County Board Notes, October 22, 2013

A part of the OACCT's Public Policy efforts for 2013 is for volunteers from the Public Policy committee attend both City and County meetings and report back on items that are of interest/concern to business.

• Human Resources - Approved hire/Transfer of new employees.
• Finance - No Report
• Public Works Task Force
• Commissioner Bruce Kubicek led presentation, 
• Four of the 6 members of the public committee were present.  
• Task force made it clear that their recommendation was the option #4 with minor tweeks,(Veterans service van storage, make room for offices, external wash bay to add a little room inside)
• Received copies of final committee minutes which included all four options and price breakdowns.
• Received presentation given to the Noon Rotary.
• One Commissioner did not get the 7 mill max, heard option 4 with tweeks led to a 8 mill project and opt 2 was 9.5, they were close enough that he liked the opt 2.
• Current lease has been renewed for another 2 years.
• Some of the costs, included Prevailing wage
• Architect stated that we may have missed optimum building time as construction materials have gone up along with more contractors being busy.
• Board referred the building to the public works committee, probably should attend this meeting.
• Authorized Easement with State DOT for bridge work.
• Authorized agreement with Waseca County for sharing of Human Service Director
• Adopted Objectives and goals and are moving forward with a strategic plan.
• Had three resolutions, One being on entering into discussions with DOT on turn back agreement for Hwy 14 East.

City Council Notes-Oct. 15, 2013

A part of the OACCT's Public Policy efforts for 2013 is for volunteers from the Public Policy committee attend both City and County meetings and report back on items that are of interest/concern to business.

Tax Increment Financing district No.6 created for Pillsbury property.
Brings educational facility back to Pillsbury campus with language school and Charter school.  Allows for 1,000,000 of tax increment to be used for the remodeling of buildings on campus.  Funds paid up front by developer, then recaptured with 4.75% interest until year 2041 or until paid off.   One local investor involved in project.
Development agreement with City of Owatonna and Pillsbury Intl Academy and E & A Ventures.  Two separate projects involving Fernbrook and Pillsbury Academy.


Resolution 96-13 Delinquent OPU accounts, allows to be collected with Real Estate taxes.

Brooktree settlement funds.  City to get 1,858,293 from DuPont settlement for trees damaged at Brooktree.  Funds to be used for tree removal and replacement and other improvements at Brooktree.

Rezone and vacate easements for property for Viracon expansion.

Changes in purchasing policy to clarify and better regulate purchases.


Please Note next Council meeting date changed to Monday November 4th, due to Levy vote on the 5th.

County Board Notes-Sept. 24, 2013

A part of the OACCT's Public Policy efforts for 2013 is for volunteers from the Public Policy committee attend both City and County meetings and report back on items that are of interest/concern to business.

The County Commissioners reviewed the Ag Society's lease, barn partnership request and loan contracts. Some small modifications need to be made to article five, but the contracts were expected to pass at the 7 PM meeting that night.

Help wanted: Throw your hat in ring for 2014 elections

By David C. Olson

The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce is recruiting candidates now to seek a legislative seat in the November 2014 elections. Please step forward, and we’ll guide and support you through the election process. Our pitch is sincere and straightforward. It’s more important than ever that we send men and women, Democrats and Republicans, to the Capitol who understand what it takes to run a business in today’s dynamic economy.

Why the urgency? Witness the legacy of the 2013 Legislature. The session kicked off with a common theme of jobs. Yet the gavel closed one of the most bruising and challenging sessions for Minnesota employers and their employees. We ask you to join the Minnesota Chamber and our statewide network of local chambers to place a priority on electing pro-business individuals to the Minnesota House in 2014. We’re working on many fronts to build relationships with existing legislators as well as to identify pro-business candidates.

Here are a few ways you can help.
Offer personal tours of your business: Think about leaders in your community who understand what it’s like to operate a business, and encourage them to run for the Legislature. Invite candidates and legislators to your facility, whether you are a large manufacturer or have three employees. Seeing your business and your employees in action is a great way to educate policy-makers on the issues you face and your value to your community and Minnesota.

Communicate with your workers: Communicate with employees about the key issues that face your company and their paychecks. Do what works best for you, whether it’s including information in newsletters or conducting an information session over lunch hour. Then encourage and allow individuals to run for office if you can make it work for your businesses.

Support pro-business candidates: Seeking elective office can be a daunting task, especially for political newcomers. You can support candidate efforts in a variety of ways – from knocking on doors or writing a letter to the local newspaper to introducing them to other key business leaders or writing a check to their campaigns.

