser
Police - Kennedy, Lorinser
Public Works - Kennedy, Larson
The Council voted unanimously to move forward with the budget amendments. This was a painful decision but we need to make sure we have a plan in place to deal with the many economic realities everyone has to deal with. I would like to thank the Council for their support of the plan and the groups that were asking for funding. The Chamber, Rum River BMX, Community Involvement Team and the Friends of the Library all had been asking for funds but each was respectful and responsible in their responses to the cuts we had to make.
The plan that was adopted tonight is posted here - http://georgewimmer.blogspot.com/2008/12/2008-and-2009-lga-solution.html
.
This is a difficult time for all of us and together we will work our way through to a brighter tomorrow.
Emailing List
If you would like to be on the confidential email list and receive blog updates on City news and events email me at:
george@georgewimmer.com
george@georgewimmer.com
Monday, January 05, 2009
Free Film Festival!
What: The Three Stooges, Laurel &
Hardy, The Little Rascals & Loony
Toons etc…
When: January 10th & 24th
(Noon to 5:00 pm)
Where: Isanti Community Center
Some concessions will be available.
Free will donations will be accepted
to help with the downtown project.
Sponsored by: Jaysen Guthmueller’s
American Family Insurance
Sunday, January 04, 2009
January 6th City Council Agenda
Isanti City Council Agenda for January 6th 2009. Click the link to view the Agenda.
http://www.cityofisanti.us/Irene/CC%20Agendas/01-06-09%20CC%20agn.pdf
http://www.cityofisanti.us/Irene/CC%20Agendas/01-06-09%20CC%20agn.pdf
Friday, January 02, 2009
Nuisance Complaints Received 2008
Expired License Tabs 132...25%
Noxious weeds and grass 115...22%
Trailer violations 98...18%
Boat Parking violations 58...11%
garbage and junk 56...11%
RV Parking violations 32...6%
Sidewalk Snow removal 16...3%
ATV Snowmobile Storage 14...3%
Fish House Storage 6...1%
Poultry in City Limits 2
Semi Parking violations 2
531 total complaints received
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Request for Funds
The City of Isanti has received 4 request so far for funds these are the Isanti Area Chamber of Commerce, Friends of the Library, Rum River BMX and the Isanti Community Involvement Team. There will be many more as well.
As part of conserving our City cash on hand until we know just how much LGA will get cut, the Finance Committee has recommended eliminating City donations to all groups. We are expecting to learn more after the February estimates come in and the Governor and Legislature starts putting firm numbers together. The final numbers may not be sent to the City until early summer however and the City needs to preserve cash on hand. We will earn more than $70,000 in interest alone for 2009 from our cash investments and our cost to borrow is already saving our taxpayers with our new A+ bond rating. If we burn through a large sum of our cash not only do we lose the one time funds but we also lose out on the interest revenue income it generates necessitating more cuts.
The City budget financial report and Truth - Taxation hearing materials are available on the City website:
http://cityofisanti.us/govern_city_departments_finance.php
As part of conserving our City cash on hand until we know just how much LGA will get cut, the Finance Committee has recommended eliminating City donations to all groups. We are expecting to learn more after the February estimates come in and the Governor and Legislature starts putting firm numbers together. The final numbers may not be sent to the City until early summer however and the City needs to preserve cash on hand. We will earn more than $70,000 in interest alone for 2009 from our cash investments and our cost to borrow is already saving our taxpayers with our new A+ bond rating. If we burn through a large sum of our cash not only do we lose the one time funds but we also lose out on the interest revenue income it generates necessitating more cuts.
The City budget financial report and Truth - Taxation hearing materials are available on the City website:
http://cityofisanti.us/govern_city_departments_finance.php
Be Safe Tonight
I wanted to pass along the Safe Cab information and hope everyone has a fun and safe New Year.
Cambridge Cab Company
http://www.cambridgecab.net/
We are also the official provider of the Isanti County Safe Cab program to reduce deaths, injuries and DUI arrests. Since 2005 we have provided free rides to over 1,500 passengers and lowered the DUI rate over 60% from the establishments that use the Safe Cab program the most! Ask your server if they participate in the Safe Cab program!
Story links
http://isanticountynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4134&Itemid=1
http://wcco.com/local/dwi.sober.cab.2.897447.html
Cambridge Cab Company
http://www.cambridgecab.net/
We are also the official provider of the Isanti County Safe Cab program to reduce deaths, injuries and DUI arrests. Since 2005 we have provided free rides to over 1,500 passengers and lowered the DUI rate over 60% from the establishments that use the Safe Cab program the most! Ask your server if they participate in the Safe Cab program!
Story links
http://isanticountynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4134&Itemid=1
http://wcco.com/local/dwi.sober.cab.2.897447.html
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Ever Cat Update
Here is a link to the Ever Cat Bio-Diesel Plant Update.
http://isanticountynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5113&Itemid=59
http://isanticountynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5113&Itemid=59
By the Numbers
I wanted to add another note to the previous posting:
The first 9 items will bring in $165,817 and the next 2 items equal $156,000 totaling $321,812 or 63% of the promised LGA for 2009. If they cut more than 63% of the promised LGA than step 12 gets looked at.
24% of 2008 LGA was cut just a few days ago - totaling $112,000 that the City is absorbing by using general fund reserves that can not be used in 2009. The total amount the City is absorbing in the first 11 adjustments and the 2008 LGA cut is $433,817. Our total budget for 2009 is $3,407,000. We are losing an equivalent to 13% of our budget before we look at step 12.
Everyone will have things they do not like in the situation we have been placed in by the state's failure.
2009 Budget expenditures by percentage:
Public Safety - 32%
General Government - 26%
Public Works - 17%
Debt payments - 13% down from over 18%
Park and Recreation - 6%
Capital Outlay - 3%
Transfers/Misc - 3%
We have been working the last few years to drive down our City debt to improve Isanti fiscal health. We will continue to drive down City debt to alleviate this burden from our City Taxpayers.
3 more quick points... There would be no need for any of this if either the State lived up to its promises or if the delinquent taxpayers - especially developers- paid their taxes.
The City is still attracting new business to town and the growth of our tax and job base over the long run makes our dependence on the state or any handle full of taxpayers less important. This has been a trend over the last few years and will continue into the future.
The last point is we are planning for at least a 50% cut in LGA/Homestead Credit reimbursement. If it is less than that then we will be able to back fill in funds that were cut.
The first 9 items will bring in $165,817 and the next 2 items equal $156,000 totaling $321,812 or 63% of the promised LGA for 2009. If they cut more than 63% of the promised LGA than step 12 gets looked at.
24% of 2008 LGA was cut just a few days ago - totaling $112,000 that the City is absorbing by using general fund reserves that can not be used in 2009. The total amount the City is absorbing in the first 11 adjustments and the 2008 LGA cut is $433,817. Our total budget for 2009 is $3,407,000. We are losing an equivalent to 13% of our budget before we look at step 12.
Everyone will have things they do not like in the situation we have been placed in by the state's failure.
2009 Budget expenditures by percentage:
Public Safety - 32%
General Government - 26%
Public Works - 17%
Debt payments - 13% down from over 18%
Park and Recreation - 6%
Capital Outlay - 3%
Transfers/Misc - 3%
We have been working the last few years to drive down our City debt to improve Isanti fiscal health. We will continue to drive down City debt to alleviate this burden from our City Taxpayers.
3 more quick points... There would be no need for any of this if either the State lived up to its promises or if the delinquent taxpayers - especially developers- paid their taxes.
The City is still attracting new business to town and the growth of our tax and job base over the long run makes our dependence on the state or any handle full of taxpayers less important. This has been a trend over the last few years and will continue into the future.
The last point is we are planning for at least a 50% cut in LGA/Homestead Credit reimbursement. If it is less than that then we will be able to back fill in funds that were cut.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
2008 and 2009 LGA Solution
I have made several proposals to the Finance Committee that were adopted and will be recommended to the City Council on January 6th. The immediate $112,000 Local Government Aid cut from the State for our 2008 budget will be fixed by using unspent 2008 budget dollars. This means even though we already made cuts in 2008 spending further cuts in spending will be used to gap the difference.
2009 anticipated cuts from the state to our $514,000 promised LGA have also been dealt with. We have a list of 16 actions we can take to cover part or all of the LGA cuts we will be facing due to the historic state deficit. The first 9 need to be adopted immediately. Some may ask why not wait to make cuts until we find out how much the state is going to cut our payment. The answer is it will be to late - the money will have already been spent.
The days when Isanti or any city can count on the State to keep its financial house in order are over. The State legislature and Governor have failed the cities and counties twice in 5 short years. We must do what every small an medium sized business must do, live within our means. We can not rely on state and federal help. When and if we get our LGA payments great, we can rebuild reserves and capital equipment funds but relying on LGA for daily operations must become a thing of the past.
Isanti is in a good position to weather this storm because of the Long Term Financial Planning I had pushed for after I was first elected Mayor in 2006. There will be pain felt by every City department from previous spending cuts and future actions. Many of our states cities and counties have little to no reserves and rely on state aid for as much as 80% of their entire budget. Isanti receives roughly 17% of our budget in state aid.
I will detail the 16 item list that the Finance Committee will be asking the Council to adopt. Remember the first 9 need to go into effect immediately.
The elimination of positions is a structural change and its impact takes months to hit the bottom line. The employees have a 60 notification and the City would be paying unemployment as well on those positions.
We will not know until late spring or early summer what to expect from the state but we will have all our plans in place for different funding levels. This is also happening when the City is receiving fewer property tax dollars from non-payment due to foreclosures and failed developers.
We are facing historic tough times but we are prepared and will come through this together. The fund reserves for the City especially in capital replacement and others are at historic highs through our excellent planning. We will also be tasking committees to go through each respective department for structural savings. If other savings can be achieved or the state lives up to its promises the items on the list past number 9 may never need to be taken.
One quick note on a repeated question to me - The Mayor and Council have had no raise in pay since I have been on the Council and as Mayor I am paid just under $4,000 a year and Council Members make less than that.
2009 anticipated cuts from the state to our $514,000 promised LGA have also been dealt with. We have a list of 16 actions we can take to cover part or all of the LGA cuts we will be facing due to the historic state deficit. The first 9 need to be adopted immediately. Some may ask why not wait to make cuts until we find out how much the state is going to cut our payment. The answer is it will be to late - the money will have already been spent.
The days when Isanti or any city can count on the State to keep its financial house in order are over. The State legislature and Governor have failed the cities and counties twice in 5 short years. We must do what every small an medium sized business must do, live within our means. We can not rely on state and federal help. When and if we get our LGA payments great, we can rebuild reserves and capital equipment funds but relying on LGA for daily operations must become a thing of the past.
