October 20th City Council Agenda

http://www.cityofisanti.us/Irene/CC%20Agendas/2009/10-20-09%20CC%20agn.pdf

Injury

Recovering from a recent head injury. Will be back in the flow of things next week.

Mora Disbands Police Department

Mora voted to disband their police department to save money. They will contract through the county.

http://www.moraminn.com/read/detail/48856.html?category_id=2&search_filter=&list_type=&order_by=&order_sort=&content_class=1&sub_type=&town_id=6

Breakfast Benefit for Joe Courneya

Pancake Breakfast Benefit
----- Sponsored by the Lions Club -----
For: Joe Courneya

Sunday, November 1st 2009

Isanti Community Center 208 1st Avenue
8:30 am to 12:30 pm

Please join us in supporting Joe Courneya, a wonderful father of two young boys (Owen – age 10 & Henry – age 8), a good friend and neighbor. Joe is recovering from a motor cycle accident on August 22, 2009. As he was traveling on Whiskey Road, a driver of another car didn’t see him, and turned out directly in front of him. The terrible accident that day left Joe with 15 broken bones, leaving him with a long road of recovery and physical therapy ahead.

Friends and family are asking the community to come together for a delicious pancake breakfast, where all the proceeds will go to Joe Courneya to help with his fast rising medical bills.

Please join us for Breakfast - $5.00 per person
**Minimum donation**

Door prizes, a nice breakfast with family, friends, neighbors & community

Senator Olseen & Representative Eastlund

The City Council will be hosting Senator Olseen and Representative Eastlund as they give a legislative update. This will be at our October 6th, 7pm Council meeting. If you would like to hear from your legislators, this is the meeting to attend.

Community Development Director Resigns

The Isanti City Community Development Director resigned effective October 15th. The Council will be accepting this resignation at the October 6th Council meeting. I am recommending replacing with an Economic Development professional. The Council will give its direction and hopefully we will be able to fill the new position ASAP with a highly qualified individual.

Commissioner Duff Open House

3rd District Commissioner Open House October 6th, 6pm at Isanti City Hall.

A Terribly Sad Fact

To many pedestrians and bicyclist are being killed on Minnesota's Roads. Already past the total 12 months of 2008 in 9 months of 2009.

http://www.startribune.com/local/63136317.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUZ

Isanti County News Ever Cat Fuels Article

Complete Isanti County News article on the Ever Cat Fuels Grand Opening -

http://isanticountynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6920&Itemid=1

Union Negotiations

We had our first union negotiations yesterday. After they are completed I will give a comprehensive recap and an explanation of the new contracts regardless if I vote for or against. I look forward to a productive and efficient process.

Press Coverage of Ever Cat Fuels Facility

Photo and story by Rachel Kytonen

From Isanti County News Coverage of Grand Opening. Their coverage is at http://www.isanticountynews.com/ . Their full story will be published this week.

StarTribune Article on Grand Opening

http://www.startribune.com/business/62453112.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUsZ

Ever Cat Fuels Grand Opening Update

I want to thank Senator Amy Klobuchar, Don Shelby and State Senator Olseen for doing a wonderful job speaking today on behalf of the incredible Ever Cat Fuels project. People from across the country and around the world were at the Grand Opening today representing the true global reach of this technology. Mr. Shelby did an amazing job hosting today's event and Senator Klobuchar not only is a master of the issues but she is tremendously funny and wonderful to talk with.

I have included the remarks I made at the Grand Opening. Isanti should be proud of this accomplishment.



As Mayor of the City of Isanti, I would first like to take the opportunity to welcome each of you to our community; and to this highly anticipated event, the Grand Opening of the Ever Cat Fuels facility.

I was first introduced to this project 3 months into my first term at our 2007 chamber dinner when Landmark Bank President Kevin Johnson mentioned an incredible new bio-energy concept having something to do with zirconium. Paraphrasing it was something like ‘we have to make this work’. The only zirconium I knew at the time was cubic but soon realized we had a real diamond in our hands.

I will never forget my first meeting with the McNeffs. We met at City Hall and the initial details of the process and facility were explained. The fact that it was cost effective, not water intensive and eliminated the food or fuel choice; I was sold on the concept. We then went to look at possible site location. To get a better look at the lay of the land within the industrial park, we trekked up to the waste water treatment ponds because the elevation gave us an excellent view of potential sites. I knew they were dedicated individuals because they stood in the frigid Minnesota wind as it blew across those treatment ponds.

This lead to several more discussions about the types of development tools Isanti could bring to the project. We worked to educate, not only ourselves, but our city on the potential this project had and the positive impact on our community.

As part of this process we participated in several tours of the facility by media and elected officials from the local, state and federal level.

One of my greatest moments in public office was a trip down to SarTec to see the lab and attend a meeting with Congressman Oberstar. I listened to the Congressman ask specific detailed questions of the process. The weight of his knowledge and intellect on the subject matter was incredibly impressive.

As the Congressman educated us on the decades long battles he has waged for renewable energy and a cohesive national transportation plan, I was energized to make sure that we, the City of Isanti, work with our state and federal partners to ensure the future growth of Ever Cat Fuels by developing a rail industrial park. A rail park is needed to ensure that the full potential of this facility is realized – a ten fold increase in production.

We will build upon our current success and relationships to continue to grow good paying local jobs in exciting high tech renewable energy production. We stand here today celebrating a technology that can be one of the keys to energy independence, a strong economy and a positive environmental impact for generations to come.

This project has already fostered an environment of intergovernmental agency cooperation and will continue to create and enhance these partnerships, as the project evolves and grows into the future. The list of acknowledgements for those individuals and agencies that have worked with Isanti in the establishment of this facility from the preliminary planning stages through environmental reviews, financing, and the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy has been incredible and includes: Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, Congressman Oberstar, East Central Regional Development Commission, State Senator Olseen, Representative Eastlund, Great River Energy/Connexus, the Initiative Foundation, Isanti County Emergency / Home Land Security, The Isanti Environmental Coalition, Isanti Police and Fire Departments, Landmark Bank, Minnesota DEED, Minnesota Department of Transportation, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Minnesota State Building, Triangle Energy Group, the University of Minnesota and Augsburg College.
The end result only proves what can be accomplished, if we all work together and if the lines of communication between us all are open. The result is a successful project that may be an example to others. As Alexander Graham Bell once said, “great discoveries and improvements invariably involve the cooperation of many minds”.

