The Blog from City Hall

I am on the Board of the South Metro Public Training Center Association. The training center is nearing the end of construction. It is a joint project of the cities of Eden Prairie, Bloomington, Edina, and the Metropolitan Airports Commission. The training center is located in Braemar Park just off Hwy. 169. We are looking towards a grand opening of the center in October.

This is a photo of the fire training area. The fire training tower provides firefighters an opportunity to train on tall structures. The tower is seven stories tall. It is made of concrete so it can have lots of fires on it and in it.

This is a picture of Edina City Manager Gordon Hughes. Gordon is also on the Board. He is shown here looking down the shooting aisle of the new firing range.

This is a look down the firing aisle of the shooting range. The material at the end of the aisle absorbs the bullets. Sound insulation is very important in a firing range. A lot of attention has gone into the sound insulation of the training center.

This is a glimpse of what is under the material that absorbs the bullets at the end of the shooting aisle. In addition to the importance of sound insulation, it is also important to remove the lead from the bullet traps. Lead is quite toxic and old shooting ranges that weren’t cleaned properly are environmental headaches today. This achine extracts the lead out of the bullet traps.

I have written on previous occasions about the City’s pursuit of the Triple A bond rating from Moody’s Investor Services. Well, I am pleased to report that we got it! Below is the text of the Moody’s Report on a bond sale that occured on August 19th. This is a big deal for our city.

MOODY”S REPORT:
MOODY’S UPGRADES RATING TO Aaa FROM Aa1 ON THE CITY OF EDEN PRAIRIE’S (MN) $29.93 MILLION OF GO DEBT, INCLUDING CURRENT ISSUE

Aaa ASSIGNED TO $4.33 MILLION GO IMPROVEMENT BONDS, SERIES 2003D

Eden Prairie (City of) MN
Municipality
Minnesota

Moody’s Rating

Issue Rating

General Obligation Improvement Bonds, Series 2003D Aaa
Sale Amount $4,330,000
Expected Sale Date 08/19/03
Rating Description General Obligation Unlimited Tax

NEW YORK, August 13, 2003 — Moody’s Investors Service assigns a Aaa to the City of Eden Prairie’s (MN) $4,330,000 General Obligation Improvement Bonds, Series 2003D. Concurrently, Moody’s has upgraded to Aaa form Aa1 rating on the city’s outstanding $29.9 million of parity debt, including the current issue. Secured by the city’s general obligation unlimited tax, proceeds from the Series D bonds will be used to for street and water infrastructure improvements. In addition, Moody’s has also upgraded to Aa1 from Aa2, the rating on $10.9 million in city outstanding lease revenue obligations. The highest rating of Aaa is based on the extensive and diversified tax base, low amount of rapidly amortized debt, and capably managed financial operations.

SUBSTANTIAL AND DIVERSIFIED TAX BASE

Moody’s believes that the city’s substantial tax base will continue its trend of strong growth in the next few years as a result of recently completed and planned future commercial and industrial developments, in addition to persistent residential housing growth. Eden Prairie’s tax base of $7.3 billion has experienced rapid growth, increasing by just under 110% since 1996, resulting in a substantial full value per capita of $132,795. Growth has been aided by commercial development, which includes a ten year shopping center project, and a strong housing market that has been driven by a rapid population increase (the city experienced a 39.7% population increase between 1990 and 2000). In 2003, net tax capacity was comprised of a diverse mix of 57% residential and 36% commercial and industrial. Eden Prairie is home to many national and international companies including the headquarters of Supervalu and CH Robinson, which are both on the Fortune 1,000 list. Going forward, Moody’s expects that tax base growth will remain strong in the near-term and begin to level off in outer years as the city approaches full development. According to officials, the city is approximately 95% developed.

FAVORABLE DEBT LEVEL; LACK OF FUTURE BORROWING

Moody’s anticipates that the city’s debt burden will decline given rapid principal amortization, lack of future borrowing needs, and expected future tax base growth. The city’s overall debt burden is low at 2.4% and its direct debt burden is minimal at 0.6%. Principal amortization is aggressive as 95% of outstanding general obligations is retired within 10 years. Management indicates besides a $4 million issue for a fire station in 2004, no additional bonding is expected within the next few years as capital projects will be funded on a pay-go basis.

