Minnesota: raise income taxes!

Hello, Governor Pawlenty. Hello, Cook County. Hello, Minnesota legislators!

Stop taxing the poor! New gas taxes, new sales taxes, new fees, but NEVER new income taxes! Y'all are shifting the tax burden from the richest to the poorest.
Can you say, REGRESSIVE TAXES?
Minnesota used to be all about graduated taxes, all about ability to pay. No more. Cook County and Grand Marais are hollering for a new one percent sales tax, claiming that it is borne by tourists. Hello, hello? WE are the ones who live here, who pay the tax every single day on every single thing we buy.
The legislature passed a new gas tax without even asking what anybody thinks about that. This happens even as gas prices break all records. Us po' folks can hardly manage to buy gas to get to work. Our food, our heat, our rents and mortgages, not to mention our health care have all shot through the roof. How much blood can you squeeze out of a stone? How much poorer will we have to be before the big D word is spoken aloud?
As for property taxes, nobody seems yet to have caught on: we are being taxed on inflated property values!!! We can no longer sell our homes for their inflated values but we still have to pay taxes on them. Property taxes are also regressive, but necessary at the local level, WHICH is why Minnesota used to offer lots of aid to local governments as well as homeowners. Back in the day when Minnesota government meant something good for people, before the Repugnants took over.
As for the No New Bridges governor, who keeps sending my "tax bill" spiraling by increasing all those fees like license tabs in the name of "no new taxes" meaning no new FAIR income taxes, well I hope you will be soundly defeated by an old-fashioned Minnesota DFL progressive next round.
True

Social Capital Assessment

Here's a post from Boreal News of interest to all who care about Cook County. The benefits of social capital assessments are multiple and manifold. This theory, already adopted by scholars in many disciplines from evaluation/sociology to architecture and development, advocates for local communities. The idea is to inventory the community assets and then build on or strengthen them instead of the outside developer mentality of slash-and-burn.

Cook County is rich in social capital assets that include communities dedicated to the best interests of citizens and tourists.

Please, friends, if you can spare the time, consider taking part in this most important project that could have incredible impact on the long-term health and well being of our county:

Join us on Thursday, November 29 at 4:30 p.m. at the Cook County
Community Center to plan how this assessment will work in all parts of the
county. There is no charge to us as we are serving as a pilot project
for the U of M Extension. The information will be valuable for decision
makers.Contact the Community Center Extension Program to plan how this assessment will work in all parts of the county. There is no charge to us as we are serving as a pilot project.

We are looking for volunteers from all parts of Cook County to help with a county-wide social capital assessment. We want to set this up so that areas within the counties can determine how well their local
community is doing in terms of cooperating together for mutual benefit. This may differ between Schroeder, Gunflint Trail, or Grand Portage. The time commitment is one training session and getting folks to fill out the assessment in January.

If you are unable to attend the meeting but would be willing to help with the survey assessment in your part of the county, please contact Diane Booth at the Extension office at 387-3015.

It's good because it's good

Recently my nephew Eric turned eight years old and for the occasion I gave him some removable tattoos and $30 in cash. By email he sent his thanks. He was saving the money towards a Wii, whatever that is, which he was sure he would be getting soon. "It's good because it's good," he wrote about my gift.
A couple of days ago, a reader accused me of being "Syndical" in response to my post, "America the Beautiful." I interpreted this to mean a combination of sinful and cynical. The post was about my longing for an idealized America and my frustation and grief at how the Bush administration has systematically destroyed all the best. I'm a Woody Guthrie kind of guy, a "This Land is Your Land" sing-a-longer. I'm a peacenik, a tree-hugger, a Buddhist and a vegetarian. But not a cynic or a sinner, I hope. My heroes are Cindy Sheehan and the Dalai Lama, who are just so good because they are good.
Anonymous and my nephew got me to thinking. There's a lot of stuff in Grand Marais and Cook County that is good because it's good.
For one, our transparent and responsive City Council. It's such a relief to know that they represent the voters, that they resist demands for inappropriate development, that if they have a conflict of interest they don't vote. I don't have to agree with every single action or vote to rest easy, because their interest is the public interest. Thanks, City Council!
Two, we are so blessed to have Harbor Friends. Always vigilant, these watchdogs caught the nasty infill of two harbor wetlands sites. The city is even now removing the landfill and restoring the wetlands. Thanks! I don't think it is too Syndical to ask who threw assorted junk in the first place. This has not been mentioned in any press reports. I am just curious.
Hey! Snowmobiles without mufflers skipping all over the harbor on the 4th of July? Well, as my mom used to say, that's why they make chocolate and vanilla. Sometimes a little live-and-let-live goes a long way.
Three, I am so delighted by the joint city-county decision to hire a housing coordinator. The Housing Study (previously reported on True) is a most excellent document and the joint decision to implement its findings deserves high praise. Everything we care about, we who live here, depends on the availability of housing for the young families, the working poor, the year-round residents, the senior citizens and retirees who give and have given so much to our history, culture, arts and well-being.
Four, WTIP continues to surpass itself in its outstanding coverage of local news. I dips me hat. Volunteer-driven, it still manages to achieve world-class coverage. BBC news every morning? You don't even get that on MPR. Hint: It's their fund drive. Please join up.
We are so lucky to live here. But having these fabulous resources: City Council, joint city-county affordable housing advocates, Harbor Friends and amazing radio coverage isn't just about luck. It's about people who care enough to make a difference.
True

