I am happy to announce that the Park and Recreation Board will be kicking off its second year of the "Mayor’s Great Yard Award". This award recognizes the hard work, dedication, and creativity of our residents in maintaining a beautiful City. Landmark Bank will continue to show its commitment, with over 100 years of community involvement, by financing the first place monetary awards. This year, Isanti Hardware Hank will be financing second place awards with Northland Landscaping sponsoring the third place awards.
The awards are open to all Isanti City residents. Nominations will be accepted through Park and Recreation staff, Lisa Krause, who can be contacted at lkrause@cityofisanti.us or by mail or drop off at City Hall, 110 First Avenue N, PO Box 428, Isanti, MN 55040.
You may nominate yourself or any property within the Isanti city limits. The Park and Recreation Board will judge all entries and make recommendations to the Mayor for award winners. Awards will be presented for June, July, and August. You may not win consecutive awards. All Park and Recreation Board members as well as city staff and their immediate family members are not eligible.
All nominations must be received by 4:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month. The awards will be presented by the Mayor at the following Council meeting.
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.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Isanti Dance
The Isanti Ice Arena is hosting a family oriented dance on Saturday, June 21st, in an attempt to provide fun and safe entertainment while the State BMX race is taking place here in Isanti right in the arena's back yard. All ages are welcome to attend this dance and we are encouraging entire families to come and take advantage of a fun, family event. Northern Lights DJ will be providing the sound and light show. The concession stand will be open and indoor bike parking will be available.
We are also in need of volunteers to help out with chaperoning the dance. The time is from 5-10 p.m. and your child gets in to the dance for free if you are willing to help us out. Regular pricing is $5 per person and $20 for a family up to six people. Please let me know if you are willing and able to chaperone.
Thank you!
Carla Duncan
You may contact Carla at IsantiDances@yahoo.com
We are also in need of volunteers to help out with chaperoning the dance. The time is from 5-10 p.m. and your child gets in to the dance for free if you are willing to help us out. Regular pricing is $5 per person and $20 for a family up to six people. Please let me know if you are willing and able to chaperone.
Thank you!
Carla Duncan
You may contact Carla at IsantiDances@yahoo.com
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Mayor's Employer Appreciation Lunch
The weather did not cooperate but we still had a strong showing with over hundred employers and employees. I want to thank all those that made this event possible. Special thanks to John Bettendorf of Isanti Hardware Hank and Community Development Director Carla Vita, without whose hard work this would not have happened. City Engineer Brad DeWolf, Senator Olseen and Representative Eastlund served up our lunch. Joe Demo of Isanti Custom Meats and our future Main Street business Isanti Retail Meats did a wonderful job grilling for us.
I had the privilege to present awards for years of operation in our great City. Thank you to all our employers and the nearly 1500 jobs you have created and all the hard work you do each and every day.
Friday, June 06, 2008
City Letter of Concerns Re: County Comp Plan
A refresher of the City of Isanti's letter of concerns regarding the County Comp Plan. The posting directly following is the Isanti County Eviromental Coalition's Position Paper on the County Comp Plan.
The City of Isanti has received notification that the Isanti County Planning Commission will begin review of the Draft Isanti County Comprehensive Plan in a public hearing to be held on May 8th, 2008. The City of Isanti Planning Commission and City Council have met to review and discuss the proposed plan. By consensus, the Planning Commission and the City Council have the following comments on the proposed Isanti County Comprehensive Plan:
1. In review of the proposed plan, the charts and graphs; which are the basis for the plan utilize data and/or statistics that were collected in 2000-2002. Isanti County has seen considerable growth and development since this information had been collected. The data provided within the plan no longer provides an accurate representation of the County. The County should consider and obtain more up-to-date data from other sources, which will accurately reflect the changes that have taken place within the County.
2. The plan is lacking a Vision Statement. The Vision Statement defines who are we as a County and concisely conveys the direction in which we want to go in the future. Such a statement defines the purpose and values that the County holds dear or aims to achieve. This statement will also further clarify what we as a County represent; the beliefs that are held by the County about how growth and development will be accomplished in the years to come. The Vision Statement is a powerful communication tool, which inspires a common “vision” of the future for residents and business owners located in or looking to come to Isanti County.
3. The preservation of the County’s natural amenities was deemed as one of the most important goals to the residents of the County. However, the plan lacks any detail on how this will be accomplished. The plan should include a component that focuses on the natural resources and amenities that are located throughout the County and provide measures for the conservation of these resources.
4. The plan focuses on Isanti County’s transition from agricultural to rural. One should keep in mind that Isanti County is considered an exurban area of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. As the metropolitan area continues to grow, the dynamics and context of Isanti County will continue to grow and change as well. The plan should reflect upon these types of changes and provide measures for how the County will adapt to those changes in the years to come.
5. The process in which the plan was developed is rather disjointed. The Land Use portion of the plan has been drafted after the adoption of the Transportation Plan. The Land Use plan has proposed increased residential densities as well as the expansion of commercial and industrial properties within rural service centers and throughout the County as a whole. Planning for differing types of land uses cannot occur in a box. Transportation and land use are intertwined, one has to question whether the transportation plan that was previously adopted, will be able to support the land uses and the density ranges that have been proposed within the land use portion.
6. The County has taken a very different stance on commercial and industrial development within the proposed plan, than it has in the past. In the previous plan, the County felt the need to capitalize on the existing urban infrastructure systems that were provided near the cities. However, in the proposed draft, the County is looking to permit a wider range of commercial and industrial development within rural service areas within the townships as well as within pockets surrounding “major” intersections. This type of development raises a few questions, to include: (a) Will infrastructure issues arise and is the County financial prepared to remedy those situations? And, (b) Will the County enact ordinances ensuring that economic development within these areas can be adequately supported by County services?
7. Upon adoption of the Comprehensive Plan, will the County enact a moratorium on development, to ensure that the necessary ordinances have been adopted that reflect the goals and objects outlined within the Plan. The County has spent a great deal of time preparing this plan, one would think that the County would want to have the necessary rules and regulations in place that will guide development in the direction that has been defined within the plan.