WELL MANAGED FINANCIAL OPERATIONS WITH INCREASING GENERAL FUND RESERVES

Moody’s expects the city’s financial position to remain strong due to a history of sound financial management as demonstrated by operating results that consistently outperform conservatively budgeted figures. City officials employ a very conservative budgeting strategy, estimating only 95% of property tax collections, despite historical collection rates in excess of 99%. As a result, the General Fund has experienced consecutive operating surpluses since fiscal 1996 and increased the balance to a fiscal 2002 level of $19.0 million, or 62% of General Fund revenues. Of this amount, $9.8 million is undesignated and another $4.4 million is designated for the subsequent year, which the city indicates could be used as a budget stabilization. Projections for fiscal 2003 indicate a General Fund operating surplus approaching $500,000, even given $1 million in State-Aid cuts. Officials anticipate passing a balance budget for fiscal 2004. The city annually transfers monies to its Capital Projects Fund, which at the end of fiscal 2002 had $9.8 million, in order to utilize pay go financing of capital projects and decrease reliance on debt issuance. Eden Prairie also has a fund balance policy of maintaining 30%-40% on an undesignated basis. The city’s fixed cost of debt service as percentage of operating expenses remains somewhat high at 22%, however it is mitigated by $17.5 million in the Debt Service Fund Balance.

KEY STATISTICS:

2000 population (census): 54,901

2003 full valuation: $7.3 billion

2003 full valuation per capita: $132,795

Debt burden: 2.4%

Amortization of principal (10 years): 95%

FY 02 General Fund balance: $19.0 million (62% of General Fund revenues)

MFI as a % of state (1999): 164%

PCI as a % of state (1999): 168%

Debt outstanding (including current issue): $25.9 million

ANALYSTS:
Julia Harris, Analyst, Public Finance Group, Moody’s Investors Service Jonathan North, Backup Analyst, Public Finance Group, Moody’s Investors Service
Edward Damutz, Senior Credit Officer, Public Finance Group, Moody’s Investors Service

CONTACTS:
Journalists: (212) 553-0376
Research Clients: (212) 553-1653

Copyright 2003, Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. and/or its licensors including Moody’s Assurance Company, Inc. (together, “MOODY’S”). All rights reserved.

ALL INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT LAW AND NONE OF SUCH INFORMATION MAY BE COPIED OR OTHERWISE REPRODUCED, REPACKAGED, FURTHER TRANSMITTED, TRANSFERRED, DISSEMINATED, REDISTRIBUTED OR RESOLD, OR STORED FOR SUBSEQUENT USE FOR ANY SUCH PURPOSE, IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN ANY FORM OR MANNER OR BY ANY MEANS WHATSOEVER, BY ANY PERSON WITHOUT MOODY’S PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT. All information contained herein is obtained by MOODY’S from sources believed by it to be accurate and reliable. Because of the possibility of human or mechanical error as well as other factors, however, such information is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind and MOODY’S, in particular, makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, timeliness, completeness, merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose of any such information. Under no circumstances shall MOODY’S have any liability to any person or entity for (a) any loss or damage in whole or in part caused by, resulting from, or relating to, any error (negligent or otherwise) or other circumstance or contingency within or outside the control of MOODY’S or any of its directors, officers, employees or agents in connection with the procurement, collection, compilation, analysis, interpretation, communication, publication or delivery of any such information, or (b) any direct, indirect, special, consequential, compensatory or incidental damages whatsoever (including without limitation, lost profits), even if MOODY’S is advised in advance of the possibility of such damages, resulting from the use of or inability to use, any such information. The credit ratings, if any, constituting part of the information contained herein are, and must be construed solely as, statements of opinion and not statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, sell or hold any securities. NO WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE ACCURACY, TIMELINESS, COMPLETENESS, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE OF ANY SUCH RATING OR OTHER OPINION OR INFORMATION IS GIVEN OR MADE BY MOODY’S IN ANY FORM OR MANNER WHATSOEVER. Each rating or other opinion must be weighed solely as one factor in any investment decision made by or on behalf of any user of the information contained herein, and each such user must accordingly make its own study and evaluation of each security and of each issuer and guarantor of, and each provider of credit support for, each security that it may consider purchasing, holding or selling. Pursuant to Section 17(b) of the Securities Act of 1933, MOODY’S hereby discloses that most issuers of debt securities (including corporate and municipal bonds, debentures, notes and commercial
paper) and preferred stock rated by MOODY’S have, prior to assignment of any rating, agreed to pay to MOODY’S for appraisal and rating services rendered by it fees ranging from $1,500 to $1,500,000.

