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THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2022 VOL. 19 NO. 8 www.readthecitizen.com $1.00
HAPPY EARTH DAY: Fill out quiz for chance to win a prize PAGE 12
An explanation for those gob-smacking valuations BY LORETTA HARDING CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Almost ‘go time’ for new public works facility SHANNON GRANHOLM | PRESS PUBLICATIONS
The public works department should be fully operational in the new building on 140th Street by the end of the first week of May, according to Public Works Director Scott Anderson. See more photos inside. BY SHANNON GRANHOLM MANAGING EDITOR
HUGO — Despite some delays caused by ongoing supply chain shortages, the public works department has begun its transition from the old facility on 137th Street N. to its new building on 140th Street. Dirt started moving on the
project back in September 2020. The public works department should be fully operational in the new building by the end of the first week of May, according to Public Works Director Scott Anderson. “We are getting very, very close here. We have a final (21-page) punch list … So, there's still a lot of things that need to be done here,” he said.
The department has already begun to move things into the new building, and an information technology visit is planned for the last week of April. Most of the furniture is set to arrive the first week of May, but some items are on backorder for June. The cost to expand the old building would have been
CENTERVILLE —The City Council brought in the experts to subdue palpitations brought on by the jawdropping increase in property valuations residents received this past month for 2022 property assessments. Anoka County mailed out the 2022 valuation notices last month, along with the 2022 property tax statements. On opening that envelope, most property owners were met with the news that their property value had increased by some 25%. Property owners with questions or concerns regarding market values or property classifications were asked to contact the assessors prior to the Local Board of Appeal and Equalization meeting. The city’s team of assessors, Mary Wells, Chris Larson and Erik Skogquist, attended the April 13 Centerville City Council meeting and annual Local Board of Appeal and Equalization public hearing to explain to all concerned what it means. By state law, all properties must be reassessed each year and physically reviewed once every five years. The law requires that all real property be valued
SEE PUBLIC WORKS, PAGE 2
SEE CENTERVILLE, PAGE 8
Water supply legislation worrisome to court case camps The elevation of White Bear Lake continues to be a hot topic of discussion between those who worry the 2017 court order will lead to severe water restrictions and those who worry that proposed legislation eviscerates that order and undermines critical environmental laws. A recent “Action Alert” issued by Friends of the Mississippi River (FMR), for example, urges opposition to bills SF3055 and HF3880 that the watchdog group says could deplete local aquifer levels and undercut one of the state’s bedrock
environmental laws: the Minnesota Environmental Rights Act (MERA). The Senate bill that got FMR’s attention was introduced by Sens. Karin Housley (R-Stillwater) and Roger Chamberlain (R-Lino Lakes) in February. It would allow municipalities within 5 miles of the lake (the boundary set by a district judge in 2017) to continue to operate under a water supply plan approved by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) before 2021 in conjunction with their 2040 Comprehensive Plan. “FMR has long been concerned about the SEE WATER LEGISLATION PAGE 18
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