The Ever Cat Fuels facility means a great deal to the City of Isanti and our region as a whole. The demonstration plant not only provides good paying local jobs in a developing industry; it also has brought state and national attention to our community. Only a project of this nature could bring together the group we have assembled here today. Isanti’s ability to bring private and public sector resources together has truly been realized on this project.
The potential economic development spurred by this facility and the attention it brings to Isanti is exciting – personally, I take great pride in knowing that our City has played a small part in helping to reach energy independence in an environmentally sensible way.

I would like to take a brief moment and thank the McNeff Family and the entire Ever Cat Fuels family for their dedication and hard work - their perseverance in making this project a successful reality is an inspiration to us all. They have been a joy to work with on this project and are the highest professional and ethical individuals that I have had the pleasure to work with. From March of 2007 to the fall of 2009, we have faced a number of interesting challenges and at each and every hurdle we have found excellent solutions. Through their genius of invention to their tenacity to bring positive change to the world I, and we all, thank you - and look forward to your next great invention.

Thank LGA Commercial

Interesting Thank LGA web commercial. We have put a plan into action to not rely on an unreliable state partner. I still find this web commercial interesting and thought you might like to see it.

http://thanklga.blip.tv/file/2638815/

Water Treatment Plant Grand Opening

Water Treatment Plant Grand Opening Tuesday October 20th - 5:30 to 6:30 on site. Bolton & Menk, Inc. will be providing food and refreshments.

I am incredibly proud that we were able to complete this project on time and under budget. This project is a legacy of safe drinking water to future generations. I will be writing more on this subject in the following days.

Owls Win 8-2

2009 Home Opener Puck Drop

Owls Celebrate a great Victory

Owls at Center Ice After Win

Isanti County Board Budget Fight Audio & City Council Audio

City Council Audio:

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

County Board Audio of the budget fight - the budget "discussion" starts at just over 42 minutes in.

http://alanduff.net/

Friends of the Isanti Library - Guest Writer

Friends -

Let the cheering begin! ECRL and Isanti City Council have both approved the Library Link Site, so we are finally (almost) in business!! If all goes well, we could open by the end of October!!!!

1) The next step is to have the internet stuff installed. Greg Owens is working on that.
2) Heidi Cava is looking at the ECRL garage sale items to see if there's anything we can use.
3) We need to find someone who can donate or build these items:
- 1-2 bookcases to fit against one wall - total width about 6-8'
- 2 sturdy, comfortable chairs for patrons
- 1 sturdy, comfortable desk chair for Heidi
- 1 bookcase 36"w x 12"d to fit under the window
- 1 small table (10"-12"h) to hold the book drop bin
- 1 table 72"l x 24"d
- 1 narrow book shelf for our FIAL Book Sales
- 1 small shelf or table (20-24"w) to use as an end cap on the double bookshelf.
- 1 Children's book bin (about 41"l x 29w).

They are really expensive to purchase, so we're hoping to find someone who would be willing to build it. We have pictures from the library catalog to use as a guide.
Please check the list above and let me know if you have access to any of the furniture we need - or know someone who would be willing to donate materials and/or skills to build them.
Congratulations to all of you who have worked so hard and persistently to make this a reality!!
Thanks,

:)Susi

--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.
Please reply to: Susi@IsantiLibrary.com
--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.--.
Susi McCune, President
Friends of the Isanti Area Library
Make It Happen!
PO Box 111, Isanti MN 55040-0111
763.444.4585 - www.IsantiLibrary.com

Washington Board Budget

Apparently the idea that County Boards should all agree on everything did not make its way to Washington County. A variety of ideas and opinions is not a bad thing..... We call that democracy....

http://www.startribune.com/local/east/59415857.html?elr=KArks:DCiUMcyaL_nDaycUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aULPQL7PQLanchO7DiUr

Timely Quote

Thought this Quote was a perfect fit for today -

"You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for something, sometime in your life."

- Sir Winston Churchill

County Budget Update

Isanti County budget fight - apparently the majority of the County Board thinks agreements are made before the meeting and dissent is not allowed as they raise our taxes again.

I did some quick research on taxes collected and population growth year to year:

-----tax revenue increase ---population increase

2003-------9.0% --------------4.6%
2004-------8.0% --------------3.4%
2005-------5.5% --------------3.3%
2006-------5.5%-------------- 2.0%
2007-------6.0%-------------- 1.2%
2008-------8.0% --------------0.5%

Avg--------7.0% --------------2.5%

So basically taxes have gone up nearly 200% faster than population growth. This again shows that the excuse of population growth for greater tax revenue is not correct.

Below is the link to the Star's newspaper coverage:

http://isanti-chisagocountystar.com/read/detail/48002.html

County News story:

http://isanticountynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6832&Itemid=1

Owls Home Opener

Your Hometown Minnesota Owls Home Opener Game
Date: Saturday, September 19th
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Where: Isanti Ice Arena

Tailgate Party begins at 4:00 p.m. in the arena parking lot.
(Free Food, Player Appearances and Autographs)

Please contact Carla with any questions: Carla@MinnesotaOwls.com

Mayor Wimmer will be dropping the first puck

Email Updates

To receive email updates on City issues, contact me at George@georgewimmer.com

September 15th City Council Update

A quick update from our Council meeting. The Library Link agreement has been approved and in roughly a month it should be open at Isanti City Hall.

We received the agreement from BNSF railroad for crossing arms at South Passage. This work will be completed by the end of 2010. This is the railroad's schedule - if it were up to the city it would have already been completed.

The positive is that the last railroad crossing in Isanti will have crossing arms to improve safety. This is a good day.

Ever Cat Grand Opening

Ever Cat Fuels commences operations Today - http://www.evercatfuels.com/PDFs/09-11-09%20Press%20Release.pdf

The Ever Cat Fuels Biodiesel Plant's Grand Opening is September 28th. We will have over 100 invited guest to not only showcase Ever Cat but also the City of Isanti. Industry leaders, investors, state media along with state political leaders are among the invited guest.