8. As previously mentioned, the plan calls for increased residential densities and additional locations for commercial/industrial development. With increased residential, commercial, and industrial development; there will be a higher demand for County services; to include, infrastructure, police and fire protection, etc. When growth and development occur within the County, everyone pays.
City residents and businesses pay taxes to both the City and the County. Those living within the County, pay taxes only to the County. The residents of the City of Isanti will want to know what the County is willing to give to support the type of growth being proposed. The County needs to ensure that those individuals living within City limits are not unduly burdened and required to pay for the additional growth and development of the overall County. The County must be able to ensure that it is able to pay, its own way, for the additional growth and development that has been proposed.
9. Overall, many of the concerns expressed by both the City of Isanti Planning Commission and City Council, center around the concept of Smart Growth. This has been a major topic of conversation at many of the Citizen Advisory Committee Meetings. Smart Growth is based upon a number of clearly defined principles and objectives; many of which focus on the preservation and enhancement of natural resources and the continued conservation of land; the equal distribution of the costs and benefits associated with growth and development; the provision of housing, employment, and transportation options that are provided in a fiscally responsible manner; the greater share of regional growth focused around urbanized areas or those areas were infrastructure has already been constructed to support additional growth and development; and the value of long-term, regional sustainability that results from the collaboration of adjacent governmental units in the planning process. The City of Isanti is concerned that some of the land use proposals presented by the Citizen Advisory Committee, not only go against these principles, but may have a negative effect upon the cities and the region as development is encouraged throughout more rural areas.
The City of Isanti Planning Commission and City Council would like to thank the Isanti County Planning Commission for considering their comments and concerns regarding the proposed Isanti County Comprehensive Plan. If the Commission has questions or concerns surrounding any of the comments provided within this memo, please contact Isanti City Hall at (763) 444-5512.
The City of Isanti has received notification that the Isanti County Planning Commission will begin review of the Draft Isanti County Comprehensive Plan in a public hearing to be held on May 8th, 2008. The City of Isanti Planning Commission and City Council have met to review and discuss the proposed plan. By consensus, the Planning Commission and the City Council have the following comments on the proposed Isanti County Comprehensive Plan:
1. In review of the proposed plan, the charts and graphs; which are the basis for the plan utilize data and/or statistics that were collected in 2000-2002. Isanti County has seen considerable growth and development since this information had been collected. The data provided within the plan no longer provides an accurate representation of the County. The County should consider and obtain more up-to-date data from other sources, which will accurately reflect the changes that have taken place within the County.
2. The plan is lacking a Vision Statement. The Vision Statement defines who are we as a County and concisely conveys the direction in which we want to go in the future. Such a statement defines the purpose and values that the County holds dear or aims to achieve. This statement will also further clarify what we as a County represent; the beliefs that are held by the County about how growth and development will be accomplished in the years to come. The Vision Statement is a powerful communication tool, which inspires a common “vision” of the future for residents and business owners located in or looking to come to Isanti County.
3. The preservation of the County’s natural amenities was deemed as one of the most important goals to the residents of the County. However, the plan lacks any detail on how this will be accomplished. The plan should include a component that focuses on the natural resources and amenities that are located throughout the County and provide measures for the conservation of these resources.
4. The plan focuses on Isanti County’s transition from agricultural to rural. One should keep in mind that Isanti County is considered an exurban area of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. As the metropolitan area continues to grow, the dynamics and context of Isanti County will continue to grow and change as well. The plan should reflect upon these types of changes and provide measures for how the County will adapt to those changes in the years to come.
5. The process in which the plan was developed is rather disjointed. The Land Use portion of the plan has been drafted after the adoption of the Transportation Plan. The Land Use plan has proposed increased residential densities as well as the expansion of commercial and industrial properties within rural service centers and throughout the County as a whole. Planning for differing types of land uses cannot occur in a box. Transportation and land use are intertwined, one has to question whether the transportation plan that was previously adopted, will be able to support the land uses and the density ranges that have been proposed within the land use portion.
6. The County has taken a very different stance on commercial and industrial development within the proposed plan, than it has in the past. In the previous plan, the County felt the need to capitalize on the existing urban infrastructure systems that were provided near the cities. However, in the proposed draft, the County is looking to permit a wider range of commercial and industrial development within rural service areas within the townships as well as within pockets surrounding “major” intersections. This type of development raises a few questions, to include: (a) Will infrastructure issues arise and is the County financial prepared to remedy those situations? And, (b) Will the County enact ordinances ensuring that economic development within these areas can be adequately supported by County services?
7. Upon adoption of the Comprehensive Plan, will the County enact a moratorium on development, to ensure that the necessary ordinances have been adopted that reflect the goals and objects outlined within the Plan. The County has spent a great deal of time preparing this plan, one would think that the County would want to have the necessary rules and regulations in place that will guide development in the direction that has been defined within the plan.
8. As previously mentioned, the plan calls for increased residential densities and additional locations for commercial/industrial development. With increased residential, commercial, and industrial development; there will be a higher demand for County services; to include, infrastructure, police and fire protection, etc. When growth and development occur within the County, everyone pays.
City residents and businesses pay taxes to both the City and the County. Those living within the County, pay taxes only to the County. The residents of the City of Isanti will want to know what the County is willing to give to support the type of growth being proposed. The County needs to ensure that those individuals living within City limits are not unduly burdened and required to pay for the additional growth and development of the overall County. The County must be able to ensure that it is able to pay, its own way, for the additional growth and development that has been proposed.
9. Overall, many of the concerns expressed by both the City of Isanti Planning Commission and City Council, center around the concept of Smart Growth. This has been a major topic of conversation at many of the Citizen Advisory Committee Meetings. Smart Growth is based upon a number of clearly defined principles and objectives; many of which focus on the preservation and enhancement of natural resources and the continued conservation of land; the equal distribution of the costs and benefits associated with growth and development; the provision of housing, employment, and transportation options that are provided in a fiscally responsible manner; the greater share of regional growth focused around urbanized areas or those areas were infrastructure has already been constructed to support additional growth and development; and the value of long-term, regional sustainability that results from the collaboration of adjacent governmental units in the planning process. The City of Isanti is concerned that some of the land use proposals presented by the Citizen Advisory Committee, not only go against these principles, but may have a negative effect upon the cities and the region as development is encouraged throughout more rural areas.