Isanti is in a good position to weather this storm because of the Long Term Financial Planning I had pushed for after I was first elected Mayor in 2006. There will be pain felt by every City department from previous spending cuts and future actions. Many of our states cities and counties have little to no reserves and rely on state aid for as much as 80% of their entire budget. Isanti receives roughly 17% of our budget in state aid.
I will detail the 16 item list that the Finance Committee will be asking the Council to adopt. Remember the first 9 need to go into effect immediately.
- No new non-budgeted spending
- Eliminate charitable giving by the Council ($10,000)
- Cut City Council travel and training budget by 50% ($2,500)
- Cut EDA travel and training budget by 50% ($1,500)
- Hiring freeze on replacement positions ($30,000)
- Eliminate Warming House staff for outdoor ice rink ($3,000)
- Cut EDA Marketing budget for Granite city Welcome signs ($5,000)
- Transfer a further $100,000 from liquor store funds - good thing we did not build a new liquor store or this money would not be available
- Eliminate transfer in Revolving Loan Fund ($14,000)
- Eliminate 2009 transfer into Capital Replacement Fund ($106,000)
- Rewrite City loan from City sewer fund that paid for the cost over run on City Hall ($50,000)
- Eliminate position from Police Department and/or Public Works - if labor/health care cost can not be lowered - if State does not fulfill its commitments
- Lower General Fund Balance ($300,000) one-time funds
- Transfer from Capital Replacement Funds ($572,000) one-time funds
- Transfer from Revolving Loan Funds ($130,000) one-time funds
- Inter-city fund loans (Sewer and Water Funds) ($500,000) one-time funds
The elimination of positions is a structural change and its impact takes months to hit the bottom line. The employees have a 60 notification and the City would be paying unemployment as well on those positions.
We will not know until late spring or early summer what to expect from the state but we will have all our plans in place for different funding levels. This is also happening when the City is receiving fewer property tax dollars from non-payment due to foreclosures and failed developers.
We are facing historic tough times but we are prepared and will come through this together. The fund reserves for the City especially in capital replacement and others are at historic highs through our excellent planning. We will also be tasking committees to go through each respective department for structural savings. If other savings can be achieved or the state lives up to its promises the items on the list past number 9 may never need to be taken.
One quick note on a repeated question to me - The Mayor and Council have had no raise in pay since I have been on the Council and as Mayor I am paid just under $4,000 a year and Council Members make less than that.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Local Government Aid
We were just informed that the LGA cut to Isanti is $112,000. This was for our 2008 budget - money already spent. The Finance Committee will be meeting on Monday to finalize our plan to amend this years budget.
We are also working under the expectation that the $514,000 promised by the state for 2009 will be deeply slashed. Spending cuts will be offered to amend the 2009 budget. I put together a list of cuts and other tools to balance the 2009 budget. I will be detailing this out in the days to come.
We are also working under the expectation that the $514,000 promised by the state for 2009 will be deeply slashed. Spending cuts will be offered to amend the 2009 budget. I put together a list of cuts and other tools to balance the 2009 budget. I will be detailing this out in the days to come.
Ever Cat Fuels Job Alert
Today's tour participants We conducted a mid process tour of the Ever Cat Biodiesel Plant today. The plant will be in production in about 3 months. There will be an initial hiring of 20 employees. These are good paying jobs and most only require a high school diploma, technical aptitude and a willingness to be trained. They said that they need operators, a buy, a seller and a maintenance person. Ever Cat wanted us to make sure the word is out that they are looking for applicants. Here is the contact information.
Glen Heffron
Plant Manager
Ever Cat Fuels, LLC
100 Isanti Parkway NE
Isanti, MN 55040
glenheffron@evercatfuels.com
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Unemployment in Minnesota
The State's unemployment rate shot up again:
http://www.startribune.com/business/36380739.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUac8HEaDiaMDCinchO7DU
http://www.startribune.com/business/36380739.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUac8HEaDiaMDCinchO7DU
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Friday We Know
We will find out Friday how deep the cuts will be to our Local Government Aid.
http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/36340964.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUl
http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/36340964.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUl
2009 Budge/Levy and Council Update
The City Council approved the City budget and levy tonight. The 2009 levy is 53.937%, down 5.9 points from 59.886% this year. That is a 10% decrease in City property taxes in one year. In 2003 Isanti's levy was at 77.75%. We have reduced the rate by nearly 24 points or 31%in just a few years. Another way to look at it is if we had not gotten control of City spending and succeeded in Fiscal discipline and spending your City property taxes would be a third higher than they are today.
When I ran for Mayor in 2006 I had promised to lower our levy rate to 55% in three years - we exceeded that goal in just two years. We are again the only community in the region to have achieved this feat.
I updated the Council tonight about all the work we are doing in the Finance Committee to plan for the expected LGA cuts and the issues arising from non-payment of property taxes and assessments. We will be presenting the plan to the Council in the next few months after all the information is in and we have the States decision on LGA cuts. These are not problems to be feared but challenges to be conquered.
We have placed Isanti in as good a position as can be had in these difficult times. Our liquor store fund has a healthy cash balance that will help our 2009 budget. The 3-2 split decision to not build a new liquor store has been proven right. I was against building the new store for many reasons including the fact it would have wiped out the cash balance in the fund and cost the City over a $100,000 in revenue each year for roughly 10 years as the debt for the store would be paid down.
The City has built up a nearly $600,000 capital replacement budget in the last few years as well. Isanti had not reserved funds in this way in the past - another component of our Long Term Financial Plan. This along with a healthy general fund balance will allow us to weather the difficult economic conditions we face. We continue to look for greater efficiencies in City operations to ensure the greatest value for our Taxpayers. Case in point tonight is that we paid off an existing bonded debt early because we would save $37,000 doing so and we had the cash available.
We have had to make tough decisions and we will continue to do so. I know I sound like a broken record but fiscal discipline is key to our success and we must continue to follow our plan. The City can not take on new large amounts of debt or new structural cost. The Council will also have to trim cost in several areas but again this will be in the plan we will present to the Council.
The Council voted to pave 3rd Avenue along the Soccer Fields in 2009. The City pulled a letter of credit from the bank of a failed developer to pay roughly half of this project cost. If we did not move forward with this project these funds would have had to be refunded back - use it or lose it. There are several details to still be worked out but by mid summer this road should be paved.
The Council approved applying for $552k in Neighborhood Stabilization Funds that are used to buy foreclosed properties. We have been working on this project for a few weeks and much of the background information was developed as a part of our foreclosure program in Isanti. Central Minnesota Housing Partnership will be assisting the City in writing and administrating the grant. Many of the details are not decided yet but we will be recommending that the funds be used for down payment assistance. I have talked with local banks and Realtors and all agree this is the best use of these funds.
When I ran for Mayor in 2006 I had promised to lower our levy rate to 55% in three years - we exceeded that goal in just two years. We are again the only community in the region to have achieved this feat.
I updated the Council tonight about all the work we are doing in the Finance Committee to plan for the expected LGA cuts and the issues arising from non-payment of property taxes and assessments. We will be presenting the plan to the Council in the next few months after all the information is in and we have the States decision on LGA cuts. These are not problems to be feared but challenges to be conquered.
We have placed Isanti in as good a position as can be had in these difficult times. Our liquor store fund has a healthy cash balance that will help our 2009 budget. The 3-2 split decision to not build a new liquor store has been proven right. I was against building the new store for many reasons including the fact it would have wiped out the cash balance in the fund and cost the City over a $100,000 in revenue each year for roughly 10 years as the debt for the store would be paid down.
The City has built up a nearly $600,000 capital replacement budget in the last few years as well. Isanti had not reserved funds in this way in the past - another component of our Long Term Financial Plan. This along with a healthy general fund balance will allow us to weather the difficult economic conditions we face. We continue to look for greater efficiencies in City operations to ensure the greatest value for our Taxpayers. Case in point tonight is that we paid off an existing bonded debt early because we would save $37,000 doing so and we had the cash available.
We have had to make tough decisions and we will continue to do so. I know I sound like a broken record but fiscal discipline is key to our success and we must continue to follow our plan. The City can not take on new large amounts of debt or new structural cost. The Council will also have to trim cost in several areas but again this will be in the plan we will present to the Council.
The Council voted to pave 3rd Avenue along the Soccer Fields in 2009. The City pulled a letter of credit from the bank of a failed developer to pay roughly half of this project cost. If we did not move forward with this project these funds would have had to be refunded back - use it or lose it. There are several details to still be worked out but by mid summer this road should be paved.
The Council approved applying for $552k in Neighborhood Stabilization Funds that are used to buy foreclosed properties. We have been working on this project for a few weeks and much of the background information was developed as a part of our foreclosure program in Isanti. Central Minnesota Housing Partnership will be assisting the City in writing and administrating the grant. Many of the details are not decided yet but we will be recommending that the funds be used for down payment assistance. I have talked with local banks and Realtors and all agree this is the best use of these funds.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Tonights Agenda
Go to - http://www.cityofisanti.us/Irene/12-16-18-CC%20agn.pdf to read the Council agenda for tonight.
I will be writing extensively about tonight's meeting after we adjourn. We will be having the final vote on the 2009 budget and all its implications along with the state's looking at cutting current LGA.
I will be writing extensively about tonight's meeting after we adjourn. We will be having the final vote on the 2009 budget and all its implications along with the state's looking at cutting current LGA.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
For A Few Dollars More - Sorry Sergio Leone
Had to use the title
We will be asking the Council to approve paying off one of our bonds early. We have the funds in this account to pay it off early and this will save us $37,000 in interest expense. We are organizing our City accounts to maximize our investment returns and ensuring a transparency and clarity of information.
Last year we had for the first time put out a Request for Proposal for our City deposits. This yielded excellent returns. This is all part of an on going process to make sure we are managing the Taxpayers money in as efficient a way as possible. The more money we save and or earn interest on the smaller the burden on our Taxpayers.
In the last two weeks we have saved $27,000 on interest expense from our recent bond rating improvement to A+ and if the Council approves our early debt retirement another $37,000. Every dollar counts in the best of times but as we face significant challenges including the State taking back what has already been promised it is all the more important. Fiscal discipline and planning are great things.
We will be asking the Council to approve paying off one of our bonds early. We have the funds in this account to pay it off early and this will save us $37,000 in interest expense. We are organizing our City accounts to maximize our investment returns and ensuring a transparency and clarity of information.