News Express » Archive » EDA requests affordable housing bids from local builders

True loves News Express, the on-line headline news posted to Boreal by the Cook County News Herald.
The local folks who asked the EDA and the Grand Marais City Council for a chance to bid on affordable housing projects have gotten their wish. It's not maybe as simple as they thought, navigating the mysterious realms of federal, state and private grant applications, mortgage lending, infrastructure costs, and the strict criteria set by the Minnesota Green Communities Initiative while still creating high quality affordable housing. The Land Trust model will also have to do duty here if the project has any chance of succeeding.
But, best of luck, locals. It would be a win for everybody if we had an affordable housing coalition of city, county and contractors to meet the needs of the half of residents who fall below the median income. Go for it.

News Express » Archive » EDA requests affordable housing bids from local builders

Minneapolis may rein in 'monster houses'

Grand Marais, take a look at what one Minneapolis neighborhood (Southwest) is doing to rein in the excesses of "monster houses" by following this link. In a nutshell, they want to REDUCE the 35 foot height limit and restrict the footprint of a house to 50 percent of its lot size.
True says, good idea. We wouldn't do so badly to follow their example instead of passing new zoning ordinances to allow bigger footprints and higher height limits which is now being pushed by the so-called Business Council.

Minneapolis may rein in 'monster houses'

The Housing Study

Now that the Cook County EDA has heard four hours of resident comments and decided to go ahead with the Northern Communities Land Trust deal to create ten homesites in Sawtooth Cottages, it is time to move on. Everyone has had their say and we at True North think EDA made the best decision. The affordable housing situation here in Cook County is so desperate that it really doesn't matter where we start, as long as we set foot upon the road to finding more.

Affordability is a complex issue, involving the much-tossed about number of $183,000 as the average home sale price in Grand Marais, as well as available jobs, income levels, age of population, seasonality, taxes, growth projections, and cost of living. The Cook County Housing Study completed last November looked carefully at all of these factors as well as separate studies of Schroeder, Tofte, Lutsen, Grand Marais and Grand Portage before reaching some conclusions and recommendations. The Housing Study deserves to be studied by everybody who has a stake in the affordability game before coming up with any more proposals. Even better, in fact, would be a task force or steering committee to develop a county-wide affordability proposal based on the Study recommendations.

True will be looking at how these issues inter-connect. For example, take the average home in Grand Marais. Is it comparable to what $183,000 would buy in the Cities or Duluth. Just drive around town and you will realize the answer is no. CRP reported after a "windshield survey" that 71 percent of the 28 Creechville neighborhood homes is in need of minor or major repair, and five are possibly beyond repair. Another older neighborhood, North Broadway, with 219 homes has 78 percent either Sound or needing only minor repair, 20 percent needing major repair and two percent possibly beyond repair. We are looking at housing stock of fair to moderate condition. and generally a fairly small footprint.

Now, what makes these homes so valuable? It is the value of the surrounding seasonal properties that are newer and larger and to some of us tastelessly vulgar in their amenities and their footprint on the environment. The owners who raise our property values have incomes double, triple or even ten or 20 times the average Cook County resident.

The ten NCLT units are admittedly only available to the high-end of those needing affordable homes--in fact those at 80 percent of the Cook County median income, about $32,000 for singles and $45,000 for a family of four. Still, as we said, it is a start. Next the county urgently needs to address those most in need: the 2,000 residents living in households below that line.