The City of Isanti Planning Commission and City Council would like to thank the Isanti County Planning Commission for considering their comments and concerns regarding the proposed Isanti County Comprehensive Plan. If the Commission has questions or concerns surrounding any of the comments provided within this memo, please contact Isanti City Hall at (763) 444-5512.
ICEC Position Paper
The Isanti County Eviromental Coalition has been distributing a copy of there position paper regarding the County Comp Plan. It contains many important points that should be considered as the County Comp Plan process comes to completetion.
The Isanti County Environmental Coalition has identified the following concerns and issues regarding county officials’ intention to increase dramatically the rate of residential development in the agricultural district of Isanti County. Most county residents and perhaps even other officials from the townships and cities may not be aware of this change in the county’s Comprehensive Plan.
It represents a radical change in land use planning and will eventually affect every county resident and governmental entity, in one way or another.A county’s comp lan and, in particular, the agricultural land density formula are the predominate factors in preserving open space, maintaining a rural environment/landscape and in allowing current residents and government bodies to support growth in a sustainable manner. The proposed doubling of densities in the agricultural district and the allowance of more development in parcels less than 40 acres is a very major change in land use planning for this county and will potentially impact property and school taxes in major ways. (Cambridge-Isanti School District is currently reducing its budget by $2.1 million.) The compulsion to change development densities is driven by a few individuals in the county.
The 2005 township survey and the results of the regional meetings last year express clearly that such a radical change is not desired by most county residents or deemed necessary.Contrary to the occasionally raised promotion of “property rights” in regard to one’s selling of land, the county and its broad community can define the appropriate level of development and the pace that it occurs. Any landowner can realize a very nice profit from land sales or development under the current regulations. It is not the responsibility of the county and a few landowners to ensure that maximum profits from land speculation and subdivision are realized.
Most of the county’s townships do not have their own comprehensive plan and they, even more than the three cities in the county, rely on the county to conduct planning and growth with which they can deal. The maintenance pressure on township roads will increase under the new plan. The county’s planning direction for housing density may pressure individual townships to adopt their own comprehensive plan to retain the current agricultural land density of two building rights per 40 acres.
The serious collapse of the housing industry and the overall economic challenges in the state and country should make it very clear that this is a very poor time to be creating an environment which increases development and land speculation.The proposed plan is complicated and includes three scenarios for agricultural land development. Platting of parcels involving 13 to 18 houses requires a level of county staffing and oversight that currently does not exist.
The county continues to struggle in functional land use planning due to the lack of commitment to the employment of an on-staff professional planner.Though the proposed plan speaks of smart growth and the use of incentives for such, these tools remain “optional.” It will require a very large and upfront financial commitment by a landowner/developer to plat and construct the infrastructure for this option. What appears to work in Marine on St.Croix will be more difficult to achieve in Isanti County. If a developer is going the smart growth/incentive route, that person needs to be fairly certain that the designed plat of 18 houses will fill up quite quickly. This is not likely and therefore this option will be seldom used.
The creation of 13 to 18 housing units on a 40-acre parcel and the increase of those on parcels less than 40 acres increase the opportunity for farming activities to be in conflict with this type of residential development. Many residents in the county, whether farmers or not, will not be pleased with the creation of a residential neighborhood adjacent to their homes.
If the county pursues the questionable goal of increasing residential housing in the agricultural district at a faster rate, the county then should also support individual landowners, if they wish to do so, in obtaining conservation easements (a open space conservation tool) on large or unique areas on their properties. Both county staff expertise and a financial incentive to cover legal fees should be made available to interested landowners who make this important decision to protect open and wild space forever. Such a program would be an effective tool in preserving the rural nature of the county.
Isanti County needs to explore quickly the opportunity for its remaining farmland spaces to be preserved for generations to come, rather than converted to an extension of the urban environment. With food and transportation costs climbing steadily and with our adjacency to a major urban center, there is no better time than now for our fields to remain available for local food production and for the production of biofuel resources to assist in resolving energy production challenges. There are very major concerns nationwide about the sustainability of much of our daily food coming from far coast locations and beyond our borders.
The use of the transfer of development tool should protect our county’s waters especially the natural environment lakes, encouraging clustering of new residences on nearby higher land and away from these natural resources.
The Anoka Sand Plain covers a major portion of Isanti County and is vulnerable to the results of denser residential development. Its subsurface resources provide water for communities in the metro area and need to be protected forever.
It is very regrettable that the county’s local newspapers have not published the activities and decisions of the Citizens Advisory Committee over numerous months. This lack of coverage of a major community process is puzzling and does not serve Isanti County residents well.
Formal studies in this state and nationwide have made it very clear that the cost of provision of services and infrastructure to accommodate new development and growth exceeds the revenue from such growth. If there are county officials who still do not accept this finding, the county should seek a qualified agency or research institution to study this county’s growth pattern and cost of government services over the past 10 to 30 years.
Coalition encourages citizen participation
The Isanti County Environmental Coalition is a volunteer citizen’s group, founded in 1989, whose purpose is to promote individual and community stewardship of our local natural resources. It has 41 active members and has been tracking and participating in public meetings regarding zoning since 1990.
The coalition encourages all citizens to attend the next county planning commission meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 12 at the Isanti County Government Center. It further encourages citizens to call their county commissioners to express their own opinions about the proposed changes in the comprehensive plan.
The Isanti County Environmental Coalition has identified the following concerns and issues regarding county officials’ intention to increase dramatically the rate of residential development in the agricultural district of Isanti County. Most county residents and perhaps even other officials from the townships and cities may not be aware of this change in the county’s Comprehensive Plan.
It represents a radical change in land use planning and will eventually affect every county resident and governmental entity, in one way or another.A county’s comp lan and, in particular, the agricultural land density formula are the predominate factors in preserving open space, maintaining a rural environment/landscape and in allowing current residents and government bodies to support growth in a sustainable manner. The proposed doubling of densities in the agricultural district and the allowance of more development in parcels less than 40 acres is a very major change in land use planning for this county and will potentially impact property and school taxes in major ways. (Cambridge-Isanti School District is currently reducing its budget by $2.1 million.) The compulsion to change development densities is driven by a few individuals in the county.