Last year we had for the first time put out a Request for Proposal for our City deposits. This yielded excellent returns. This is all part of an on going process to make sure we are managing the Taxpayers money in as efficient a way as possible. The more money we save and or earn interest on the smaller the burden on our Taxpayers.
In the last two weeks we have saved $27,000 on interest expense from our recent bond rating improvement to A+ and if the Council approves our early debt retirement another $37,000. Every dollar counts in the best of times but as we face significant challenges including the State taking back what has already been promised it is all the more important. Fiscal discipline and planning are great things.
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
A Quick Update
My post have slowed the last two weeks due to a great deal of work we have been doing at the City. We are preparing for the very real possibility that part or all of our remaining Local Government Aid (LGA) dollars that we were promised for 2008 will be withheld by the State so they can balance their budget. LGA makes up about 16% of our budget. I also expect that the dollars promised for the 2009 budget will be slashed.
I have said previously we are fiscally sound and are well placed for such an occurrence. This does not mean that we will not have to make tough choices.
We are working on two separate Federal Stimulus programs that are progressing through the system. One is an initial infrastructure program and the other is an assistance program to help sell foreclosed homes. Both are moving at warp speed and we have been spending a great deal of time and energy to get these federal dollars spent locally. I am certain there will be many more such programs developed at the federal and state level.
Some will disagree with the use of federal dollars as stimulus and I have great sympathy for the position but I must be the chief advocate for the City of Isanti. I will update you as we progress on each of these.
I have said previously we are fiscally sound and are well placed for such an occurrence. This does not mean that we will not have to make tough choices.
We are working on two separate Federal Stimulus programs that are progressing through the system. One is an initial infrastructure program and the other is an assistance program to help sell foreclosed homes. Both are moving at warp speed and we have been spending a great deal of time and energy to get these federal dollars spent locally. I am certain there will be many more such programs developed at the federal and state level.
Some will disagree with the use of federal dollars as stimulus and I have great sympathy for the position but I must be the chief advocate for the City of Isanti. I will update you as we progress on each of these.
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Council Update 12-3-08
A couple quick notes about tonight's Council meeting. I informed the Council that we have been successful in improving our City's credit rating. We have gone from a Baa to an A+ rating. This is a momentous achievement for Isanti. One of the reasons for this stated by Standard & Poor's is our "very strong financial operations, as evidenced by a high general fund balance reserve and positive operating results." It was also explained tonight that our low tax rate, strong fiscal discipline and excellent economic development all played a major role in our improved credit rating.
One more independent indication that we have been doing the right thing the last two years. I have worked so hard to improve the financial conditions of this City and tonight the Council, Citizens and Taxpayers were able to see some of the fruits of our labor. This was important as we sold the bonds to pay for the recent street improvement project today. We saved $27,000 just in interest expense from this one project.
I also informed the Council that the Finance Committee will be meeting to develop a plan of action in case the state cuts part or all of our $514,121 in LGA or tax revenues fall due to unpaid property taxes. The State cut funds several years ago to balance the their budget. I have discussed the upcoming state deficit and what it could mean for Isanti Taxpayers if it balances its budget on the backs of local government. We are in a good position to weather this financial storm due to our strong fiscal discipline in cutting cost and building healthy reserves.
One more independent indication that we have been doing the right thing the last two years. I have worked so hard to improve the financial conditions of this City and tonight the Council, Citizens and Taxpayers were able to see some of the fruits of our labor. This was important as we sold the bonds to pay for the recent street improvement project today. We saved $27,000 just in interest expense from this one project.
I also informed the Council that the Finance Committee will be meeting to develop a plan of action in case the state cuts part or all of our $514,121 in LGA or tax revenues fall due to unpaid property taxes. The State cut funds several years ago to balance the their budget. I have discussed the upcoming state deficit and what it could mean for Isanti Taxpayers if it balances its budget on the backs of local government. We are in a good position to weather this financial storm due to our strong fiscal discipline in cutting cost and building healthy reserves.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Isanti County Christmas Project
The Isanti County Christmas Project helps shed happiness upon what is often a difficult time for struggling families. They are all volunteers and all the money raised is spent on families in Isanti County.
Make checks payable to the Isanti County Christmas Project and mail them to Isanti Lions Club, c/o Tom Pagel, 28339 Bayshore Drive NW, Isanti, MN, 55040. To help or ask questions about the project, call Tom at 763-444-6560.
Make checks payable to the Isanti County Christmas Project and mail them to Isanti Lions Club, c/o Tom Pagel, 28339 Bayshore Drive NW, Isanti, MN, 55040. To help or ask questions about the project, call Tom at 763-444-6560.
Monday, December 01, 2008
My Isantian Article
We have a few new items to discuss. I would like to congratulate Mr. Kolb and Mr. Kennedy on their election to 4 year terms on the City Council. I would also like to congratulate Mr. Duff on his election to the County Board representing Bradford Township and the City of Isanti. This leaves an opening on the City Council for 2009-2010; the Council will determine the best way to fill this vacancy at the first meeting in January. Go to www.cityofisanti.us for the complete election results of Mayor and Council.
The Council will hold a Goal Setting session at the end of January. I have high hopes for this meeting as it sets the Agenda for the next 2 years. The Goals we set in 2007; Long Term Financial Plan, 3 centering on economic growth and our Water Treatment Plant have all been great successes. We have been able to cut taxes and City spending in the last 2 budget cycles and will continue to work towards fulfilling our Long Term Financial Plan. We have grown existing businesses and attracted new ones to our City accomplishing our 3 economic growth goals which diversifies our tax base and should continue to allow us to ease our tax burden. Our Water Treatment Plant is being constructed and will be in operation by the summer of 2009, providing clean and safe drinking water for generations to come.
I will be presenting my agenda at the Goal setting session but more importantly I want to hear from you. I want the input of our Citizens and Taxpayers. If you have ideas for specific projects or overall goals of the City please contact me at George@GeorgeWimmer.com, write to P.O. Box 25 Isanti, MN 55040 or call me directly at 763-444-7158. I want your voice heard as we continue to move Isanti into a brighter future.
We face significant challenges in these tough economic times but we have developed processes to manage the home foreclosure issue and non-payment of taxes and assessments. Our process of handling the effects of home foreclosure is being hailed as a model for the region. From a high of 116 occupied foreclosed homes at the end of August we now have 74 in November – a 36% decrease. Our financial planning the last 2 years has allowed us to cut spending and taxes while developing healthy fund balances. This is important in tough economic times as we face the non-payment of taxes and assessments. We continue to work diligently to help existing businesses grow and recruiting new companies to Isanti. The methods we developed over the last two years to attract businesses brought us the recognition of the Economic Development Association of Minnesota when Isanti was awarded the prestigious Business Recruitment Award in June. The City of Isanti is well placed to handle the tough economic times we face.
I will be delivering the State of the City address at the February 18th Isanti Area Chamber of Commerce Luncheon and March 7th I will be jumping at the Arctic Plunge on Long Lake. The Plunge Committee raised over $20,000 last year for Isanti Search and Rescue. One last item, don’t forget you can listen to the audio of past Council meetings by going to the City website and clicking the link.
The Council will hold a Goal Setting session at the end of January. I have high hopes for this meeting as it sets the Agenda for the next 2 years. The Goals we set in 2007; Long Term Financial Plan, 3 centering on economic growth and our Water Treatment Plant have all been great successes. We have been able to cut taxes and City spending in the last 2 budget cycles and will continue to work towards fulfilling our Long Term Financial Plan. We have grown existing businesses and attracted new ones to our City accomplishing our 3 economic growth goals which diversifies our tax base and should continue to allow us to ease our tax burden. Our Water Treatment Plant is being constructed and will be in operation by the summer of 2009, providing clean and safe drinking water for generations to come.
I will be presenting my agenda at the Goal setting session but more importantly I want to hear from you. I want the input of our Citizens and Taxpayers. If you have ideas for specific projects or overall goals of the City please contact me at George@GeorgeWimmer.com, write to P.O. Box 25 Isanti, MN 55040 or call me directly at 763-444-7158. I want your voice heard as we continue to move Isanti into a brighter future.
We face significant challenges in these tough economic times but we have developed processes to manage the home foreclosure issue and non-payment of taxes and assessments. Our process of handling the effects of home foreclosure is being hailed as a model for the region. From a high of 116 occupied foreclosed homes at the end of August we now have 74 in November – a 36% decrease. Our financial planning the last 2 years has allowed us to cut spending and taxes while developing healthy fund balances. This is important in tough economic times as we face the non-payment of taxes and assessments. We continue to work diligently to help existing businesses grow and recruiting new companies to Isanti. The methods we developed over the last two years to attract businesses brought us the recognition of the Economic Development Association of Minnesota when Isanti was awarded the prestigious Business Recruitment Award in June. The City of Isanti is well placed to handle the tough economic times we face.
I will be delivering the State of the City address at the February 18th Isanti Area Chamber of Commerce Luncheon and March 7th I will be jumping at the Arctic Plunge on Long Lake. The Plunge Committee raised over $20,000 last year for Isanti Search and Rescue. One last item, don’t forget you can listen to the audio of past Council meetings by going to the City website and clicking the link.
One Last Note on the Campaign
I wanted to add one last thing from our recently concluded campaign. I was proud to have bought all my campaign materials from Isanti businesses. I hope all local candidates in the future will do the same.
Printed materials and buttons from Embroidery & Ink
Signs from Reller Signs
T-shirts from Prints Charming
It was important to keep our money local especially for those that wish to lead our community.
Printed materials and buttons from Embroidery & Ink
Signs from Reller Signs
T-shirts from Prints Charming
It was important to keep our money local especially for those that wish to lead our community.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thanksgiving Thoughts
The First Thanksgiving Day Proclamation
The Holy God having by a long and Continual Series of his Afflictive dispensations in and by the present War with the Heathen Natives of this land, written and brought to pass bitter things against his own Covenant people in this wilderness, yet so that we evidently discern that in the midst of his judgements he hath remembered mercy, having remembered his Footstool in the day of his sore displeasure against us for our sins, with many singular Intimations of his Fatherly Compassion, and regard; reserving many of our Towns from Desolation Threatened, and attempted by the Enemy, and giving us especially of late with many of our Confederates many signal Advantages against them, without such Disadvantage to ourselves as formerly we have been sensible of, if it be the Lord's mercy that we are not consumed.
