Isanti Retail Meats Pictures

Isanti Retail Meats' Drawing

Telling the Isanti Retail Meats Story

Group picture showing the link with the School District and County

Go Vote

The Primary election is Tuesday. Decisions are made by those who show up. Primaries have one thing in common, incredibly low turnout. Your vote matters in all elections but perhaps even more in a primary. We all have different candidates we support and desire their victory. Get out and support your candidates and vote.

Website Issues Resolved

Website issue taken care of.

Website Issues

Website Issues.

I am having the site host look into why my website is not working. I hope this issue with get fixed ASAP. 

Isanti Retail Meats Ground Breaking

We are breaking ground today at 30 West Main St for the new Isanti Retail Meats. This is an exciting project that will lead to further economic renewal in our Historic Downtown. I am proud to have been working on this project from its inception last year. Past chamber President Jaysen Guthmueller and I had visited the owner of Isanti Custom Meats as part of our business retention and expansion visits.

The first words out of the owners mouth is what did I do wrong. He was assured that we were there to help him and only wanted to know what he needed. He was excited by this new approach to Isanti businesses. He talked about having a retail outlet in Downtown Isanti to accompany his existing business. City staff and I worked on this immediately. 

Now a little over a year later the project is ready to break ground. Seems long to some but in this economy the fact we are able to continue to grow our City's business sector in a downtown is borderline historic. 

Isanti Retail Meats will add much needed jobs, services and traffic to continue to move forward into a better future for all our Citizens. 

September 2nd Council Meeting Audio

The audio is up from the Septmeber 2nd Council meeting, including the budget debate, at

http://www.cityofisanti.us/govern_citycouncil_audio.php .

I hope everyone takes the time to listen.

2009 Budget Update

We had an active meeting tonight debating the budget and levy. There were many strong opinions shared but it was all done in a respectful and professional manner. The audio should be posted in a day or two on the City website (www.cityofisanti.us) so you will be able to listen first hand. The Finance Committee which is composed of select city staff, CM Kolb and myself worked the last few months on several budget scenarios. The scenarios had a 3% increase, 0% increase and a 3% decrease to help frame the different options and cuts that would be needed to match the different levels of spending.

I recommended that we pass the 3% decrease option with two additional changes. The first change was to use the technology fund, which is financed by the cable franchise and not tax dollars, to pay for the $14, 245 in technology improvements for 2009. The other item was a bit more difficult. I recommended that the City no longer fund the Administrative Assistant position in 2009. Eliminating this position would save the City $56,000 in 2009. The 3% decrease option already had the elimination of a PT police secretary position. 

In 2007 we eliminated one of the two building inspector positions because of the decrease in activity. I followed the same logic in trimming these cost.  Both positions were hired in 2006 when city activity had already been on the decline. I voted against adding extra staffing at the time for the same reason I recommend that we cut the positions tonight. It was made clear tonight that this in no way  reflects on the individual people holding these positions but that this was a financial decision. 

I discussed that Isanti needs to reduce spending to live within our means. I used the example of our surrounding cities and their budgets compared to their tax bases. I used the 2007 numbers for East Bethel, Cambridge, North Branch and Isanti.

East Bethel $4.6 million budget and a tax base of $11.6 million or a 40% budget/tax base ratio.

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North Branch $4 million budget and a tax base of $9.6 million or a 42% budget/tax base ratio.

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Cambridge $5.6 million budget and a tax base of $7.5 million or a 76% budget/tax base ratio.

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Isanti $3.5 million budget and a tax base of $3.9 million or a 90% budget/tax base ratio.

I have used many different numbers and examples to illustrate why Isanti needs to cut spending and reduce our tax and fee burden on our residents and felt this ratio really shows how Isanti stands out compared to our region. 

After much discussion CM Kolb and Duff motioned and seconded the necessary Council resolutions for the budget and levy to be passed. Many difficult decisions had to be made but the final votes were unanimous.

One more word on property taxes. I have for years tried to stress that essential regressive nature of property taxes. This means rich or poor you pay the same rate. Property taxes hurt the poor the hardest. Many of our working families feel the dramatic pain of increased property taxes whether it comes from a higher levy rate or a higher assessed value from the county assessor. Property taxes are one of those issues that our state's political parties agree needs to be fixed even if they do not see the same solution. We need to protect our tax payers, especially those among us that are most vulnerable, our seniors on fixed incomes that can be quickly taxed out of their homes. 

Now the good news. We have cut spending and taxes each of my 2 years as Mayor. Spending was cut by 3% and the levy rate was cut from 59.886% to 55.51%. The levy rate cut equates to a realized 7% City property tax cut if your 2008 and 2009 assessed value stays the same. Last year I promised to work to lower taxes from the 65% rate we had when I was sworn in to the state average of 55% in 3 years. We are but a fraction of the way there in just 2 years. I promised to cut spending and work to have Isanti live within it's means - we are well on our way. 

Another piece of good news is that we were able to keep an enhanced economic development marketing program in place. We will have more resources to continue to attract businesses to Isanti and those new businesses will enjoy lower tax rates along with the rest of the residents of our great City.

Stolen Signs

Another few days of stolen signs. Looks to be about 2 dozen from at least 4 different candidates... If you have had a sign stolen please let the candidate know so they may replace if possible.

Please report anyone who has stolen signs as this is not only harmful and costly to a candidate it is also limiting the free speech of the property owner. 

September 9th Primary Repost

The September 9th primary will play a critical role in City politics. The primary will reduce the Council contenders from 5 to 4 and more dramatically the field of 5 Commissioner candidates to 2. Turnout will be the name of the game so I thought I would pass on a few stats:

Minnesota had a 78% turnout in the last presidential election year in 2004. This is a great rate which we will most likely beat this year. Primaries however are a bit more lackluster. When only a U.S. Senate race is in contention and no governors race on the primary ballot the turnout is just 17%.

In 2004 Commissioner Pagel received 1206 out of 1594 total votes cast in Isanti and 1487 out of 1904 in Bradford in an uncontested race.

The area has grown considerably in the past 4 years and the City of Isanti total vote share has increased. But if we simply extrapolate the 2004 numbers and take 17% of the total votes cast we end up with only 595 votes deciding the primary. Each voter will be asked to vote for 1 candidate in the Commissioner race and 2 in the Council race in the primary. Each candidate will have to work hard to get their voters to the polls. I hope this energizes the district into greater voter turnout as our Citizens takes a look at each candidate and what they have to offer.

Our participatory democracy only works if we participate by knowing the issues, candidate history, candidate positions and then go vote.

Commissioner Poll Results

I want to first state this is not a scientific poll but a fun exercise. Remember the primary is September 9th. Polls open in the City at 7am and close at 8pm. Decisions are made by those that show up.

Alan Duff-----------136---44%

Gail Genin----------85---28%

Timothy Swanson-48---16%

Thomas Anderson-19---6%

Ralph Johnson-----18---6%

Teacher and Staff Appreciation Day

The last 2 days have been filled welcoming back and thanking our wonderful teachers and staff. I had the honor of speaking at the official welcome back to District teachers and staff Wednesday morning at the High School in Cambridge.

Today at Community Pride Bank's welcome back lunch for Isanti teachers and staff I presented our 3 school principals with Mayoral Proclamations. I would like to thank Community Pride Bank for hosting an amazing thank you to our hard working teachers and staff.