The 2005 township survey and the results of the regional meetings last year express clearly that such a radical change is not desired by most county residents or deemed necessary.Contrary to the occasionally raised promotion of “property rights” in regard to one’s selling of land, the county and its broad community can define the appropriate level of development and the pace that it occurs. Any landowner can realize a very nice profit from land sales or development under the current regulations. It is not the responsibility of the county and a few landowners to ensure that maximum profits from land speculation and subdivision are realized.
Most of the county’s townships do not have their own comprehensive plan and they, even more than the three cities in the county, rely on the county to conduct planning and growth with which they can deal. The maintenance pressure on township roads will increase under the new plan. The county’s planning direction for housing density may pressure individual townships to adopt their own comprehensive plan to retain the current agricultural land density of two building rights per 40 acres.
The serious collapse of the housing industry and the overall economic challenges in the state and country should make it very clear that this is a very poor time to be creating an environment which increases development and land speculation.The proposed plan is complicated and includes three scenarios for agricultural land development. Platting of parcels involving 13 to 18 houses requires a level of county staffing and oversight that currently does not exist.
The county continues to struggle in functional land use planning due to the lack of commitment to the employment of an on-staff professional planner.Though the proposed plan speaks of smart growth and the use of incentives for such, these tools remain “optional.” It will require a very large and upfront financial commitment by a landowner/developer to plat and construct the infrastructure for this option. What appears to work in Marine on St.Croix will be more difficult to achieve in Isanti County. If a developer is going the smart growth/incentive route, that person needs to be fairly certain that the designed plat of 18 houses will fill up quite quickly. This is not likely and therefore this option will be seldom used.
The creation of 13 to 18 housing units on a 40-acre parcel and the increase of those on parcels less than 40 acres increase the opportunity for farming activities to be in conflict with this type of residential development. Many residents in the county, whether farmers or not, will not be pleased with the creation of a residential neighborhood adjacent to their homes.
If the county pursues the questionable goal of increasing residential housing in the agricultural district at a faster rate, the county then should also support individual landowners, if they wish to do so, in obtaining conservation easements (a open space conservation tool) on large or unique areas on their properties. Both county staff expertise and a financial incentive to cover legal fees should be made available to interested landowners who make this important decision to protect open and wild space forever. Such a program would be an effective tool in preserving the rural nature of the county.
Isanti County needs to explore quickly the opportunity for its remaining farmland spaces to be preserved for generations to come, rather than converted to an extension of the urban environment. With food and transportation costs climbing steadily and with our adjacency to a major urban center, there is no better time than now for our fields to remain available for local food production and for the production of biofuel resources to assist in resolving energy production challenges. There are very major concerns nationwide about the sustainability of much of our daily food coming from far coast locations and beyond our borders.
The use of the transfer of development tool should protect our county’s waters especially the natural environment lakes, encouraging clustering of new residences on nearby higher land and away from these natural resources.
The Anoka Sand Plain covers a major portion of Isanti County and is vulnerable to the results of denser residential development. Its subsurface resources provide water for communities in the metro area and need to be protected forever.
It is very regrettable that the county’s local newspapers have not published the activities and decisions of the Citizens Advisory Committee over numerous months. This lack of coverage of a major community process is puzzling and does not serve Isanti County residents well.
Formal studies in this state and nationwide have made it very clear that the cost of provision of services and infrastructure to accommodate new development and growth exceeds the revenue from such growth. If there are county officials who still do not accept this finding, the county should seek a qualified agency or research institution to study this county’s growth pattern and cost of government services over the past 10 to 30 years.
Coalition encourages citizen participation
The Isanti County Environmental Coalition is a volunteer citizen’s group, founded in 1989, whose purpose is to promote individual and community stewardship of our local natural resources. It has 41 active members and has been tracking and participating in public meetings regarding zoning since 1990.
The coalition encourages all citizens to attend the next county planning commission meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 12 at the Isanti County Government Center. It further encourages citizens to call their county commissioners to express their own opinions about the proposed changes in the comprehensive plan.
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
T-shirts
I am placing the t-shirt order in two days. If you are walking in the parade with us we need your size. We also need your size if you want to show your support for the campaign by wearing your shirt around town or at community events.
Email me at George@GeorgeWimmer.com
Email me at George@GeorgeWimmer.com
Council Update June 3rd
Accepting Check from Mr. OwensThere are a few items from last night's meeting I want to mention.
I accepted a $350.00 check from Community Pride Bank President Greg Owens. This money will be used for the Mayor's Employer Lunch June 11th. I will be posting a full list of all the incredible businesses and individuals that are supporting this event.
I asked the Council to support a Booktown location at City Hall. This is in essence a book rack full of donated books. People may come and borrow the books to read at anytime or take and keep. The book rack and books are free and there is no City staff time used to maintain the books. Volunteers manage the location and check in at least once a week. There are several location already in place at several local businesses.
I appointed the members to the Isanti City Revolving Loan Fund Committee. This will allow us to start the process of infusing more funds to spark great economic growth.
We accepted the bid from our City Engineer to start the construction engineering portion of the Water Treatment Plant. I had mention previously we were extending the process for two weeks to get better bids. The original bid was at $440,000 and last night we accepted the bid at $325,000. The extra time allowed for more research into the true time and scope of the project and allowed us to get a more accurate idea of the services needed. Time well spent.
We authorized the application for using Municipal State Aid for Isanti's portion of the rail road crossing arms on Isanti Parkway. This would save the City $15,422.10 from this years budget.
A note to add on... The Council voted to not fund increased Chamber membership dues for the City. The Council reiterated its support of the Isanti Area Chamber of Commerce. We applaud its tremendous growth over the last few years and its growing reach into surrounding townships and the City of Cambridge. The Council has helped foster this growth by giving office space to the Chamber to operate from for $1. The Chamber moved out of this space early in 2007 to a rental space. The City also spends thousands of dollars of in kind donations for the many events the Chamber host.
