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The Wyoming City Council was assured last week the police department is not having anything to do with immigration control and enforcement operations. 

Director of Public Safety and Police Chief Neil Bauer said in a memo to council the Wyoming area has not been an ICE destination, although he was aware of some activities taking place closer to Forest Lake.  

He explained that federal law enforcement authority is not subject to local police direction, controls or interference.  He added that if a disturbance develops or a resident calls for police aid in connection with an enforcement action,  officers will respond.  The state Department of Public Safety meanwhile is doing a good job keeping local agencies informed and in providing updates, Bauer concluded.

Also in the council meeting that ran about one hour, council advanced the 2026 street improvements by ordering specifications and plans, under the hopes of the bidding submitted by April.  

Actual work (as reported in earlier Press Wyoming council stories) will be done after school lets out, to avoid  school or bus transportation schedules, in the area of work planned.

Assessments notices have been distributed and are to be collected based on units on a parcel, explained city engineer Mark Erichson.   Preliminary assessment costs have been put at $1,665 per unit based on there being 248 affected units. 

Wyoming as a city policy contributes toward 80 percent of street repair and maintenance and affected project citizens cover 20 percent.  In this case the assessable amount is expected to be $413,000 but more exact numbers are known once bids actually come in.

Erichson said there have been two neighborhood informational meetings and the eventual contractor will be expected to work with residents on concerns (waste hauling, underground sprinklers, etc) and special needs.  There have been some fences identified that will  be relocated because they are not built in the correct place, he cautioned.

Only one resident who spoke during the hearing last week thanked the council for moving forward on the project.

Council agreed to have the Appeal & Equalization hearing held at Chisago County Government Center.  This spring the county assessors are to be available for a full day and into 7 p.m. in the evening, Wednesday April 15, for hearing what residents want to say about their property valuations.

It was agreed the longer timeframe and daylight hours should create a more accessible session for residents.  Normally this appeals process is held at a city facility and at night.  

Notices go out to all taxpayers that they have the right to question how the valuation of their property has been set,  and the right to appeal and bring evidence to support their idea of valuation for taxes.  Any changes will not be implemented until next year’s tax bill.

Wyoming will be hiring two seasonal employees to work in public works this coming summer.  The openings are from May to August.  

And, a conceptual plat for a development by LandDevCo of Wyoming was approved 5-0.  

The parcel is 43 acres and sits west of the freeway off County Road 22 or East Viking Blvd.  across from East Viking Lane.  

Original drawings were submitted to the city in 2021 and the project (now called Sunrise at Carlos Avery) is proposed with 36 lots, including 30 single family homes and six “rowhomes” for housing.   Turn lanes off the county road are part of the plan.

Long term buildout concepts (which are not being reviewed yet) will ultimately involve commercial/motel/or related uses.

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