Isanti Redbirds

The Isanti Redbirds, our great hometown team, continue their great run.

http://isanticountynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4156&Itemid=1

Their website:

http://hometeamsonline.com/teams/?u=ISANTIREDBIRDS&t=c&s=baseball&p=home

We are all so proud of their hard work.

My Record

My Record

Economic Reform

• I created the Finance Committee to work on our fiscal issues.
• My budget for 2008 reduced spending for the first time in Isanti's modern history, allowing us to cut property taxes.
• Proposed and passed a Long Term Financial Plan to guide Isanti's fiscal decisions.
• Passed in 2007, the City Council will now know the full impact of their spending decisions in each budget year.
• We passed development fees in 2007 that will for the first time make development pay for itself. No longer will residents of Isanti subsidize development through taxes and fees.
• We passed a Tax Abatement and a Revolving Loan Fund to help spur more commercial growth.
• Over 300 new jobs since my swearing in, a 29% increase in job growth.
• Chamber of Commerce President and I meet with City businesses to thank them for their hard work and dedication to Isanti. We also listen to any concerns or questions. Our personal visits have retained businesses in Isanti and helped foster several business expansions.
• In 2007 we had 15 new and relocated businesses in Isanti.
• Employer Recognition Awards to propmote Isanti businesses.
• The last 18 months has seen great commercial growth in Downtown Isanti with new businesses, relocations and the planned Isanti Retail Meats. This will be a meat and cheese market that will also provide everything from rotisserie chickens, all kinds of side dishes and catering. Isanti Custom Meats will continue to operate in their current location. Isanti Retail Meats planned for 30 West Main St.
• Our hard work is paying off with the locating of the revolutionary/green technology company Ever Cat Fuels in Isanti. This company will provide high paying jobs, greater business travel, increase the tax base and help solve our nations energy crisis.
• 
  Responsible City Government

• Proposed and passed the first codified rules and procedures for the City Council, Boards and Commissions.
• My Development Impact List was put into full force. This tool provides the Planning Commission and Council an itemized list of the complete impact of each development. For the first time true cost can be assessed to a project.
• We passed a new Comprehensive Plan that is no longer tied to a specific time frame but to the growth of our population. We have set the future land uses and borders of a fully developed City. This allows us to plan our future instead of reacting to others.
• I created the Mayor's Great Yard Award to thank those that do an outstanding job creating and maintaining their yards. The top three each month receive a certificate and cash reward.
• I have made protecting our distinct and historic Isanti neighborhoods a priority. We must be flexible enough in our planning and road improvements so as not to destroy our history and city character.
• Improving City communications with our Citizens and Taxpayers is critical to our success. We have created a new City website as an economic development tool. Our City website also has all the information I intended for my Residential Handbook in the Resident section. The newly redesigned Isantian is in full color and through our innovation of selling ads we are able to lower the cost and increase the value to our Citizens and Taxpayers.
• We have started the Board and Commission reforms by having the Council directly interviewing and selecting the members.
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  Citizen Safety
• We have been working on a water treatment plant to eliminate the high levels of cancer causing radium. The planning and design are complete and the construction is scheduled to be finished in 2009. An added benefit will be the tremendous reduction of the iron and manganese in our water which causes the hardness and discoloration.
• We have improved policing with the purchase of an integrated communication system so our officers are able to access information on the County and State levels.
• We hired a Police Lt and Patrol Officer position.
• We replaced a high maintenance squad car with a new one that is less costly to maintain and more fuel efficient.
• Crime rates went down in 2007.
• Our pedestrian bridge project crossing Hwy 65 has received Federal and State support. The intersection of Hwy 5 and Hwy 65 is the 8th worse in Minnesota as disclosed by MnDot. This pedestrian bridge will link the east and west side of Isanti's Hwy 65 commercial districts. This landmark will distinguish us from all other cities along this busy state highway.

Email Updates

If you want email updates for the blog email me at George@georgewimmer.com

You will be added to the confidential email update list.

September 9th Primary

The September 9th primary will play a critical role in City politics. The primary will reduce the Council contenders from 5 to 4 and more dramatically the field of 5 Commissioner candidates to 2. Turnout will be the name of the game so I thought I would pass on a few stats:

Minnesota had a 78% turnout in the last presidential election year in 2004. This is a great rate which we will most likely beat this year. Primaries however are a bit more lackluster. When only a U.S. Senate race is in contention and no governors race on the primary ballot the turnout is just 17%.

In 2004 Commissioner Pagel received 1206 out of 1594 total votes cast in Isanti and 1487 out of 1904 in Bradford in an uncontested race.

The area has grown considerably in the past 4 years and the City of Isanti total vote share has increased. But if we simply extrapolate the 2004 numbers and take 17% of the total votes cast we end up with only 595 votes deciding the primary. Each voter will be asked to vote for 1 candidate in the Commissioner race in the primary and 2 in the Council race. Each candidate will have to work hard to get their voters to the polls. I hope this energizes the district into greater voter turnout as our Citizens takes a look at each candidate and what they have to offer.

Our participatory democracy only works if we participate by knowing the issues, candidate history, candidate positions and then go vote.

Letters of Credit

The City is drawing letters of credit for numerous Iverson developments to fix the many Minnesota Pollution Control issues along with unfinished projects. We have met with the banks involved and paraphrasing one bank official 'every dollar they have to spend is a dollar they lost on backing the developer'.

This is a situation none of the banks involved wanted to be in but they have all now complied with their agreements. The failing infrastructure will be fixed and projects like the paving of 3rd by the Soccer Fields can finally move forward.

I hope this will be the final page of a sad chapter in Isanti's history.

John Bettendorf

Last night at our Council meeting I read my letter of support of John Bettendorf's nomination for Young Retailer of the Year - which he won. John has brought great honor to the City of Isanti through his hard work and dedication to our community. Following is the text of the letter.

I have had the pleasure of knowing John Bettendorf over the past several years. John’s hard work and dedication to the City of Isanti has made our city stronger. His commitment to the business community as exemplified by his leadership in the Isanti Area Chamber of Commerce and the Isanti City Partnership has shown how a young and innovative individual can lift the aspiration of us all. The Isanti City Partnership is a group of city and business leaders that promotes economic development in our community. John brings an energy and knowledge base to each meeting that has helped guide us to ever greater achievements. His leadership within the Chamber of Commerce makes him a natural to take the helm as President in April 2008.

A hardware store in a City of 5,000 is a critical asset. I am in awe of John’s dedication to making the Isanti Hardware Hank a cornerstone of our community. He has improved the service level and product base which has improved not only his reputation but that of our City. John’s dedication to Isanti has shown through with all the time, energy and materials he has donated to community causes. He gives freely of his MC and DJ services at community events, donated paint to our volunteer Community Center remodeling and is taking the lead on a project to improve our downtown even though his own business is not located there. In the few short years John has owned the Hardware Hank he has left and indelible mark upon Isanti and shown how an excellent corporate citizen should behave.

Campaign Update August 19th

Was out last night for a short bit and the reception was once again strong. Continuing to try to catch up with sign request. I want to thank everyone that has asked for a lawn sign. It helps a great deal to hear from supporters. I have been trying to use as much of my time working on the City budget, recruiting businesses and dealing with residential developer aftermath. It is a balancing act to spend as much time as possible on City business and still run an effective campaign.

