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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5.F.4. Designation of Official Newspaper SF'i CITY OF SHAKOPEE Memorandum CO~~StPt~T 'i .hf~ TO: Mayor and City Council Mark McNeill, City Administrator FROM: Judith S. Cox, City Clerk ~ SUBJECT: Designation of Official Newspaper DATE: December 30, 2009 INTRODUCTION: City Council is asked to designate the official newspaper for 2010. BACKGROUND: The City is required bylaw to publish certain matters in its official newspaper, during the course of the year. We publish the Council minutes (motions primarily), Ordinances, Resolutions when required by law, notices of public hearings on planning matters and public improvement projects, and advertisements for bids. It is appropriate that this designation be made at this time. To be qualified as a medium of official and legal publication, a newspaper must meet certain qualifications set forth by State law. To name a few, it must distribute the paper at least once a week for 50 weeks out of the year; be circulated in the local public corporation which it purports to serve, and either have at least 500 copies regularly delivered to paying subscribers, or have at least 500 copies regularly distributed without charge to local residents; have its known office of issue established either in the county in which it lies in whole or in part, the local public corporation which the newspaper purports to serve, or in an adjoining county; file a copy of each issue immediately with the state historical society. As long as I can remember, the Shakopee Valley News has been the City's official newspaper. The City has received the attached letter from Laurie Hartmann asking that the City consider appointing the Shakopee Valley News as its official newspaper. The 2010 charge for legal notices will be $12.00 per column inch. Previous years charges for legal notices were: 2009 - $12.00/column inch for 1 st insertion 2008 - $11.98/column inch for 1 st insertion 2007 - $11.49/column inch for 1 st insertion During the middle of 1997, the City began submitting legal notice copies on floppy disk, which resulted in a cost savings because the Shakopee Valley News staff did not have to retype the notices for publication in the newspaper. In 1999 we began transmitting our legal notices bye-mail. The 2010 charge for legal notices submitted in this manner will be $6.99 per column inch, reflecting a 1 % decrease from what was charged in 2009. The City has budgeted $14,950 for 2010 for legal publications for the City Clerk and Community Development departments. The City has had a very good working relationship with the Shakopee Valley News. They have been very accommodating in publishing notices that were sent to them after their deadline and have published them whenever possible. They have published items at no charge in their "Brief' section as well as press releases. They have also written articles on matters when requested to get the word out. RECOMMENDED ACTION: Move to designate the Shakopee Valley News as the official newspaper for the City of Shakopee for the year 2010. SVN-OfficialNewspaper Shako~lIey News December 14, 2009 Ms. Judy Cox, City Clerk City of Shakopee 129 Holmes Street Shakopee, MN 55379 Dear Ms. Cox, Please consider our request for appointment of the Shakopee Valley News as the official newspa- per for the City of Shakopee in 2010. We recognize that financial challenges are being faced by most government bodies, and feel very strongly that the publishing of legal notices in the newspaper is of vital importance to local resi- dents who wish to stay informed about the decisions being made by your elected body. Conse- quently, a per-inch rate of $6.99 is submitted for the coming year. The Shakopee Valley News wants to do its part during these tough economic times, so the rate proposed actually represents a 1 % decrease from what was charged in 2009. We would stipulate that the city follow its normal procedure of submitting legal notices in generic text format of as Microsoft Word documents via e-mail. Legal notices requiring special handling will be billed at the rate of $12 per column inch for the first insertion and $8.75 per column inch for subsequent insertions. Notices submitted by the City of Shakopee will continue to be posted on our newspaper website, www.shakopeenews.com, free of charge. Our legal notice deadline is at 4 p.m. on Thursday, preceding the following week's publication date; during holiday weeks the deadline may be advanced. Thank you for the opportunity to be of service to you in the past. We hope that relationship can be continued in the coming year. Respectfully, Laurie A. Hartmann Publisher " e ',"" 327 Marschall Road, Post Office Box 8, Shakopee, Minnesota 55379 . (952) 445-3333.