By KEVIN GILES, Star Tribune
Last update: May 14, 2009 - 1:59 PM
In a reversal of an earlier decision, the Forest Lake City Council has voted to join the metropolitan transit taxing district.
The 3-2 vote Monday night means that Forest Lake will raise $274,000 to help pay for a weekday commuter bus service to Minneapolis. Forest Lake will assess residents in 2010 at a cost of about $25 for a house valued at $200,000, said Mayor Stev Stegner.
He said that while he's committed to mass transit, he voted against the decision. "I just thought there were too many expenses for the citizens of Forest Lake without any guarantees on our return," he said.
Council Member Jackie McNamara also voted no. Susan Young, Bo Bogotty and Jim DuFour voted in favor.
In March, the council voted 4-1 against the tax district decision, with only Young supporting it.
Route 288, a popular commuter bus route from Forest Lake to Minneapolis, began in 2008 after the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge. Its survival after this year depended in part on Forest Lake joining the transit taxing district, which the Metropolitan Council oversees.
Last year, Washington County voted to spend $1 million it received from the new transit sales tax -- a different tax than the one that Forest Lake council members voted down -- to keep the five daily buses running through this year.
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