It certainly bespeaks our positive Thankfulness, when our Enemies are in any measure disappointed or destroyed; and fearing the Lord should take notice under so many Intimations of his returning mercy, we should be found an Insensible people, as not standing before Him with Thanksgiving, as well as lading him with our Complaints in the time of pressing Afflictions:
The Council has thought meet to appoint and set apart the 29th day of this instant June, as a day of Solemn Thanksgiving and praise to God for such his Goodness and Favour, many Particulars of which mercy might be Instanced, but we doubt not those who are sensible of God's Afflictions, have been as diligent to espy him returning to us; and that the Lord may behold us as a People offering Praise and thereby glorifying Him; the Council doth commend it to the Respective Ministers, Elders and people of this Jurisdiction; Solemnly and seriously to keep the same Beseeching that being persuaded by the mercies of God we may all, even this whole people offer up our bodies and souls as a living and acceptable Service unto God by Jesus Christ.
-Date: June 20, 1676-By: Governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts*
President Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.
Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.
No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things.They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.
And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord.
- Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation October 3, 1863
Once, when my feet were bare, and I had not the means of obtaining shoes I came to the chief of Kufah in a state of much dejection, and saw there a man who had no feet. I returned thanks to God and acknowledged his mercies, and endured my want of shoes with patience
- Sadi, The Gulistan
Do not get tired of doing what is good. Don't get discouraged and give up, For we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.
- Galatians 6:9
For flowers that bloom about our feet;For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;For song of bird, and hum of bee;For all things fair we hear or see,Father in heaven, we thank Thee!
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Some people complain because God put thorns on roses, while others praise Him for putting roses among thorns."
-Anonymous
Since the Pilgrims observed the initial Thanksgiving holiday in 1621, this occasion has served as a singular expression of the transcending spiritual values that played an instrumental part in the founding of our country.
One hundred and twenty years ago, in the midst of a great and terrible civil conflict, President Lincoln formally proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving to remind those "insensible to the ever watchful providence of almighty God" of this Nation's bounty and greatness.
Several days after the dedication of the Gettysburg battlefield, the United States celebrated its first national Thanksgiving.Every year since then, our Nation has faithfully continued this tradition. The time has come once again to proclaim a day of thanksgiving, an occasion for Americans to express gratitude to their God and their country.In his remarks at Gettysburg, President Lincoln referred to ours as a Nation "under God."
We rejoice in the fact that, while we have maintained separate institutions of church and state over our 200 years of freedom, we have at the same time preserved reverence for spiritual beliefs. Although we are a pluralistic society, the giving of thanks can be a true bond of unity among our people. We can unite in gratitude for our individual freedoms and individual faiths. We can be united in gratitude for our Nation's peace and prosperity when so many in this world have neither.
As was written in the first Thanksgiving Proclamation 120 years ago, "No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God." God has blessed America and her people, and it is appropriate we recognize this bounty.
Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, in the spirit of the Pilgrims, President Lincoln, and all succeeding Presidents, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 24, 1983, as a National Day of Thanksgiving, and I call upon Americans to affirm this day of thanks by their prayers and their gratitude for the many blessings upon this land and its people.
-Thanksgiving Day Proclamation 1983-By: Ronald Reagan
The Holy God having by a long and Continual Series of his Afflictive dispensations in and by the present War with the Heathen Natives of this land, written and brought to pass bitter things against his own Covenant people in this wilderness, yet so that we evidently discern that in the midst of his judgements he hath remembered mercy, having remembered his Footstool in the day of his sore displeasure against us for our sins, with many singular Intimations of his Fatherly Compassion, and regard; reserving many of our Towns from Desolation Threatened, and attempted by the Enemy, and giving us especially of late with many of our Confederates many signal Advantages against them, without such Disadvantage to ourselves as formerly we have been sensible of, if it be the Lord's mercy that we are not consumed.
It certainly bespeaks our positive Thankfulness, when our Enemies are in any measure disappointed or destroyed; and fearing the Lord should take notice under so many Intimations of his returning mercy, we should be found an Insensible people, as not standing before Him with Thanksgiving, as well as lading him with our Complaints in the time of pressing Afflictions:
The Council has thought meet to appoint and set apart the 29th day of this instant June, as a day of Solemn Thanksgiving and praise to God for such his Goodness and Favour, many Particulars of which mercy might be Instanced, but we doubt not those who are sensible of God's Afflictions, have been as diligent to espy him returning to us; and that the Lord may behold us as a People offering Praise and thereby glorifying Him; the Council doth commend it to the Respective Ministers, Elders and people of this Jurisdiction; Solemnly and seriously to keep the same Beseeching that being persuaded by the mercies of God we may all, even this whole people offer up our bodies and souls as a living and acceptable Service unto God by Jesus Christ.
-Date: June 20, 1676-By: Governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts*
President Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.
Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.
No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things.They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.
And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.It is the duty of nations as well as of men to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God; to confess their sins and transgressions in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations are blessed whose God is the Lord.
- Abraham Lincoln's Thanksgiving Proclamation October 3, 1863
Once, when my feet were bare, and I had not the means of obtaining shoes I came to the chief of Kufah in a state of much dejection, and saw there a man who had no feet. I returned thanks to God and acknowledged his mercies, and endured my want of shoes with patience
- Sadi, The Gulistan
Do not get tired of doing what is good. Don't get discouraged and give up, For we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.
- Galatians 6:9
For flowers that bloom about our feet;For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;For song of bird, and hum of bee;For all things fair we hear or see,Father in heaven, we thank Thee!
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Some people complain because God put thorns on roses, while others praise Him for putting roses among thorns."
-Anonymous
Since the Pilgrims observed the initial Thanksgiving holiday in 1621, this occasion has served as a singular expression of the transcending spiritual values that played an instrumental part in the founding of our country.
One hundred and twenty years ago, in the midst of a great and terrible civil conflict, President Lincoln formally proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving to remind those "insensible to the ever watchful providence of almighty God" of this Nation's bounty and greatness.
Several days after the dedication of the Gettysburg battlefield, the United States celebrated its first national Thanksgiving.Every year since then, our Nation has faithfully continued this tradition. The time has come once again to proclaim a day of thanksgiving, an occasion for Americans to express gratitude to their God and their country.In his remarks at Gettysburg, President Lincoln referred to ours as a Nation "under God."
We rejoice in the fact that, while we have maintained separate institutions of church and state over our 200 years of freedom, we have at the same time preserved reverence for spiritual beliefs. Although we are a pluralistic society, the giving of thanks can be a true bond of unity among our people. We can unite in gratitude for our individual freedoms and individual faiths. We can be united in gratitude for our Nation's peace and prosperity when so many in this world have neither.
As was written in the first Thanksgiving Proclamation 120 years ago, "No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God." God has blessed America and her people, and it is appropriate we recognize this bounty.
Now, Therefore, I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, in the spirit of the Pilgrims, President Lincoln, and all succeeding Presidents, do hereby proclaim Thursday, November 24, 1983, as a National Day of Thanksgiving, and I call upon Americans to affirm this day of thanks by their prayers and their gratitude for the many blessings upon this land and its people.
-Thanksgiving Day Proclamation 1983-By: Ronald Reagan
Friday, November 21, 2008
State Legislature Deficit Prediction
Just in time for some holiday cheer the State Legislature has sent out their budget deficit. The 4 Billion dollar - $4,000,000,000 - deficit that is projected is going to hurt local units of government. It was less than a decade ago when the state was faced with a large deficit and the legislature decided to drastically cut Local Government Aid and balance the state budget on the backs of Counties and Cities but cutting off money and shifting state responsibilities to local units of government.
We have been dealing a number of critical issues including non-payment of taxes and assessments in the Finance Committee. We will be adding this topic. I will be proposing several further spending cuts if our LGA is cut for the existing 2009 budget. This was done the last time and hopefully it will not happen but we must be prepared.
The positive is that with our fiscal discipline the last 2 years we are well placed to weather this financial tsunami. Hard decisions will have to be made but we will come through this together.
We have been dealing a number of critical issues including non-payment of taxes and assessments in the Finance Committee. We will be adding this topic. I will be proposing several further spending cuts if our LGA is cut for the existing 2009 budget. This was done the last time and hopefully it will not happen but we must be prepared.
The positive is that with our fiscal discipline the last 2 years we are well placed to weather this financial tsunami. Hard decisions will have to be made but we will come through this together.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
The Arctic Plunge in Coming March 7th 2009
This is more a posting for perspective Sponsors of the Arctic Plunge. The Plunge raised more than $20,000 for Isanti Search and Rescue from the 2008 event. I have jumped and sponsored the Plunge for the last 3 years and will be doing so again March 7th 2009. Take a look and if you are willing and able give Carrie a call 612-282-6246 - http://www.arcticplunge.com/. Here is the sponsorship information:
2009 ARCTIC PLUNGE SPONSORSHIP LEVELS
Platinum Level Sponsorship - $1200.00
• Advertising in all print ads and Platinum level on all apparel with logo on sleeve and back
• 2 Sweatshirts Sizes________________________
• VIP Tent (20’ x 20’ approx.) with an 8’ table and 15 chairs and garbage container. Platinum level sponsors are allowed to serve food & beverages in their tent.
• Recognition plaque
• Signage on all 3 sides of Master of Ceremony tower and bleachers
• Logo banner in front of VIP tent
Gold Level Sponsorship - $800.00
• Advertising in all print ads and Gold level on all apparel
• 1 Sweatshirt Size______________
• VIP Tent (20’ x 20’ approx.) with an 8’ table and 15 chairs and garbage container. Gold level sponsors are allowed to serve food & beverages in their tent.
• Sponsorship signage in front of VIP tent
• Recognition plaque
Silver Level Sponsorship - $400.00
• Advertising in all print ads and Silver level on all apparel
• Sponsorship signage around plunge area (2’ x 4’ approx)
Bronze Level Sponsorship - $200.00
• Advertising on all apparel at the bronze level
• Recognition on signage the day of the event. (two common signs will include all Bronze level sponsors one will be placed near Captain’s and the other on the lake during the events)
2009 ARCTIC PLUNGE SPONSORSHIP LEVELS
Platinum Level Sponsorship - $1200.00
• Advertising in all print ads and Platinum level on all apparel with logo on sleeve and back
• 2 Sweatshirts Sizes________________________
• VIP Tent (20’ x 20’ approx.) with an 8’ table and 15 chairs and garbage container. Platinum level sponsors are allowed to serve food & beverages in their tent.
• Recognition plaque
• Signage on all 3 sides of Master of Ceremony tower and bleachers
• Logo banner in front of VIP tent
Gold Level Sponsorship - $800.00
• Advertising in all print ads and Gold level on all apparel
• 1 Sweatshirt Size______________
• VIP Tent (20’ x 20’ approx.) with an 8’ table and 15 chairs and garbage container. Gold level sponsors are allowed to serve food & beverages in their tent.