I had a comment passed on to me about nuisance ordinance. The person had thought it was a close vote that passed last year. It was a 5-0 vote to pass the nuisance ordinance changes that went into affect.

I am hoping to hear soon when the Isanti Area Chamber of Commerce will be holding their candidate forum. I look forward to see what format this will take.

The next few days after tonight's Council meeting will be dedicated to door knocking. Hope to see you out on the campaign trail.

I will be posting on the details of our Agenda for the Future over the next two months. We have a lot of great things to talk about as we set the course for our future together.

For those worried about future letters to the editor from our opponents, nothing to worry about. Each time our campaign is attacked the readership of the website and blog skyrocket. The more attention that we get even from a divisive letter to the editor helps get our positions out. The best example of this is when Mr. Iverson asked the Council in 2005 to "investigate" my blog. Readership went from only a dozen per week to hundreds. When CM Johnson wrote his letter to the editor at the end of the 2006 Mayoral campaign attacking me, readership again hit another new level and brought in more request for my email updates.

It is like manna from heaven each time they raise the profile of our Campaign. The newspapers reach thousands of readers per issue. Each time we are attacked residents Google my name to find out who this terrible "guy" is and then they reach the website and blog and start reading the history of the last few years. This then generates more supporters. I will defend myself when attacked but anything that continues to generate interest in the election is only good for our campaign.

Many candidates will have many letters written for and against them. In our little piece of the world we are looking at a Presidential, US Senate, US Representative, State Representative, County Commissioner, School Board, City Council and our Mayor's race. The local papers have these along with races in other districts to contend with. There will be much printed and at some point, if not already pasted, voters will be hit with so much clutter very little will be absorbed.

And for all of us candidates - I am reminded of a comment made by an Anoka Commissioner - paraphrasing he said an election tells you exactly how many people don't like you... it is a piece of humility I try to remember....

Council Audio

We now have the Council Audio on the City website. You may listen directly or download the audio. http://www.cityofisanti.us/govern_citycouncil_audio.php

I would love to see the whole City at a Council meeting but we generally only see those that have direct business attend a City Council meeting. I think it is especially important for the good Citizens of Isanti that may not believe what I write here to attend or listen to the audio. One more step in making City Hall more transparent to ones that pay for it.

The local papers try to cover all the main issues at a Council meeting but two problems with that, one you may not agree what is an important issue and two, each paper only has so much space for Council meeting stories.

Check it out, it is not a Hollywood production but it does bring local government one step closer to you.

Last Budget Work Session

Tuesday will be our last budget work session. The Council will then take up the budget at the first Council meeting in September. I will then detail the changes and cuts that will be needed to full fill the next two years of our fiscal goals.

The budget we are putting together for 2009 will need to be another series of spending cuts so the fund balances can be reserved for the 2010 budget. The dramatically reduced property tax collections especially from foreclosed developer property has caused significant harm to Isanti. The trap we have to not fall into is raising taxes on those that are actually paying their taxes to make up for the ones that are not.

We have an opportunity to continue the great work we did last year to keep Isanti on a sound fiscal foot.

Alternative Transportation Day

Alexander And Abigail helping out

Riders at the Isanti Rest Stop

Wagon train moving through Isanti

Best of both worlds

Today in Isanti ended up being alternative transportation day. We had Rum River Classic and the wagon train fund raiser. The wagon train helps raise funds to send handicapped children to camp.

Great morning in Isanti, two events that help raise money for our greater community.

Governor's Deer Hunting Opener

Governor's deer hunting opener will be in Isanti this fall. The incredible Spectacular Events will be hosting a key event in the process. The area Chambers of commerce and the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association.


http://isanticountynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4101&Itemid=1

August 19th Council Agenda

Here is the link to the Council Agenda for August 19th.

http://www.cityofisanti.us/Trudi/08-19-08-CC%20agn.pdf

We will be honoring John Bettendorf for his recent accomplishment, discussing the 3rd Ave improvement by the soccer fields and pulling about half a dozen letters of credit to finish and or correct numerous Iverson infrastructure issues.

Rum River Classic

August 16, 2008 - Rum River Bicycle Classic

The fantastic Rum River Classic is on tap for Saturday August 16th. The following link gives all the details. I will be operating the Isanti rest stop with Carla Vita and the Isanti Ambassadors. Should be another great weather for all the riders.

http://www.mntrails.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=4&ArticleID=1292&TM=50472

Council Audio

We now have the Council Audio on the City website. You may listen directly or download the audio.

http://www.cityofisanti.us/govern_citycouncil_audio.php

Ms. Larson's Nonsense

I have read the letter to the editor and Ms. Larson's nonsense response. I was disappointed that the County News did not seem to follow their own policy. I was not mentioned in the original letter to the editor but Ms. Larson brought me up in a derisive tone and I was not afforded the same opportunity she was given to respond. If I respond now Ms Larson will be given another chance at free space to have the last word.

Thankfully her response was filled with a mindless mush of inaccuracy. The Campaigning Couple of Johnson and Larson are but echoes of a bygone era. As echoes fade with time so does the influence of these 2.

I found some of her statements quite revealing. Her first "fact" about conflict of interest was amusing because of her campaign companion. I had challenged Mr. Johnson in years past about his conflict of interest of voting for Mr. Iverson's development projects when he had been working for Mr. Iverson. Ms. Larson did not support my challenge at that time. I hope she will in the future.

Ms. Larson's next statement about how the property taxes are eventually paid is at best incomplete and worst naive. The taxes do eventually get paid but not by the original developer. They are paid by whomever picks up the mess that has been left. The City also has to deal with what could be years of non-paid taxes leading to fewer services or if Ms. Larson had her way higher taxes on the rest of us who actually pay taxes, unlike her developer friend.

I was surprised that Ms. Larson brought up developer fees since she was one of the main reason residential development fees had been so low for so long. These fees are mandated by the state. Ms. Larson's statement makes it appear as if the developer is like Santa Claus handing out gifts from the goodness of his heart on Christmas morning.

The "fact" that developer fees were so low for so long only enriched the developers at the cost of the City. It took an independent audit - which cost us as well - of our fees to finally prove the point I had been making for years that residential development fees were far to low. Some of the lowest in the entire region.

So why should a resident of Isanti care - because we end up paying for it. A classic example is our water treatment plant. The "fact" that developer fees were so low for so long has led to inadequate fund balances for infrastructure improvements needed due to the rapid residential growth. So instead of the developer paying for the needed infrastructure, you and I have to pay high water rates to fund the water treatment plant.

This is only one example of how wrong Ms. Larson is. Another quick example is the hundreds, if not thousands, of hours spent by City staff on our tax payers dime to deal with all the failings of the rapid residential growth we experienced in Isanti.

I was also surprised that Ms. Larson seems to look at the Mayor's position as nothing more than a traffic cop at council meetings. Perhaps this is all she intends to do - but why does she want the position so bad if she thinks so little of it? She is right that a Mayor needs a good Council to get an agenda approved and acted on. Thankfully CMs Duff and Kolb were there to give us the 3-2 margin of victory for our first ever spending and tax cuts in recent Isanti history. Larson and Johnson tried hard to block it but to no avail. When I proposed Long Term Financial Planning, Development fees that cover the cost of development, Development Impact List and spending/tax cuts before becoming Mayor they were rejected by the previous Mayor, Johnson and Larson. Who we elect matters, especially in the Mayor's position.

