City Council Member Dan Bostrom plans to vote "no, no and no" on mayor's priorities

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman's plans to increase the property tax levy by 2.4 percent next year face opposition from a city council member who appears to be increasingly comfortable as the sole "no" vote on the council.

Ditto for the mayor's plans to invest $8 million from the 2015 city budget into the long-shuttered Palace Theater. Ditto for the mayor's road repair strategy. St. Paul City Council Member Dan Bostrom plans a series of no votes, beginning with a vote this afternoon on a raft of bonds that would fund several of the mayor's initiatives.

"There is money available to pay debt to keep that tax increase at zero," Bostrom said.

Not long ago, the state Legislature freed up city funds by helping to pay off a series of bonds dedicated to St. Paul's convention center, the RiverCentre.

With the 1996 bonds paid off, the city now has an estimated $4.5 million in sales tax revenue which it can dedicate to different projects, from property tax relief to road repair or the planned reopening of the downtown Palace Theater.

Bostrom would like to see the money go toward tax relief -- he'd like to see the mayor's proposed 2.4 percent increase to the city's 2015 tax levy drop to zero.

After a difficult winter pothole season, however, Coleman is prioritizing a series of city initiatives under the "8-80 Vitality Fund," which includes arterial street repair and $8 million for the reopening of the Palace Theater. The city would sell $40 million in bonds on the week of November 10 to fund the various projects.

The mayor's proposal would partially raid the RSVP (Residential Street Vitality Repair) program, redirecting much of the residential street reconstruction funding to busier arterial streets. That has Bostrom peeved, to say the least.

Says Bostrom:

"The big problem I have ... RSVP could wind up getting pushed
back years and years and years. That's a lot. These poor folks that have been waiting all these years are going to be looking so far out into the future... You make a promise, you live with it."

"In the final analysis, they look so good once they're done. But we got
all hyper over the potholes here. Now a few more streets are going to
potentially be reconstructed at the expense of the neighborhoods."

"The Palace Theater, that's basically a new deal. I haven't had a
single soul that's approached me in my neighborhood and said, 'You
know, Dan, we really should reopen the Palace.'"

"I am against the levy increase. I don't support increasing it 50
cents. Particularly in light of the fact they were able to find
$800,000 to approve the (recent Black Bear Crossings legal) settlement."

Bostrom said that the $4.5 million in sales tax revenue should be split roughly in half, with $2.4 million used to avoid a tax levy increase. The other half could support a smaller bonding package, which could still include some of the mayor's priorities.

The mayor's priorities under the 8-80 Vitality Fund include:

Sales Tax Revenue Bonds, Taxable Series 2014F & Series 2014G
Attachment to Resolution RES 14-1854

8-80 Vitality Fund
Overview

The 8-80 Vitality Fund is designed to promote economic development by increasing activity and vitality
on our streets and public spaces throughout the City of Saint Paul. This unique bond fund will invest in
infrastructure that attracts residents, employees, businesses, and visitors for years to come.

To be competitive in today’s international market place, cities need to be interesting, vital places that
attract people. This attraction will bring residents who will make the city their home and businesses
who will locate where they can best attract employees.

The 8-80 Vitality Fund, inspired by the work of 8-80 Cities, includes projects that will attract millennials
downtown at night, families and others to great neighborhoods with world class trails, restaurants and
employers with a distinctive downtown bike loop, and residents and development with additional public
spaces; as well as promote efficient government through investment in the City’s optical fiber
infrastructure.

Projects
The 8-80 Vitality Fund includes six key elements:
• Palace Theater; $8M
• Jackson Street Reconstruction and Downtown Bike Loop; $8M
• Grand Round Investment - Johnson Parkway, Wheelock Parkway, and Pelham Boulevard; $13.2M
• Dickerman Park Development; $2M
• Optical Fiber Infrastructure – Citywide Network; $1.8M
• Additional 8-80 Streets/Public Spaces; $9.5M

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