To learn more about Ever Cat Fuels go to : http://www.evercatfuels.com

Rum River BMX Open House

Click Poster to Enlarge

103 Foreclosed Homes Sold

103 foreclosed homes have sold this year - great progress for our City. We expect many more to sell. We have had 3 new house building permits pulled as well. We have a long way to go but these are incredibly strong numbers.

State Budget Deficit

$4.5 billion to $7 billion is being presented as the range of the next state budget deficit. Leads more to the looming fact that LGA cuts will likely become permanent and that further cuts and possible elimination are no longer out of the realm of possibility.

This is the unfortunate background in which we develop our future budgets.

Health Insurance

Working on health care insurance today. As we have talked before we are working on lowering our 18% premium increase. This is a key issue that needs to get resolved. We are looking at more cost sharing with our employees as the City Taxpayer can not continue to absorb the increased cost. We have an excellent insurance plan that the City has carried and I believe we will be able to continue with our plan but we will need to share more of the cost of this plan as is the norm.

We have a small group of employees and face the same insurance issues that small and medium sized businesses face - our premiums can jump with one costly claim. The previous options we have looked at did not result in any savings and most disappointing was the possible co-op that actually would have cost more.

As always I will update you as we move through this issue. We also start negotiations with our Police and Public Works Unions in the next few weeks.

2010 Budget Update

The City Council passed our 0% tax increase and -3% spending cuts unanimously. We have been cutting spending for the last several years which has helped us to weather the fiscal storm. A greater storm seems to be hovering over the horizon. We are anticipating a significant drop if property valuations next year that will impact the 2011 budget. The good news is that individual property owners should be getting some relief. The bad news is we will have significantly less tax revenue to fund City operations.

I expect the State to continue to not live up to its obligations. The promised LGA will continue to disappear and the so called mandate reducing legislature - you guessed it - added another costly mandate to local government.

The City of Isanti has healthy cash reserves but we are already using some for 2010 and will need to use a significant amount for 2011. This may seem far away but I believe it is necessary to make sure our City cost structure is in line with anticipated falls in revenue. The other option of course is to start the steady climb back up the mountain of property tax increases. This is not acceptable as the poorest among us are hurt the worst by this regressive tax.

Escalating insurance cost -18% increase this year alone - a negligent State government and lower property values make the next 2-3 years very challenging. We start our union negotiations and continue to work on lowering our health care cost in this environment.

One other quick note from the meeting - we had the last Mayor's Great Yard Award for the Summer. This has been another great success and I want to thank Landmark Bank, Startac Construction and Northland Landscaping for their great sponsorship that makes it all happen.

Poor Timing

I want to apologize to the Teachers and Staff for having to leave the in-service today before I could do my Welcome. The School District started the program late, first speaker went long and I had to leave on time as my wife had a clinic full of patients to see and I had to take the hand off of our children. I am far from pleased with the District and the poor time management that prevented me from from welcoming our terrific Teachers and Staff to another year of school.

September 1st Council Agenda Meeting

The big topic will be the setting of the preliminary Property Tax Levy and corresponding Budget.


http://cityofisanti.us/Irene/CC%20Agendas/09-01-09%20CC%20agn.pdf

Senior dining

I was at a meeting with the amazing ladies that run Senior Dining and Meals on Wheels in Isanti this morning. I was saddened to hear that they have received zero donations this year. They normally receive $300 a year in private donations and stretch those dollars to the fullest. These extra dollars help cover the cost of meals for seniors that can not pay the already subsidized cost. I would like to make a personal plea that if anyone has even a few dollars to share with this needed program you contact me.

Seniors are going into uncharted waters the next two years. Their Social Security benefits are planned to remain flat. First time there has been a zero increase in over 30 years. This is difficult enough but there is also a planned Medicare increase that is taken out of the Social Security benefit so their actually money in hand will be less next year. Senior Dining is already a much needed program and I have tried to support them in anyway I can. This need will only grow in the years to come.

Foreclosed Housing Sales

I am happy to report that 77 foreclosed homes have been sold in the City of Isanti from January through July. This is before the $552,000 in Neighborhood Stabilization Funds even hit the street. We have roughly a dozen properties currently going through the NSP program that makes tens of thousands of dollars available to purchase/remodel foreclosed homes. If interested in the program please let me know.

As the foreclosed homes are sold then the pace of sales of existing homes will increase and finally new homes will be built. a few non-foreclosed existing homes have been selling and a new house is being built as well in the City. We are steadily working our way through this housing crisis in a steady and methodical way to ensure a stable City for Generations to come.

County Budget

I have been following the County budget discussion and listening to Commissioner Duff’s audio recording of the meetings at http://www.alanduff.net/ – the other County Board members are against any recording of meetings. The City of Isanti of course records our meetings and posts them on our city website http://www.cityofisanti.us/. I have found this latest attempt to intimidate Commissioner Duff to be a bit silly. Commissioner Duff raised three simple issues - Commissioner pay, per diems and getting paid mileage to drive to County Board meetings.

The Board of Commissioners already received a pay increase this year – it seems pretty obvious that holding the line on any more pay increases would be appropriate. An Isanti County Board member makes $27,013 a year compared to an Isanti City Council member making $2,900 per year. It has been nearly a decade since the City of Isanti increased Council pay. Now take the $27,013 base pay and add an average $6,000 in per diems a year and we get to $33,000 for a part-time job that still pays you if you do not show up for meetings. The County has paid for laptop computers as well for several Board members and now we find out some members are paid to drive to the Board meetings. I am hard pressed to think of how many people are paid to drive to their job. As Mayor I am not paid to drive to City Hall and I would image most people would agree this practice should end in the best of times let alone in the difficult economic times we find ourselves.

I feel compelled to discuss the topic since my Citizens in the City of Isanti pay a significant amount in county taxes – the last numbers I saw showed the top three county tax paying jurisdictions as 1. City of Cambridge 2. City of Isanti and 3 Bradford Township. Coincidently 2 of the top 3 jurisdictions make up Commissioner Duffs 3rd District. Commissioner Duff’s 3rd District is the most populous by far and has 2 of the top three areas paying county taxes and he is constantly told to sit down and shut-up. Hopefully people will continue to stand up for what is right and shine the light of day on what is happening. If there is nothing to be ashamed about then why not have the conversation. If there is something to be ashamed about then fix it.