The relationship between the City and the Chamber is closer than it ever has been as we formed the Isanti City Partnership last year. This is a joint group with three members appointed by the Chamber and three by the City.
I believe in the Chamber and the local business community so much that I am a personal member of the Chamber even though I own no business. I also buy all my campaign materials from Isanti businesses.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
First Pitch at Redibird's Conference Home Opener
First Pitch
It was great fun to throw out the first pitch at the Redbirds' conference home opener. I want to thank Chuck and Andy Reller for their pitching help. With their coaching I was able to throw a pretty decent strike, of course it was only about 5 mph but it hit the catcher's glove.
The Redbirds won 16-1 in a hitting display. They are our hometown team and are free to the public; I hope everyone gets a chance to watch a game or two. Here is a link to their website:
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Mayor's Great Yard Award
I am happy to announce the 2nd annual "Mayor's Great Yard Award". This award recognizes the hard work, dedication, and creativity of our residents in maintaining a beautiful City. Landmark Bank will continue to show its commitment, with over 100 years of community involvement, by financing the 1st place award. Isanti Hardware Hank will be funding 2nd place and Northland Landscaping funding 3rd place.
The awards are open to all Isanti City residents. Nominations will be accepted through Park and Recreation staff, Lisa Krause, who can be contacted at lkrause@ci.isanti.mn.us or by mail or drop off at Isanti City Hall, 110 First Ave N, PO Box 428, Isanti, MN 55040. You may nominate yourself or any property within Isanti city limits. The Park and Recreation board will judge all entries and make recommendations to the Mayor for award winners. Awards will be presented for June, July and August. You may not win consecutive awards. All Park and Recreation board members as well as city staff and their immediate family members are not eligible.
1st place winner receives $100 and Mayoral Proclamation
2nd place winner receives $50 and Mayoral Proclamation
3rd place winner receives $25 and Mayoral Proclamation
All nominations must be received by 4:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month. The awards will be presented by the Mayor at the following Council meeting.
The awards are open to all Isanti City residents. Nominations will be accepted through Park and Recreation staff, Lisa Krause, who can be contacted at lkrause@ci.isanti.mn.us or by mail or drop off at Isanti City Hall, 110 First Ave N, PO Box 428, Isanti, MN 55040. You may nominate yourself or any property within Isanti city limits. The Park and Recreation board will judge all entries and make recommendations to the Mayor for award winners. Awards will be presented for June, July and August. You may not win consecutive awards. All Park and Recreation board members as well as city staff and their immediate family members are not eligible.
1st place winner receives $100 and Mayoral Proclamation
2nd place winner receives $50 and Mayoral Proclamation
3rd place winner receives $25 and Mayoral Proclamation
All nominations must be received by 4:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday of the month. The awards will be presented by the Mayor at the following Council meeting.
Sunday, May 25, 2008
Mattson Park Build
The Mattson Park build will start at 8am on Thursday May 29th. Anyone interested in helping let me know.
George@GeorgeWimmer.com
George@GeorgeWimmer.com
Thursday, May 22, 2008
City of Isanti Mayor's Employer Celebration
I have declared the Week of June 8th as Isanti Employers Week. We will be celebrating on June 11th with a BBQ picnic. All City Employers and their Employees have been invited so we may thank them. We also plan to highlight a few facts such as there are 1466 jobs in the City of Isanti and give awards for Employer anniversaries. Following is a copy of the invitation.
You and Your Employees
Are Cordially
Invited to the
First Annual City of Isanti Mayor’s Employer Celebration
This event is to celebrate the Isanti Employer! A gratis picnic lunch will be provided following a ceremony commemorating Isanti businesses with milestone Isanti anniversaries.
Location of Event: 30 West Main Street (across the street from the Creamery)
Date of Event: June 11, 2008 starting at 11:30am
Please RSVP by May 30, 2008 to Carla Vita at cvita@cityofisanti.us or 763.444.5512. RSVP is mandatory in order for us to have an accurate count for food.
We look forward to your attendance!
Are Cordially
Invited to the
First Annual City of Isanti Mayor’s Employer Celebration
This event is to celebrate the Isanti Employer! A gratis picnic lunch will be provided following a ceremony commemorating Isanti businesses with milestone Isanti anniversaries.
Location of Event: 30 West Main Street (across the street from the Creamery)
Date of Event: June 11, 2008 starting at 11:30am
Please RSVP by May 30, 2008 to Carla Vita at cvita@cityofisanti.us or 763.444.5512. RSVP is mandatory in order for us to have an accurate count for food.
We look forward to your attendance!
Council Update May 20th
A couple items from the past Council meeting I would like to discuss. The first item is the Water Treatment Plant. We have asked the Public Works Committee to revisit the construction engineering cost. It looks as though we will be able to have this work done for roughly $50,000 to $100,000 less than anticipated. The delay is only two weeks in the multiple year process. Seems to be a pretty good bargain. CM Johnson and Duff will be working on this and will report back to the Council at our next meeting June 3rd.
I serve on the Personnel and Finance Committee and we have been busy looking for ways to save cost and cut the budget in the face of unpaid property taxes. We have lowered our health care cost by $4,885.16 per month or $58,621 per year by changing providers. The level of service remains the same and I would like to thank both our Police and Public Works Unions for their consent.
The next item was a bit tougher. We cut a total of $291,984 from the 2008 budget in anticipation of lower property tax collection. This is a one time fix to fill a revenue hole. If our tax collection is higher than anticipated than we will back fill in some of these items. We have a very tight budget to begin with so the items cut will need to be addressed in the 2009 budget process. This means if we stay in the current economic situation then hard decisions will have to be made. There are three main areas in the budget: staffing, projects and fund reserves. all three will have to be addressed in the 2009 budget process that we are currently working on.
I will put together a budget that lives within our means without raising taxes.
I serve on the Personnel and Finance Committee and we have been busy looking for ways to save cost and cut the budget in the face of unpaid property taxes. We have lowered our health care cost by $4,885.16 per month or $58,621 per year by changing providers. The level of service remains the same and I would like to thank both our Police and Public Works Unions for their consent.
