Mars, Luce clash at council

Shakopee Valley News

Shakopee Mayor Bill Mars and Councilor Mike Luce closed out a City Council meeting by clashing publicly Tuesday night over Luce's recent threat to vote against the proposed $400 million Canterbury Commons development because he says Mars and city officials won't give him information.

Luce wrote a letter to the editor Friday saying he "is finding it almost impossible to vote in the affirmative on this project" because he can't get information from Mars and other city officials. He said he repeatedly tried to get in contact with Mars, but was rebuffed. 

But Mars said that was "not truthful," saying in the last 10 weeks, he received no emails, voicemails or contact from Luce. In response, Luce provided an email to the Shakopee Valley News showing he said the two needed to meet "face to face," without mentioning Canterbury Commons.

"Apparently I missed an email," Mars said toward the end of the council meeting. "If you would like to meet I'll meet with you right here in these chambers after the meeting."

Luce responded by saying it's common practice to get 24 hours' notice for a meeting. 

Councilor Jay Whiting then interjected, asking Luce, "Why didn't you just call the mayor? I just don't understand it."

Luce responded that this is "the same BS that you guys always pull." The council then adjourned the meeting. 

Luce and other city officials have butted heads frequently; in April the council censured Luce, saying he has overstepped his authority and misrepresented the city. 

Canterbury Commons includes a $100 million luxury apartment complex, upscale townhomes and a senior housing co-op. But the residential segment requires a comprehensive plan amendment to allow housing in the zoning area surrounding Canterbury Park, which is currently zoned for entertainment, not housing. And such amendments require a super-majority of the council, or four out of five votes.

Luce is believed to be the swing vote because Councilor Matt Lehman has said he would not support a project of that high a density in that specific area.

In other business, the council held a public hearing on the 2018 proposed budget and tax levy, which attracted few residents.

Councilor Jay Whiting said the lack of people in attendance shows a trust in the budget and city.

"There's nobody but us here talking about our taxes," Whiting said.

Including a levy of $350,000 from the Economic Development Authority that was approved 3-2 on Tuesday, the city tax rate will decrease from 38.5 percent to 37.7 percent. The Economic Development Authority levy used to be included in the general levy but was separated this year.

The city tax rate is calculated by dividing the taxable tax capacity from the total city levy. That rate can then be used to calculate the city's portion of the property tax bill burden, Finance Director Darin Nelson said.

Luce and Councilor Matt Lehman dissented against the levy. Luce said he did not like that the levy was automatic whereas staff could have chosen to do the transfer from the budget to the authority in the previous method.

Lehman said he did not like that residents were paying taxes for commercial or industrial for-profit ventures to improve their own value.

The levy is 1.77 percent lower than the preliminary levy approved by council on Sept. 19. Even with the Economic Development Authority levy, an average home worth $243,000 would see about a $10 decrease in property taxes, barring a change in home value, according to city officials.

"We're very fortunate to be in the situation that we're in," City Administrator Bill Reynolds said. "This is the strongest financial community that I've ever worked in."

According to Zillow, home values in Shakopee rose, on average, 1.7 percent from last year and are expected to rise 2.6 percent in the next year.

This is the second year city taxes have not gone up — taxes from the school district, special districts and county are separate.

The total budget includes $26.3 million in revenue and $26.5 million in expenditures with $250,000 in "other financing" covering the deficit. That will come from $125,000 transfers from the sanitary sewer enterprise fund and the storm drainage enterprise fund to "basically cover unallocated personnel costs and other costs that are not charged directly to those funds," Nelson said.

The budget includes two police officers, a code compliance officer, an assistant fire chief, a junior planner and an economic development specialist.

Other major budget impacts include increased health care costs for city employees, a restoration in internal charges, increased energy costs for the Community Center and more revenue from building permits and Community Center memberships.

"Structurally, we are in a great, great position," Reynolds said.

Council members said the budget was good overall.

City staff has worked on the budget since May. The budget and levy will return to the council for final approval on Dec. 19.

In other action at the Dec. 5 meeting, the council:

• Recognized the "Show Off Shakopee" photo contest winners.

• Approved the consent agenda, which included the fee schedule for 2018, an on-sale liquor license for Azure Corp., an approval of a road closure request for a dog sled race and more.

• Heard an annual report from the Shakopee Chamber and Visitors Bureau.

• Approved amendments to the city's purchasing policy, which was reviewed after the alleged misuse of district credit cards in the Shakopee School District. "At any point there is no less than three eyes on any one purchase and in some cases, as many as five," Reynolds said. "Hopefully that brings some comfort to citizens."