Council Member Larson’s own 2006 Council re-election campaign material stated and I quote “We need to be realistic and understand that in order for our city to continue to be increasingly viable and economically sound that taxes will need to increase”. She has not been so transparent in this campaign but her voting record speaks volumes.

Just one more quick note, we should not forget the hundreds that were hurt tremendously last year by a slew of liens placed on individual family homes because Mr. Iverson did not pay his contractors for much of the work he was obligated to do per his agreements with the City. The City has been dragged into this as well since the contractor is now demanding the City pay Mr. Iverson's unpaid bills. More staff and City Attorney's time wasted....guess who is paying for that.

The consequences of Ms. Larson's votes and policies have caused devastation far and wide. Lets not fall for it again.

Council Poll Results

First, this is in no way a scientific poll and their were multiple votes but it was fun to watch the results come in. Here are the votes:

Ross Lorinser ------90-----36%
Jim Kennedy -------79-----31%

Jeff Kolb -----------66-----26%
Steve Rask ---------13-----5%
John Booth---------4-------2%

Poll Change

Two more days left for Council Poll. I will then place a poll for County Commissioner.

Campaign Update

My second day on the campaign trail was tremendous. The response has been overwhelming and I will continue to go neighborhood to neighborhood. I would have preferred to start door knocking several weeks ago but family obligation prevented that. It has actually really worked out well as I hear about the traveling circus of Johnson and Larson trying team up on me in their couples door knocking.

Ms. Larson's Record

http://georgewimmer.blogspot.com/2008/07/cm-larson-is-running-for-mayor.html

My Record

http://www.georgewimmer.com/record.html

I found it interesting that Johnson has a large sign on Highway 65 on Iverson foreclosed property - this just days after Larson and Johnson voted to continue to protect Iverson and his bank from the City pulling their letter of credit so we can repair the failing infrastructure Iverson is responsible for.

To volunteer

http://www.georgewimmer.com/volunteer.html

To be added to the confidential email update list email me at george@georgewimmer.com

Wake-up Call

As the residents of Isanti can see by the couple signs, there is still support for the combo platter of Larson and Johnson. They will work very hard and we have many new residents that do not know of their past decisions or actions. I need everyone helping and working if we are to overcome their tactics.

Door Knocking

Tonight was my first night door knocking and it was great. The response and support was tremendous. I will be making my way through each neighborhood and making my case for the coming November election. We have gone through all of our new signs and are having to recycle our signs from the past election. We will if necessary purchase more signs as needed. It is a great show of support to see our signs populating the City, this will only grow as we start actively campaigning.

Mayor's Great Yard Award for July

Yes we will work on holding up the awards next time.....

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Landmark funded 1st prize for $100

Isanti Hardware Hank funded 2nd place for $50

Northland Landscaping funded 3rd place for $25

Thank you to all the sponsors for helping us celebrate wonderful yards in Isanti.

Water Treatment Plant Ground Breaking

Isanti County Incomes

I thought it would be good to show where Isanti County is with average incomes. Minnesota incomes grew an average 5.6% and Isanti County grew at 3.1%. To put in another way 83% of all Minnesota Counties had faster average personal income growth. It looks worse when you adjust for inflation. The State is at 1.3% and Isanti County is at .01% "real" income growth when adjusted for inflation.

We are well into the budgeting process and as we have to deal with higher gas, insurance, employee and other, cost we need to realize our Taxpayers have no more money to give. We can not tax our way out of this - simply put we must continue to cut cost as we did last year.

Facts are stubborn things.

August 6th Council Meeting Update

I wanted to follow-up on 3 items from last nights meeting.

The first item was the nuisance abatement of 459 3rd Ave NW. This is a property that has piles of garbage auto parts and numerous cars strewn all over the place. We have been working with the property owner since last October and had 9 visits/ letters to try to get this resolved. The property owner was quite adamant about his position but we could not allow such violations to continue. The Council voted to remove all the violations and then bill the owner. If the owner does not pay this charge then it will be assessed to his property taxes.

The next main item was regarding the many unfinished Iverson projects and his multiple Minnesota Pollution Control Agency violations. The City is in the process of pulling the numerous letters of credit - these are guarantees from banks that if a developer does not complete their municipal improvements the City can demand the bank provide the funding - to complete or correct projects that Mr. Iverson has failed to complete as part of his development agreements. These include roads, trails, holding ponds and so on.

The City has to complete these projects which include the business frontage road east of 65 so further economic development may occur, repairing the trail along 5 that is falling apart and numerous other Minnesota Pollution Control Agency items. We had a bit of debate as the bank holding the funds does not want to release the money. The bank wanted another 30 days for Mr. Iverson to complete the projects but as we discussed at the Council meeting last night there have been numerous broken promises to complete projects in the past.

The developer or the bank has till August 11th to complete before the City pulls this particular letter of credit to complete the issues for Villages on the Rum 3rd Addition. Unfortunately it was a 3-2 vote to pull the letter of credit. CM Duff, Kolb and I voted to pull the letter of credit to repair the crumbling infrastructure and CM Johnson and Larson voted to give Mr. Iverson and his bank more time.

The last item is the Council has approved putting our meeting audio on the City website for all to hear. This is a great step forward in adding to the transparency of our City government. I will inform you when the meeting audio is up and running.

Stolen and Damaged Signs

Its sad that signs are already being stolen. Please report anyone you see stealing or damaging anyone's signs. It is illegal and can not be allowed to stand. Trying to silence political speech is so desperate. A lawn sign may not seem like a big deal but it is the property owner expressing their support and the candidate's financial investment in getting out their message.

Some of this is random kids being kids but unfortunately it has been my experience that it is also politically motivated. We have 3 more months of campaigning ---

August 6th 2008 Agenda

AGENDA
CITY OF ISANTI
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 6, 2008 – 7:00 p.m.
CITY HALL

A. Call to Order
B. Pledge of Allegiance
C. Roll Call
D. Adopt Agenda

E. Proclamations/Commendations/Certificate Awards
1. Mayor’s Presentation of Great Yard Awards for the Month of July

F. Approve City Council Minutes
July 15, 2008 – Regular and Closed Meeting
July 29, 2008 – Special Budget Meeting

G. Citizens Input

H. Announcements
1. Planning Commission Meeting Tuesday, August 12, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
2. Rum River Classic Saturday, August 16, 2008
3. Special City Council Budget Meeting Tuesday, August 19, 2008 from 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
4. City Council Meeting Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
5. Park & Recreation Board Meeting Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 5:00 p.m.
6. EDA Meeting Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.

I. Council Committee Reports


J. Public Hearings

1. Nuisance Abatement – 459 3rd Avenue NW
a. Resolution Approving Nuisance Abatement
(CSO Officer Steve Wacha)


K. Business Items

1. Isanti Area Chamber of Commerce Isanti Fall Fest
(Jan Peterson)

Community Development Director Carla Vita

2. Resolution Authorizing the Purchase and Placement of Signs for Bluebird Park



Police Chief Ron Sager

3. Resolution Authorizing Traffic Control Device Procurement and Installation
4. Resolution Approving Joint Powers Agreement and Authorize Police Officers to Work the Republican National Convention


Finance Director Rita Pierce

5. Reimbursement Resolutions:
a. 2008 Street & Utility Improvement Project
b. Water Treatment Facility Project

City Administrator Don Lorsung

6. Resolution Relating to Aluna Proposal for Web Audio
7. Villages on the Rum 3rd Addition
a. Extending Call Date of Letter of Credit
b. 3rd Avenue Improvement

More Ground Breakings

We will have our Ground Breaking for the Water Treatment Plant Wednesday at 5pm. This as we have discussed numerous times is a great benefit for Isanti.