The next item was a bit tougher. We cut a total of $291,984 from the 2008 budget in anticipation of lower property tax collection. This is a one time fix to fill a revenue hole. If our tax collection is higher than anticipated than we will back fill in some of these items. We have a very tight budget to begin with so the items cut will need to be addressed in the 2009 budget process. This means if we stay in the current economic situation then hard decisions will have to be made. There are three main areas in the budget: staffing, projects and fund reserves. all three will have to be addressed in the 2009 budget process that we are currently working on.
I will put together a budget that lives within our means without raising taxes.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Pat's Small Engines
I took a tour of Pat's Small Engines today.
http://www.psep2.biz/
http://www.psep.biz/
They have a couple of websites that highlight the services of this exceptional company. This is one of the many businesses that came to or relocated in Isanti in 2007. I was quite impressed by their operation and personnel. The businesses of Isanti, the entrepreneurs of our community are what really make us a strong Community for Generations. Check them out or any of our amazing businesses.
http://www.psep2.biz/
http://www.psep.biz/
They have a couple of websites that highlight the services of this exceptional company. This is one of the many businesses that came to or relocated in Isanti in 2007. I was quite impressed by their operation and personnel. The businesses of Isanti, the entrepreneurs of our community are what really make us a strong Community for Generations. Check them out or any of our amazing businesses.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Isanti Rodeo/Jubilee Days Parade
The Isanti Rodeo/Jubilee Days parade will be Wednesday July 9th at 6:30. Line-up is at 5pm.
Anyone interested in walking with us please email me with your t-shirt size. George@GeorgeWimmer.com You will be given a George Wimmer Mayor t-shirt to wear. The more the merrier. It is a lot of fun and this year we will be up front. Go to http://www.georgewimmer.com/volunteer.html for other ways to help us win this fall. Any questions please let me know.
Anyone interested in walking with us please email me with your t-shirt size. George@GeorgeWimmer.com You will be given a George Wimmer Mayor t-shirt to wear. The more the merrier. It is a lot of fun and this year we will be up front. Go to http://www.georgewimmer.com/volunteer.html for other ways to help us win this fall. Any questions please let me know.
Blue Bird Park Tree Planting
Alexander and Abigail helping Dad Plant trees.A large group of volunteers showed up to help us plant another group of trees in our award winning Blue Bird Park. I want to thank everyone that came out to help.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
City Letter of Concerns Re: County Comp Plan
Following is a memo from the City of Isanti to the County Planning Commission regarding our concerns with the County Comprehensive Plan. I thought it was important for the public to understand our concerns as the County Comprehensive Plan is nearing completion.
MEMO
To: Tim Anderson, Zoning Administrator
County of Isanti Planning Commission
From: City of Isanti Planning Commission
City of Isanti City Council
CC: Mayor Wimmer, Members of the City Council, Members of the Planning Commission, City Administrator Lorsung, Assistant City Administrator Bauer, Community Development Director Vita
Thru: Lisa M. Krause, City Planner, AICP
Date: April 16, 2008
Subject: Isanti County Comprehensive Plan
The City of Isanti has received notification that the Isanti County Planning Commission will begin review of the Draft Isanti County Comprehensive Plan in a public hearing to be held on May 8th, 2008. The City of Isanti Planning Commission and City Council have met to review and discuss the proposed plan. By consensus, the Planning Commission and the City Council have the following comments on the proposed Isanti County Comprehensive Plan:
1. In review of the proposed plan, the charts and graphs; which are the basis for the plan utilize data and/or statistics that were collected in 2000-2002. Isanti County has seen considerable growth and development since this information had been collected. The data provided within the plan no longer provides an accurate representation of the County. The County should consider and obtain more up-to-date data from other sources, which will accurately reflect the changes that have taken place within the County.
2. The plan is lacking a Vision Statement. The Vision Statement defines who are we as a County and concisely conveys the direction in which we want to go in the future. Such a statement defines the purpose and values that the County holds dear or aims to achieve. This statement will also further clarify what we as a County represent; the beliefs that are held by the County about how growth and development will be accomplished in the years to come. The Vision Statement is a powerful communication tool, which inspires a common “vision” of the future for residents and business owners located in or looking to come to Isanti County.
3. The preservation of the County’s natural amenities was deemed as one of the most important goals to the residents of the County. However, the plan lacks any detail on how this will be accomplished. The plan should include a component that focuses on the natural resources and amenities that are located throughout the County and provide measures for the conservation of these resources.
4. The plan focuses on Isanti County’s transition from agricultural to rural. One should keep in mind that Isanti County is considered an exurban area of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. As the metropolitan area continues to grow, the dynamics and context of Isanti County will continue to grow and change as well. The plan should reflect upon these types of changes and provide measures for how the County will adapt to those changes in the years to come.
5. The process in which the plan was developed is rather disjointed. The Land Use portion of the plan has been drafted after the adoption of the Transportation Plan. The Land Use plan has proposed increased residential densities as well as the expansion of commercial and industrial properties within rural service centers and throughout the County as a whole. Planning for differing types of land uses cannot occur in a box. Transportation and land use are intertwined, one has to question whether the transportation plan that was previously adopted, will be able to support the land uses and the density ranges that have been proposed within the land use portion.
6. The County has taken a very different stance on commercial and industrial development within the proposed plan, than it has in the past. In the previous plan, the County felt the need to capitalize on the existing urban infrastructure systems that were provided near the cities. However, in the proposed draft, the County is looking to permit a wider range of commercial and industrial development within rural service areas within the townships as well as within pockets surrounding “major” intersections. This type of development raises a few questions, to include: (a) Will infrastructure issues arise and is the County financial prepared to remedy those situations? And, (b) Will the County enact ordinances ensuring that economic development within these areas can be adequately supported by County services?
7. Upon adoption of the Comprehensive Plan, will the County enact a moratorium on development, to ensure that the necessary ordinances have been adopted that reflect the goals and objects outlined within the Plan. The County has spent a great deal of time preparing this plan, one would think that the County would want to have the necessary rules and regulations in place that will guide development in the direction that has been defined within the plan.