Two stories from the Police Department.

First, the following photos are of Unit 236. a patrol vehicle driven by Officer Steve Velner on the evening of August 25, 2003. The rest of the story follows the photos:

Officer Velner was responding to a call of a medical emergency at Eden Prairie High School when his car was hit broadside by a young driver who was not paying full attention to her driving. This car is totalled, but fortunately, Officer Velner and the driver of the other vehicle were treated and released with minor injuries. It’s my understanding the Officer Velner will be back at work tomorrow. It’s not lucky to get hit by a car, but it is lucky to come out of an accident like this with only minor injuries. Officer Velner is an exceptional officer. It will be good to have him back on the streets.

The other story from our Police Department does not have such a happy ending. The story of former Eden Prairie police officer Brent Griffith has gathered its fair share of public attention over the past two weeks. Griffith is the subject of a criminal investigation by the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department concerning allegations that he committed acts of fraud and theft involving his secondary employment with the Minnesota Vikings, where he worked as a security officer. Griffith was charged with those crimes yesterday by the Hennepin County Attorney and he will be formally booked for the charges today.

This morning’s Star Tribune carried a short story in the Metro section that is worth reading about this matter. The story emphasizes the former nature of Griffith’s employment with the City of Eden Prairie. He was terminated from employment with the City yesterday. Griffith failed in his duty to uphold the trust placed in him by our organization to enforce the laws of this country, state, and city in Eden Prairie. He not only failed in upholding the trust we placed in him, it appears that he may have broken the law himself. We cannot employ a person like this in our Police Department. So, since about 9:00 a.m. yesterday, we do not. It is an unfortunate end to a promising career.

What’s a growler? This is a growler: (Yes, It’s empty)

A growler is a 64 fluid ounce container of beer. The growler gets its name from an old Irish tradition of getting “to go” pails (literally) of beer from the pub. It was not unusual for fathers to give their kids an empty growler and send them down to the local pub to get it filled with their favorite beer or ale.

Growlers have staged a comeback as microbreweries have grown in popularity in the United States. While growlers have been legalized in many states, the Minnesota State Legislature just legalized them during the 2003 session.

Hops is a local microbrwery and restaraunt. They would like to be allowed to sell growlers. Although the State Legislature allowed the sale of growlers, they deferred the authorization of growlers to the local level. If growlers are to be sold locally, the City must adopt an enabling ordinance to accompany the new state permission.

As you can see by their growler prototype, Hops is ready to go:

The City Council discussed the request from Hops to authorize growler sales in Eden Prairie at their August 19th Council meeting. The Council seems to be supportive of the proposal and directed staff to begin preparation of the necessary enabling ordinance to allow growler sales. We’ll have the new ordinance ready for the Council to conduct a first reading on September 2nd. After a second reading on September 16th and a publishing in the local newspaper, growlers will be for sale at Hops.

Enjoy!

This past week the City and the Eden Prairie School District co-sponsored an event called The Gathering. The purpose of the event was to provide a comfortable and safe atmosphere for immigrants to the this country and to Eden Prairie to share their experiences with other immigrants, citizens, and community leaders.