We will have the Ground Breaking for Isanti Retail Meats in downtown in the next week as well. We have so many important projects that continue to steam ahead along with Ever Cat Fuels. We are quickly moving Isanti forward into a brighter future. Each of these projects are a tremendous success and will make our community safer and economically stronger.

Owls coming to Town

Pictures courtesy of ESP1000/Russ Eastburn Photographer

The ground breaking for the Civic Arena expansion was a lot of fun tonight. Representatives from the Minnesota Owls, http://www.minnesotaowls.com/, were well represented along with members of the Arena Board, EnComm - building contractor-, our Ambassodors and Council Member Kolb. The Isanti Civic Arena will be the home ice for the Minnesota Owls, a Minnesota Junior Hockey Team. The Owls will be a great asset to to our Community and I am proud to welcome them to Isanti.

Sign Placement

We have placed about 35% of the current requested signs and will be working to get the rest placed Friday. I appreciate all the request for signs and look forward to more coming in. I want to thank all those that have requested signs and those that have helped work to get sign locations. This helps beyond measure as we continue to move our issues forward.

Tax Levy and Tax Valuation

OK now another interesting fact is the interplay between property tax levy and property tax valuation.

The County Assessor's latest assessment of the City of Isanti will cause an increase valuation in property values which will generate roughly 7% more tax revenue to the City. This means for a real cut in property taxes the Council will need to cut more than 1% or 2% off of the levy. If the cut is small you will still pay more in taxes next year than you do now.

We can not go back to the years of a 32% increase in City spending in 2005 or a 20% increase in 2006 as voted for by the former Mayor, CM Johnson and CM Larson. I voted against each of these budgets but I was not yet the Mayor and did not have enough support on the Council.

The real scary part is some seem to think this is the floor of spending and we can not go back to correct this excess. I want us to continue what we started last year and cut spending back to a reasonably sustainable amount. Even though you and I did not approve of this excessive spending we must take the steps to fix the problem. We absolutely can not allow the problem to grow by spending more than we can afford.

Area Business Tax Rates

Thought it would be good to show what the business property taxes paid on the same $200,000 in property value that I used for residential properties.


City----------City Business Tax---Total Business Tax

Cambridge-----$2,061-------------$5,751

East Bethel----$1,029-------------$4,669

Isanti----------$2103-------------$5,800

North Branch---$1,231------------$5,710

Princeton-------$1,991------------$6,274

St. Francis------$1,196-------------$4,877

It is important to show how property taxes impact businesses because they pay such a higher rate. Most numbers you will see talk about person's homesteaded house.

Isanti's tax rate cost a business nearly $1,200 more per $200,000 in value than East Bethel and over $1,000 more than St. Francis.

We had our first budget work session last night and again I am disappointed by a couple Council Members that seem to be eager to increase City spending. The idea that we take last years budget and simply add more money without asking if we need to spend more or if we can afford to spend more no longer works. The budget that was passed in 2006 for 2007 had a 20% spending increase. We can not use that as our spending floor and simply pile on more money.

My 2008 budget that passed on a 3-2 preliminary vote last fall cut spending and taxes. This is the model we need to follow.

Foreclosure Update 2

-----------------7/14/08----------- 7/29/08

Occupied --------91 ------------------100
Vacant ----------57------------------- 63
Unknown --------3 ---------------------1
Empty Lots -----57 --------------------60
No Status -------45-------------------- 0
Outlots ---------11 ---------------------11

Total -----------264 -------------------235

Sold ------------------------------------26



The total number has gone down but the occupied and unoccupied homes have gone up. We have a long way to go through this debacle but we will come through it to a brighter future.

Budget Background

After we have gone through the budget work sessions I will be laying out my detailed budget. This will include a further tax cut. As many of us know the County Assessor has come through Isanti and raised our property valuations. The net affect of all this is that Isanti, as City, has had a 7% increase in property tax values. This means there will be a significant increase in tax revenue owed the City, School District, County and State. This however will not be fully in affect until all the delinquent taxes from foreclosed properties is paid. This could be 3 months or 3 years.

This also means that we need to continue our path of cutting taxes to stay competitive in our region. The statistics below show just how much work we have to do to lower our taxes:


City----------City Tax-----Total Tax

Cambridge-----1,171---------2,423

East Bethel-----578----------1,807

Isanti----------1,197---------2,453

North Branch----713---------2,387

Princeton------1,141---------2,772

St. Francis------662----------1,918


The most recent League of Minnesota Cities statistics are from 2007. Isanti in 2008 is a bit better due to our Tax Cut for this year. North Branch is slightly better but our true competition to attract businesses will be East Bethel and St Francis. Both of these communities have significantly lower city and total tax burdens and each is moving forward with providing municipal services. Isanti had the advantage of being the first City north of the metro to have full City water and sewer service but both East Bethel and St. Francis will have these available in the next 2 years. St. Francis will be slightly ahead of this schedule.

When a company looks to move north out of the high cost metro we will no longer be the first option especially with high transportation cost. I thought I would share Isanti's property tax levy. It is important to note the first year that Isanti's Rapid Residential Growth impacted a City budget was 2002. City taxes shot up dramatically.

The Levy that is set by a Council is important but not as important as how much spending takes place. If a Council consistently over spends its budget than the levy becomes meaningless. Fiscal discipline needs to be followed. Here are the numbers:

2001---45%

2002---77.17%

2003---77.75%

2004---73.85%

2005---74.21%

2006---68.41%

2007---64.66%

2008---59.91%

I am also adding City spending history. As you will see even when the levy started to decrease, spending continued to shoot through the roof. The 2008 tax cut was also followed by a spending cut.

2004----- $ 1,576,920.00
2005-----$ 2,168,170.00
2006-----$ 2,856,136.00
2007-----$ 3,430,217.00
2008-----$ 3,298,614.00

The former Mayor, CM Larson (my current opponent for the Mayor's position) and CM Johnson (a candidate for County Commissioner) all voted in favor of a 20% spending increase from 2006 to 2007. So in that election year they did lower the the tax levy slightly but exploded the budget by 20% in a year. We can not go back to that type of misgovernment.

Another note is that this years budget was created in 2007, the first year I was Mayor and reflects a significant change in approach to spending. Of course this could only happen with the support and work of Council Members Duff and Kolb who helped lower our high tax burden and end excessive spending.

Isanti Budget Meetings

We start our Council budget work sessions this evening at 5pm. We will be going through the initial budget overview, park maintenance and Public Works. We will be meeting two more times for budget work sessions. I will be enclosing the full schedule:

Tuesday, July 29th 5pm

Park Maintenance
General Maintenance
Streets & Highways
Sanitation
Water
Sewer

Wednesday, August 6th 5:30pm

Liquor Store

Police
Code Enforcement

G.O. Debt Service
Capital Replacement Fund

Tuesday, August 19th 5:30

City Council
Elections
Finance/Administration
Municipal Building
Animal Control
Community Center

Planning/Zoning
Building Inspections
Economic Development Authority

September 2nd the City Council will adopt the preliminary levy.