As a helpful start, we will be offering in-depth study of current economic and housing conditions in future posts as well as some specifics of the Study's findings and recommendations. Knowing that some community leaders may not have found time to study this remarkable document True is pleased to make it more accessible.

Among the many valuable findings are a number of sources the city and county might look to to meet the projected housing needs.

In Grand Marais:

• CPR recommends 70 to 80 new housing units during the next five years, 15 to 18 "affordable," and 10 t0 12 town homes, with half of these being affordable.

• During the same period, CPR recommends 12 to 16 market rate rental units, 12 to 16 senior rental units, and 12 to 16 subsidized affordable units in addition to the existing four: Birchwood, Harbor View, Grand Marais Apts. and Sawtooth Ridges which offer 93 general occupancy units for 30 percent of household income.
  

• Adding up all the affordable or subsidized units brings the total to as many as 40 needed in the next five years alone, and only in Grand Marais. True believes this is understating the need; CPR has no way of knowing that our school enrollment is declining because young families can't afford to live here. It's time to stop arguing and start building. It's time to stop fighting over resources and start seeking out new ones--grants, scattered-site subsidies, and government aid, to name a few.
  

Watch True for more posts on affordable housing, coming soon.

Sawtooth Cottages on WTIP Friday AM

Announced by WTIP today:
Tune in to the AM Community Calendar Program at 9am on Friday, March 30 for a special interview with Sarah Hannigan, housing development director for Northern Communities Land Trust. Hannigan has been representing NCLT at recent public hearings regarding the Sawtooth Cottages affordable housing development project in Grand Marais.

Another public hearing will take place tomorrow afternoon in the city hall council chambers at 4pm in which the EDA will decide weather or not to move forward on an amended and restated development agreement with NCLT. If adopted, the agreement would allow for the sale or gifting, parcels will be sold for one dollar a piece, of 10 lots in a 37 lot development. In addition to taking public input on the current proposal during Friday’s public hearing, the EDA is also expected to officially terminate the original draft agreement.

That’s 90.7fm and 91.7fm Gunflint Trail! You can also stream us online. Go to www.wtip.org and click on the moose!

To read up on the issue, click here.

Always tuned to WTIP,

True

AE: will you send your post to the local papers?

Sarah Hannigan
to True

Thank you to A.E. for the recent post about Sawtooth Cottages. Is there a chance that the author would be willing to forward this to the local papers? Widespread distribution of this letter would go a long way toward dispelling the many myths surrounding the proposed development.

Many thanks,

Sarah

Sarah Hannigan
Northern Communities Land Trust
206 West Fourth Street
Duluth, MN 55806
218/727-5372
218/727-3646 (fax)
www.landtrustduluth.org

Sawtooth Cottages

The Sawtooth Cottages development is still under scrutiny by the EDA and interested parties, and the discussion is not being helped by the misinformation being put out in the print media and to the community in general. Those who are trying to derail this project are not helping the community or the families who will be able to buy some relatively decent, low cost housing. The Sawtooth Cottages project may not be perfect, but it should be dealt with honestly; the community does not deserve to be misinformed.

The facts are that Northern Community Land Trust was the only organization that responded to the RFP the EDA put out. Others had ample time to put in their own plan, but failed to do so. Even now though, they can bid on the contracting, should the project get the go ahead it deserves, or they can come up with a project of their own. Hopefully everyone will try to come together to do something positive for the community.

It is important that the community have all the facts on this project. Here they are as they are generally understood:

The NCLT builds quality homes and has so for some time. It has built over 135 so far. These homes have helped over 150 low income folks own their own home.

The NCLT started work on this development over a year ago. There has been ample time for critics to review the proposal and to offer ones of their own. One of the present critics was part of the team that helped review the RFP and the NCLT proposal and endorsed it.

The present discussions have 10 homes being developed. The will be about 1450 square feet in terms of living space.

Bids will be sought from local contractors for their construction and it is yet to be determined if they will be framed on site or if there will be modular or panelized components. NCLT will bid out all techniques and the most cost effective solution will be selected. The purpose of this project is to deliver the best value to the home buyer, not to make the most money for a builder or a developer!

A local general contractor will be selected to super the job, should a qualified one apply, and local subs will be part of the project.

