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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08.04.08 Council Minutes 7a- COUNCIL MINUTES PRE-MEETING August 4, 2008 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Mayor Soderberg at 6:30 p.m. Members Present: Members Absent: Also Present: Soderberg, Fogarty, McKnight, Pritzlaff, Wilson None Joel Jamnik, City Attorney; Peter Herlofsky, City Administrator; Robin Roland, Finance Director; Kevin Schorzman, City Engineer; Todd Reiten, Municipal Services Director; Lisa Shadick, Administrative Services Director; Brenda Wendlandt, Human Resources Director; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant 2. APPROVEAGENDA MOTION by Fogarty, second by McKnight to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 3. CITIZEN COMMENTS 4. COUNCIL REVIEW OF AGENDA Councilmember Fogarty asked if we have enough election judges. Administrative Services Director Shadick stated we could use more for the general election. She distributed a revised resolution adding six more election judges to be appointed. There is enough for the primary election. Councilmember McKnight asked if the new Municipal Services Coordinator position was union or non-union. Human Resources Director Wendlandt replied it is non-union because it is a supervisory position. Councilmember McKnight asked how the wage scale for this position compares to the Solid Waste Supervisor. Staff replied it is very comparable. This position is up a little because additional duties have been added to the job description. Councilmember McKnight thought Benno's duties would be split up and given to a number of people. City Administrator Herlofsky stated they are giving his work to Lena Larson and eliminating one position. Councilmember McKnight noted there was a $200,000 bill for Friedges and asked if they have already done that much work on 19Sth Street. City Engineer Schorzman stated there are some upfront costs in some of the contracts such as mobilization, traffic control, etc. You can now see from where 19Sth Street is paved to where the roundabout will be. Council Minutes (Pre-Meeting) August 4, 2008 Page 2 Councilmember Wilson asked about the road for Vermillion River Crossing. Option one is a guarantee the road will be ripped up and redone. He did not see either option as a good option. He has not received any complaints about the road not being paved. He would rather see the permanent improvement done when the development moves forward. City Administrator Herlofsky explained the issue is if we go with a temporary improvement the developer pays for it. Ifthe road is done the way the plans show, it comes out of the escrow. Council did ask that the road be completed by December 31, 2008. Finance Director Roland explained the escrow does not affect the taxpayers. The developer put up a letter of credit so if improvements are not done as specified, we are able to step in and do them and get paid for them out of the escrow. City Administrator Herlofsky explained it protects the investment. Staff would prefer a temporary improvement, which is what the developer is requesting, would come out of escrow. That would decrease the amount of money available to complete the project. We are doing that for the protection of the development as well as the City. Councilmember Wilson asked about the probability if the first option is approved, the developer will come back to the City when they plan on doing option 2 and ask the City to pay for the full improvement. City Administrator Herlofsky stated the developer does not have enough money to do it and it will have to come out of escrow or it will not get done. Finance Director Roland stated the reason Council wanted the road done by December 31, 2008, was to make sure that the developer was in compliance with the Development Agreement. If they are n.ot in compliance, it is in default. City Attorney Jamnik stated no matter what they build it is likely to require a modification. The motivation to avoid option two is they will need to modify utilities and curb cuts depending on how the pads are used in the future. That is the logic to proceed with option one. Councilmember Fogarty clarified option two is a permanent solution without the curb cuts. The asphalt would not be tom up with option two. City Administrator Herlofsky noted there are a lot of projects in the community that are all struggling with these issues. He asked Council to keep that in mind when considering this project. City Attorney Jamnik stated there are other residential developments that are stagnant. Some are in foreclose, some on the cusp of foreclosure, some still progressing with improvements but at a reduced pace. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked if the project goes into default, what happens to the $2 million for the bridge. Finance Director Roland stated it is currently sitting as assessments and deferred assessments against the outlots and the lots that are there. The lots that continue to pay taxes would continue to pay assessments which would go towards the bond. The assessments on the lots that are deferred would sit until the time of development, at which time we would collect those assessments. In the meantime, in order to make bond payments we might have to levy. If we have to levy we would collect the dollars in special assessments to reimburse the City at a later date. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked if there is anything in the contract that gives us the option to sell the land and get our money out of it. He asked if the City can take the land and pay for the bridge. City Attorney Jamnik stated you can if the assessments and taxes levied against the property are not paid, the property would go into foreclosure, go to tax Council Minutes (Pre-Meeting) August 4, 2008 Page 3 sale with the normal six year redemption period and eventually would be sold, and the assessments would be reassessed at that point or be paid by the purchaser and the City would be made whole at that point. A subsequent developer might come in and ask the City to reduce, waive, or reapportion the assessments that have been levied. There are no guarantees. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked about the two businesses out there and if they are exempt from the assessment or exempt from leasing the property. Finance Director Roland replied McDonald's is currently leasing the land and the taxes and assessments are paid and abatement is due to the land owner, which is the Knutsen's. The Northfield Clinic is exempt from the assessments because they sold the land to the Northfield Clinic without the assessments. They absorbed the assessments against the rest of the parcels. Councilmember McKnight suggested inviting Mr. Knutsen to an EDA meeting so they can figure out where they are and become more of a partner with them. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked about the Voice Over IP for the new City Hall. He read where $168,000 was originally in the bonded City Hall project. In other parts he noted it was in the 2008 budget. He asked how the money can be in two places. Finance Director Roland replied the part of the project which is in the City budget for 2008 was the maintenance agreement whether we have a regular phone system or the Voice Over IP. When we originally did the budget for the City Hall project, which we issued the bonds on, the $168,000 for the Voice Over IP system was included because we thought we were going to purchase the system. The option of leasing did not come until later. The $168,000 for buying the system, we had talked about putting it in the City Hall budget, and in theory it is part of the bonded costs. When we did the 2008 budget, we took out a portion of the maintenance we knew would be separated and that is in the City IT budget as a maintenance item. It is in two different places, but in portions. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated a portion of the maintenance was taken out. The $117,000 is not the maintenance so why was $117,000 in the 2008 budget. Finance Director Roland stated the amount in the City's 2008 budget was the difference between the $168,000 and the $117,000. The difference is in the IT budget as the cost of maintenance for the Voice Over IP system. Councilmember McKnight stated the difference between the $168,000 and $117,000 is in the City budget which is $51,000. He asked where we are getting the $117,000 from the City budget as a year ago we set this up to take it from the bonded budget. Finance Director Roland will develop a spreadsheet to show where the amounts are coming from. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked about the total cost of the curbside clean-up project. Municipal Services Director Reiten will provide Council with the total cost. Mayor Soderberg noted a correction in the minutes. He then asked about the status of the grass issue in the Sunnyside area. City Engineer Schorzman stated it will be done towards the end of August/first of September. Council Minutes (Pre-Meeting) August 4, 2008 Page 4 5. STAFF COMMENTS Finance Director Roland noted on the award for the annual sidewalk replacement project, this project is always funded through the general fund and is within the amount budgeted. 6. ADJOURN MOTION by Fogarty, second by Pritzlaffto adjourn at 6:56 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, ~.., ~" ,/ /~ ;;-r? i;nthia Muller Executive Assistant COUNCIL MINUTES REGULAR August 4, 2008 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Mayor Soderberg at 7:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Soderberg led the audience and Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. 3. ROLL CALL Members Present: Members Absent: Also Present: Audience: Soderberg, Fogarty, McKnight, Pritzlaff, Wilson None Joel Jamnik, City Attorney; Peter Herlofsky, City Administrator; Robin Roland, Finance Director; Kevin Schorzman, City Engineer; Todd Reiten, Municipal Services Director; Lisa Shadick, Administrative Services Director; Brenda Wendlandt, Human Resources Director; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant Bob and Stan Knutsen, Russ McGinty 4. APPROYEA GENDA Mayor Soderberg pulled item 7a) Council Minutes (7/21/08 Regular) to abstain. MOTION by Fogarty, second by McKnight to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. ANNOUNCEMENTS 6. CITIZEN COMMENTS 7. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by Wilson to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: b) Adopted RESOLUTION R58-08 Approving Gambling Event Permit - Administration c) Received Information 2008 Curbside Cleanup Summary - Municipal Services d) Approved RFP Vending Services - Parks and Recreation e) Approved Appointment Recommendation Administration - Human Resources t) Approved Appointment Recommendation Finance - Human Resources g) Approved Solid Waste Division Reorganization and Appointment Recommendation - Human Resources h) Acknowledged Resignation Police Department - Human Resources i) Approved Cataract Fire Relief 2009 Pension Request - Finance j) Adopted RESOLUTION R59-08 Appointing Election Judges - Administration k) Authorized Awarding Annual Sidewalk Replacement Project Contract- Engineering Council Minutes (Regular) August 4, 2008 Page 2 1) Approved Bills APIF, MOTION CARRIED. a) Approve Council Minutes (7/21/08 Regular) MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by McKnight to approve with the correction. Voting for: Fogarty, McKnight, Pritzlaff, Wilson. Abstain: Soderberg. MOTION CARRIED. 8. PUBLIC HEARINGS 9. AWARD OF CONTRACT 10. PETITIONS, REQUESTS AND COMMUNICATIONS a) Schedule Interview - Parks and Recreation Commission - Administration There is a vacancy on the Parks and Recreation Commission. The term runs through January 31, 2009. One new application has been received and there is one application on file. MOTION by Fogarty, second by Wilson to call a Special Council Meeting to interview and appoint an applicant to the Parks and Recreation Commission on August 11,2008, at 6:00 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 11. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a) Update on City Hall Move - Furniture and Phones - Human Resources The punch list was started today for the new City Hall for the offices on the first floor, the second floor, and the expansion area on the second floor. Furniture will be delivered August 11, 2008. We will cut over to the new phone system on August 21,2008. City Hall phones will be down for a short period on August 21 as the switch over is done. Arrangements have been made with the DCC for Police and Fire calls. August 22,2008, City Hall will be open by phone only. August 25, 2008, we will be operating out of the new City Hall. The first Council Meeting in September will be in the new City Hall. The evening of August 21 and August 22 all systems will be switched over along with moving. Employees will be taking a vacation that day. An open house will be scheduled when everything is working and in place. LOGIS will be assisting with moving servers. City IT staff will be moving computers. The phone vender will be here Thursday, Thursday evening, all day Friday, and into the next week for any additional training and to assist with any problems. 12. NEW BUSINESS a) Vermillion River Crossing Update -Administration Mr. Russ McGinty, from Capital Growth, has provided a short term solution for the paving of Dushane Road. Staff has responded with two options: Council Minutes (Regular) August 4, 2008 Page 3 1. Option 1 - Pave the rock road as-is to provide a paved connection between Spruce Street and Knutsen Drive. It would cost $15,000 - $20,000. Staff would recommend not allowing the developer to use escrow funds for this option. This would be a temporary improvement. 2. Option 2 - Require the developer to construct the road as agreed to prior to December 31, 2008. The cost would be $435,000 and could be paid for through escrow funds. This would be a permanent improvement. Mayor Soderberg noted he wanted to be consistent with how we treat all developments. If something is coming out of escrow, it has to be according to City standards and according to plan. It cannot be temporary. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated if we use option two he did not want to leave the City short if something does not work out. City Attorney Jamnik stated in order to change from the approved plan, the developer would have to come in, and as a condition of changing the plan, Council could ask for additional security for the infrastructure changes. Mr. Russ McGinty stated the developer has run into problems because of the market conditions and the economy. They do not have the key anchors in place to proceed with the completion of Dushane Road. The developer is in the process of dealing with a number of different users. One is Dakota County Housing Authority who is looking to do a senior housing project covering four acres. If the street and curb are in, they would have to be tom up to accommodate that user. He is also dealing with a larger user, but does not know where the curb cuts would go. They would incur significant cost to tear up the