Lawn Signs Lawn Signs Lawn Signs

If you have not already sent me your address and you are willing to host a lawn sign please let me know. I need your help.

We are faced with a clear night and day difference in the this race.We need to make sure we win and win strongly to send the message that we can not go back to the days of increasing taxes, run away spending, developers running the city for their benefit, lose ethics and mismanagement of City resources.

We need to move forward and continue our success into the future.

Council Candidates

I will be posting all the Council Candidates' announcements. All five individuals that have filed:

Ross Lorinser
Jeff Kolb
Jim Kennedy
Steve Rask
John Booth

are good individuals. I do not agree with all their positions but each one has good overall goals for the City. I hope everyone takes a good look at each candidate and what they have to offer. You will be asked to vote for four out of the five in the primary or two per position.

So far only Jeff Kolb and Ross Lorinser have made official announcements but as the others do I will post them here.

Jeff Kolb Announcement

Well it is that time again! The stage is being set for a very interesting election year. With the problems facing our country, state and city — now more that ever we need strong effective leadership.

We have made tremendous progress in Isanti over the last year and a half and have a lot of work left to do. I have worked hard to turn our city around and get it going in the right direction. With the slowdown in our economy, the home foreclosure crises and big developers leaving a mess in our city, we have a reduced tax base to deal with. So far we have managed to keep the city budget in balance but we will continue to have challenges.

Our commercial growth has helped our city and it needs to continue to be a priority for the future. We have put into place many new tools to locate and grow new business in our community. We have some exciting new projects in the works with the new EverCat Fuels biodiesel plant and Isanti Retail Meats, among many others. Along with this we have moved forward with a new water treatment facility, new police lieutenant and new police officer. All of this and we voted to cut property taxes, and reduce spending for the first time in history.

I would personally like to thank those who supported me in the last election and I ask for your support again in 2008! I hope I have gained the support of others through my hard work and dedication to the City of Isanti. I have worked very hard to turn our city in the right direction. The city primary is on Sept. 9 and the general election is Nov. 4.

I ask for your vote in 2008! Please feel free to contact me at 763-444-4304 or to visit my website at www.jeff-kolb.com to discuss any of the issues facing Isanti.
Blog at www.isantiblog.blogspot.com

Ross Lorinser's Announcement

Deputy sheriff and school resource officer Ross Lorinser has announced his candidacy for Isanti City Council.Lorinser is a dedicated member of the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office where he currently serves as a school resource officer in two elementary schools. He has worked extensively with school administration in two different school districts and three separate counties.

Ross LorinserIn addition to working with children Lorinser has a key role as a training officer where he trains new and current employees in the use of law enforcement tools, tactics and policy. He is also the Anoka County coordinator for the Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run where he fundraises and recruits runners for the event on June 19.

Lorinser is vice-chair of the Isanti Planning Commission where he played an active role in the creation of the new Comprehensive Plan. He is member of the Housing Task Force where the residential zoning ordinances are being rewritten to fit to the Comprehensive Plan and make the ordinances uniform. Lorinser is also a charter member of his Volunteer Home Owners’ Association where he has created and maintained the annual budget as the treasurer. His association inherited a budget deficit of over $20,000 from prior management and has worked hard to increase the reserves and maintain quality contractors while keeping the dues low.

Lorinser’s main goal is to keep reducing residents’ tax burdens by increasing the commercial tax base and ensuring hard earned tax dollars are not wasted by making decisions that maximize taxpayers’ hard earned money. Other important issues are budgeting the city through the housing recession, finding a solution for the transportation needs of local residents, increasing services for seniors and working closely with the police department to maintain a high level of service.

Ross and his wife, Amanda, have two children: Laci, 3, and Lindsi, 14 months. As a father, law enforcement officer, planning commissioner and volunteer, Ross has proven he is dedicated to service and will continue that dedication into the future as your city council member.

To contact Ross, email ross@lower-isanti-taxes.com or visit www.lower-isanti-taxes.com.

Commissioner/Mayor's Race

I was hoping to stay completely clear of the 3rd District Commissioner race but since one candidate has made it his mission to campaign with my opponent against me; it is necessary that I defend myself.

Council Member Ralph Johnson, who is running for Commissioner, is campaigning against me with Council Member Sue Larson.

I would like to know what they are running against.

• My Tax Cut
• My fist time in modern history cut in city spending
• My ending their years of exploding budgets
• My making residential development finally pay for itself
• My Long Term Financial Plan
• My stronger ethics and conflict of interest policy
• My vote to replace our former City Engineer
• My repeated votes to protect Distinct Isanti Neighborhoods
• My fight against their use of Eminent Domain to hurt a 74 year old couple by taking their property rights and using them to help their friend Brian Iverson.
• My challenging Mr. Johnson for a conflict of interest when he was voting on Brian Iverson issues even though he had been working for Iverson.
• My catching Ms. Larson filing a bogus expense report to be paid for a trip she never drove.
• My votes to block wasteful spending
• My votes blocking the needless spending of $2,000,000 to replace the existing liquor store, adding debt and having the harmful affect of raising taxes to fund this construction because the liquor store fund would have been completely drained except for operational funds.
• My vote to add police protection
• My vote protect our Citizens from cancer causing water
• My push to lower our water rates
• My work to bring in high paying jobs
• The over 300 new Jobs in Isanti since my swearing in. Isanti had 1132 at the end of 2006 and as of June 2008 we had over 1460, a 29% increase in 18 months. This number will only grow with Isanti Retail Meats and the High paying jobs of Ever Cat Fuels
• My work along with Landmark Bank and City staff to bring Ever Cat Fuels to Isanti and our being awarded the Economic Development Association of Minnesota's Business Recruitment Award. Raising Isanti's profile throughout the state as a City where businesses want to go.
• My work to market our city
• My work on the Tax Abatement and Revolving Loan Fund to promote business growth
• My work on the Isanti Retail Meats as a future lynch pin for Downtown
• My creation of the Mayor's Great Yard Award to honor our Citizens great work
• My creation of the Mayor's Employer Recognition Award and Lunch
• My development of the new Isantian
• and on and on and on

Facts are stubborn things. We can not go backward to the days of a few running the city for themselves. Council Member Johnson will face his first test in September's Primary and Ms Larson will have to wait even longer till Novembers General Election.
The darkness can only last as long as the light of truth does not shine its way. Both of these individuals tried to shut down this very blog in 2005 at the order of Brian Iverson, who has left a wake of devastation in our great City, because I started to shine the light on their activities.
I need your help to make sure the past does not darken our future.

5,485

Our City population is now reported to be 5,485 as of April 2007. The State Demographers have just released the latest figures they have. Thought you might like to know.

Lawn Signs Lawn Signs Lawn Signs

If you have not already sent me your address and you are willing to host a lawn sign please let me know. I need your help. We are faced with a clear night and day difference in the this race.

We need to make sure we win and win strongly to send the message that we can not go back to the days of increasing taxes, run away spending, developers running the city for their benefit, lose ethics and mismanagement of City resources.

We need to move forward and continue our success into the future.