The event drew a room full. I estimate that over 100 people attended the event, which was held in the Heritage Rooms of the City Center. In addition to the honored guests, the immigrants, there were also a number of community leaders in attendance, including the following: City Councilmembers Ron Case, Jan Mosman, and Phil Young; School Board Members Carol Bomben and Ann Haines; School Superintendent Melissa Krull; Chief of Police Dan Carlson; Director of Parks and Recreation Bob Lambert; and me.

The immigrants who spoke at the event were eloquent and emotional. To a person, they were glad to be in the United States. They recognized that the opportunities here exceeded the opportunites in their home countries. They all appreciated the safety of the United States, and especially of Eden Prairie. They spoke of their access to healthcare as being something very important to them.

The speakers gave us good feedback about the importance of English as a Second Language (ESL) classes. They also told us about the importance of transit services and transportatin in general.

The room was full of life and languages. We had speakers and interpreters in Somali, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. It was a great evening and I learned alot. These folks are an important asset to our community. We are lucky to call them our neighbors.

This is Don Uram

Don has been many things for the City of Eden Prairie. He started as an entry level urban planner. He worked his way up through the organization, eventually refocusing his career into the public finance field. Earlier this year Don became a Certified Management Accountant. When I came to Eden Prairie in 2002 Don was the Community Development Director. After a reorganization in September 2002, Don became our Director of Management & Budget.

As the Director of Management & Budget (DMB), Don was charged with the management of the City’s liquor stores, Information Technology, Human Resources, Facilities, Assessing, Planning, Historic Preservation, and probably his favorite: Budget.

Don will be leaving us after 18 years of employment to accept a position as Senior Public Finance Office with the private company Research Triangle, Inc. (RTI). Don’s first assignment with RTI will be Iraq. Yes, I said Iraq! Don will be going to Iraq on a contract with RTI to assist the U.S. and Iraqi governments with the reformation of a national governmental finance system.

I always say that Don has a “unique combination of exeriences and talents”. It’s true. Don’s last day of employment will be August 29,2 003. He will be doing important work in a very dangerous place.

We will miss him very much.

Good luck, Don.

A City’s bond rating says something important about a City. While the bond rating may be based primarily on the City’s percevied ability to pay its debts, it’s also a statement by outside third-party experts on the City’s management, financial strength, and its future.

Two weeks ago, the Mayor, Director of Management & Budget Mr. Don Uram, and I traveled to Chicago to make a presentation to Moody’s Investor Services seeking an upgrade of the City’s current bond rating. Eden Prairie’s current bond rating is AA1. We are seeking the highly valued AAA. That’s the best bond rating that Moody’s offers.

We believe, and we hope Moodys agrees, that Eden Prairie deserves the AAA rating. There are only five cities in the state of Minnesota with the AAA rating: Plymouth, Edina, Minnetonka, Bloomington, and Rochester. We want to be the sixth. Our financials are right in there with these communities. We have a solid and diversified local economy.

We are scheduled to sell a little over $4,000,000 in bonds next week. We will get our bond rating for this bond sale sometime between now and a week from today. I’ll certainly update the blog with the rating news, as soon as it comes across my desk.

Last night, August 5th, was the National Night Out. National Night Out was originally established in some communities as Take back The Night. Its roots are in the area of neighborhood development and public safety.

In the beginning, neighborhood residents, instead of staying their homes and and letting the criminals run loose in the streets, were asked to come out of their homes, meet their neighbors, meet the police and firefighters serving their neighborhood, and maybe meet an elected official or two as well. If the criminal element in the community saw the activity created by this event, they woud, as the theory goes, repress their criminal activities for the evening.

In large part, it prodcued that very result.

National Take Back The Night morphed into National Night Out. National Night Out is practices across the country. Last night in Eden Prairie we had over 55 different neighborhood groups sponsor National Night Out events in their neighborhoods.

One of the things that I really like about National night Out is that it is truly a neighborhood grass-roots activity. The neighborhood decides if it will do a party and how the party will be done. If the neighborhood registers the party with the City, then the City will support the neighborhood’s efforts by sending out a Police squad car or a fire truck or maybe event McGruff The Crime Dog.