Draft of Fall Isanti Article

We have gone through another summer of considerable change. The 65/5 intersection has been significantly improved for safety and 3rd Avenue by the soccer fields will be paved with an adjoining bike trail. Our Water Treatment Facility will start treating our water and removing harmful radium and the nuisance iron and manganese which makes our water “hard” and at times foul spelling. Railroad crossing arms for South Passage are scheduled to be installed by the end of this year – completing the safety improvements to all railroad crossings in the City of Isanti.

I want to extend a welcome to all of our new residents. We have had a burst of home sales this year. Seventy-seven foreclosed homes alone have sold from January through July. This is without the aid of the over $500,000 in Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) Funds currently working through the system. We have roughly another dozen applications for these funds at some stage of the process. If interested in this program please visit our website at www.cityofisanti.us. We are the only community in the region that won NSP funds. There is still a long way to go, but we are moving in the right direction.

Another great piece of news is that we were successful in our application for a COPS grant. We were only 1 of 14 communities in the state of Minnesota to win this grant. The grant will pay for one of our existing police officers for three years. This helps balance a budget that has been ravaged by state cuts, nonpayment of taxes and assessments and an 18% increase in insurance premiums. This leads me to my next topic – the 2010 budget.

When I was first elected to the Council in 2005 the City Levy was 74.211%. The 2009 final City Levy is 55.231% or a 26% decrease in just 4 years. This is just the City of Isanti’s portion of your property tax bill - the state, county and school district combined make-up the majority of your property taxes. The LGA Flip plan I introduced earlier this year has given us greater control of our financial future and has been praised as a blue print for other communities. We are not finished with the 2010 budget yet but the initial plan is to at worse have a zero increase in our City Property Tax Levy. To accomplish this we have set forth a budget with a zero increase in pay for all City employees, City consultants and numerous other savings while not impacting service level. We will actually be improving City services most noticeably with the Water Treatment Facility.

Isanti has been recognized for leadership on two critical issues – Home Foreclosures and Downtown Development. I was 1 of 3 Mayor’s asked to speak at a press conference held in St. Paul announcing funds to combat home foreclosures, the others being the Mayors of St. Paul and Minneapolis. I was asked to speak about Downtown Development at this summer’s League of Minnesota Cities Conference and explain our recent successes. Numerous cities have contacted me to learn more about our great community. Isanti is leading the way into a brighter future.

I want to touch on communication. I have tried to make myself as available to our Citizens as possible and share what we are doing as a City. I also respond immediately to Citizen Input. As part of this I have a website at www.georgewimmer.com – a blog at www.georgewimmer.blogspot.com – a Facebook page at www.facebook.com/GeorgeAWimmer - and a twitter account at www.twitter.com/mayorwimmer. You may also reach me at george@georgewimmer.com or my cell phone 763-442-8749. It is a privilege to serve and I hope I will hear from you soon on how we can do even better.

Isanti City Budget Update

We will be proposing a zero increase in taxes and a 3% cut in City spending. The total amount of spending cuts the last 2 years is over 6%. There is also a zero percent increase in employee pay along with many other cuts in spending. This may not seem like much but most communities will be seeing significant tax increases. We are also balancing out an 18% increase in insurance, significant changes in taxes to be collected and unpaid assessments.

The zero percent increase is the worse case situation depending on the numbers from the County. The County will be sending us their valuation of Isanti's tax base a few weeks after our preliminary levy has to be sent to the state. Backwards yes but that is the law we must follow. If the valuations come in higher then our reduced expectations then a further cut in taxes is possible.

City Council Meeting and Budget Work Session

Budget Work Session Agenda September 18th

http://www.cityofisanti.us/Irene/CC%20Agendas/08-18-09%20Budget%20Work%20Session.pdf

City Council Agenda September 18th

http://www.cityofisanti.us/Irene/CC%20Agendas/08-18-09%20CC%20agn.pdf

Isanti Teacher and Staff Day

WHEREAS, teachers and staff make public education great; and

WHEREAS, teachers and staff work to open students' minds to ideas, knowledge and dreams; and

WHEREAS, teachers and staff keep American democracy alive by laying the foundation for good citizenship; and

WHEREAS, teachers and staff are needed more than ever and deserve our support and respect; and

WHEREAS, teachers and staff are listeners, explorers, role models, motivators and mentors; and

WHEREAS, the City of Isanti recognizes the hard work and dedication of our teachers and staff.

I, George A. Wimmer, Mayor of the City of Isanti,
Hereby Proclaim

September 1st, 2009
Isanti Teacher and Staff Day

________________________________
Mayor George A. Wimmer

Heartland Express

Had an excellent meeting with Heartland Express. Heartland is the public transportation option for Isanti and Chisago counties. As our ridership increases there is the future option of adding a bus that runs a regular Isanti City route. The current route that makes pick-ups and drop offs in Isanti has one of the highest volumes of riders in the system.

To learn more about this low cost transportation option go to:

http://www.co.isanti.mn.us/heartlnd.htm

2008-2009 service policy:

http://www.co.isanti.mn.us/miscfiles/08HeartlandNewService.pdf

Basketball Anyone

New Basketball Court at Blue Bird Park

Thought you Should Know

Our City Engineer Brad DeWolf of Bolton and Menk Inc. has had a number of things thrown at him in rapid succession and he has once again exceeded my expectations.

I also want to point out that our City Engineer Brad DeWolf and City Attorney Clark Joslin have both offered to hold the line with a 0% increase in fees. They each offered this without being asked.

Minnesota Owls Hockey Housing Request

Hello everyone,

Well, it's already that time of year again and the Minnesota Owls are looking to place roughly 17 players into housing for the 2009 - 2010 hockey season. We've got players from all over the country again this year including California, Florida, Arizona and Michigan.

Just to refresh your memory, the host family receives $300 per month, per player. The host family provides a room and a bed for the player and must provide groceries for the player to make meals for himself. Please see the attachment for more detailed information.

The tryouts are being held August 21st - 23rd, and practice starts on August 24th. Some of the players will stay immediately after tryouts but some may plan to go home for the Labor Day weekend so housing will be needed sometime between the dates of August 21 - September 8th, depending on the player. The season wraps up sometime in March, depending on how well the Owls do in the playoffs and if they make it to Nationals.