Local Races

Candidates for City of Isanti local races

Isanti Mayor

George Wimmer
Sue Larson

Isanti City Council

Ross Lorinser
Jeff Kolb
Jim Kennedy
Steve Rask
John Booth

3rd District County Commissioner

Alan Duff
Ralph Johnson
Timothy Swanson
Gail Genin
Thomas Anderson

Blog & Website Milestones

The blog has gone over 63,000 hits and the website has over 10,000 hits. The message is getting out more and more everyday. Pass along the links to others that may be interested.

www.georgewimmer.blogspot.com

www.georgewimmer.com

July 15th Council Update

We had a good Council meeting tonight. Senator Olseen and Representative Eastlund did a great job discussing legislative issues with the Council. I asked several pointed questions about our LGA disparity. The statement they made was that Isanti is so well run now that we are not given as much aid from the state. I told them it is not fair that we do the right thing and get punished for it. Lowering taxes and cutting spending is a good thing.

We all agreed that a city that is a bedroom community is really at a disadvantage. One of the many reasons why I champion increased commercial growth. The state gives extra money for job growth in a community and the current LGA formula reflects this. Business growth is the key and we must make sure the old policies of subsidizing residential growth do not come back.

We approved a revision of the nuisance ordinance to allow 1 boat/trailer to be parked in driveways April 1st to November 30th. The boats and trailers must be operable and licenced. The previous ordinance did not allow any boats in driveways. This change will help create a better ordinance. Frankly we were unable to truly enforce this aspect as we have numerous other nuisances that we have been working on along with all the foreclosed properties.

The great news of the night as I prefaced was that the water treatment plant came in $1.6 million less than estimated. I asked staff to start working on the new numbers so we can lower our water rates. The previous water rate increase was due to the construction of the water treatment plant so it only makes sense that we should lower our water rates to reflect the lower cost of construction. I hope to have the new rate proposal soon. I will move this forward through Council and with enough support we should be able to lower our rates.

CM Larson is Running for Mayor

Council Member Larson is running for Mayor. I will comment further in the days to come but I thought it would be good to refresh the public on her past activities through the following links. It is disappointing that we will have to all relive the shame of her past actions. When the Council asked her to resign, just last year and she refused, I said that would be the end of my discussion on the topic. I did not think that she would ever run for Mayor and the added fiscal responsibility it entails.

The Mayor is the last line in fiscal responsibility for the City. The Mayor signs all the checks that flow from City Hall. I am the one that caught her last year filing a bogus expense report for a trip she never drove. When the Council censured her and barred her from any involvement with fiscal responsibility I asked her if she would sign an expense report for a trip that a person did not drive and she said yes. Some might say I am being to negative but I am simply relating her past actions. I did not make her take any of these actions but I did shine the light of day on them. I will continue to openly discuss what is happening in our great City so long as I serve. We can not go back to the days of the good old boys and girl running the town.


The following link is a recap of her use of a city credit card for personal use, her attempt to get paid for a trip she never drove and her pulling the winning rodeo button a few years ago in private and the winner happen to be a close family member.

http://isanticountynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=561&Itemid=1

The next two links are my postings about asking her to step down from her Council seat.

http://georgewimmer.blogspot.com/2007/03/tonights-council-action-regarding-cm.html
http://georgewimmer.blogspot.com/2007/03/my-statement-on-cm-larsons-actions.html


This story shows her close relationship with Brian Iverson's attempt to silence my criticism of his ill affects on the city of Isanti.

http://www.isanticountynews.com/2005/september/21iccblog.html

This is another story on her allegiance to Brian Iverson and trying to keep hm on our Economic Development Authority which was a terrible conflict of interest.

http://georgewimmer.blogspot.com/2005/08/august-3rd-council-update.html

CM Larson ran in 2006 for Council saying Isanti taxpayers were not taxed enough and she proved it by this vote.

http://georgewimmer.blogspot.com/2007/09/preliminary-budget-and-levy-update.html


I will be writing extensively about our differing votes and future plans for Isanti. My record is clear:

http://www.georgewimmer.com/record.html


I need your help more now than ever.......

http://www.georgewimmer.com/volunteer.html

A few notes on July 15th Agenda

As the Agenda states we will have our State Senator and State Representative in attendance. I will be asking them some hard questions.

The other major item that will impact our Citizens is the water treatment plant. The original estimate was $5,695,000 and the lowest responsible bid was $4,020,000. The quotes ranged from $4,020,000 to $4,769,000. This is excellent news for the City. I will be asking how we will be able to lower our water rates since the construction cost is much lower and the main reason for the increased rates was the construction cost. This should be good news all around.

July 15th Council Agenda

AGENDA
CITY OF ISANTI
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
TUESDAY, JULY 15, 2008 - 7:00 p.m.
CITY HALL

Call to Order
B. Pledge of Allegiance
C. Roll Call
D. Adopt Agenda

E. Proclamations/Commendations/Certificate Awards
1. Mayor’s Float Award
2. Commendation to the Public Works and Police Dept from Parade Committee

F. Approve City Council Minutes
July 1, 2008 – Regular and Closed Meetings

G. Citizens Input
1. State Senator Rick Olseen
2. State Representative Rob Eastlund

H. Announcements
1. Park & Recreation Board Meeting Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at 5:00 p.m.
2. EDA Meeting Tuesday, July 22, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
3. Special Budget Meeting Tuesday, July 29, 2008 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
4. National Night Out Tuesday, August 5, 2008 at 6:30 p.m.
(held at Isanti Community Center)
5. City Council Meeting Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.
6. Planning Commission Meeting Tuesday, August 12, 2008 at 7:00 p.m.


I. Council Committee Reports


J. Public Hearings


K. Business Items
1. Resolution Approving Pension Increase for the Isanti Fire Relief Association
(Fire Relief Treasurer Lou Ella Polzin)

2. Request to Permanently Mount Flower Planter to Sidewalk
(Jaysen Guthmueller)

City Planner Lisa Krause

3. Resolution Approving Final CIC Plat – RWL Properties, LLC
4. Ordinance Relating to Accessory Garages
5. Nuisance Ordinance
6. Resolution Authorizing Temp Sign Permit

Community Development Director Carla Vita

7. Resolution Approving Updated Property Tax Abatement Agreement between the City of Isanti and Joseph Demo and to Transfer Real Property
8. MIF Loan

Code Enforcement Officer Steve Wacha

9. Resolution Ordering Public Hearing to Consider Nuisance Abatement for Properties in Violation of Nuisance Ordinance No. 123

City Engineer Brad DeWolf

10. Resolution Accepting Bid for the Water Treatment Plant Project

Great Article on Ever Cat Fuels and Algae

Great Article on Ever Cat Fuels, the use of algae for the Mcgyan process, Sartec and the incredible McNeff family.


http://www.startribune.com/local/north/25137194.html?location_refer=North%20Metro:highlightModules:1

Ever Cat Fuels website with further information:

http://www.evercatfuels.com/

I have said it a million times and will a million more...... this is a great project for the City of Isanti.

Dunk Tank Pictures

Waiting for the next great arm

Watching the ball heading for its target

Not quite as cold as my Arctic Plunges

Yes this is our dirty water and yes this is one of the many reasons why I am championing a Water Treatment Plant.

Fun Day

The Outhouse Racing Team took another 2nd Place. They did a great job creating, designing and racing this year. Potty Like a Rock Star is a great concept taking our Guitar Hero competition from the Isanti Area Chamber of Commerce's Spring Fling to a whole other level. Thanks to the Jones and Clement team for making me a very proud sponsor.

The Run/Walk this morning was great. A lot of participants including one amazing 77 year old runner.