As for the homes and the homeowners’ equity, and the community’s equity in the project, the goal is to create homes that are permanently affordable TO THE COMMUNIITY. Because of the land trust involvement they will remain affordable to future buyers. The land trust owns the land and leases it for a small fee to the homeowner.

If a buyer sells their home, they will get the price they paid plus 30% of any appreciation. In a “normal” development, the buyer would be expected to realize the entire gain. In this case the buyer is buying the house, not the land, and so 70% of the appreciation stays off the table to keep the home affordable for future housing needs in the community.

In effect, the initial public subsidy is recycled for the benefit of future buyers and the community as a whole. If this approach was abandoned, and the project's critics were to get control, they would pocket the subsidy and there would be no “affordability” left in the development.

The land trust reports that so far about 22 of their homes have resold at about three years of ownership and the original buyers gained about $8500 in equity. The retained appreciation coupled with the affect of the other subsidies kept about $1,000,000 in equity in the community for the benefit of future buyers and the community as a whole.

What this means is that even though price increases in housing are greater than wage increases in the economy, there is still a great degree of affordability retained by the project.

These homes are going to be sold below current market prices because the land trust has gotten $167,000 in assistance to help make them affordable and will likely be able to combine that with $432,500 in affordability gap aid along with $1,000,000 in no and low interest mortgage money - all of this because the land trust is a non profit.

There is help from the EDA. They will be offering ten lots at $1. These lots have a $20,000 value as real estate and about $35,000 in improvements – would have, were there a more solid home market at this time. This subsidy is a whopping $1,000,000 less than what was written in a recent letter carried in the local papers.

This all results in $210,000 homes being sold for about $140,000 - all to the benefit of the buyer and to the community as a whole.

These will be quality homes, built to the building code to ensure lasting value, durability and safe housing for our families.

Even though the whole project is geared to delivering affordable housing solutions to the community, could it be a better proposition? Certainly!

• The homes could have been smaller. Their size makes them unaffordable for the truly needy.

• The community could have been better represented and better informed throughout the process, especially those who are in genuine need of real low cost housing options.

• There could have been an emphasis on infill housing – vacant lots could have been identified within the community as a first option for home sites.

• A better job could have been done to protect the site in terms of the environment and access.

Sawtooth Cottages is certainly not the last word in affordable housing for Grand Marais. There are local developers, property owners and builders who have not been heard from who can likely deliver even more creative and affordable housing solutions, but they are on the sidelines and have yet to come forward. In the meanwhile, the present deal is the best deal that can be gotten at this time and, considering everything, it is an overall good deal for the home buyer and for the entire community.

A. E., Grand Marais

What a week in Cook County!

Dear True,
Snowbirds, beware. You may leave for the winter and return to find your scenic highway decimated of trees, your quiet roads invaded by ATVs, your family pets killed by trappers on your very doorstep, your property tax values doubled, and your taxes on lodging, recreation and just general stuff all increased to support the touts of the tourism industry. WHO say they need money to promote events, while they save thousands by laying off locals and hiring low-paid international workers in the short summer season.
Oh, look out, because nobody, nobody, is minded to preserve the fragile and beautiful ecosystem here, to keep our history alive for the many who would love to come visit and learn of it, or to promote eco-friendly, small scale economic ventures and affordable housing solutions for our young families and seniors.
Well... maybe not NOBODY, but nobody who votes with their dollars.
ALSO this week, the two county papers gave the most ink to the contractors protesting Sawtooth Cottages at the Grand Marais City Council meeting...
What does THAT mean? First of all, none of their facts were checked... second, over the last year and a half, many a person has braved the cameras to speak to the Council, but nary a one has achieved front-page coverage.
And last but not least, we meet the new Bidness Council, who declare their intention to "work with" the city in a "political" manner.... Who are these guys? They are not affiliated with GMATA. They are truly not representing anybody except themselves, themselves apparently being downtown bidness owners. Those same ones who don't want any restrictions on development of the properties that they own.
We have also seen new attacks on Harbor Friends for asking for a wetlands study of the harbor based on good historical records.
It's not enough to read the two papers. Or even to attend all the county, city, township, school, zoning, hospital, etc. meetings.... It's what is NOT said at the meetings that matters.
As dear Bill Moyers pointed out in a major speech this week, our so-called democratic elections are funded 95 percent by the richest five percent. Think about it. And don't believe everything, or maybe anything, you read in print.

An ordinary voter in Cook County