2020 Sanitary Sewer Lining Project Map
Per city website: The City of Vadnais Heights awarded a contract to a company, Hydro-Klean, Inc., to improve sanitary sewer pipes that serve the above neighborhoods. The existing sanitary sewer is a clay pipe that becomes prone to groundwater infiltration as it ages. This infiltration leads to unnecessary and expensive treatment of “clean” water. In order to prevent this infiltration, the city has televised and identified the sanitary sewer to be improved. There are no assessments to affected properties for this work, as it is funded as part of our quarterly sanitary sewer charges.
The work will include an innovative process of placing a special membrane lining inside the clay pipe, creating a new smooth-surfaced, long-lasting pipe within the existing sanitary sewer. This work will be done without time consuming, expensive and disruptive excavation to the street. Access to the sewer is obtained by using the existing manholes.
2020 City Budget
2020 Adopted City Budget — See pages 44–53
Documents the city’s water, sewer and surface-water budgets and its multi-year Capital Improvement Plan, including planned investments in streets, utilities, equipment, parks and other infrastructure.
Water Utility Fund - pages 44–45
Sewer Utility Fund - pages 46-47
Surface Water Utility Fund - pages 48-49
2020–2024 Capital Improvement Plan - pages 50-53
2020 Audited Annual Financial Report
2020 Governmental Capital Investment - See page 50
Documents $2.43 million in governmental capital investment during 2020, supporting the city’s continued investment in infrastructure and other capital needs.
February 18, 2020 Staff Memo
Feb. 18, 2020 Staff Memo — Combination Jetter/Vacuum Machine
Staff's evaluation of the sewer maintenance equipment, the approximately $421,000 Vactor 2100i price, the approximately 25-year age of the existing equipment and the reasons staff recommended replacement.
2020 Street Project Assessment and Cost Document
2020 Street Improvement Project — See page 1
Documents the $2.07 million street improvement project, including bituminous replacement on six streets. Page 1 shows the total project cost, $474,019.68 in proposed assessments, and $1,599,262.45 funded by the City.
2019 Adopted City Budget
2019 Adopted City Budget - See pages 1 and pages 42-50
Documents the city's Levy Analysis (page 1) Shows the 2019 levy and comparison with prior years.
Water, Sewer and Surface Water Utility budgets (pages 42–47) and its 2019–2023 Capital Improvement Plan (pages 48–50), showing that infrastructure needs were being budgeted and future capital projects were being planned rather than simply “kicked down the road.”
2019 Annual Financial Report
2019 Annual Financial Report - See pages 13 and 35
Documents the city’s year-end financial position and 2019 capital investments, including streets, water and sewer infrastructure, parks, city facilities and Public Works equipment. It also reports that the General Fund remained healthy and within Council policy.
Page 35- City's capital plans call for the “continuous repair and development of the municipal infrastructure” and lists the 2019 highlights: Commons/City Hall lighting upgrade, 2019 Street Improvement Project, Bear Playground equipment, Kohler Park tennis court resurfacing, water-meter upgrades, sewer-lining work, and the 2019 Ford F-350 plow truck.
Page 13- Under Financial Planning and Policies, the city states that the General Fund balance “remained healthy in 2019”and remained within the Council-established policy range of 35–60% of the following year's budget.
2018 Annual Budget
2018 Annual Budget for Fiscal Year January 1, 2018
2018 Adopted City Budget — See pages 1 and 48–50
The budget discussed in the letter, showing the 2018 levy and the City’s planned capital investments.
2018 Audited Annual Financial Report
2018 Audited Annual Financial Report — See page 68
Shows that the $626,904 was transferred from the General Fund into the Capital Improvements Fund, the resulting fund balances, and the separate $500,000 transfer used to reduce the levy.
December 6, 2017 City Council Record
December 6, 2017 City Council Record - pages 6-7 Section B.
Shows the $626,904 was transferred into the Capital Improvements Fund, not lost or depleted, and documents the separate transfers used to reduce the 2018 levy.
VADNAIS HEIGHTS BUDGET & CIP: UNRESOLVED CONFLICTS
What the published numbers show
The City's memos, annual budget, levy presentation and capital plan contain conflicting totals and incomplete funding explanations. Residents cannot determine the full cost of several projects or reconcile the published capital spending from the documents the City provided.
June 17, 2025 - 2026 Preliminary CIP discussion
source pages 1, 5-8 and 11-14
The preliminary CIP outlined major 2026 investments in streets, water, sewer, stormwater, equipment, and municipal facilities. The largest project was the Greenhaven-area reconstruction, supported by approximately $2.8 million in state-aid funds, $1.2 million in franchise fees, $1.115 million in assessments, and substantial water, sewer, and stormwater utility funding.
