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1. What is Cultivate Hopkins?
2. What must be included in a comprehensive plan?
3. Why are we updating the comprehensive plan now?
4. What was included in the last comprehensive plan?

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1. Can I disconnect my fire alarm system?
2. Can I stop calling the Fire Department?
3. How much will a billable false alarm cost me?
4. What can I do to prevent false alarms?
5. Will I get billed every time my fire alarm system goes off?

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1. Have you purchased or moved into a property in the past year?
2. What is a qualifying relative?
3. When do I apply?

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1. What is housing discrimination?
2. What kind of housing is covered?
3. What kind of housing is not covered?
4. What does "familial status" cover?
5. How does the law define "disability?"
6. Is sexual harassment covered by fair housing law?
7. What are some examples of housing discrimination?
8. Are there additional protections if you have a disability?
9. What are requirements for housing to be accessible?
10. How do fair housing laws apply to families?
11. Does “Senior Housing” fall under the prohibition against familial status discrimination?
12. What are Fair Housing Act standards for building accessibility?
13. Can I be denied housing because I have a Section 8 voucher?
14. If a landlord has a “no pets” policy, can they refuse to rent to me if I need a service animal?

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1. How many departments prepare a budget?
2. Where do multi-use paths fall within the budget and can that be shown as its own line item?
3. What opportunities will there be to comment on the preliminary budget after it is approved in September?
4. Why does the Truth in Taxation hearing occur so late in the budget process?
5. Does the city use a top-down or bottom-up budget process?
6. Do departments receive any instructions on how to prepare budgets? Who set the instructions?
7. Did or could you consider a Fiscal Advisory Committee made up of residents?
8. When will the 2020 Budget document be posted online?
9. When do you plan to update the Financial Management plan for the next five years?
10. Does the Hopkins compare itself with other Cities?
11. Why does the City issue debt?
12. Will revenue considerations that affect decisions on the upcoming zoning changes be made?
13. Commercial property bring in more revenue, is the city focusing on them over residential apartment buildings?
14. What is the outcome of the Moline parking ramp settlement? How does it affect the budget? What documents are available online?

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1. How do I know if my property has a racially restrictive covenant?
2. Help! My property has a covenant, what do I do next?
3. Where can I learn more about these covenants and their impact?

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1. Where can I park my car?
2. How long until a permanent solution to the parking situation is available?
3. Will the Knollwood Tower - East parking ramp at 320 Blake Road close?
4. Does City code require that vehicle parking be provided?

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1. 1. Take the Organics Recycling survey
2. 2. Read the Hennepin County Organics Recycling Guide
3. 3. Visit the City of Hopkins Organics Recycling webpage and review accepted/ unaccepted items
4. 4. Take your organics to the curb for pick-up OR bring them to the drop-off site
5. 5. Share a meal with a friend or neighbor
6. 6. Take a photo of your countertop organics bin
7. 7. Learn strategies to reduce odor for countertop organics bins
8. 8. Meal-prep for the week
9. 9. Purchase BPI recycling bags and visit the BPI website
10. 10. Recycle your toilet paper roll and paper towel tubes
11. 11. Have a conversation about organics recycling
12. 12. Have a ZERO waste day
13. 13. Make broth out of veggie scraps
14. 14. Make a grocery list before shopping
15. 15. Eat a lunch or dinner using leftovers
16. 16. Share ideas with a friend, family member or neighbor on how to reduce organic waste
17. 17. Donate food to ICA or your local food shelf
18. 18. Recycle a pizza box or paper egg carton
19. 19. Encourage a Hopkins resident outside your household to take the Organics Recycling Survey
20. 20. Pack a lunch for work 3+ times
21. 21. Utilize your freezer
22. 22. Set-up an EAT FIRST bin in your fridge
23. 23. Use paper bags or reusable bags on your next shopping trip
24. 24. Make a meal using up ingredients in your fridge

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1. How do I know if Hopkins has declared a snow emergency?
2. Where else can I park?
3. When will towing begin?
4. What do I do if my vehicle is towed?
5. Why does the City declare snow emergencies? Can't you just plow around vehicles?
6. Why not just ban parking on City streets throughout the winter?
7. There have been times when more than 2 inches of snow has fallen and no emergency was called. Why?
8. Does the City receive any money from towing cars?
9. How long does it take to plow all the streets and alleys in Hopkins?

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1. I have locked my keys in the car, can you help me?
2. What is the noise ordinance in Hopkins?
3. What is the law for dogs ownership limit, leash and bark complain?
4. Why doesn't the City tag cars instead of tow during a snow emergency?
5. How do I get an Order of Protection?
6. Isn't the street in front of my house for my parking only?
7. What time is curfew
8. How do I report graffiti?
9. How do I clean up graffiti?

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1. Please explain in detail why the city has $83.5 million in debt?
2. Please explain how the city will pay off outstanding debt? Will the City’s debt continue to rise?
3. How will Hopkins utilize the funding received from American Rescue Plan Act?
4. Where is the 5 percent increase in tax capacity expected to come from?
5. The city seemed to function fine after the budget was reduced in during 2020/2021. Provided we are still in a pandemic, why have the cuts been restored?
6. How do you model revenue around Tax Increment Financing projects to ensure there is sufficient revenue for increased demand on City services before the project is decertified?
7. Have you run current cost recovery models for inspection services like rental licensing or fire inspections in comparison to other metro area cities?
8. In order for Southwest Light Rail to be successful, people need to feel safe. How will the City ensure that people feel safe while riding? Will it be paid for by raising taxes? Should we ask busines
9. How do we engage the community more in the budget process?
10. What is the history behind the Fire Department responding to medical calls? They make up a large share of the work?
11. I would like more information on the amount of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and its duration.