road. It is more than just putting in the road and curb; there are sewer and water, stubs coming in, curb cuts, sidewalk, gas, electric, etc. They were asking the City to authorize use of escrow funds to construct a temporary road. Mayor Soderberg noted there are a number of developments in the City in the same situation. Those escrow funds are put in place so we can ensure infrastructure is put in place to City standards. Mr. McGinty stated the gravel base could be left in place and the temporary blacktop could be ground up on site for a new road. The cost is approximately $20,000. Once the tenants are finalized, there will be heavy equipment tearing the road up again. Councilmember Pritzlaff noted the developer has said previously there were deals close to being done. The project is stagnant, with nothing being done. He wanted to know where the project is going. Mr. McGinty stated the client has passed the first of three stages. His goal is to sell pad sites the way they are today and to try to find an anchor tenant. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked if we do the temporary road could the developer pay for it without escrow funds or part of it. Councilmember Wilson felt the CDA proposal was inconsistent with the current zoning. He asked about the timeframe. Mr. McGinty felt a decision should be Council Minutes (Regular) August 4, 2008 Page 4 made by the end of the year regarding a tenant. Councilmember Wilson was willing to wait for an update in September to see what the situation is. Mayor Soderberg clarified the zoning in the area is mixed-use. Finance Director Roland stated that area was identified for senior housing in the master planning process. Councilmember McKnight stated we need to do whatever it takes to get the hurdles out of the way to get this project developed. If Council's concern is that we are leaving the City short, or unsecured, then we should be doing nothing with this road, but he felt that was unacceptable. He was willing to look at option 1, the temporary paving because it does not make sense to do a significant investment when you do not know where the curb cuts, etc. will be. He was willing to negotiate with the developer as to where those funds will come from. Councilmember Fogarty asked if there was an advantage to having the road paved as far as marketing the property. Mr. McGinty felt there was no advantage. Councilmember Fogarty stated the clock on the abatement is ticking no matter what we do. We have protected the taxpayers. The date has been changed before as to when the road should be completed. The economy has changed, and Council needs to be flexible with that change. She has received no complaints about the road. She would leave the road and let the developer work on getting businesses in. Mr. McGinty offered to put down sodium chloride over the gravel to keep the dust down. Councilmember Wilson clarified Councilmember McKnight's position was option 1. Councilmember Wilson agreed with Councilmember Fogarty to do no paving. Mayor Soderberg would rather do no paving than take it out of escrow. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated according to the Development Agreement they had to have the road in by December 31, 2008. Putting in a road would allow use of the bridge and give residents another access to the two businesses out there. Plowing a paved road rather than a gravel road is easier in the winter. He was willing to have the developer come to an EDA meeting to see how they can help. Paving the road would be one more step forward. Councilmember Pritzlaff would be in favor of option 1 with 50% from escrow and 50% from the developer. City Engineer Schorzman clarified the arrangement made last fall was the Knutsen's would take care of plowing and grading. The City is not removing snow in that area. Councilmember Fogarty directed staff to change the date in the Development Agreement for completion of the road to December 31, 2009, and keep the maintenance of the road the same. Mayor Soderberg stated dates have been extended several times. To have a date that defines when the contract will be in default and then for the developer to ask the City to take them off the hook for that default, irritates him. He was willing to change the date in the contract, but wondered how that affects situations with other developers. City Attorney Jamnik stated it depends on the policy the City Council Minutes (Regular) August 4, 2008 Page 5 has set with other developments. There was one development that went through foreclosure, the City drew on the letter of credit, finished the project and paid the subs. There are several others in a similar situation or pending that situation. There has been no decision made and no recommendation from staff on those. One developer was meeting with a financial institution a week ago. Staff is trying to develop a cohesive policy that is logical, that analyzes what the City's exposure is with regard to completing the infrastructure. We no not want a situation where heavy traffic is using incompletely constructed roads