The Dunk Tank was a blast. I was scheduled for 1/2 hour but ended up in there for an hour to cover some extra time. It was incredibly busy which was great. I was happy to see so many kids with great arms trying to dunk the Mayor....well doing more than trying....I was in the water a lot....

I was not able to spend as much time as I would have liked calling bingo but the time I spent was fun.

The Isanti Area Chamber of Commerce, sponsors and volunteers deserve a lot of thanks for putting on a great Parade and a great day today. It is their hard work and dedication that makes it all possible. Thank you......

Campaign Update

We have hit the ground running this week with our mailing, Parade and Jubilee weekend. For our appearance schedule go to:

http://www.georgewimmer.com/post.html

Our campaign will be working every day for every vote for the next two months until the primary and up to November 4th's general election.

We face the challenge of moving our City forward in the face of those that would like to take us back to the good old days of the city being run in favor of a privileged few. The days when the city subsidized residential development and only the big developers made money at the expense of the taxpayers. The days when taxes and city spending went through the roof and debt doubled and triplied harming our Citizens future. Elections matter.

To learn about my record go to:

http://www.georgewimmer.com/record.html

I will inform you of the candidates for all our local offices when filing closes July 15th.

Downtown Update

Downtown revitalization continues to steam ahead. We have talked about all the new businesses and Isanti Retail Meats being the next important cornerstone of downtown. I wanted to touch on the many aesthetic improvements.

The wonderful mural inspired from a photo taken in the early 1900s, benches, flowers, Historic Downtown signs and great trash receptacles. I normally do not talk about trash receptacles but the six designed and built by Isanti's own Metal Coatings are fantastic. Thanks to the Isanti Lions for helping the City pay for them.

I hope all our Citizens and visitors noticed the improvements.

Water Treatment Plant Update

Great news about the Water Treatment Plant we are planning to build.

The original estimate was $5,695,000 and the lowest responsible bid was $4,020,000. The quotes ranged from $4,020,000 to $4,769,000. This is excellent news for the City.

Rodeo Jubilee Days Information

Isanti Rodeo Information

http://www.isantifiredistrict.org/isanti_rodeo_assc_

Jubilee Days Information

http://www.isantichamber.com/

Parade Update

Abigail and Alexander were terrific

Not everyone was there yet but we captured a little over half of all that walked with us. We also had about 20 others in the crowd proudly wearing our shirts.

The parade was fun and really cruised. Our pace was quite a bit faster this year than in years passed so we had a bit more chaos. We were up front so there was really no delay which we will plan for next time around.

I did not get a chance to go out and talk with the crowd as much as I would have liked but everyone was great. Thanks to the organizers, people in the crowd and my supporters for making such a great effort. Thank you....

Dunk Tank July 12th

I will be in the Dunk Tank at 10 am Saturday morning on Main Street. Senator Olseen will be in at 10:30 and Representative Eastlund at 11am.

Camapign Update

I need your help to move our campaign forward. To learn more about how you may help go to:

http://www.georgewimmer.com/volunteer.html

The parade is Wednesday July 9th. Line-up is at 5:30. Our position is in the first section near Mattson Park. We will be meeting at my home at 5pm to walk to the line-up area. If you live closer to the Park then meet us there.

If you would still like to join us for the parade email me and we will drop of a shirt for you.

George@GeorgeWimmer.com

Campaigns in Full Force

We have passed the unofficial starting line of campaigns in our community. There will be more and more candidates knocking on doors and asking for a moment of your time. I hope you will take the time to listen and ask questions. We are facing incredibly difficult times and we need elected leaders that can help move us in the right direction. Our Isanti ballot will have the following local races; three School Board seats, two open seats for City Council, one for County Commissioner, the 17A State Representative seat and Mayor's position.

These will all be incredibly important to our future. The State Representative and Mayor position are up every two years and the others are four year terms.

Take the time to know your candidates and know the issues. We often take less time to know our local government even though it often has the most direct impact on our lives.

Bolton-Menk

I have received some rave reviews of our new City Engineer Bolton-Menk on how they are handling and communicating our street improvement project. The door to door informing of our residents of the street project, handing out multiple contact numbers, information schedules and talking face to face with our residents is a refreshing approach.

No one likes their street torn up but if this has to happen residents deserve to be treated with respect. Reviewing the performance of our City service providers is another one of our important reforms that has born tremendous fruit.

Rodeo Jubilee Days

Here is the link to the schedule of events for Rodeo Jubilee Day.

http://www.cityofisanti.us/Trudi/Jubilee%20Schedule.pdf

This is a copy of the brochure of events in pdf form.

Remember the parade is on Wednesday July 9th.

July 1st City Council Update

Winners and Sponsors of the Mayor's Great Yard Award

Landmark Bank has continued its community leadership by funding the first place award of $100. Isanti Hardware Hank is funding the second place prize of $50 and Northland Landscaping is funding the third prize of $25. The process is nominations are made then the Park and Recreation Board recommends winners to the Mayor. This is a wonderful recognition of the hard work of our community members. I would like to thank the sponsors for which this could not happen.

Formal presentation of the State EDAM Award for Business Recruitment to the City Council. Pictured are members of Ever Cat Fuels, the McNeff Family, Landmark Bank and CDD Vita. All made this possible.

The Council helped fund the Historic Downtown Mural. This is the capstone to a Renaissance of our Main Street. I would suggest to anyone that has not be downtown in the last few months to take a walk or drive to take a look. We have added new businesses and continue to do so and the aesthetics have improved dramatically. I would like to thank Family Pathways for working with the Downtown Committee to make the mural a reality. They are funding a third along with the City and Ever Cat Fuels. There are many involved with the turn around of our Historic Downtown but Jaysen Guthmueller has taken a strong leadership role and a hands on approach. If it were not for his hard work and determination I am not sure all this would have happened.

The City approved the use of $50,000 to the Bike/Walk Trail between Isanti and Cambridge. This is contingent upon a joint powers agreement between Isanti, Cambridge, Isanti Township and Isanti County. I want to make sure that we have a seat at the decision making table before we spend City resources. The project is an excellent example of how our communities need to work together and grow together to achieve success.

EDAM Award

Pictures showing Community Development Director Carla Vita and me accepting the Economic Development Association of Minnesota's Business Recruitment Award. Cathy Bennett, EDAM President, pictured presented us with the award.

This is state recognition that the strong new economic development direction we set the City on in 2007 is working. We have put a great deal of work into this process and it was fun to take a night to be recognized in this fashion.

Foreclosure Update

We started the tracking at 101 properties in foreclosure over a month ago then we hit a 155 a week or ago and now we stand at:

83 occupied homes
53 vacant homes
37 unknown status of occupancy

173 total homes plus 56 empty lots in foreclosure. We are monitoring these properties and are taking extra measure for the vacant so they do not become blighted or targets of illegal activities. We are taking a aggressive actions to ensure the property values of the entire city are protected.

Council Member Kolb's Announcement

I was happy to see Council Member Kolb is running for City Council once again. He has been a tremendous asset to the City Council and his hard work on the Finance Committee, Personnel Committee, Development Advisory Committee, Fire Board, Arena Board, Planning Commission, Economic Development Authority and many other areas over the pass 18 months has made many of our reforms possible. His vote was critical in approving my budget, tax cut and implementing the Long Term Financial Plan I had been fighting for.

Simply put, Jeff has been good for this City.