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1. COVID is forecast to continue causing unemployment, home-bound education, and health impacts. How could this impact City budgets?
2. Why can't Hopkins pick a group of peer cities with similar population numbers, demographics and tax capacity to benchmark itself against?
3. How are budgets for the largest department, the Police Department, set? Are there opportunities for citizen input?
4. Have any employees been furloughed, or have any employees been asked to furlough hours?
5. Where can the city budget be cut?
6. I would like more information on the amount of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and its duration.
7. Given the difficult times, why the large increase in equipment spending?
8. Are we ready for the light rail to come to town?
9. Have you talked with neighboring communities about additional partnerships to find efficiencies? Beyond recreation?
10. The City seems to have a binary way of looking at the budget - either increase taxes or reduce services. I ask that staff work to reduce expenses/seek new revenues so that our taxes can remain flat.
11. Why doesn't the City focus on paying off the debt rather than increasing taxes and spending more?
12. Why are you not asking departments for cut scenarios? 5%, 10%, 15%?
13. Again, given the difficult times residents are experiencing, are you planning wage/salary increases for employees? Where is that information found?
14. Have you frozen hiring for 2021?
15. You stated that approximately 70% of City employees are represented by a union, what about the other 30%?
16. Can you elaborate on the increases to Public Safety?
17. Why didn't you include alternative scenarios so residents could react if you already had it? Seems like the discussion would be more informed if they had the full details.
18. Will you be posting the comments people made with the survey?
19. Have you offered up voluntary budgetary leave to employees?
20. Will this budget allow the City to keep up with the services and maintenance that residents expect?
21. The survey was pre-pandemic, correct?
22. What street projects are coming up?
23. Are there any new positions in the budget?

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1. How long will it take for the City to review my permits?
2. What permits do I need to apply for a solar system?
3. Will my inspection occur at a set time or during an inspection window?
4. Would adding solar to my development project be considered a public benefit during Planned Unit Development approvals?
5. How long will I wait for my inspection appointment after requesting an inspection?
6. How many inspections are required for a rooftop solar PV?

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1. How do I apply for the special assessment deferment?
2. How do I qualify for the special assessment deferment?
3. What assessments are eligible for the deferment?
4. When will the deferral end?
5. Who authorizes the deferral of special assessments?

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1. How can I get involved in the planning process?
2. How much will it cost to build?
3. What about the Downtown Station Plaza? Is that included in the Artery Project?
4. What is the Artery?
5. What is the Artery Experiment?
6. What is the timeline for the project?
7. Why are we doing this?
8. Will property owners along Eighth Avenue be assessed for the cost?

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1. What age youth are welcome at The Depot and when?
2. Who runs The Depot?
3. How can the students run The Depot without any adults?
4. How is The Depot Funded?
5. How are the schools involved? Can students get credit for participating at The Depot? Is it just Hopkins School District?
6. Has The Depot won any awards or special recognition?

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1. 1994
2. 1996
3. 1998
4. 2000
5. 2004
6. 2005
7. 2006
8. 2008
9. 2009
10. 2010
11. 2011
12. 2012
13. 2013

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1. Why is the Depot reducing hours during the winter season?
2. Are the changes to operations permanent?
3. What is the Depot’s mission and how will it be served in 2023?
4. How else can I support the Depot?
5. When will the Depot resume its normal operating hours?

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1. Why should I vote by mail?
2. Can I still early vote in-person if I want to?
3. Can I vote early if I am not a registered voter?
4. Will polling places be open on Election Day? Will any be relocated?
5. What are you doing to prevent virus transmission in polling places?
6. I want to vote by mail. How does it work?
7. How do I know my mail ballot is safe to open?
8. What laws are in place to make voting by mail secure?
9. How do I know my mail ballot was counted?
10. Can I drop my ballot off in-person rather than mail it back?
11. Will my ballot count as long as it is postmarked by Election Day?
12. Can I drop off my ballot at my polling place on Election Day?

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1. How do I report a water main break?
2. What do I do if I think I have a water leak?
3. What is the hardness of the City's water?
4. Why is my water brown?
5. Where can I find out about water quality in Hopkins?
6. How much water do I use when I flush my toilet?
7. Do I use less water when hand washing dishes or when I use my dishwasher?

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1. How do I sign up?
2. When will my bill be paid?
3. How can I be sure my bill has been paid?
4. What if I have a question about my bill?

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1. Why are City utilities the responsibility of the property owner, when it is the tenant or occupant using the utilities?
2. Does the City have authority to make me responsible for utilities used by the tenant?
3. What difficulties has the City encountered in billing the property's tenant?
4. Why can't the landlord have the tenant's water shut off?

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1. Why is their a compostable bags state law?
2. Where can I get compostable bags?
3. Can I still use non-compostable plastic bags for yard waste?

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1. How high is too high for my grass?