for a long period of time, because that rips up the roads, and yet you do not want to finish the roads when you do not know what the ultimate development will be or where the curb cuts will be. We are trying to develop a policy that addresses all of the developments in the City. A decision made for Vermillion River Crossing may affect other recommendations that come to Council for other developments. Councilmember Pritzlaff suggested a June 2009 date rather than December 31, 2009. City Engineer Schorzman stated if Council expects the road to be started by June 1, that is reasonable. To have the road completed by June 1 is a short timeframe. City Administrator Herlofsky stated if they have a building there, they will want a road. Mr. McGinty stated it would be in the agreement to have a road and it would take six months to build a building. Councilmember Pritzlaff clarified he was not asking for the road to be done. If a building is started in April or May, the road will come, but if nothing happens by June, he would look at option one. Mayor Soderberg stated we are talking about a deadline for the contract. Currently we have a deadline of December 31, 2008. Councilmember Fogarty has suggested moving the deadline to December 31, 2009. The Development Contract would come back to Council at a future meeting. 13. COUNCIL ROUNDTABLE a) Budget Review - Administration Council will receive the 2009 Budget on August 18, 2008. The budget will be discussed at the September 2, 2008 Council meeting. A budget workshop will be held on September 8 if necessary and Council will adopt the budget on September 15, 2008. Councilmember Fogarty: Under the Consent Agenda, primary election judges were approved. She encouraged residents to apply to become election judges for the general election. Councilmember McKnight: Encouraged everyone to enjoy the Fair. Councilmember Wilson: He noted there were70 people that volunteered to be elections judges for the primary election. He encouraged residents to enjoy the Fair. Council Minutes (Regular) August 4, 2008 Page 6 Councilmember Pritzlaff: Thanked everyone who attended the beer bash for the American Legion. He encouraged residents to come to the Fair. Mayor Soderberg: August 5, 2008 is National Night out. 14. ADJOURN MOTION by Fogarty, second by McKnight to adjourn at 7:58 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, ~~~/Y?~ ~thia Muller Executive Assistant Special Council Meeting Minutes August 11, 2008 1. CALL TO ORDER 6:00 p.m. Mayor Soderberg called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. ROLL CALL Present: Soderberg, Fogarty (arrived 6:01 p.m.), McKnight, Pritzlaff, Wilson Absent: None Also Present: Lisa Shadick, Administrative Services Director Audience: Ed Samuelson, Charlie and Joanne Weber 4. APPROVE AGENDA MOTION by McKnight, second by Wilson to approve the agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. INTERVIEW APPLICANTS FOR PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION a) Garron Brenno b) Randy Oswald 6. APPOINT APPLICANT TO PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MOTION by Fogarty, second by McKnight to appoint Randy Oswald to the Parks and Recreation Commission. Voting for: Soderberg, Fogarty, McKnight, Wilson. Voting against: Pritzlaff. MOTION CARRIED. Council directed staffto encourage Mr. Brenno to apply in January. 7. ADJOURN MOTION by McKnight, second by Fogarty to adjourn at 6:26 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted ~fr?~ Cynthia Muller Executive Assistant City Council Workshop Minutes August 11, 2008 Mayor Soderberg called the workshop to order at 6:30 p.m. Present: Soderberg, Fogarty, McKnight, Pritzlaff, Wilson Also Present: Peter Herlofsky, City Administrator; Lisa Shadick, Administrative Services Director; Tina Hansmeier, Economic Development Specialist; Cynthia Muller, Executive Assistant Audience: Charlie and Joanne Weber, Kris Akin, Leon Orr, Kathryn Akin, Blanche Reichert, Ed Samuelson, Gil Anderson, Marilyn Briesacher, Tim Burke, Patti Norman, Colin Garvey, Allen Koss, Dave McMillen MOTION by Pritzlaff, second by Wilson to approve the agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Mayor Soderberg asked for comments from the residents on the use of the current City Hall site. Ms. Blanche Reichert, 113 Oak Street, member of the Rambling River Center, felt this was an excellent location for a Senior Center/Teen Center. There is lots of parking and space. Some walls would have to be re-arranged. Teens need a place to go as they are all over downtown after 9:00 p.m. There is vandalism, they throw garbage in the Depot Way Arts Park and then the City has to pick it up and residents pay for it. At the current Rambling River Center there is not terrific parking, and with the new City Hall, parking for seniors will be impossible. She feels the Rambling River Center should be tom down and made into a parking lot. The foundation is crumbling. She has heard some people want the current City Hall site to be a Vets Memorial park. To have a memorial for the vets is a terrific idea, but