The Minnesota Chamber has a skilled team that works diligently at managing the risks that legislative decisions pose to you. Our ultimate success, however, depends on the individuals who cast the “yes” and “no” votes. Our work for the 2014 elections begins with targeting individuals who can bring their business acumen to St. Paul.

There’s no better place to identify candidates than within our working ranks. While we acknowledge the challenge for employers and employees alike with the time demands of today’s Legislature, we must make electing pro-business candidates a higher priority. The results of the 2013 session speak for themselves. Minnesota cannot afford more sessions like the one we just had.

David Olson is president of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce – www.mnchamber.com.

OACCT Board of Directors Endorse School's Operating Levy

The OACCT Board of Directors is supporting the passage of the School District’s operating levy this fall.

A recent OACCT member survey, initiated by the OACCT Public Policy committee (chaired by Dr. Mike Peterson-McGregor Chiropractic), indicated support of Owatonna schools and support of the passage of the operating levy.

Reasoning behind this support stems from a great need for high quality preK-12 education in our community, focused on developing our future workforce.  Also, quality schools play into economic development and business growth of the area.

Additional rationale for this support was the fact that the additional $1.8 million requested will be used for financial stability and reaching learning and academic goals. If approved, the levy will be renewed for an additional seven years.  An additional reason for support includes the current Owatonna Public Schools operating levy of $3.9 million will expire in 2016 and hasn't been adjusted for inflation and is losing $1 million per year in purchasing power.

•Financial Status:
--The district’s current underlying rating, as issued by Moody’s Investors in April 2013 is Aa3 and is Moody’s upper 90th percentile of all school districts in MN.
--In the fall of 2012, the district refunded its existing debt of $8,690,000.  By refunding this debt at a lower interest rate local property owners will experience a savings of  $568,274 over the next four years.  The expense related to interest payments during this same period will be $237,975. If the district’s credit rating decreased by one notch, expense related to interest would be an additional $32,000.  A decrease of two notches in the credit rating would increase interest cost by $70,000.
--The state legislature has an additional $400,000 of funds to award the Owatonna Public School District if the levy passes or will be given to another district if the levy fails

• The Cost of Unfunded Mandates:
--The federal dollars come into the district in the form of Title VI – B.  Depending on the size of the district, and the year, these federal dollars could account for up to 50%  of the district’s total for all traditional federal aids and grants.  For a district like Owatonna, these numbers would be approximately $1.0 million and $3.0 million respectively.
--Around 1980 when IDEA became law, the federal government indicated it would fund 40% of all the costs related to the implementation of IDEA.  Today, that support is  actually about 19 percent.

• In 2004, the total levy (including bonded debt, operating levy, community ed, etc.) the board authorized that year was $7.536 million. The total levy the School Board will preliminarily authorize on will be $7.529 million--less than 9 years ago.

“The upcoming school levy is important to our school district. The cost of compliance with the unfunded and underfunded mandates from both the state and the federal governments create a tremendous hardship on our district. Combine that with the ever-increasing importance that quality public education plays in economic development and this becomes an issue we cannot afford to ignore.” Bill Owens, United Prairie Bank/OACCT Public Policy Committee

County Board Notes-Sept. 17, 2013

A part of the OACCT's Public Policy efforts for 2013 is for volunteers from the Public Policy committee attend both City and County meetings and report back on items that are of interest/concern to business.

Council reviewed and approved multiple actions and resolutions, including: licenses and permits for an on-sale with Sunday liquor license application for Agave Azul restaurant, 369 18th St. SE; move forward with applying for the Legacy Grant application for asphalt paving of the trail from North St. to 26th ST.; a 50/50 cost split with homeowner for a retaining wall replacement at 304 Lemond Rd; awarded bids for the 2013 Sanitary Sewer Lining project; set a date for the public hearing for utility liens; declared cost and order prep of 2013 mowing of weeds, grasses and other harmful vegetation and public hearing date of topic at October 15th council meeting.

City staff also responded to public comment concerns of the Charter cable contract and little movement with getting competitive bids for service (current contract has expired; in negotiations with Jaguar Communications and an October franchise meeting has been set). 

Meeting adjourned at 8 PM. 

School Operating Levy Survey Results

Recently the OACCT sent out a survey to the membership regarding the Owatonna School District's upcoming fall operating levy.  Below is a link to a summary of the results; an 18% response rate was garnered. The OACCT Public Policy committee will be reviewing the responses and discussing best approaches with this topic.

http://www.owatonna.org/pdf/2013 School Operating Levy Survey Memo.pdf

Here is link the the Owatonna School Districts Fact sheet: http://www.owatonna.org/pdf/DistrictLevy13.pdf