• Sponsorship signage in front of VIP tent
• Recognition plaque
Silver Level Sponsorship - $400.00
• Advertising in all print ads and Silver level on all apparel
• Sponsorship signage around plunge area (2’ x 4’ approx)
Bronze Level Sponsorship - $200.00
• Advertising on all apparel at the bronze level
• Recognition on signage the day of the event. (two common signs will include all Bronze level sponsors one will be placed near Captain’s and the other on the lake during the events)
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
November 19th Council Meeting
The main issues we faced were rezoning request for a parcel of commercially zoned land wanting to be reverted to industrial and medium density properties wanting to be rezoned to high density to allow for apartment development.
The commercial property abuts the Central Business District along Main Street. The property was formerly industrial and the owner wants to revert it back to industrial. The property was changed to a commercial zoning to better fit into the long term economic development of the City as a whole. It makes little sense to spend so much time and money bringing commercial businesses to downtown and working towards a commuter train stop if we are going to have heavy industrial uses in the same area. The existing business is grandfathered in and may continue to operate forever if they choose to do so. This was all part of the 2 year Comprehensive Planning process and the dozens of public meetings we held.
I was disappointed that the landowner denigrated the work that many have put into redeveloping the downtown. He basically said downtown was dead - I corrected him and hope he will spend a bit more time downtown and see the great growth.
CM Kolb tried for a compromise to rezone from commercial to a light industrial to satisfy the long term development of the City and to ease the concerns of the landowner. The Council directed the issue not be sent back to the Planning Commission but a solution be found by the Development Advisory Committee - CM Kolb and I sit on this committee.
The other item that was discussed related to changing an r3 medium density to r4 high density area along Whiskey just west of the intersection of Whiskey and North Brookview. This area has been r3 for decades and the recent comprehensive plan carried that zoning through. The property owner stated he wanted the higher density to allow for apartment development. I was concerned that high density would be placed next to single family homes. My position was that an r4 development could be designed and presented to the City and at that time the rezoning could be discussed if proper buffering were included in the plan. If the change to r4 were made without knowing the plan the City and that specific neighborhood could be stuck with a bad development and no leverage to change it.
A quick note on an issue being pushed through cities as part of the Towards Zero Deaths program. The issue is the elimination of home delivery of alcohol. This is being presented as a way to prevent minors and irresponsible people from being sold alcohol. We had 3 main concerns with this process. 1 - there is no way to enforce it, 2 - there are already existing state statutes that address this very issue and 3 - the hypocrisy of cities allowing an exemption for their own municipal liquor stores. So it is bad for a business to sell this way but a City can profit from it all day long.
The commercial property abuts the Central Business District along Main Street. The property was formerly industrial and the owner wants to revert it back to industrial. The property was changed to a commercial zoning to better fit into the long term economic development of the City as a whole. It makes little sense to spend so much time and money bringing commercial businesses to downtown and working towards a commuter train stop if we are going to have heavy industrial uses in the same area. The existing business is grandfathered in and may continue to operate forever if they choose to do so. This was all part of the 2 year Comprehensive Planning process and the dozens of public meetings we held.
I was disappointed that the landowner denigrated the work that many have put into redeveloping the downtown. He basically said downtown was dead - I corrected him and hope he will spend a bit more time downtown and see the great growth.
CM Kolb tried for a compromise to rezone from commercial to a light industrial to satisfy the long term development of the City and to ease the concerns of the landowner. The Council directed the issue not be sent back to the Planning Commission but a solution be found by the Development Advisory Committee - CM Kolb and I sit on this committee.
The other item that was discussed related to changing an r3 medium density to r4 high density area along Whiskey just west of the intersection of Whiskey and North Brookview. This area has been r3 for decades and the recent comprehensive plan carried that zoning through. The property owner stated he wanted the higher density to allow for apartment development. I was concerned that high density would be placed next to single family homes. My position was that an r4 development could be designed and presented to the City and at that time the rezoning could be discussed if proper buffering were included in the plan. If the change to r4 were made without knowing the plan the City and that specific neighborhood could be stuck with a bad development and no leverage to change it.
A quick note on an issue being pushed through cities as part of the Towards Zero Deaths program. The issue is the elimination of home delivery of alcohol. This is being presented as a way to prevent minors and irresponsible people from being sold alcohol. We had 3 main concerns with this process. 1 - there is no way to enforce it, 2 - there are already existing state statutes that address this very issue and 3 - the hypocrisy of cities allowing an exemption for their own municipal liquor stores. So it is bad for a business to sell this way but a City can profit from it all day long.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Isanti County Christmas Project
We are entering into a time of thanks and celebration. Thanksgiving to Christmas can be the most wonderful time of the year but for many of our friends and neighbors it can be a frightening time.
The Isanti County Christmas Project helps shed happiness upon what is often a difficult time for struggling families. They are all volunteers and all the money raised is spent on families in Isanti County.
Make checks payable to the Isanti County Christmas Project and mail them to Isanti Lions Club, c/o Tom Pagel, 28339 Bayshore Drive NW, Isanti, MN, 55040. To help or ask questions about the project, call Tom at 763-444-6560.
I will be posting more information in the next several weeks.
The Isanti County Christmas Project helps shed happiness upon what is often a difficult time for struggling families. They are all volunteers and all the money raised is spent on families in Isanti County.
Make checks payable to the Isanti County Christmas Project and mail them to Isanti Lions Club, c/o Tom Pagel, 28339 Bayshore Drive NW, Isanti, MN, 55040. To help or ask questions about the project, call Tom at 763-444-6560.
I will be posting more information in the next several weeks.
Winter Poster Contest
The Isanti Downtown Committee is conducting a Youth Winter Poster Contest. All youth ages 3 to 18 are invited to submit a work of art. The theme for the contest is “Winter in Isanti”. Submittals will be divided into four (4) age categories. Prizes will be given to the top three (3) works of art in each age category. The rules for the contest are as follows:
· Any kind of medium and materials can be used. The artwork can be a maximum of 11” x 17”.
· The artwork should reflect the chose theme, “Winter in Isanti”.
· The youth’s name, address, phone number, and age must be provided on the back side of the artwork.
Submission Deadline: 11.21.2008
Artwork will be put on display for the public to view in a Youth Art Gallery, which will be located at 105 Main Street W (American Family Insurance Office Building), Thursday, December 11th through Saturday, December 13th. Please note, parents will be responsible for picking up the submitted artwork after December 13th. If you have questions regarding the contest, please contact Lisa Krause, City Planner at (763) 444-5512 or via e-mail at lkrause@cityofisanti.us
· Any kind of medium and materials can be used. The artwork can be a maximum of 11” x 17”.
· The artwork should reflect the chose theme, “Winter in Isanti”.
· The youth’s name, address, phone number, and age must be provided on the back side of the artwork.
Submission Deadline: 11.21.2008
Artwork will be put on display for the public to view in a Youth Art Gallery, which will be located at 105 Main Street W (American Family Insurance Office Building), Thursday, December 11th through Saturday, December 13th. Please note, parents will be responsible for picking up the submitted artwork after December 13th. If you have questions regarding the contest, please contact Lisa Krause, City Planner at (763) 444-5512 or via e-mail at lkrause@cityofisanti.us
A Couple Items
We have the winners of the City Flag Contest. I am in the process of contacting the winners. We had 4 winning designs whose elements will be used in the final version. I along with Community Pride Bank will be awarding the prizes at next weeks Council meeting.
In the coming weeks we will be discussing Isanti's Fiscal Plan. The City will be bonding for the remainder of the outstanding City debt. We are working towards not only completing this process but looking to improve the City's rating. I will inform you when I know if we are successful. If our credit rating does increase, as we believe it will, then the cost of our bond issues will decrease saving our taxpayers money.
We are working with a potential opportunity to leverage $500,000, in grant form, to help with the City's foreclosure issues. We have also presented a number of City improvement projects to be funded by the federal stimulus package working its way through Congress. We have presented the improvement and paving of the gravel portion of Railroad Avenue, complete sidewalk system on both sides of County Highway 5 from County highway 23 to Highway 65 and paving 3rd Avenue along the Soccer fields.
We have another new business opening its doors on Main St. and hopefully completing a deal to bring another manufacturer to our Industrial Park.
Busy week to be sure but of course last week we only had the election, Governor's Opener Banquet and State Media Tour.
I will be delivering the State of the City Address at the Isanti Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon on February 18th.
In the coming weeks we will be discussing Isanti's Fiscal Plan. The City will be bonding for the remainder of the outstanding City debt. We are working towards not only completing this process but looking to improve the City's rating. I will inform you when I know if we are successful. If our credit rating does increase, as we believe it will, then the cost of our bond issues will decrease saving our taxpayers money.
We are working with a potential opportunity to leverage $500,000, in grant form, to help with the City's foreclosure issues. We have also presented a number of City improvement projects to be funded by the federal stimulus package working its way through Congress. We have presented the improvement and paving of the gravel portion of Railroad Avenue, complete sidewalk system on both sides of County Highway 5 from County highway 23 to Highway 65 and paving 3rd Avenue along the Soccer fields.
We have another new business opening its doors on Main St. and hopefully completing a deal to bring another manufacturer to our Industrial Park.
Busy week to be sure but of course last week we only had the election, Governor's Opener Banquet and State Media Tour.
I will be delivering the State of the City Address at the Isanti Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon on February 18th.
Monday, November 10, 2008
When Country Calls
My Grandfather wrote these words to my Grandmother in 1917 as America was preparing to fight in World War One. His words worked quite well. They had 14 children, 11 boys and 3 girls. We must honor our soldiers and their families each and every day.
*
A poem written by Ted Wimmer to Agnes
When Country Calls
***
I feel so very lonesome tonight
I don’t know what to do
I feel so blue and downhearted right
So I’ll write a few lines to you.
*
I was dreaming of the days gone by
And the hours I spent with you
My eyes grew dim, and with a sigh
I said your love must be true.
*
There’s a sort of pain that hurts my heart
When I think of the hour drawing nigh
The sad day when we two must part
When I’ll kiss you and say good bye.
*
Remember me and do not fear
To you, I’ll always be true
I’ll always think of you my dear
And I hope to return to you.
*
Rivers, mountains and the ocean may lie
Between your soldier and you
His love for you will never die
If you’ll promise you’ll be true.
*
Your soldier begs of you to say
At the rising of the sun
A prayer for him, that this very day
May not be his last one.
*
And when this war to an end has come
And the troops God spared return
The world again its peace has won
Your soldier’s love for you will burn.
*
And if the giver of all good
Hears the prayers of your spotless heart
At least I hope and pray he would
That I return never more to part.
