In an effort to level the playing field for bricks and motor businesses, the International Falls City Council Monday adopted a resolution supporting the Main Street Fairness Act, which is pending action by Congress.
The act authorizes the use of a multistate agreement intended to simplify sales and use tax collection and administration.
In addition, it would allow state governments to require large out-of-state retailers, including catalog and Internet sellers, to collect and remit sales tax on purchases shipped to those residents of those states. Now, consumers are generally responsible for paying the sales tax due on their online purchases.
Councilor Cynthia Jaksa, chair of the city?s Finance and Legislation Commission, said the federal act would increase revenue to Minnesota by $3 million to $4 million annually, which she said represents about 1 percent of the state budget.
In other business, the council approved a recommendation of the city?s Economic and Development Authority to allow the use of Smokey Bear Park July 14 and 15 for the kick off of the 24th Annual Bike MS: TRAM.
The six-day, five-community bicycle tour is expected to generate about $50,000 in each community it visits, Aaron Briner, special events manager of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Upper Midwest Chapter, told the EDA last month.
The tour is expected to pump money into the community as it draws about 800 bicyclists and a couple hundred volunteers who will need lodging, food, and gas and will get a taste of Borderland. He said the tour would need 125 to 150 hotel rooms and would be supported by 14 coach buses that will transport the group and its equipment from Duluth to the Falls. From 250 to 300 tents would be set up for the night at Smokey Bear Park.
The council, led by Mayor Pro Tem Paul Eklund in Mayor Tim ?Chopper? McBride?s absence, also agreed to seek conveyance from Koochiching County a small vacant lot on Third Street.
The EDA recommended the move after it heard a proposal for a ?pocket park? by Voyageurs National Park Superintendent Mike Ward and Boise Inc. Public Affairs Manager Lori Lyman.
Eklund said he appreciates the idea of Voyageurs and Boise collaborating on the project, which he said is unique. In addition, he said the gap created by the vacant lot is like a tooth missing on a smile.
The council also agreed to designate Bremer Trust, National Association, as a depository. The action is intended to help the city diversify investments for greater returns.
A commercial loan to Phung Vi Boi and Kim Nguyen, doing business as the Rose Garden Restaurant, was extended at a 3.75 percent interest rate with a thee-year balloon.
The council approved a recommendation to hire Matthew Buller for a light equipment operator in the Public Works Department.
Public Works Director Gary Skallman told the council that the city received 57 applications for the position and interviewed five candidates.
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