10.03 - Resolution Supporting Dedicated State Funding for City Streets

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RESOLUTION# A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING DEDICATED STATE FUNDING FOR CITY STREETS WHEREAS, Minnesota contains over 141,000 miles of roadway,and over 19,000 miles—or 13 percent which are owned and maintained by Minnesota's 852 cities; and WHEREAS, over 80 percent of municipal streets are ineligible for dedicated Highway User Tax Distribution Fund dollars; and WHEREAS, more than 700 Minnesota cities with populations below 5,000 are ineligible for dedicated Highway User Tax Distribution Fund dollars;and WHEREAS, city streets are a separate but integral piece of the network of roads supporting movement of people and goods;and WHEREAS, existing funding mechanisms, such as Municipal State Aid(MSA),property taxes and special assessments, have limited applications, leaving cities under- equipped to address growing needs; and WHEREAS, city cost participation in state and county highway projects diverts resources from city-owned streets; and WHEREAS, maintenance costs increase as road systems age, and no city, large or small, is spending enough on roadway capital improvements to maintain a 50-year lifecycle; and WHEREAS, for every one dollar spent on maintenance,a road authority and,therefore taxpayers,save seven dollars in repairs; and WHEREAS, cities need greater resources, including an additional dedicated state funding source for transportation,and flexible policies in order to meet growing demands for street improvements and maintenance. NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED BY THE PEQUOT LAKES CITY COUNCIL that the City of Pequot Lakes supports an omnibus transportation funding bill that provides additional dedicated state funding for city streets including funding that can be used for non-MSA city street maintenance, construction and reconstruction. ADOPTED by the City of Pequot Lakes this 3rd day of March,2015. David Sjoblad,Mayor City of Pequot Lakes,Minnesota Attest: Sandra A. Peine City Clerk