Veteran's Day Quotes and Speeches
But the freedom that they fought for, and the country grand they wrought for,Is their monument to-day, and for aye.
~Thomas Dunn English
In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.
~José Narosky
This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.
~Elmer Davis
But fame is theirs - and future days On pillar'd brass shall tell their praise; Shall tell - when cold neglect is dead -"These for their country fought and bled."
~Philip Freneau
Freedom is never free.
~Author Unknown
I think there is one higher office than president and I would call that patriot.
~Gary Hart
When our perils are past, shall our gratitude sleep?
~George Canning
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
~John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul.
~Michel de Montaigne
I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, "Mother, what was war?"
~Eve Merriam
We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.
~Cynthia Ozick
Lord, bid war's trumpet cease;Fold the whole earth in peace.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes
How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!
~Maya Angelou
When eating bamboo sprouts, remember the man who planted them.
~Chinese Proverb
The most persistent sound which reverberates through men's history is the beating of war drums.
~Arthur Koestler, Janus: A Summing Up
The more we sweat in peace the less we bleed in war.
~Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.
~G.K. Chesterton
In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.
~Mark Twain, Notebook, 1935
How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.
~William Shakespeare
In war there is no prize for the runner-up
- General Omar Bradley
It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.
- General Douglas MacArthur
I know not with what weapons World War III will befought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.
- Albert Einstein
You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.
- Jeannette Rankin first woman Member of Congress
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace--but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
- Patrick HenryMarch 23,1775
THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.
~ Thomas Paine first line of "The Crisis" - December 23, 1776
President Reagan's 40th Anniversary of D-Day (June 6, 1984)
We're here to mark that day in history when the Allied armies joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty. For 4 long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, millions cried out for liberation. Europe was enslaved, and the world prayed for its rescue. Here in Normandy the rescue began. Here the Allies stood and fought against tyranny in a giant undertaking unparalleled in human history.
We stand on a lonely, windswept point on the northern shore of France. The air is soft, but 40 years ago at this moment, the air was dense with smoke and the cries of men, and the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire and the roar of cannon. At dawn, on the morning of the 6th of June, 1944, 225 Rangers jumped off the British landing craft and ran to the bottom of these cliffs. Their mission was one of the most difficult and daring of the invasion: to climb these sheer and desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns.
The Allies had been told that some of the mightiest of these guns were here and they would be trained on the beaches to stop the Allied advance.The Rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers -- the edge of the cliffs shooting down at them with machineguns and throwing grenades. And the American Rangers began to climb. They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs and began to pull themselves up. When one Ranger fell, another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a Ranger would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, shot back, and held their footing. Soon, one by one, the Rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back the continent of Europe. Two hundred and twenty-five came here.
After 2 days of fighting, only 90 could still bear arms.Behind me is a memorial that symbolizes the Ranger daggers that were thrust into the top of these cliffs. And before me are the men who put them there.These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.
Gentlemen, I look at you and I think of the words of Stephen Spender's poem. You are men who in your ``lives fought for life . . . and left the vivid air signed with your honor.''I think I know what you may be thinking right now -- thinking ``we were just part of a bigger effort; everyone was brave that day.'' Well, everyone was. Do you remember the story of Bill Millin of the 51st Highlanders? Forty years ago today, British troops were pinned down near a bridge, waiting desperately for help. Suddenly, they heard the sound of bagpipes, and some thought they were dreaming. Well, they weren't.
They looked up and saw Bill Millin with his bagpipes, leading the reinforcements and ignoring the smack of the bullets into the ground around him.Lord Lovat was with him -- Lord Lovat of Scotland, who calmly announced when he got to the bridge, ``Sorry I'm a few minutes late,'' as if he'd been delayed by a traffic jam, when in truth he'd just come from the bloody fighting on Sword Beach, which he and his men had just taken.
There was the impossible valor of the Poles who threw themselves between the enemy and the rest of Europe as the invasion took hold, and the unsurpassed courage of the Canadians who had already seen the horrors of war on this coast. They knew what awaited them there, but they would not be deterred. And once they hit Juno Beach, they never looked back.
All of these men were part of a rollcall of honor with names that spoke of a pride as bright as the colors they bore: the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, Poland's 24th Lancers, the Royal Scots Fusiliers, the Screaming Eagles, the Yeomen of England's armored divisions, the forces of Free France, the Coast Guard's ``Matchbox Fleet'' and you, the American Rangers.Forty summers have passed since the battle that you fought here. You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life before you. Yet, you risked everything here. Why? Why did you do it? What impelled you to put aside the instinct for self-preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? What inspired all the men of the armies that met here? We look at you, and somehow we know the answer.
It was faith and belief; it was loyalty and love.The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. It was the deep knowledge -- and pray God we have not lost it -- that there is a profound, moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest.
You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt.You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One's country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you.The Americans who fought here that morning knew word of the invasion was spreading through the darkness back home.
They fought -- or felt in their hearts, though they couldn't know in fact, that in Georgia they were filling the churches at 4 a.m., in Kansas they were kneeling on their porches and praying, and in Philadelphia they were ringing the Liberty Bell.Something else helped the men of D-day: their rockhard belief that Providence would have a great hand in the events that would unfold here; that God was an ally in this great cause.
And so, the night before the invasion, when Colonel Wolverton asked his parachute troops to kneel with him in prayer he told them: Do not bow your heads, but look up so you can see God and ask His blessing in what we're about to do. Also that night, General Matthew Ridgway on his cot, listening in the darkness for the promise God made to Joshua: ``I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.''These are the things that impelled them; these are the things that shaped the unity of the Allies.
When the war was over, there were lives to be rebuilt and governments to be returned to the people. There were nations to be reborn. Above all, there was a new peace to be assured. These were huge and daunting tasks. But the Allies summoned strength from the faith, belief, loyalty, and love of those who fell here. They rebuilt a new Europe together.There was first a great reconciliation among those who had been enemies, all of whom had suffered so greatly. The United States did its part, creating the Marshall plan to help rebuild our allies and our former enemies.
The Marshall plan led to the Atlantic alliance -- a great alliance that serves to this day as our shield for freedom, for prosperity, and for peace.In spite of our great efforts and successes, not all that followed the end of the war was happy or planned. Some liberated countries were lost. The great sadness of this loss echoes down to our own time in the streets of Warsaw, Prague, and East Berlin. Soviet troops that came to the center of this continent did not leave when peace came. They're still there, uninvited, unwanted, unyielding, almost 40 years after the war. Because of this, allied forces still stand on this continent.
Today, as 40 years ago, our armies are here for only one purpose -- to protect and defend democracy. The only territories we hold are memorials like this one and graveyards where our heroes rest.We in America have learned bitter lessons from two World Wars: It is better to be here ready to protect the peace, than to take blind shelter across the sea, rushing to respond only after freedom is lost. We've learned that isolationism never was and never will be an acceptable response to tyrannical governments with an expansionist intent.
But we try always to be prepared for peace; prepared to deter aggression; prepared to negotiate the reduction of arms; and, yes, prepared to reach out again in the spirit of reconciliation. In truth, there is no reconciliation we would welcome more than a reconciliation with the Soviet Union, so, together, we can lessen the risks of war, now and forever.It's fitting to remember here the great losses also suffered by the Russian people during World War II: 20 million perished, a terrible price that testifies to all the world the necessity of ending war. I tell you from my heart that we in the United States do not want war.
We want to wipe from the face of the Earth the terrible weapons that man now has in his hands. And I tell you, we are ready to seize that beachhead. We look for some sign from the Soviet Union that they are willing to move forward, that they share our desire and love for peace, and that they will give up the ways of conquest. There must be a changing there that will allow us to turn our hope into action.
We will pray forever that some day that changing will come. But for now, particularly today, it is good and fitting to renew our commitment to each other, to our freedom, and to the alliance that protects it.
We are bound today by what bound us 40 years ago, the same loyalties, traditions, and beliefs. We're bound by reality. The strength of America's allies is vital to the United States, and the American security guarantee is essential to the continued freedom of Europe's democracies. We were with you then; we are with you now. Your hopes are our hopes, and your destiny is our destiny.
Here, in this place where the West held together, let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for. Let our actions say to them the words for which Matthew Ridgway listened: ``I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.''Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their valor, and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died.Thank you very much, and God bless you all.
~Thomas Dunn English
In war, there are no unwounded soldiers.
~José Narosky
This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.
~Elmer Davis
But fame is theirs - and future days On pillar'd brass shall tell their praise; Shall tell - when cold neglect is dead -"These for their country fought and bled."
~Philip Freneau
Freedom is never free.
~Author Unknown
I think there is one higher office than president and I would call that patriot.
~Gary Hart
When our perils are past, shall our gratitude sleep?
~George Canning
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.
~John Fitzgerald Kennedy
Valor is stability, not of legs and arms, but of courage and the soul.
~Michel de Montaigne
I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, "Mother, what was war?"
~Eve Merriam
We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.
~Cynthia Ozick
Lord, bid war's trumpet cease;Fold the whole earth in peace.
~Oliver Wendell Holmes
How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes!
~Maya Angelou
When eating bamboo sprouts, remember the man who planted them.
~Chinese Proverb
The most persistent sound which reverberates through men's history is the beating of war drums.
~Arthur Koestler, Janus: A Summing Up
The more we sweat in peace the less we bleed in war.
~Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
Courage is almost a contradiction in terms. It means a strong desire to live taking the form of readiness to die.
~G.K. Chesterton
In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.
~Mark Twain, Notebook, 1935
How far that little candle throws his beams! So shines a good deed in a weary world.
~William Shakespeare
In war there is no prize for the runner-up
- General Omar Bradley
It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.
- General Douglas MacArthur
I know not with what weapons World War III will befought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.
- Albert Einstein
You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake.
- Jeannette Rankin first woman Member of Congress
It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace--but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
- Patrick HenryMarch 23,1775
THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated.
~ Thomas Paine first line of "The Crisis" - December 23, 1776
***
President Reagan's 40th Anniversary of D-Day (June 6, 1984)
We're here to mark that day in history when the Allied armies joined in battle to reclaim this continent to liberty. For 4 long years, much of Europe had been under a terrible shadow. Free nations had fallen, Jews cried out in the camps, millions cried out for liberation. Europe was enslaved, and the world prayed for its rescue. Here in Normandy the rescue began. Here the Allies stood and fought against tyranny in a giant undertaking unparalleled in human history.
