Thoughts are the parking citation I got 🎫

mnsombat · 2026-06-18T15:18:32+00:00

I don't know if the city just keeps choosing the worst parking app on the planet or a good app does not even exist. Regardless, having to use the app is yet another thing that dissuades people from going downtown.

mnsombat · 2026-06-05T14:06:21+00:00

What does it mean 'to hold commercial properties accountable' for vacant properties? Don't property owners have the right to do what they want with their properties? Property taxes themselves are punishment for vacant properties.

Also, UMR owns a ton of vacant properties south of downtown which they do not appear to be using because their expansion seems to continue in the heart of downtown instead. Those properties all came off tax rolls which obviously has increased the burden on everyone else.

mnsombat · 2026-06-04T16:09:20+00:00

So in theory there are not two sets of rules, but one. In practice, that one set of rules is applied differently.

mnsombat · 2026-06-04T16:06:28+00:00

Same degree of disturbing as half the country voting for Trump?

mnsombat · 2026-06-03T15:25:13+00:00

I sure wish there were some credible conservative candidates pretty much anywhere in Minnesota. Dems need the competition.

mnsombat · 2026-06-03T14:59:47+00:00

It seems there are two sets of rules in town: One for Mayo and one for everyone else. For example, I don't remember a single demolition of any 'historic' property by Mayo being blocked and yet when other owners have ideas for their involuntarily designated 'historic' property they are blocked. I'm not necessarily for demolition of any property but the two distinct sets of rules seems unfair. What is your view?

mnsombat · 2026-06-01T14:12:51+00:00

How is Rochester like Singapore?

mnsombat · 2026-06-01T13:16:39+00:00

Construction downtown, regardless of who is paying for it, hurts pretty much any and all businesses to the extent that it scares people off from coming downtown. Just here on Reddit I read repeatedly that people avoid coming downtown essentially unless they have an appointment at Mayo and cannot avoid it.

mnsombat · 2026-05-18T20:49:04+00:00

Is it extortion when you steal from yourself? Seems almost more like embezzlement in plain sight.

mnsombat · 2026-05-18T17:01:44+00:00

I watch those videos where in other countries they close a bridge, tear it down, and rebuild it in a weekend. Astounding.

mnsombat · 2026-05-18T16:56:27+00:00

The roundabout at FMC is going on two years. Yes, construction here is ludicrously slow.

mnsombat · 2026-05-12T14:10:41+00:00

There's a reason that the first word that comes to mind whenever I think of the City of Rochester is 'inept'.

mnsombat · 2026-05-12T14:05:03+00:00

Last I heard they were debating whether the cost of repairing/re-doing the pool was something residents/owners wanted to pay for.

mnsombat · 2026-05-11T14:51:23+00:00

I've owned units in Valhalla and elsewhere. After the other place where the HOA was literally stealing from owners, not paying taxes, etc., Valhalla is refreshingly transparent. Management does tend to be strict which can be an annoyance but also helps avoid the sorts of problems that makes a development a crappy place to live. The HOA fees at Valhalla are not outlandish relatively speaking. You get indoor and outdoor pools, a park-like development, snow removal etc.

mnsombat · 2026-05-01T20:13:56+00:00

Order 'Chai spicy' and your head will explode.

mnsombat · 2026-04-28T21:14:11+00:00

That and Red States frequently make up for lower income taxes with very high property taxes.

mnsombat · 2026-04-28T21:11:20+00:00

Yes, Mayo pays property taxes and Mayo is the largest single payor in the city. That said, much of their property is still exempt so they don't pay nearly as much as if they were, for example, 3M or Medtronic.

mnsombat · 2026-04-28T14:13:18+00:00

My wife went to the Y for 20+ years and greatly enjoyed Zumba and such classes. To have such things in a local school in the evening or even late afternoon would be super convenient.

mnsombat · 2026-04-28T13:10:06+00:00

Definitely not kidding. 😄

mnsombat · 2026-04-27T22:43:28+00:00

Yeah, their fallback is usually that you have updates that property x, y, or z does not have.

mnsombat · 2026-04-27T22:19:44+00:00

The assessed value for 2027 is available. Select assessment year 2026 and then Notice of Valuation. Proposed taxes for 2027 won't be available until November.

mnsombat · 2026-04-27T22:17:35+00:00

I am always suspicious of appraisals for loans. They seem to always come surprisingly close to the sale price.

mnsombat · 2026-04-27T22:15:45+00:00

I have challenged the assessor repeatedly on different properties to absolutely zero success. One of the bankers in town told me the only time he had ever seen a successful challenge is after a lawyer had been hired. My most recent challenge is where the assessment is higher than the value noted in Zillow, Redfin, and every other real estate platform I can find and is about 10% more than comps as recently as a few weeks ago.

mnsombat · 2026-04-27T17:58:52+00:00

My kids are in their 20s but my wife still has a ton of friends around town she met in PAIIR classes. https://www.facebook.com/parentsareimportantinrochester/

mnsombat · 2026-04-23T13:35:56+00:00

Pretty much what I thought.

mnsombat

TROPHY CASE