The Lakes and Loons staff did what they could to verify one vote per resident so there is some legitimacy to the polling process. At this first chance for Ham Lake residents to voice their opinion on the subject, the response was overwhelmingly in favor of leaving things as they are. With 186 respondents, a whopping 183 said no to city water and sewer for the City of Ham Lake.
I don’t know what kind of margin for error would be considered in this survey but whatever it is; this survey needs to be seriously considered by the Task Force and Ham Lake City Council. With survey numbers like this, a community wide poll might be a consideration prior to moving forward on any type of city water/sewer system. FULL SURVEY RESULTS.
When the Lakes and Loons February issue arrived in our mailbox, I spent over an hour reading the full two page spread of comments with my husband. There were over a hundred comments. Many respondents were senior citizens and long time residents questioning the logic of the proposal and how they were expected to pay for it. Several people vowed to move. A few thought the mayor should move. Many questioned what is the Met Council and what does it do? READ COMMENTS HERE
As a Realtor and resident of Ham Lake, some of these comments are concerning to me. First of all, anyone in Ham Lake that is considering moving has now been put on notice of potential city water and sewer assessments. This information about potential and proposed assessments must be disclosed to any and every potential home buyer. With the real estate market slowdown, this will make selling any Ham Lake home extremely difficult, if not impossible, until the situation is resolved. Any home could be sold but the price concessions would have to be drastic to outweigh a potential $20,000 plus assessment.
As for what the Met Council is and the role it plays in the decisions being made in Ham Lake, I had this same question. I did some research on the Metropolitan Council website and discovered that in addition to providing funds for developing parks and walking trails, they are an integral part of the Twin Cities wastewater treatment system. The Met Council is receives 42% of its funding from user fees for waste water treatment and transit service. Read about the MET COUNCIL and what they do here.
Ham Lake residents will have their opportunity Tuesday, February 12, 2008 to voice their opinions on city water and sewer at a Town Hall meeting. It is scheduled to start at 7:00 PM at City Hall with a Task Force presentation on all five proposals. Plan to attend and let your voice be heard.
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If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional Realtor, give me a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.
Copyright 2008 Teri Eckholm http://www.terieckholm.com/