We stand on a lonely, windswept point on the northern shore of France. The air is soft, but 40 years ago at this moment, the air was dense with smoke and the cries of men, and the air was filled with the crack of rifle fire and the roar of cannon. At dawn, on the morning of the 6th of June, 1944, 225 Rangers jumped off the British landing craft and ran to the bottom of these cliffs. Their mission was one of the most difficult and daring of the invasion: to climb these sheer and desolate cliffs and take out the enemy guns.
The Allies had been told that some of the mightiest of these guns were here and they would be trained on the beaches to stop the Allied advance.The Rangers looked up and saw the enemy soldiers -- the edge of the cliffs shooting down at them with machineguns and throwing grenades. And the American Rangers began to climb. They shot rope ladders over the face of these cliffs and began to pull themselves up. When one Ranger fell, another would take his place. When one rope was cut, a Ranger would grab another and begin his climb again. They climbed, shot back, and held their footing. Soon, one by one, the Rangers pulled themselves over the top, and in seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back the continent of Europe. Two hundred and twenty-five came here.
After 2 days of fighting, only 90 could still bear arms.Behind me is a memorial that symbolizes the Ranger daggers that were thrust into the top of these cliffs. And before me are the men who put them there.These are the boys of Pointe du Hoc. These are the men who took the cliffs. These are the champions who helped free a continent. These are the heroes who helped end a war.
Gentlemen, I look at you and I think of the words of Stephen Spender's poem. You are men who in your ``lives fought for life . . . and left the vivid air signed with your honor.''I think I know what you may be thinking right now -- thinking ``we were just part of a bigger effort; everyone was brave that day.'' Well, everyone was. Do you remember the story of Bill Millin of the 51st Highlanders? Forty years ago today, British troops were pinned down near a bridge, waiting desperately for help. Suddenly, they heard the sound of bagpipes, and some thought they were dreaming. Well, they weren't.
They looked up and saw Bill Millin with his bagpipes, leading the reinforcements and ignoring the smack of the bullets into the ground around him.Lord Lovat was with him -- Lord Lovat of Scotland, who calmly announced when he got to the bridge, ``Sorry I'm a few minutes late,'' as if he'd been delayed by a traffic jam, when in truth he'd just come from the bloody fighting on Sword Beach, which he and his men had just taken.
There was the impossible valor of the Poles who threw themselves between the enemy and the rest of Europe as the invasion took hold, and the unsurpassed courage of the Canadians who had already seen the horrors of war on this coast. They knew what awaited them there, but they would not be deterred. And once they hit Juno Beach, they never looked back.
All of these men were part of a rollcall of honor with names that spoke of a pride as bright as the colors they bore: the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, Poland's 24th Lancers, the Royal Scots Fusiliers, the Screaming Eagles, the Yeomen of England's armored divisions, the forces of Free France, the Coast Guard's ``Matchbox Fleet'' and you, the American Rangers.Forty summers have passed since the battle that you fought here. You were young the day you took these cliffs; some of you were hardly more than boys, with the deepest joys of life before you. Yet, you risked everything here. Why? Why did you do it? What impelled you to put aside the instinct for self-preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs? What inspired all the men of the armies that met here? We look at you, and somehow we know the answer.
It was faith and belief; it was loyalty and love.The men of Normandy had faith that what they were doing was right, faith that they fought for all humanity, faith that a just God would grant them mercy on this beachhead or on the next. It was the deep knowledge -- and pray God we have not lost it -- that there is a profound, moral difference between the use of force for liberation and the use of force for conquest.
You were here to liberate, not to conquer, and so you and those others did not doubt your cause. And you were right not to doubt.You all knew that some things are worth dying for. One's country is worth dying for, and democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man. All of you loved liberty. All of you were willing to fight tyranny, and you knew the people of your countries were behind you.The Americans who fought here that morning knew word of the invasion was spreading through the darkness back home.
They fought -- or felt in their hearts, though they couldn't know in fact, that in Georgia they were filling the churches at 4 a.m., in Kansas they were kneeling on their porches and praying, and in Philadelphia they were ringing the Liberty Bell.Something else helped the men of D-day: their rockhard belief that Providence would have a great hand in the events that would unfold here; that God was an ally in this great cause.
And so, the night before the invasion, when Colonel Wolverton asked his parachute troops to kneel with him in prayer he told them: Do not bow your heads, but look up so you can see God and ask His blessing in what we're about to do. Also that night, General Matthew Ridgway on his cot, listening in the darkness for the promise God made to Joshua: ``I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.''These are the things that impelled them; these are the things that shaped the unity of the Allies.
When the war was over, there were lives to be rebuilt and governments to be returned to the people. There were nations to be reborn. Above all, there was a new peace to be assured. These were huge and daunting tasks. But the Allies summoned strength from the faith, belief, loyalty, and love of those who fell here. They rebuilt a new Europe together.There was first a great reconciliation among those who had been enemies, all of whom had suffered so greatly. The United States did its part, creating the Marshall plan to help rebuild our allies and our former enemies.
The Marshall plan led to the Atlantic alliance -- a great alliance that serves to this day as our shield for freedom, for prosperity, and for peace.In spite of our great efforts and successes, not all that followed the end of the war was happy or planned. Some liberated countries were lost. The great sadness of this loss echoes down to our own time in the streets of Warsaw, Prague, and East Berlin. Soviet troops that came to the center of this continent did not leave when peace came. They're still there, uninvited, unwanted, unyielding, almost 40 years after the war. Because of this, allied forces still stand on this continent.
Today, as 40 years ago, our armies are here for only one purpose -- to protect and defend democracy. The only territories we hold are memorials like this one and graveyards where our heroes rest.We in America have learned bitter lessons from two World Wars: It is better to be here ready to protect the peace, than to take blind shelter across the sea, rushing to respond only after freedom is lost. We've learned that isolationism never was and never will be an acceptable response to tyrannical governments with an expansionist intent.
But we try always to be prepared for peace; prepared to deter aggression; prepared to negotiate the reduction of arms; and, yes, prepared to reach out again in the spirit of reconciliation. In truth, there is no reconciliation we would welcome more than a reconciliation with the Soviet Union, so, together, we can lessen the risks of war, now and forever.It's fitting to remember here the great losses also suffered by the Russian people during World War II: 20 million perished, a terrible price that testifies to all the world the necessity of ending war. I tell you from my heart that we in the United States do not want war.
We want to wipe from the face of the Earth the terrible weapons that man now has in his hands. And I tell you, we are ready to seize that beachhead. We look for some sign from the Soviet Union that they are willing to move forward, that they share our desire and love for peace, and that they will give up the ways of conquest. There must be a changing there that will allow us to turn our hope into action.
We will pray forever that some day that changing will come. But for now, particularly today, it is good and fitting to renew our commitment to each other, to our freedom, and to the alliance that protects it.
We are bound today by what bound us 40 years ago, the same loyalties, traditions, and beliefs. We're bound by reality. The strength of America's allies is vital to the United States, and the American security guarantee is essential to the continued freedom of Europe's democracies. We were with you then; we are with you now. Your hopes are our hopes, and your destiny is our destiny.
Here, in this place where the West held together, let us make a vow to our dead. Let us show them by our actions that we understand what they died for. Let our actions say to them the words for which Matthew Ridgway listened: ``I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.''Strengthened by their courage, heartened by their valor, and borne by their memory, let us continue to stand for the ideals for which they lived and died.Thank you very much, and God bless you all.
Sunday, November 09, 2008
Goal Setting Session
In January the Council will be setting the goals for the next 2 years. I will be presenting my Agenda but I also want to hear from you. What goals and changes would you like to see Isanti adopt.
The 5 goals we adopted in 2007 were:
The 5 goals we adopted in 2007 were:
- Water Treatment Plant
- Long Term Financial Plan
- City Marketing Plan
- Increased Commercial Development
- Downtown Redevelopment and Marketing
Saturday, November 08, 2008
Council Audio
Don't forget to listen to the Council meetings:
http://www.cityofisanti.us/govern_citycouncil_audio.php
http://www.cityofisanti.us/govern_citycouncil_audio.php
Thursday, November 06, 2008
OWLS HOST FAMILIES STILL NEEDED!!!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We are still looking for host families to house our Minnesota Owls hockey players. More than ten players are still looking for a home.
These are good kids who follow the strict team rules. The families that have taken in players have had a very good experience -- my family is already talking about how much we'll miss him while he's gone for the summer!
If you're interested in more information or in hearing about the perks and benefits of being a Host Family, please contact me as soon as possible.
(763)444-8330
Thank you!
Carla Duncan
Minnesota Owls Billet Supervisor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We are still looking for host families to house our Minnesota Owls hockey players. More than ten players are still looking for a home.
These are good kids who follow the strict team rules. The families that have taken in players have had a very good experience -- my family is already talking about how much we'll miss him while he's gone for the summer!
If you're interested in more information or in hearing about the perks and benefits of being a Host Family, please contact me as soon as possible.
(763)444-8330
Thank you!
Carla Duncan
Minnesota Owls Billet Supervisor
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Isanti Election by the Numbers
We have the official numbers from the election and there are some eye opening stats.
We had 2,193 people voting in Isanti of which 765 were voting for the first time in the City, that equates to 35%. That is an amazing number!
Now for the flip side:
In the Mayor's race I received 1,432 and Ms. Larson had 573 but 173 people (8%) did not vote for either candidate. This is absolutely a person's choice and the outcome would not have been affected. There was a tremendous impact on the Council Race however.
Kolb 899------31%
Kennedy 744--26%
Lorinser 693--24%
Rask 573------20%
1459 votes were not cast. Now this is a bit more complex as each voter had 2 votes to cast for Council Members. There was a mixed bag of some voters not voting at all for Council and voters only voting for 1 candidate. With a total of 2,193 voters and each gets 2 votes there were 4,386 votes for Council.
1,459 or 33% of the total possible votes not being cast had a dramatic impact on the election. 155 votes separate 1st from 2nd place and only 51 votes separated 2nd from 3rd.
Now part of this is the fact that the further you go down on the ballot the more voters drop off or the fact many people were motivated to vote for President or Senate but knew little about the Council Candidates or the high percentage of new voters do not feel a strong connection to City government or all the above.
We will never know why there was such a dramatic drop off but it does have a strong impact on the election. Thought it was interesting information.
We had 2,193 people voting in Isanti of which 765 were voting for the first time in the City, that equates to 35%. That is an amazing number!
Now for the flip side:
In the Mayor's race I received 1,432 and Ms. Larson had 573 but 173 people (8%) did not vote for either candidate. This is absolutely a person's choice and the outcome would not have been affected. There was a tremendous impact on the Council Race however.