Other proposals included Public Works equipment replacements, HVAC reserves, LED conversions, stormwater-resiliency work, well repairs, sewer lining, and recurring contributions toward improving the Comfort Site.
The memorandum also recommended:
- Removing planned Park Dedication Fund projects until Council determined how to implement the newly adopted Parks and Trails System Plan.
- Removing the proposed $500,000 City Hall exterior, landscaping, and lobby-design allocation.
- Incorporating City Hall exterior and landscaping improvements into the South Fire Station redesign.
- Setting aside approximately $50,000 for immediate City Hall accessibility and safety work if those improvements were not included with the fire-station project.
The document is significant because it shows that the idea of combining City Hall exterior and landscaping improvements with the fire-station project was formally recommended by staff in June 2025—before the broader “City Campus” proposal emerged in 2026. June 17, 2025 CIP packet and departmental memoranda
September 15, 2025 - Parks-funding memorandum
Five-Year Parks and Trails Project Planning
Directs the Parks and Trails Commission to prioritize projects using anticipated funding sources. It identifies a projected $464,000 Park Dedication fee from Gallery Apartments Phase I, a possible $256,000 from Phase II, existing park and gambling funds, and proposed annual levy allocations. Projected funding remained subject to development and Council approval.
Dec 2, 2025 - 2026 Levy & Budget Public Hearing presentation
source pages 4 and 7
Presentation summarizing the proposed 2026 levy, General Fund budget, employee compensation, enterprise funds and Capital Improvement Plan. It highlights spending priorities, property-value changes, estimated homeowner tax impacts and comparisons with prior years and neighboring cities.
City of Vadnais Heights 2026 Approved Budget
City of Vadnais Heights 2026 Annual Budget
The City’s complete adopted 2026 financial plan, including the property-tax levy, General Fund revenues and departmental spending, special-revenue funds, water, sewer and stormwater utilities, capital-improvement projects, fund balances and other supporting financial schedules.
Fire Station Financials City Campus Direction
City Hall Campus Memo
February 17, 2026 — Council memorandum outlining proposed City Hall campus improvements, potential amenities, preliminary site planning, and financing scenarios associated with the South Fire Station project.
City Hall Campus
Partial Funding Through Grant
This is being structured as a new connecting trail to wind through and around City Hall including the New Fire Station.
The work plan describes a 21-acre project behind City Hall that would construct water-quality and retention ponds, looped trails, boardwalks, gathering and viewing areas, educational signage, public art and nature-based recreational features. Construction is scheduled through June 2030.
NOTE: The projected water-quality benefits—including reductions in sediment, phosphorus and algae growth—are preliminary estimates and have not yet been verified through completed construction or post-project monitoring. The figures appear to be preliminary engineering-model estimates, not measurements. Neither the proposal nor approved work plan identifies the specific model, underlying sampling data, runoff assumptions or removal-efficiency calculations used to produce the 11,000- and 39-pound figures.
The complete project is estimated at $4.053 million, including:
- $2.842 million from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund
- $150,000 secured federal/state stormwater grant
- $228,000 secured City funding
- $23,000 secured VLAWMO funding
- $810,000 in additional City and VLAWMO funding listed as pending
June 16, 2026 Preliminary CIP discussion for proposed 2027-2
source pages 45, 47 and 49-52
Presents the initial proposed ten-year CIP covering streets, parks, utilities, equipment and municipal facilities. This is the preliminary version that was subsequently revised or clarified in the June 17, 2026 memorandum.
Outlines planned investments in streets, parks, utilities, equipment and municipal facilities. Highlights include $800,000 for parks, a $500,000 fire-station placeholder, Comfort Site improvements and funding to phase out special assessments. Only the Capital Improvements Fund directly affects the property-tax levy; later-year amounts are preliminary planning estimates.
Note: As of 9/8/2026 the June 16 plan remains the most recent published 2027–2036 CIP, but it is still a preliminary proposal. Council discussions indicate that changes were being considered, so it should not be described as the final adopted CIP.
Parks & Trail System Plan
Vadnais Heights Parks and Trails System Plan — April 1, 2025
Provides a long range framework for improving the City’s 14 parks and 13-mile trail network. It includes community engagement findings, existing condition assessments, trail and amenity recommendations, natural resource priorities, individual park concepts, estimated costs and implementation priorities. The concepts are planning recommendations—not final construction designs or approved project expenditures.
Parks, Recreation, and Trails Commission Recommendations
This packet presents the Park, Recreation and Trails Commission’s recommended use of $600,000 for improvements at Greenhaven, Wolters, Bridgewood and Elmwood parks, along with benches, shade trees and potential Heritage Park signage. It also includes funding sources, project estimates, relevant Park System Plan concepts and concerns about Oak Creek Park; the recommendations were presented for Council direction and had not yet been formally approved.
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