We will be having a housing meeting on August 18 @ 7 PM, in the conference room at the Isanti Ice Arena. If you still have questions or concerns, this would be a great time to meet up with us and get those answers. We will be going over different ways to make the experience go well for both the families and the players. Please plan to attend if you have ever considered hosting a player.



Thank You,

Carla Duncan
Housing Director
Minnesota Owls Junior Hockey
MNWildFan30@msn.com
(763) 444-8330

Senior Dining

Had a great time talking to our Seniors yesterday. A thank you, hug and kiss on the cheek from an 86 year old lady makes for a great day.

Listen to City Council and County Board Meetings

Listen to City Council meetings at:

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

Listen to County Board meetings at:

http://www.alanduff.net/

Shirt Order

Have 15 shirt request....Any stragglers left before I order

T-Shirts

I have had a few ask for "George Wimmer Mayor" t-shirts. We will be putting in an order soon. If you would like one please email me your size at George@Georgewimmer.com

City of Isanti Homes Selling

16 homes sold in last couple weeks in the City of Isanti. A nice fact I thought you might like to know.

August 5th Budget/Council Update

We discussed several more departments at the Budget Work Session. The only point of some discussion was on whether or not we should have a police bike patrol for better Community Policing. I strongly support and have been pushing for police bike patrol the last few years using the current police resources. I will continue to fight for a bike patrol and try to change minds on this issue.

We also discussed the roughly $600,000 of assessments that may not get collected do to non-payment. These would eventually get paid but again it might be a cost the City has to carry for several years.

We are moving forward with a budget that cuts spending another 3% as we did last year and zero increase in taxes.

I want to thank Landmark Bank, Startac Construction and Northland Landscaping for funding the Mayor's Great Yard Award.

Meeting Cathy Wurzer

Cathy Wurzer and I holding her fantastic book.

One of the great perks of being Mayor is meeting wonderful people as they visit our great City. I had just such an opportunity today. Mark Rojas the owner of Bear books on Main Street had the amazing Cathy Wurzer - Yes I am a big fan - signing some of her " Tales of the Road Highway 61" book. I will treasure the personalized sign book.

Ms. Wurzer's blog Tales of the Road may be found here - http://www.talesoftheroad.net/blog/ . The June 16th entry talks of her first visit to Isanti.

Mayor's Great Yard Award Update

Startac Construction has stepped up to fund the 2nd place Mayor's Great Yard Award for July and August. Thanks to Aaron Zdon - a great builder and a great corporate citizen.

NSP Explained

Excellent article explaining the Neighborhood Stabilization Program in Isanti. The City of Isanti is the only community in the region to have NSP funds to help buy foreclosed homes.

http://isanticountynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6540&Itemid=1

Great News

The City of Isanti is one of only 14 communities in Minnesota to be awarded a COPS Grant. The total amount is $220,016.00 which will fund one existing Police Officer for 3 years salary and benefits. This is yet again another example of how well we have been bringing in outside resources.

This will help to replace a bit of our lost State dollars. Thanks to our Police Chief and staff that worked on this very competitive grant.

BMX News and Events

Check out Rum River BMX and the National and State races coming to Isanti -


http://www.rumriverbmx.com/index.html

I will be dropping the first gate Friday night at the Land O'Lakes Nationals.

Great Yard Award Help

We had a one time contributor to last months Great Yard Award. Still need someone to step up and contribute to the July and August second place prize of $50. If you are interested please contact me ASAP.

george@georgewimmer.com

763-442-8749

Budget Work Session Update

We discussed the budget last night. Some of the key points that need to be highlighted -

Three year time horizon for draw down of fund reserves. This means I anticipate having to use our ample fund reserves as a revenue source to balance our budget the next three years.

A 3% budget cut for 2010. This is on top of the cuts we already made this year.

Nearly a 19% hike in insurance rates. Still exploring other options but this is today's reality.

0% pay increase to non-union and union employees. This has to be negotiated with our Unions as contract talks will begin in the next few months. The simple choice is hold the line on pay or lose employees. We have cut over 10% of city staff the last few years already. My hope is maintaining our service level in partnership with our employees.

Future slashes in LGA and the need for the City to remove all LGA as a source of revenue in our operating budgets. The State's budget crisis will only get worse and they will continue to not live up to their promises. We must forget the State as a budget partner. We will lose roughly half a million dollars from 2008 to 2010 in LGA - our total budget is roughly $3.3 million.

Continued slide in permit fees

Unpaid assessments - mainly foreclosed developer properties east of highway 65. The major ones have foreclosed except Woodland Development which is current on all obligations.

Unpaid taxes which again is a drain on our ability to maintain services.

No tax increase. This is doubly important as we see the School district looking for a dramatic Levy increase and no indication what the county intends to do with their property tax responsibilities. The City of Isanti will not raise taxes.

We have been cutting spending each year I have been Mayor and building fund reserves in preparation for these difficult times. We better positioned than the vast majority of cities in our state. The fund reserves we have are one time money and can not be looked at to cover continued cost indefinitely. Once it is spent it is gone. There will be some that will urge spending these funds to increase wages or pay for pet projects. This will leads us back to the ruinous spend of years past.

As the nation, state and county economies return to a "normal" situation next year or the year or even the year after that we will be well prepared to move forward.

* Our City Attorney has already agreed to a 0% increase to his lower than normal rates *

What other Cities are doing to adjust to their Budget Issues

http://www.pressnews.com/articles/2009/07/20/north_crow_river_news/news/2stmichael7-14.txt

http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=28&a=408769

http://www.westsherburnetribune.com/main.asp?SectionID=13&SubSectionID=54&ArticleID=13882

http://www.mankato-freepress.com/local/local_story_199003237.html

http://www.sctimes.com/article/20090719/NEWS01/107190025/1009

http://www.northfieldnews.com/news.php?viewStory=49136

http://www.dl-online.com/event/article/id/45996/group/News/

http://fairmontsentinel.com/page/content.detail/id/505150.html?nav=5003

Safety changes

Had a good meeting with School officials regarding parking on the streets by the Intermediate School East of Highway 65. We are also going to ask the county to lower the 55 mph speed limit east of 65 on 5 to the s curve. This will allow for safer traffic flow especially during the school year.