8. As previously mentioned, the plan calls for increased residential densities and additional locations for commercial/industrial development. With increased residential, commercial, and industrial development; there will be a higher demand for County services; to include, infrastructure, police and fire protection, etc. When growth and development occur within the County, everyone pays.
City residents and businesses pay taxes to both the City and the County. Those living within the County, pay taxes only to the County. The residents of the City of Isanti will want to know what the County is willing to give to support the type of growth being proposed. The County needs to ensure that those individuals living within City limits are not unduly burdened and required to pay for the additional growth and development of the overall County. The County must be able to ensure that it is able to pay, its own way, for the additional growth and development that has been proposed.
9. Overall, many of the concerns expressed by both the City of Isanti Planning Commission and City Council, center around the concept of Smart Growth. This has been a major topic of conversation at many of the Citizen Advisory Committee Meetings. Smart Growth is based upon a number of clearly defined principles and objectives; many of which focus on the preservation and enhancement of natural resources and the continued conservation of land; the equal distribution of the costs and benefits associated with growth and development; the provision of housing, employment, and transportation options that are provided in a fiscally responsible manner; the greater share of regional growth focused around urbanized areas or those areas were infrastructure has already been constructed to support additional growth and development; and the value of long-term, regional sustainability that results from the collaboration of adjacent governmental units in the planning process. The City of Isanti is concerned that some of the land use proposals presented by the Citizen Advisory Committee, not only go against these principles, but may have a negative effect upon the cities and the region as development is encouraged throughout more rural areas.
The City of Isanti Planning Commission and City Council would like to thank the Isanti County Planning Commission for considering their comments and concerns regarding the proposed Isanti County Comprehensive Plan. If the Commission has questions or concerns surrounding any of the comments provided within this memo, please contact Isanti City Hall at (763) 444-5512.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Website and Email Hosting Change
My website and email hosting are being moved to another service provider. My email address george@georgewimmer.com and website www.georgewimmer.com will remain the same. I ask for your patience if there are any issues during this process. We hope everything will be transferred successfully by the end of the weekend. If you have sent me an email that has gone unanswered in the last 24 hours please resend this Monday. Again I apologize for any issues.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
May 6th Council Meeting
Tonight was a momentous evening for the City of Isanti.
I informed the Council that I am declaring the week of June 8th Isanti Employer Week. I will be rolling this out more as we get closer. I believe it is important to pay tribute to our employers as well as educate our community that we have over 1400 people employed in the City of Isanti. Some may look around and see a quite town; I look around and see a bustling energetic City bursting with exciting opportunities.
I was happy to announce that the Economic Development Association of Minnesota has awarded its coveted Business Recruitment prize to the City of Isanti. This year’s competition was fierce as 2-3 times the normal amount of submissions were received. We used the Ever Cat Fuels project as our example of Isanti’s new business recruitment process. We have worked very hard in the last 16 months to make Isanti stand out among other communities. This award is an independent acknowledgement that we are on the right track.
I was honored tonight to show Isanti Police Officer Rod Barrows our appreciation for his bravery and skill in the line of duty. On November 17th 2007 Officer Barrows confronted a felony suspect who was holding a handgun and had just threatened a citizen’s life. Officer Barrows was able to arrest the individual without further incident. We often hear about the negative outcomes of such incidents but rarely hear anything when our police officers excel. The Minnesota Chief’s Association awarded Officer Barrows the Medal of Honor for his outstanding work.
The Council finalized the plans to handle nuisance and foreclosed properties in the City. We had an in depth discussion. I wanted the City to outsource the mowing of yards because it cost us less. The example of cost given by staff was the outsourcing would cost the City $30 per lawn and if done by part time City workers it would be $55 or as much as $78 if done by full time employees. This seemed to be a clear financial decision. Some made the argument that if we outsourced it then we would have to pay immediately. I once again pointed out that we pay our City staff to do the work therefore there is no difference in time paying the bill if we handle in house or outsource the work. The City will get reimbursed either way when the property taxes are paid as the unpaid cost will be assessed to the tax rolls. There was a “guarantee” that public works will be much quicker this year than they were last year in taking care of these properties. I hope that will be the case. I was out voted 4-1 on this matter so there will be no outsourcing of this service. It is unfortunate since the cost will be much higher. We must maintain the property values of the entire City and not allow the cancer of nuisance properties to devastate neighborhoods. Once an area or city starts the downward slide it is extremely difficult and costly to rehabilitate.
The Council passed the rental ordinance on a 5-0 vote. We have worked on this ordinance for the last year. We have taken a great deal of time to fully consider this ordinance. I believe it will help ensure a strong community for generations to come. I want to thank all those that have worked on this project.
We passed the Revolving Loan Fund. This is yet another financial tool that will help us attract more new businesses and help existing businesses to expand. Our future success lies in diversifying the tax base with more commercial properties.
I wanted to end this posting with an item I actually updated the Council on at the beginning of the meeting. We are projecting a revenue deficit of $280,000. This represents about 8% of our total budget. I serve on the Finance Committee and it will be our job in the next week to start putting together a list of actions to balance our budget. These actions will be presented to the Council at our May 20th meeting. The majority of this deficit is due to unpaid property taxes. 4 of our top ten tax payers have not paid their taxes. 3 of these are land developers. The total owed by these top 4 is about $260,000. If they all had paid their 2007 taxes we would not have this issue.
The chickens have come home to roost after the housing bubble burst. Many communities are going through the exact same issues we are. Rapid Residential Development is never a good thing. We must work our way through this and make sure we never face these issues again. We will be looking at several different areas to help balance our budget. These include current City staffing levels, major City projects and fund balances. It is important we act now because the fiscal issue will only be tougher as we face 2009.
No matter how dark this may appear our future is bright. The businesses we have been attracting and continue to attract will be hitting the tax rolls in the years to come. As we rely less on residential taxes to fund City operations the better it is for everyone. We need to work our Long Term Financial Plan that we started in 2007 and keep building our commercial tax base.
