Roseville residents made their voices heard on Tuesday electing two city council members and approving a ballot question, which authorized a half-cent local sales tax to fund the construction of a new Public Works and Parks Operations Facility.
Roseville voters rejected a second ballot question, which would have used the local half-cent sales tax to also fund the construction of a new License and Passport Center.
Two Council Members Elected
Incumbent City Council Member Julie Strahan has been reelected to a second term. !["Roseville]("https://www.cityofroseville.com/ImageRepository/Document?documentId=37424")
Matt Bauer, who currently serves on the Roseville Planning Commission, was also elected. This will be his first term on the Council. He is taking the seat vacated by Councilmember Jason Etten, who chose not to seek reelection.
The other candidates on the ballot were Joshua Kiley and Kevin Nicholson.
Both Strahan and Bauer will serve 4-year terms on the Council.
Other sitting Council Members are Mayor Dan Roe, Wayne Groff, and Robin Schroeder.
Yes on Local Sales Tax for Operations Facility!["Roseville]("https://www.cityofroseville.com/ImageRepository/Document?documentId=37422")
Voters approved CITY QUESTION #1, allowing the city to enact a half-cent local sales tax to build a new Public Works and Parks Operations Facility at a cost of $64.2 million. Question #1 passed with 55% voting yes.
The new operations facility is designed to be a flexible, multipurpose space that is roughly three times the size of the current building. It will serve as a more efficient, centralized hub for the essential city services that are supported by the current building, including:
- Water distribution systems
- road work
- snow removal
- maintenance of the city’s 33 parks
- storage and repair of more than 300 vehicles including snowplows, street sweepers, and fire engines.
Voters rejected CITY QUESTION #2, which would have used the local half-cent sales tax to also fund the construction of a!["Roseville]("https://www.cityofroseville.com/ImageRepository/Document?documentId=37423")
new License and Passport Center at a cost of $12.7 million. According to early election results, 53% voted no on question #2.
What to expect
The two elected council members will be sworn in during the first meeting in January. The Council will determine next steps for the planning, phasing, and construction of the new Public Works and Parks Operations Facility.
Original plans called for the new Operations Facility to be built at the northwest corner of Lexington Avenue and Woodhill Drive, where the VFW, Veteran’s Park, and Lexington Shoppes, including the License Center, are currently located.
The new License & Passport Center was to be built across the street from the new Maintenance Operations Center at the southwest corner of Lexington Ave and Woodhill Drive. The VFW was to be moved to a new building next door to the new License & Passport Center.
Voters’ rejection of ballot question #2 may alter those plans.