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THE WOODBURY RECORDER

Transcript · Woodbury

WoodburyTranscriptTuesday, February 17, 2026
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Ahead of the legislative season each year, we reflect on our goals and needs and determine areas where we can collaborate with the state or federal government to secure funding support for Woodbury. When our advocacy is successful, as it has been in the past, it can mean millions of dollars are saved, which reduces the tax burden on Woodbury residents. I want to share more about our state and federal requests with you. We are seeking a state bonding request of $2 million for Law Lake Park restoration and development project. This request focuses on the northern part of the park featuring the construction of a large open air picnic shelter with permanent restrooms, picnic areas for large groups and multi-generational gatherings, as well as a newly paved entry drive, parking lot, and trails. These updates will provide yearround access to natural resources and recreation experiences for residents in the region, including those with mobility issues. We are also requesting a sales tax exemption for materials and construction of the water treatment plant and water tower and associated pipeline. The city council also gave direction to include a commitment to housing diversity in our legislative priorities. Upon considering housing legislation over the last couple of years, as well as potential legislation to come, our legislative platform includes a general housing commitment by the city again, as well as specific priorities we urged the legislature to consider. The council also approved support for several other selected bills and issues that affect the city, including support for a statewide sales tax exemption on all city projects, support for the equal access to broadband bill, and support for recommendations to address safety concerns with e transportation devices such as ebikes. In addition to the state priorities, we're monitoring our 2025 congressionally directed spending requests at the federal level as the 2026 budget bills have not yet passed. These include support for rear drive improvements, a new emergency operations center at the new public safety campus, and a new public safety records management system. In anticipation of the fiscal year 2027 cycle starting, the city has identified additional federal legislative priorities which will likely be submitted around March 2026. These include deferred water storage maintenance projects. We are seeking funding support at the federal level to mitigate the PAS financial impacts that PAS has had on our budget through no fault of our own. Community development block grant money for trails. This would be funding above and beyond the city's regularly allocated CDBG funding to be used on trail repair and connections in qualified areas. Also, security updates for public safety expansion and renovation. This request is for funding to support a public safety campus project. If successful, this funding could help to offset the overall cost of the project, as well as technology requests for public safety to support police and fire operations. We will continue to look for ways to bring resources back to Woodbury to support our community. In addition to our legislative priorities, there are many other key current and upcoming projects and initiatives worth highlighting, including the anticipated spring groundbreaking for the expanded and remodeled public safety campus. I'll be touching on many more items in my annual state of the city presentation, which will be shared at an in-person gathering February 26th at Central Park.