I informed the Council that I am declaring the week of June 8th Isanti Employer Week. I will be rolling this out more as we get closer. I believe it is important to pay tribute to our employers as well as educate our community that we have over 1400 people employed in the City of Isanti. Some may look around and see a quite town; I look around and see a bustling energetic City bursting with exciting opportunities.
I was happy to announce that the Economic Development Association of Minnesota has awarded its coveted Business Recruitment prize to the City of Isanti. This year’s competition was fierce as 2-3 times the normal amount of submissions were received. We used the Ever Cat Fuels project as our example of Isanti’s new business recruitment process. We have worked very hard in the last 16 months to make Isanti stand out among other communities. This award is an independent acknowledgement that we are on the right track.
I was honored tonight to show Isanti Police Officer Rod Barrows our appreciation for his bravery and skill in the line of duty. On November 17th 2007 Officer Barrows confronted a felony suspect who was holding a handgun and had just threatened a citizen’s life. Officer Barrows was able to arrest the individual without further incident. We often hear about the negative outcomes of such incidents but rarely hear anything when our police officers excel. The Minnesota Chief’s Association awarded Officer Barrows the Medal of Honor for his outstanding work.
The Council finalized the plans to handle nuisance and foreclosed properties in the City. We had an in depth discussion. I wanted the City to outsource the mowing of yards because it cost us less. The example of cost given by staff was the outsourcing would cost the City $30 per lawn and if done by part time City workers it would be $55 or as much as $78 if done by full time employees. This seemed to be a clear financial decision. Some made the argument that if we outsourced it then we would have to pay immediately. I once again pointed out that we pay our City staff to do the work therefore there is no difference in time paying the bill if we handle in house or outsource the work. The City will get reimbursed either way when the property taxes are paid as the unpaid cost will be assessed to the tax rolls. There was a “guarantee” that public works will be much quicker this year than they were last year in taking care of these properties. I hope that will be the case. I was out voted 4-1 on this matter so there will be no outsourcing of this service. It is unfortunate since the cost will be much higher. We must maintain the property values of the entire City and not allow the cancer of nuisance properties to devastate neighborhoods. Once an area or city starts the downward slide it is extremely difficult and costly to rehabilitate.
The Council passed the rental ordinance on a 5-0 vote. We have worked on this ordinance for the last year. We have taken a great deal of time to fully consider this ordinance. I believe it will help ensure a strong community for generations to come. I want to thank all those that have worked on this project.
We passed the Revolving Loan Fund. This is yet another financial tool that will help us attract more new businesses and help existing businesses to expand. Our future success lies in diversifying the tax base with more commercial properties.
I wanted to end this posting with an item I actually updated the Council on at the beginning of the meeting. We are projecting a revenue deficit of $280,000. This represents about 8% of our total budget. I serve on the Finance Committee and it will be our job in the next week to start putting together a list of actions to balance our budget. These actions will be presented to the Council at our May 20th meeting. The majority of this deficit is due to unpaid property taxes. 4 of our top ten tax payers have not paid their taxes. 3 of these are land developers. The total owed by these top 4 is about $260,000. If they all had paid their 2007 taxes we would not have this issue.
The chickens have come home to roost after the housing bubble burst. Many communities are going through the exact same issues we are. Rapid Residential Development is never a good thing. We must work our way through this and make sure we never face these issues again. We will be looking at several different areas to help balance our budget. These include current City staffing levels, major City projects and fund balances. It is important we act now because the fiscal issue will only be tougher as we face 2009.
No matter how dark this may appear our future is bright. The businesses we have been attracting and continue to attract will be hitting the tax rolls in the years to come. As we rely less on residential taxes to fund City operations the better it is for everyone. We need to work our Long Term Financial Plan that we started in 2007 and keep building our commercial tax base.
Friday, May 02, 2008
No Name Calling Contest
Grand Prize Winner
All 4 WinnersI was happy to fund and present the grand prize for the No Name Calling contest at the Isanti Middle School, Minnesota Center. This is a project that Ms. Sparrow and school staff have been working on for some time. Jill Reller of Reller Signs and Debbie Bray of Embroidery & Ink donated the sign and clothing items with the grand prize winner's design. Community Pride Bank and the Rotary Club donated the money for the 1st through 3rd prizes.
I challenged the students to live the message. It is up to each of them to take the message to heart and make it a reality.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Mcgyan/Ever Cat Fuels Bio-diesel News
I have been informed that the Mcgyan Bio-diesel process is scheduled to be on Good Morning America Tuesday April 29th. No idea what time and in television anything can happen. This weekend channel 5 did a report on it. http://kstp.com/article/stories/S425806.shtml
The Mcgyan Bio-diesel process is what Ever Cat Fuels will be using at our Isanti Facility. Augsburg undergraduate Brian Krohn and Drs McNeff, Gyberg and Yan all contributed to this incredible process.
I am so proud Isanti has played its small part in the process. This is an excellent way to continue to market our progressive Community for Generations.
Link to more stories and links:
http://georgewimmer.blogspot.com/2008/03/mcgyan-news-conference-update.html
http://www.startribune.com/business/16404276.html
http://www.mcgyan.com/
http://www.evercatfuels.com/
http://www.cityofisanti.us/Carla/Ever%20Cat%20Fuels%2001.08%20Presentation.pdf copy of Mcgyan and Ever Cat Fuels presentation, my favorite slides are 28 and 29 which show the facility and talk about working with Isanti.
The Mcgyan Bio-diesel process is what Ever Cat Fuels will be using at our Isanti Facility. Augsburg undergraduate Brian Krohn and Drs McNeff, Gyberg and Yan all contributed to this incredible process.
I am so proud Isanti has played its small part in the process. This is an excellent way to continue to market our progressive Community for Generations.
Link to more stories and links:
http://georgewimmer.blogspot.com/2008/03/mcgyan-news-conference-update.html
http://www.startribune.com/business/16404276.html
http://www.mcgyan.com/
http://www.evercatfuels.com/
http://www.cityofisanti.us/Carla/Ever%20Cat%20Fuels%2001.08%20Presentation.pdf copy of Mcgyan and Ever Cat Fuels presentation, my favorite slides are 28 and 29 which show the facility and talk about working with Isanti.
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