Council Update - November 2

At the November 2 meeting, the Monona city council discussed and tabled the proposal to convert the fire chief position to a full time position. The concept seems almost certain to be approved in some form or another., but the exact wording is still a work in progress.

The council balked (or alder Thomas and I at least) at approving an extra $28,000 to Vierbicher Associates for Municipal Engineering Services Pertaining to the 2009 Street and Utility Improvements. They underestimated the hours it would take to oversee the construction. They say the contractor worked too slowly. They did the work, so I figure we owe them something extra (Finance recommended a payment of about $11,500), but on the other hand, if they had included that much money in the proposal, they might well not have been selected. Resolution 09-11-1663: Amending Contract with Vierbiecher Associates

The council approved issuing $3.4M in bonds (i.e. borrowing) for the Monona Drive project. The bond issue is unusual for a municipality because they are taxable and pay a higher interest rate. The federal government is subsidizing the interest so that the net rate paid by the city is considerably lower than it would be by issuing standard municipal bonds. Resolution 09-11-1664: Authorizing $3.4 mil Build America Bonds

Along those lines, the city recently received a AA bond rating from Standard & Poor's. The upgrade reflects the city's cautious reserve policy instituted by Mayor Kahl and the Monona city council back around 2003 (yes, with the support of the liberal, left-wingers McKeever and Wood. No contradiction there. By the way, ever heard of Frank Zeidler's Sewer Socialism?). The AA rating is a big deal if for no other reason than the city did not have to buy issuance insurance and thus saved $28,000 on this one bond issue. The city has also benefited from excellent financial advice from city finance director Marc Houtakker and consultant Jeff Belongia of Hutchinson, Shockey, Erley & Co.

The council heard a presentation about Redevelopment Project Area No. 7 by Gary Becker (also of the above Vierbicher firm) who really knows this stuff. The declaration of 'blight' is necessary to allow the city and the CDA to acquire properties for redevelopment in this area along Monona Drive between Winnequah and Dean (including the one the city recently purchased; the law allows a brief period for retroactive declarations).

Resolution 09-11-1666: Declaring Redevelopment Project Area No. 7 a Blighted Area*

Exhibit A, Map of Proposed Blighted Area