We had a wonderful National Night Out event last night. We restructured our regularly scheduled City Council meeting so that Councilmembers could attend the events around town. Hats of to them and to the many police and firefighters that participated in the events. I would like to give special recognition to Officer Rob Geis and Fire Department Administrative Assistant Kimberly Cummings for their work to coordinate the City’s support of the events last night. Well done!

Here are some photos from the events I attended last night:

National Night Out at Twilight Court

Sgt. Jim Morrow, Officer Lynn Morrow (yes, they’re married) and Citizen Brady of Kristie Lane

Hosing Down the Kids of Stoney Court

Councilmember Phil Young at Rosalla Drive and Petrelka Drive NNO Events

Looks Like a NNO Water Ballon Ambush, Let’s Get Out of Here!

I took a quick tour today of the Topview Neighborhood. The neighborhood’s two major streets are Topview Road and Gerard Drive. The neighborhood is directly north of Menards, adjacent to 494 North.

The neighborhood has been working with MnDOT to make sure that its views are understood concerning the approaching addition of a third lane both north and south bound on 494. In the photo below, you can see how close this neighborhood is to 494. If you look closely, you can see a semi-tractor & trailor on 494 in the background of this shot of the Topview Park sign:

Residents of the neighborhood have been meeting with representatives from MnDOT seeking the construction of noise walls with the 494 project. The resident have been persistent and thorough in their advocacy. And, they have been successful. Last week, MnDOT announced that it would install the noise wall requested by the residents.

Members of the neighborhood were quite organized in their efforts to gain this noise wall. Near the end of their campaign, it looked like MnDOT would not agree to the request, and the advocacy campaign was turned towards the City Council in an attempt to get the Council to advocate for the noise wall. That would have put the Council in a tough spot because the City has been advocating with MnDOT for years to do the 494 project. If the Council would have taken up the neighborhood’s cause, it could have set the project back, which was contrary to overall good of the community. The Council would have had a tough balancing act with these competing “goods”.

Fortunately for all concerned, MnDOT was willing to analyze the project’s impacts again and found that noise walls could be justified pursuant to their own rules and procedures.

Good for everyone.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation, led by Lt. Governor Carol Molnau, announced its plans yesterday on how it will spend $825,000,000 on new and improved roads. You can find the enitre report and news release on the plans at the MnDOT website.

Boy, did we ever make out well. By my count, about 45% of that $825 million dollar budget will go towards road projects that directly benefit the citizens of Eden Prairie.

First of all, the State’s largest single road investment will be the completion of the divided four lane portion of 212 from Hennepin County Road 4 in Eden Prairie to Carver County Road 147 in Norwood Young America. This project has been budgeted at $225 million. It had been on MnDOT’s list for construction in 2013. It will now begin construction in 2005. We will all need to get used to calling this road 312 in the future, but more on the in the future.

Next, we will see a major improvement to 494. The 3rd land project that you see under construction right now between Eden Prairie and Bloomington will be continued through EP and on up to 394 in Minnetonka. This proejct was originally scheduled for 2011-2012. Now it’s scheduled for 2004. That’s just next year.

Finally, the budget includes funding for the construction of grade separated freeway interechanges on Hwy. 169 at Anderson Lakes Parkway and Highwood Drive. I’m still unsure about whether this project includes the Pioneer Trail intersection, but I’m looking into that. This project was originally scheduled for construction in 2009-2013. Now it’s scheduled for 2006. This project will make this part of Hwy. 169 function more like a true freeway, improving both safety and convenience for drivers.

Eden Prairie elected officials have been advocating for these road projects for a long, long time. There are a number of people who deserve credit for this coup. I’ll start with our state elected officials: Rep. Erik Paulsen, Rep. Peter Adolphson, and Sen. David Hann. I know they worked hard for these projects. City Councilmembers in Eden Prairie, Chanhassen, Chask, and points west deserve a big pat on the back for the successful funding of the 212 Project. Bob Lindahl espcially. Great work!

With great road building activity comes great inconvenience. It’s temporary, but we’ll all feel it. I look forward to it. It will be a big step forward for Eden Prairie whe they’re done.