The City and School District are in agreement with these needed safety changes. The City and School District will be communicating these proposed changes to our parents and citizens and making a joint request to the County. I hope the County will agree to our requested changes for the safety of all our children and citizens.

This is a great example of two jurisdictions working well together.

Council and Budget Work Shop

City Council and City Budget Work Shop Agendas.


http://www.cityofisanti.us/Irene/CC%20Agendas/07-21-09%20Budget%20Work%20Session.pdf

http://www.cityofisanti.us/Irene/CC%20Agendas/07-21-09%20CC%20agn.pdf

Siren Update

The Sheriff has agreed to inform City Hall prior to siren test. We will then work to get the word out and I will post here, on Twitter and my Facebook page.

Sirens

Apparently our friends at the Sheriff's department decided to run a test on a siren and it fired our City sirens as well as numerous others - that is were the story is at as of now- it has changed once already as reported to me. We have asked to be notified in the future.

Back

Just got back from a week of vacation. The post will start flowing again. We have significant budget decisions to make as the City Council meets in work session 5:45 this Tuesday. I have had a great deal of time to think through the financial issues we are facing and am ready with my recommendations to the council on future staff pay and health benefits - our health insurance premiums have increased 18% this year and the several other options we have explored so far have been more. We have two more options we are exploring to lower our health care cost.

We also will be starting negotiations with our Unions soon and this will have an impact going forward. It is my belief that we need to maintain our service levels but this will take shared sacrifice by everyone involved.

A few quick things

I have been swamped lately but wanted to get a few things out before the even busier weekend. The Council meeting went well and we awarded the first Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds. Another foreclosed house gets off the market and starts paying taxes and everyone else's house value gets protected.

We changed our official newspaper to the County News since the Star only reaches about 25% of the total houses and the News is delivered to every home. The News cost more but we sided on the belief it is important to reach all of our residents.

The pig roast and parade today was great. Hope everyone enjoys the weekend of fun and stays safe.

City Council Agenda

July 7th City Council Agenda -


http://www.cityofisanti.us/Irene/CC%20Agendas/07-07-09%20CC%20agn.pdf

Mayor's Choice

I have the privilege to choose the Mayor's Choice parade entry award winner. The winner gets a great trophy that will be presented at our next Council Meeting. Looking to get your input. If you have a favorite parade entry post a comment here, text me 763-442-8749 or email at george@georgewimmer.com Thursday the 9th by midnight.

Rodeo Jubilee Days Schedule

http://www.cityofisanti.us/Carla/Schedule.pdf

City Flag

Oil Dump

City Fire, Police and Public Works Department cleaning up the mess.

Some idiot dumped what looks like a couple gallons of oil in the water by the culvert south of Mattson Park. It has flowed south to the next culvert and we are working to clean-up the mess. The MPCA has ignored our request for help stating the spill is to small for their services. We are attempting to see to what standard this needs to be mitigated.

Either way this will cost the City thousands to tens of thousands of dollars.

City Flag

We will be officially raising the City Flag today at 3:30 at City Hall. If you would like to be part of this event please come and be one of the first to see our City Flag.

Rum River BMX

Another great summer of BMX racing at Rum River BMX. The National Trials will be here again this summer. To learn more go to: http://www.rumriverbmx.com

Redbirds Baseball

The Redbirds continue to tear it up this summer. A great team and organization that represents us well. To learn more about Redbirds baseball go to http://hometeamsonline.com/teams/?u=ISANTIREDBIRDS&t=c&s=baseball&p=home

State Union Negotiations

Interesting outcome that will affect union negotiations throughout the State.

http://www.startribune.com/local/49448027.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU

Arts and Culture

I will be asking the Council to consider an Arts and Culture Board to handle a number of issues that have come before the City. This group would be volunteers from Isanti and receive no pay but would help with several items such as the Train Town concept, further mural development and historical buildings.

There is no specific entity in the City handling these items and it would be good to have a group of Citizens be able to develop good long term planning on how to handle these issues. We also have a future band shell/performance area planned and looking at how to preserve and market Isanti's rich history.

Dedicated Funds

The idea of creating a fee/tax for a dedicated use sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately it rarely ever is. Two examples I want to use as a warning to those that may fall into this trap. In Minnesota it is the MNCare tax and the one in Wisconsin I want to use is the 911 fee. Both were set up for a great public good. The first is to subsidize health care for the poor and the latter was to improve 911 emergency call centers. The first taxes doctors dentist and health care providers and the latter is a flat $.75 fee per land line. This is how they were sold to legislators and the public.

The truth is both funds in each state get raided to balance the overall budget. States and localities will continue to try to use this mechanism to raise taxes for "needed" programs. It is simply a way to keep spending money on lesser priorities and raise new taxes for higher priorities.

Either way the total taxes you pay keep going up and the level of trust in government keeps going down. The question is why does it keep working. Both sides of the aisle do it - this is a nonpartisan problem.

Cathy Wurzer in Isanti

Cathy Wurzer's Notes from the Road - http://www.talesoftheroad.net/blog/

LGA Cut Story

LGA cut story in the Star:

http://isanti-chisagocountystar.com/detail/45626.html

League Board

Just a quick statement - CM Larson has been elected to the League of Minnesota Cities Board of Directors. This is not an endorsed action by the Council but a separate initiative by CM Larson as she has done in the past running for and serving on several other regional bodies.

The Athenian Oath

After our presentation at the League of Minnesota Cities on Downtown Development we had lunch with other city representatives and we were handed a copy of the Athenian Oath. It encapsulates what we endeavor to do as city officials.

The Athenian Oath

We will never bring disgrace on this our City by an act of dishonesty or cowardice. We will fight for the ideals and Sacred Things of the City both alone and with many. We will revere and obey the City's laws, and will do our best to incite a like reverence and respect in those above us who are prone to annul them or set them at naught. We will strive increasingly to quicken the public's sense of civic duty. Thus in all these ways we will transmit this City, not only not less, but greater and more beautiful than it was transmitted to us.

