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NO COMPLAINTS IN VICTORIA
ABOUT PROPERTY VALUATIONS
The Board of Equalization and Re-view held a public hearing on April 14th for the purpose of reviewing citizen com-plaints or questions regarding their prop-erty valuations. The hearing opened at 6:05 p.m. and closed at 6:15 p.m. No residents were in attendance for comment or review of their properties.
Two Carver County officials attended the hearing, however -- Deputy Assessors Keith Kern and Matt Evans. Said Assessor Kern, "It's been a real slow year so far. We've had very few phone calls county-wide."
He said the property valuations in Victoria increased by "a little over 8%," with a county-wide increase averaging about 7%. He suggested it was higher in Victoria because part of Victoria includes homes on Lake Minnetonka. He added that wildlife areas, such as Carver Park in Victoria, protect people from develop-ment and that's what people are looking for and it drives up value.
"It would be perfect if we could keep valuations in the range of 93 to 95% of market value," he said. "It helps if we can get into as many homes as possible. We try to do our best. We understand people's feelings about strangers walking up to their doors …
"We inspect anywhere from 600 to 650 homes per year, and we probably get inside 30 to 40% of them. People are working. We leave door tags. It's pretty quick in and out. Single mothers at homes with kids won't let us in. It can be a scheduling nightmare sometimes. If nothing else, we can take information over the phone. People seldom outright lie to us. For any sort of reduction on valuations, people would have to let us inside."
The assessors spoke highly of the GIS as "an unbelievable tool" that assists greatly in the labeling of land values. It stands for Geographical Information Sys-tems.
TOWN COP BUSIER THAN EXPECTED
HONEYMOON WITH VICTORIA IS OVER
Mike Kerber, Victoria's Town Cop, said on April 14th that he's ready to start issuing citations, having patrolled and served warnings for a couple months on the job now.
In a report to Victoria councilmem-bers he said there were a couple of burg-largies at local businesses, including at the Victoria Dairy Queen where there was no alarm system and at the Hi-5 Liquor Store where the alarm system didn't go off until someone escaped out the back door.
He reported that the public bathrooms at the Stieger Lake public access had been burned to the ground and that Three Rivers Park District is investigating.
He reported terrorist threats at Holy Family Catholic High School in Victoria. There will probably not be criminal charges. He said he's working speed problem areas and that he's busier than he thought he'd be.
Commented Mayor Jerry Bohn, "Sounds like we need to raise visibility in the evening."
Replied Deputy Kerber, "I can modi-fy my hours to a point, but we can be in town and still have things happen."
STREAMLINING THE PROCESS
FOR APPROVING PLATS IN VICTORIA
In an effort to reduce the amount of time required for developers to get ap-proval of their developments in the City of Victoria, councilmembers are having related city ordinances rewritten to reflect their discussion and intention.
Stated Mayor Jerry Bohn, "I'm cer-tainly in favor of streamlining the process. I'd be more interested in seeing the sketch plat and preliminary plat phases, where we can have some say, and before a developer spends a fortune on document-tation. By the final plat stage, it's almost too late for the council to do anything."
The mayor suggested putting the final plat on the consent agenda, and also the sketch plat, with the knowledge that any councilmember can pull it off the consent agenda."
Councilmember Mary Thun stated, "I kind of like it the way we have it now. We've been lucky these several years in having a very good Planning Commission that goes through every item, detail by detail."
Developer Jim Johnson, also speak-ing on behalf of developer Terry Hartman, stated, "Including the sketch plat on the consent agenda is a nice compromise. If nobody pulls it off, everyone gets to go home early. Other cities also put the final plat on the consent agenda. By the time a final plat gets to you, the Planning Commission and staff -- and you the council -- have seen it."
The ordinance will be rewritten, saving one meeting, and potentially two, for developers.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES FOR 2005
PRIORITIZED BY VICTORIA CITY COUNCIL
Councilmembers approved a priority project plan for the City of Victoria that includes a series of goals and objectives for 2005 and beyond. They include:
1) Downtown Master Plan, including new public buildings for City Hall, Public Works, and Parking.
2) Park Master Plan that looks to future growth in Victoria.
3) Transportation Plan that considers street reconstruction, transit, and the state and county highway system.
4) Development that considers the distribution of residential units, the devel-opment process, and housing in general.
5) Business and Commercial Devel-opment that considers a corporate campus as well as new and existing business sup-port.
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