Residents press Brooklyn Park council for fall referendum and clarity on $5 million state match for community activity center

Collette Guyott‑Hempel, a Brooklyn Park resident, urged the council to place a referendum on the November ballot to fund parks and community amenities, saying “there was no time to waste” and asking whether the city would need to provide a local match for a cited $5 million state appropriation.

At a March 25 council meeting, Guyott‑Hempel asked a sequence of specific questions: whether the city must match state bonding dollar‑for‑dollar; what local funding sources staff had investigated; and whether the state would hold the $5 million if the city could not immediately secure matching funds. She also asked whether there was a state deadline for using the funds and whether the city had the money to complete entrance renovations and other components of options under consideration.

Planning and finance directors described the limits of the city’s current authority. Planning Director Mogush said the city had adopted the International Property Maintenance Code and staff continued to encourage developers to provide multi‑bedroom units and other amenities. Finance Director LaTonia Green told the council that the recently announced homestead credit change would apply to 2025 property values and that the city did not have authority to alter state homestead credit rules for 2024.

Council members and staff repeatedly emphasized they had not yet finalized a local funding plan. City Manager Jay Stroebel and staff said they were reviewing potential matches and grant opportunities but did not provide a specific deadline from the state or a defined local match amount at the meeting. The transcript records the $5 million figure mentioned by a commenter but does not include a formal staff statement of the state's timeline or a legally binding match requirement.

Why it matters: The Community Activity Center project under discussion includes renovations and potential reconfiguration of rink space and other amenities; whether the city can secure a local match will determine whether and how the state appropriation can be spent and whether a November referendum is feasible.

What’s next: The council asked staff to continue outreach and financial analysis. No formal vote on a referendum or binding funding commitment occurred during the March 25 meeting.