Not Burning down the HousE

It is sometimes funny sometimes sad how one word or sentence gets taken by those that intend mischief. At our last Park&Rec meeting we discussed an aging building in Bluebird park. The building has historical significance but a plan was never created on how to protect or maintain it... We started to discuss it because it keeps getting broken into and has become a police and safety issue.

We disscussed as our first option of finding a way to preserve it. If that was not possible then finding ways to remove it, demolish it or use it for a possible training fire for our fire department.

This turned into George wants to burn the thing down yesterday. We had only two Chamber people in attendance for the meeting.

Quick Update

We had a great day today for Isanti. The presentation at the League Conference went quite well.


Talking with a number of other officials we talked about the many ways we communicate with our Citizens. I have this blog, the website www.georgewimmer.com - facebook @ http://www.facebook.com/GeorgeAWimmer and now twitter @ www.twitter.com/mayorwimmer

Twitter

Just launched my Twitter account - I will be updating a great deal of day to day items on Twitter - to follow or comment go to:

http://twitter.com/mayorwimmer

Feel free to tweet away.... I have an update on the Chinese restaurant...

Stop Stealing Cliffords

We have had another Clifford stolen from Bluebird Park. These are expensive to replace and soon, perhaps now, we will not be able to afford to replace them. Please turn these idiots in!!!

Mayor's Employer Luncheon

Picture from our successful Mayor's Employer Appreciation Luncheon. These are our Anniversary Award Winners. We had a great turnout and I want to thank all of our sponsors. Special thanks to Senator Olseen, Representative Eastlund, Commissioner Duff and City Engineer DeWolf for serving our businesses.

Athens Township Board Statement

Just read the position of Athens Township Board. I take issue with the idea that the City of Isanti should be lumped into other communities that would contemplate a contested/forced annexation. I also believe strongly that we have tried to be a good neighbor. What follows is the statement of the Township Board and my statement all on the Isanti County News Website. This issue is still a bit raw and so statements and emotions can at times run high. One point to really drive home is that as long as I have anything to say about it there will be no contested/forced annexation of Athens Township.

http://isanticountynews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6257&Itemid=1

City Council Agenda June 16th

City Council Agenda for June 16th at 7pm.

http://www.cityofisanti.us/Irene/CC%20Agendas/06-16-09%20CC%20agn.pdf

Also will be presenting the City Flag and completed Marketing Handout.

City Council Work Session

City Council Work Session Agenda for June 16th at 5:45.

http://www.cityofisanti.us/Irene/CC%20Agendas/06-16-09%20CC%20Worksession%20agn.pdf

Isanti Retail Meats

The Ribbon Cutting for Isanti Retails Meats was this morning. Their Grand Opening with all kinds of great stuff is tomorrow Saturday June 13th. Hope everyone gets a chance to stop by.

Athens Township

Talked with representatives from Athens Township and will be informing the Council of their decision at Tuesday's Council meeting.

Rumors

This has been a crazy week for rumors - new policy - Either come with a source of the rumor for me to refute or I will just assume you made it up.... rumors are destructive and a colossal waste of time and generally not true.

Need 2nd Place Sponsor for Mayor's Great Yard Award

We are in need a sponsor for the 2nd place Great Yard Award. The total financial commitment is $150. If a sponsor is not found we will need to to only 2 winners per month. If you are interested please contact me at george@georgewimmer.com or 763-442-8749.

Redbirds Baseball

The Redbirds are off to another great season. Their games are free and the quality of baseball is excellent. Go to

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

to learn more. I am also posting their sponsorship information for any business that might be so inclined. They are a community treasure.

WHO ARE THE ISANTI REDBIRDS?

You may wonder to yourself, who or what are the Isanti Redbirds. The Isanti Redbirds are the town baseball team. Our team has a long history of playing ball in Isanti County. But the Redbirds do more that just play baseball; our mission is to promote baseball in our community.

The 2008 season was very successful for the Isanti Redbirds. The Redbirds were able to capture the Region C Championship for the opportunity to go to the 2008 State Tournament held in Chaska. With strong hitting, aggressive base running and an excellent defense, the Redbirds place 4th in State. The Redbirds hope to continue their winning ways in 2009.

Redbird Field is home to more that just the Redbirds. This year our field will be used by Cambridge-Isanti District 911, Cambridge Christian School, Cambridge Isanti Competitive Baseball and the Isanti VFW team. We are proud to provide the opportunity for young baseball players to experience playing on this beautiful field. Each year is a challenge to raise money to maintain this wonderful field.

HOW CAN YOU HELP YOU ASK…………… !!

There are many ways to support baseball in our community through the Isanti Redbirds:

1. Sign on the Outfield Fence: 4x16 $500.00 Yearly Renewal $150.00
4x24 $625.00 $175.00
4x32 $750.00 $200.00


2. Program Advertisement: ¼ page $40.00
½ page $60.00
Full page $100.00
Front Inside Cover $225.00
Back Inside Cover $200.00
Back Cover $250.00

3. Web Advertisement: One Size/Home Page $100.00

4. Silent Auction/Pancake Breakfast: Donate an item for the silent auction at the Applebee’s
sponsored pancake breakfast, July 19, 2009.

5. Cash Donation:

Please consider using your advertising dollars to promote baseball in our community.
If you would like more information on these opportunities please contact:

Cindy Lind-Livingston at 612-226-1006 or email: isantiredbirds@yahoo.com.

Downtown Isanti

Take a look at Main Street Isanti. The second mural is coming along nicely on Jaysen Guthmueller's American Family office building. Jaysen also is leading the way with the buntings and flowers along Main Street. Take a walk downtown and see the new stores, read the mounted information plaques and if you need a break there are a number of great benches. The Chamber is working on a number of great events downtown for this summer and fall.

City Code

I have field a number of questions on City ordinance so I thought it might be beneficial to link to our City Code.

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

EDA Posting

We have an opening on our Economic Development Authority -

http://www.cityofisanti.us/Irene/Personnel/Employee/6-2009-Seeking%20EDA%20Member.pdf

Mayor's Great Yard Award

This award recognizes the hard work, dedication, and creativity of our residents in maintaining a beautiful City. Award winners will receive prizes for first, second, and third place; which are donated by various local businesses.The awards are open to all Isanti City residents.

Nominations will be accepted through Park and Recreation Staff, Lisa Krause, who can be reached 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 members as well as city staff and their immediate family members are not eligible.

