ROCORI Parking Lot Project Means Small Tax Increase
COLD SPRING -- The parking lot at ROCORI High School in Cold Spring is in need of major repairs. On Monday night the school board held a public hearing for a property tax abatement, which will allow the district to raise property owner's taxes to pay for improvements. The board approved a nearly $800,000 abatement.
Superintendent Brad Kelvington says a home valued at $200,000 will see a property tax increase of $9 a year for 15 years starting in 2020.
The design process will now begin with the goal of making the parking lot more user-friendly. Construction is expected next summer.
Since 1997 the state of Minnesota has allowed local governments to issue abatement bonds for projects like this without having to get voter approval.
In a separate project, the ROCORI school district is planned to spend up to $3.7 million in their Longterm Facilities Maintenance plan to fix the roofs and HVAC systems. Kelvington says this project will not have a tax impact for residents because they will bond for it using state aid proceeds. The roof and HVAC repairs are expected to be done by 2022.