Kolb 899------31%
Kennedy 744--26%
Lorinser 693--24%
Rask 573------20%
1459 votes were not cast. Now this is a bit more complex as each voter had 2 votes to cast for Council Members. There was a mixed bag of some voters not voting at all for Council and voters only voting for 1 candidate. With a total of 2,193 voters and each gets 2 votes there were 4,386 votes for Council.
1,459 or 33% of the total possible votes not being cast had a dramatic impact on the election. 155 votes separate 1st from 2nd place and only 51 votes separated 2nd from 3rd.
Now part of this is the fact that the further you go down on the ballot the more voters drop off or the fact many people were motivated to vote for President or Senate but knew little about the Council Candidates or the high percentage of new voters do not feel a strong connection to City government or all the above.
We will never know why there was such a dramatic drop off but it does have a strong impact on the election. Thought it was interesting information.
Election Result Breakdown Coming
I will be breaking out the votes this evening and discussing the future agenda. We have the Governor's Deer Opener Dinner tomorrow night and I give the official welcome and then the media tour on Friday that will highlight Isanti to state media outlets. We have a busy week ahead.
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
We Won!!!
We won, I want to thank everyone for all their help. Tonight is a good night to celebrate but there is a lot of work for us to do and that starts tomorrow. With Commissioner Elect Duff winning tonight his Council seat will come open. The Council will determine how to fill the open seat in January. The last such position was filled by appointing the 3rd place Council candidate. Here are the results:
***Mayor's Race***
Wimmer 1432---71%
Larson 573----29%
***Council Race***
Kolb 899------31%
Kennedy 744--26%
Lorinser 693--24%
Rask 573------20%
***Commissioner Race***
Duff 1964-----54%
Genin 1648---46%
Election Update
***Update***
Over 2000 votes cast by 6:30pm
***Update***
1700 votes reported in Isanti 5:15pm
*****Update*****
1700 votes reported in Isanti 5:15pm
*****Update*****
1156 voters in Bradford at 3:50pm
1431 voters in Isanti at 4:15pm
2007 popultaion estimtes for each:
3703 residents in Bradford
5484 residents in the City of Isanti
We were at 1127 votes in Isanti and 1107 in Bradford around 2:30pm today. We should be setting records by the end of the day today.
I will post the final results as soon as they are available.
Star has wrong Address
The Star newspaper has the wrong address for City Hall which is our poling place for the City of Isanti. The correct one is:
110 First Avenue North
Directions to City Hall:
From West:
CSAH 5 east to First Avenue, take a right (south). City Hall is on your left (east) in 1.5 blocks.
CSAH 5 east to First Avenue, take a right (south). City Hall is on your left (east) in 1.5 blocks.
From East:
CSAH 5 west to First Avenue, take a left (south). City Hall is on your left (east) in 1.5 blocks.
CSAH 5 west to First Avenue, take a left (south). City Hall is on your left (east) in 1.5 blocks.
From North:
TH 65 south to CSAH 5, take a right (west) to First Avenue, take a left (south).
City Hall is on your left (east) in 1.5 blocks.
TH 65 south to CSAH 5, take a right (west) to First Avenue, take a left (south).
City Hall is on your left (east) in 1.5 blocks.
Monday, November 03, 2008
Who do you think will win?
I would like to know who you think will win in the following races.
Mayor: Vote for 1
Wimmer or Larson
Council: Vote for 2
Kolb, Kennedy, Lorinser or Rask
County Commissioner: Vote for 1
Duff or Genin
Click on the comments below and post to this entry as anonymous or with your name. Comment on any or all that you wish. Should be interesting to see the results Tuesday night.
Mayor: Vote for 1
Wimmer or Larson
Council: Vote for 2
Kolb, Kennedy, Lorinser or Rask
County Commissioner: Vote for 1
Duff or Genin
Click on the comments below and post to this entry as anonymous or with your name. Comment on any or all that you wish. Should be interesting to see the results Tuesday night.
Elections Matter
Get out and vote Tuesday and make sure your friends and neighbors get to the polls. Nothing can be taken for granted as many races are going to be very close. We must ensure we have the right representation for our City in all our local races.
One quick example of how things can change in the City:
Since 2005 I have been trying to use the sidewalk money from projects like the Shawn-Candy-Richard street project and the Broadway-Elizabeth area which are low traffic roads and use the money to build complete sidewalks along County Highway 5. We desperately need sidewalks along 5 to ensure the safety of our smallest children walking to school, our seniors trying to get to Riverside for groceries our the numerous people living in the apartment buildings.
This was blocked by the former Mayor along with Council Members Larson and Johnson. In 2007 I wanted to do the same but you need to have a super majority of 4 out of 5 votes so Larson and Johnson were able to block this again. If I win the Mayor's race Tuesday we will have only CM Larson left (CM Johnson ran for Commissioner and his Council term ends in December) and the remaining candidates for Council have all expressed the need for sidewalks along County Highway 5. We will have the 4 votes in 2009 to move this project along.
Elections matter.
One quick example of how things can change in the City:
Since 2005 I have been trying to use the sidewalk money from projects like the Shawn-Candy-Richard street project and the Broadway-Elizabeth area which are low traffic roads and use the money to build complete sidewalks along County Highway 5. We desperately need sidewalks along 5 to ensure the safety of our smallest children walking to school, our seniors trying to get to Riverside for groceries our the numerous people living in the apartment buildings.
This was blocked by the former Mayor along with Council Members Larson and Johnson. In 2007 I wanted to do the same but you need to have a super majority of 4 out of 5 votes so Larson and Johnson were able to block this again. If I win the Mayor's race Tuesday we will have only CM Larson left (CM Johnson ran for Commissioner and his Council term ends in December) and the remaining candidates for Council have all expressed the need for sidewalks along County Highway 5. We will have the 4 votes in 2009 to move this project along.
Elections matter.
Election Reporting
I will post the local results as soon as the are counted. We should have everything in by 8:30 pm to 9:00 pm Tuesday.
I was looking something up on the blog and came across a post I wrote just before the 2006 election - http://georgewimmer.blogspot.com/2006/11/full-page-re-elect-ad.html - It was illuminating to see how the former Mayor and Ms. Larson tied their campaigns together, his re-election as Mayor and her run for a third Council term. Here is an excerpt from that post:
High taxes and fees, brown/radium filled city water, transportation, rising crime, anemic commercial/industrial growth and no financial planning are issues they seem not to acknowledge. They write that this election is not about reform or change.
They want to keep the "train on the track". Their track is taking Isanti off a cliff. I could not have made my points about these two any better than they did in this expensive full page ad. Thank you.
The list of items are all ones we have greatly improved. Taxes are down 14%, our water treatment plant is being built to remove the brown/radium filled water, transportation is being improved with dollars set aside for ride share and rail service, crime is down 17%, we have had a magnificent expansion of businesses and we have a Long Term Financial Plan in place with strong budget controls.
Just wanted to share with you what might have happened if 2006 went the other way. Elections matter, lets make the 2008 election matter.
High taxes and fees, brown/radium filled city water, transportation, rising crime, anemic commercial/industrial growth and no financial planning are issues they seem not to acknowledge. They write that this election is not about reform or change.
They want to keep the "train on the track". Their track is taking Isanti off a cliff. I could not have made my points about these two any better than they did in this expensive full page ad. Thank you.
The list of items are all ones we have greatly improved. Taxes are down 14%, our water treatment plant is being built to remove the brown/radium filled water, transportation is being improved with dollars set aside for ride share and rail service, crime is down 17%, we have had a magnificent expansion of businesses and we have a Long Term Financial Plan in place with strong budget controls.
Just wanted to share with you what might have happened if 2006 went the other way. Elections matter, lets make the 2008 election matter.
The Record Speaks for Itself
I thought it would be good to keep my opponent's record and my Record front and center until the election. The voters have a right to compare us side by side.
"Mayor Wimmer is doing an excellent job, is great with numbers and is very good with the budget"
-Ms. Larson at the Candidate Forum October 9th, 2008.
Get out the vote
The Election is in the hands of the voters. We have done everything we can to promote our Agenda and inform the voters. It is important to make sure we all talk to our friends and neighbors and get out the vote on Tuesday.
We need to win this election to keep moving Isanti forward.
We need to win this election to keep moving Isanti forward.
Local elections
With all the excitement surrounding state and national election we often forget to take the time to learn the agenda and record of those seeking local office. Our County Commissioners,School board, Council Members and Mayors shape a great deal of our community.
We face difficult times ahead and need to make sure we have elected officials that will be able to do the job needed. Everything from local property taxes/fees, transportation, health/safety, education, economic development, parks/recreation and on and on are controlled by your locally elected officials. Your Commissioners, School Board Members, City Councilors and Mayors are people you see everyday and will impact your daily life.
Please invest at least the same amount of time learning about your local candidates as you have for state and national office. Vote November 4th.
We face difficult times ahead and need to make sure we have elected officials that will be able to do the job needed. Everything from local property taxes/fees, transportation, health/safety, education, economic development, parks/recreation and on and on are controlled by your locally elected officials. Your Commissioners, School Board Members, City Councilors and Mayors are people you see everyday and will impact your daily life.
Please invest at least the same amount of time learning about your local candidates as you have for state and national office. Vote November 4th.
Churchill Quotes
As some may know Sir Winston Churchill is a personal hero of mine. If you get the chance read the "Last Lion" two volume biography of Churchill by William Manchester. I can not pass up a chance to let his words run free once again.....
Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities... because it is the quality which guarantees all others.
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.
Danger - if you meet it promptly and without flinching - you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never!
I am prepared to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.
Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.
Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.
I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this Government: 'I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat."
All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in single words: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.
An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.
Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.
He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.
History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.
I have always felt that a politician is to be judged by the animosities he excites among his opponents.
I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.
It's not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required.
Personally I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.
Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.
The price of greatness is responsibility.
There are a terrible lot of lies going around the world, and the worst of it is half of them are true.
We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.
Lady Astor: "Winston, if I were your wife I'd put poison in your coffee."
Winston: "Nancy, if I were your husband I'd drink it."
Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities... because it is the quality which guarantees all others.
Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.
Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things.
Danger - if you meet it promptly and without flinching - you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never!
I am prepared to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.
Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.
Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.
I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this Government: 'I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat."
All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in single words: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope.
An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.
Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb.
He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.
History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.
I have always felt that a politician is to be judged by the animosities he excites among his opponents.
I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.
It's not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what's required.
Personally I'm always ready to learn, although I do not always like being taught.
Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.
The price of greatness is responsibility.
There are a terrible lot of lies going around the world, and the worst of it is half of them are true.
We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give.
Lady Astor: "Winston, if I were your wife I'd put poison in your coffee."
Winston: "Nancy, if I were your husband I'd drink it."
Sunday, November 02, 2008
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