All nominations must be received by 4:30pm on the third Wednesday of June, July and August of 2009. The awards will be presented by the Mayor at the following City Council meeting.

Now for some good news....

Our foreclosed properties continue to sell. We have had 39 homes sell since January 28th with 15 since April 22nd.

The Neighborhood Stabilization Program Funds have not even been dispersed yet. When the $522,000 gets into circulation these numbers should really increase.

We have a long way to go but we are moving in the right direction.

Annexation Questions

I have had a number of people ask me about annexation options. First I am not an attorney but I will pass along my understanding.

The orderly annexation I had presented would allow Athens Township to have a great deal of control over its future and keep the township in existence for for 50 plus years. A couple basic items from this would be that land would only get annexed to a city if that specific landowner wanted to be annexed - this would follow the process the City of Isanti has always followed. There would be a joint planning board made up of equal members of township and city representatives.

The other option presented would immediately force all of Athens Township to be annexed out right by a participating city. This would come under the cover of and "orderly" annexation agreement but the individual landowners would not be able to prevent their property from being annexed. This option would raise the taxes of those annexed and planning authority would flow directly to the city.

To be clear my position is not to force any property to be annexed to the City of Isanti. I had hoped this could have gone differently but that was not possible.

Great Deal of Fiction

*****The article the following comments were based on was removed from the Anoka County Union paper and replaced with a much more balanced piece*****

Just read a great deal of fiction from Doug Sell the City Administrator of East Bethel. He is claiming they never said they would do forced annexation. That is not true. He also states it was Isanti that started these discussions. Not true. East Bethel had reached out on this topic after their attempt to leave Anoka County and annex to Isanti county reached an impasse.

Isanti had offered the idea of orderly annexation with all entities and that was rejected. We said that Isanti had never forced annexation nor would it appear to be in the best interest of Isanti to annex a large portion of Athens Township as proposed. This situation has left Isanti facing the possibility of all of Athens Township being absorbed by another city. This would also not be in Isanti's best interest. It appears to me that Isanti is being fitted for a black hat that is undeserved.

I have an email trail from November of 2007 to this very day from Mr. Sell initiating discussions on Athens Township as he states...

"The City (East Bethel) is interested in working with Isanti and St Francis to develop a strategy for Athens Township that is mutually beneficial."

He further states...

"I have asked our GIS technician to create a map of the areas of Athens Township that the City would be interested in bringing into the City."

I made sure that our new comprehensive plan did not include one inch of Athens Township in our planning. We were reacting to St. Francis which is already in Athens Township and East Bethel that wants to move into Athens Township. Our Council at our June 2nd meeting made it clear they would first wish to talk with Athens Township.

Mr. Sell says he wanted to be at the table when Athens and Isanti talked so East Bethel's interest were protected. What interest would East Bethel have if he did not plan on annexing portions of or all of Athens Township. Seems an odd comment to me.

Since Mr. Sell seems to be backing off his earlier comments as he is the individual I asked point blank about the annexation then I will also assume that East Bethel will never annex any territory in Athens Township.

With Mr. Sell's unfortunate comments, there will be no further contact with East Bethel -unless the City Council orders me to- on this matter.

To be clear I am only going into this because of the published comments from Mr. Sell. We have a great deal of work this summer without this type of nonsense making it more difficult.

A great case for why meetings should be taped.... anyone may have their own opinion just not their own set of facts....

City Council Update

I informed the Council tonight of ongoing discussions with East Bethel and St. Francis. The discussions started roughly 1 1/2 years ago and evolved into how our cities may end up growing together. St. Francis had at that time just purchased land in Athens Township for their municipal treatment plant. I had updated Athens Township Board Chair after each meeting on what had been discussed. He and another board member met with the three cities earlier this year to discuss how all of us could come to a mutual agreement. At last weeks meeting between the cities a significant event occurred. My suggestion of an orderly annexation agreement between all the entities was not supported but a more aggressive forced annexation was proposed. I asked East Bethel representatives- if the City of Isanti did not want to participate in a forced annexation what would they do - they said they would forcibly annex all of Athens Township into East Bethel. I asked if I may quote them on that statement and they each said yes.

A large geographic city like East Bethel forcibly annexing all of Athens township would be a detriment to the City of Isanti and have other significant repercussions. Isanti has a defined border to our north through agreement with Cambridge - if East Bethel comes all the way to our current southern border the City of Isanti will be sandwiched into a situation that will in my opinion severely limit Isanti's future. I asked the Council to give guidance on this topic and to assign a committee to work on this issue formally as time may be short. The Council gave two directions - The Development Advisory Committee will begin work on this issue immediately and an orderly annexation agreement should be the first option to be worked out with Athens Township if they are willing, if not all other options must be researched.

I am on the Development Advisory Committee and I believe we must come to some resolution on this issue expeditiously. Athens Township was not slated for future City expansion by Isanti but we can not allow ourselves to be overcome by events. I can not stress enough the harm that would be done to Isanti if another City annex all of Athens Township. An orderly annexation agreement between Isanti and Athens would ensure two things - 1st that Athens Township would be around for 50 years or more and secondly that the city of Isanti's future would be secure.

Isanti has never forced an annexation and this policy has served us well. I however will not allow all of Athens Township to be consumed by another city - I hope we can reach a mutual agreement that protects all parties involved.

In other items I declared June 16th City of Isanti Employer and Employee Appreciation Day. We will be hosting a lunch on the 16th from 11:30 to 1pm for our employers and employees. Senator Olseen, Representative Eastlund, Commissioner Duff and City Engineer DeWolf will be serving the food. We have an opening on the Economic Development Authority. If you have interest in serving please Contact Carla Vita at City Hall. We need great yard nominations - please send to me or Lisa Krause at City Hall. Also still looking for a 2nd place prize sponsor. The sponsor funds the prize money of $50 each of three months for a total financial commitment of $150.

City Council Agenda

http://www.cityofisanti.us/Irene/CC%20Agendas/06-02-09%20CC%20agn.pdf

Item two on the agenda could have monumental implications for the City of Isanti and Isanti County.

Email is Working

My email is back up and working... thank you for your patience. Unfortunately all the emails sent to me the last few days have been lost. Please resend.