Two area high school grads’ musical journey brings them back home for Burnsville’s Art & All That Jazz fest. VOLUME 32, NO. 24 See Thisweekend Page 7A
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Thisweek Burnsville-Eagan AUGUST 12, 2011
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Burnsville homeowners should see no increase in city taxes Divided council calls for 1.3 percent ceiling on 2012 hike by John Gessner THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS Photo by Rick Orndorf
Demolition of Valley Ridge Shopping Center could begin next week.
Mall will come tumbling down Demolition, redevelopment await Valley Ridge by John Gessner THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Burnsville’s oldest shopping mall could begin tumbling down next week. Demolition is scheduled at Valley Ridge Shopping Center, where relocation of the last 10 tenants has left blank storefronts and a sea of empty blacktop. Not that the parking lot got much of a workout anyway in recent years, as the city and others explored re-
development options for the half-empty white elephant. Pay dirt was struck last year when the Dakota County Community Development Agency reached a purchase agreement with mall owner Engelsma Limited Partnership. The CDA, in partnership with Presbyterian Homes, will redevelop the site at Burnsville Parkway and County Road 5 for senior See Valley Ridge, 13A
As Burnsville City Council members revisit their annual debate over tax levels, homeowners are being told their city taxes will remain flat next year. At an Aug. 9 work session, three of five council members supported a maximum 2012 tax levy increase of 1.3 percent, or $367,800. Two called for holding the increase to 0.8 percent, or $210,000 – the city’s share of property taxes from new construction. So it appears that a 1.3 percent increase will be certified by the council on Sept. 6 and included on property owners’ truth-in-taxation statements. The council can opt for a lower increase, or none at all, when it adopts next year’s budget and levy on Dec. 6. In any case, the total city levy will be lower than this year’s because the 2011 Legislature ended a property tax-relief program called the Market Value Homestead Credit. In seven of the last 10 years, city officials say, Burnsville and some
City of Burnsville photo
New Burnsville City Council Member Bill Coughlin was sworn into office by City Clerk Macheal Brooks at an Aug. 9 council work session. Coughlin won a special election last month to replace Charlie Crichton, the veteran council member who died in March at age 83. other cities didn’t receive MVHC reimbursement from the state, meaning they had to tax their own property owners to deliver homeowners
their state credit. With elimination of $1.2 million in taxes to fund the credit, the 2012 city levy falls an estimated 4.3 percent. Add a 1.3 percent increase and the levy, totaling $27.03 million, is still 3 percent lower than this year’s – a drop of $832,200. Under that scenario, the owner of a $202,000 home (assuming a 2.6 percent drop in value) would pay an estimated $88 less in city taxes next year. Offsetting the decrease, though, is homeowners’ loss of their state credit. That will leave residential property taxes “roughly flat,� Chief Financial Officer Tammy Omdal said. Taxes on $1 million in commercial/industrial property (assuming a 2.1 percent reduction in value) would rise by an estimated $27.
Taxes and services Top city staffers say the 1.3 percent increase is needed to continue current services (at a cost of $260,240) and to restore fundSee Taxes, 3A
Local charter schools dealing with successive funding delays Apple Valley’s Paideia has avoided borrowing, unlike Sobriety High in Burnsville by John Gessner THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Two local charter schools are making do with yet another state funding “shift� for K-12 education. Paideia Academy, an Apple Valley school of nearly 400 students, says it hasn’t needed to borrow money to cover per-pupil funding delays state policymakers have used to help balance successive budgets. Sobriety High Charter
School’s Alliance Academy in Burnsville, a much smaller school with high student turnover, is borrowing against a $135,000 line of credit, according to Paul McGlynn, executive director of Sobriety High, which has campuses in Burnsville and Coon Rapids. Looking at an even larger shift for the coming school year, Sobriety High has secured a backup line
of credit, McGlynn said. “All schools are going through hard times, so it’s not that we’re unique,� he said. “It’s just that the smaller you are, the harder the blow.� And charter schools borrow at a far higher cost than Minnesota’s public school districts, which have taxing authority and a state guarantee on their loans. Public school disSee Charters, 12A
Dakota County Fair kicks off Photos by Rick Orndorf
The owners of Ansari’s Mediterranean Grill and Lounge spent the past five months repairing and remodeling the restaurant after it caught fire in Feburary. The space is now more open and contemporary with a larger dining room.
Ansari’s to say thanks after blaze Eagan restaurant to host grand reopening; proceeds of buffet to benefit Eagan Fire Department by Jessica Harper THISWEEK NEWSPAPERS
Ramsey Ansari, owner of Ansari’s Mediterranean Grill and Lounge, will never forget the blistering cold day in February when he saw his dreams burst into flames. “I didn’t know what to think – what to do,� he said. “It was scary just wondering what was going General 952-894-1111 Distribution 952-846-2070 Display Advertising 952-846-2011 Classified Advertising 952-846-2000
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on.� Ansari also said he will never forget how hard firefighters worked to battle the blaze and freezing temperatures. Now Ansari plans to say thanks in a big way. The restaurant will be hosting a grand reopening Aug. 19 that will include a $10 lunch buffet to raise money to purchase new
equipment for the Eagan Fire Department. The buffet will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. “I’m very grateful to the fire department for their efforts that day,� Ansari said. Activities will include a ribbon cutting at 11 a.m., belly dancing and other forms of entertainment. See Ansari’s, 13A
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Aria Stiles plays her violin in the 4-H Share the Fun, Performing Arts, Clowning and Communication Contest at the 4-H Arts Stage on Tuesday at the Dakota C o u n t y Fair. Laura PHOTOS Stiles (at ONLINE more photos right) from For from the Dakota Chub Lake County Fair, go to B e a v e r s thisweeklive.com receives her ribbon at the 4-H Dairy Cows judging at the fair on Tuesday. The fair continues through Sunday at the county fairgrounds in Farmington.
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