she does not think this is the spot for it. It needs to be in the Rambling River Park along the road, so when people drive through town they can see the memorial for the vets and remember them. Northfield has a terrific memorial on TH3. Ifthe memorial is on the City Hall site, she feels it will become a skate board park after 10:00 p.m. Mr. Leon Orr, 19161 Echo Lane, Chairperson of the Farmington Area Veteran's Memorial Committee, stated the Farmington area veterans have been trying to locate a memorial since 1925. They were actively looking for a place when they were informed there was a possibility that one of the considerations for the current City Hall site was the City might develop a downtown park and would they be interested in being a part of that downtown park with a Veteran's Memorial if that is the direction Council took. Members of the committee evaluated several sites; current City Hall site, north of the current City Hall, Rambling River Park, Dakota County Fairgrounds, Vermillion River Crossings, and the future Farmington North Community Park. They assigned points based on public visibility, adequate size, availability, convenient parking, routinely available to people, easily developed, utilities available, shared with other public facilities, and historically appropriate. After evaluating the sites, the current City Hall location was the first choice, the second choice was north of the current City Hall in some type of redevelopment effort, and the third choice was Rambling River Park, then Dakota County Fairgrounds, Vermillion River Crossings, and Farmington North Community Park. Whether this site is chosen for a downtown park or not, the committee is clear their first choice for a memorial Council Workshop Minutes August 11, 2008 Page 2 would be in the downtown area for several reasons. When recognizing veterans of many, many decades past up to the present, that by itself is historical by nature. In the historical downtown they felt this would be appropriate. As far as visibility, they want it to not just be visible, but easily accessible in a passive manner. Rambling River Park is more of an active park. This is more of a reflective, quiet type of memorial. Council was given a drawing a month ago of what the committee developed. That would be the concept phase and next would be the detail design. The actual dedicated space for the memorial takes 20% of the space for the downtown park. During certain veterans activities, the public would use the whole park for a veteran's event. Mr. Orr has visited memorials in various parts of the country. The Northfield memorial is a very nice facility. It is visible from the highway, but is more of a passing visibility as opposed to convenient access by the public. The proposed memorial contains a waterfall to drown out ambient noises in general. One resident asked what the rest ofthe park would be like. Mr.Orr noted that would be up to the City to determine. Mr. Orr envisioned a historical park. In their drawings, they show a shelter modeled after the railroad depot. Mr. Ed Samuelson, asked what the original cost was ofthe current City Hall. He asked if a feasibility study has been done on the building. City Administrator Herlofsky stated there was one done when a new City Hall was considered to determine if there was sufficient reason to spend money on this building. Councilmember Fogarty recalled it was more to evaluate whether a new City Hall should be built or whether this building could be built up and it could not, or if it could be expanded, and inefficiencies of the building. She was not sure if a study for different types of uses has been done. Mr. Samuelson asked if Council would consider having a feasibility study done before they make a decision on this building. Mayor Soderberg felt a feasibility study has an end goal in mind. City Administrator Herlofsky stated staffhas received some numbers to make it useful, but there was not a specific purpose designed for the building. It is difficult to say what you can do unless you first decide what you will do with it. There are heating and cooling issues. Mr. Samuelson understood the City needs to retain ownership of the land because of the well. Mayor Soderberg stated it makes it difficult to sell the parcel because of the well. City Administrator Herlofsky stated the City has to have control of 50 ft. surrounding the well and that cuts into portions of the building. Mr. Samuelson asked if Council has a timeline for their decision and if it would be this Council making the decision or a future Council. Mayor Soderberg replied it has not been determined. Mr. Samuelson has heard about a possible park and recreation referendum being proposed in the future. He asked if funding for this potential would be part of that and if there is a timeline. Mayor Soderberg stated that has not been determined. Councilmember Pritzlaff asked staff to obtain the appraised value of this building the way it is now. Mr. Gil Anderson, 713 Spruce Street, is a member of the American Legion, and is in favor of having a nice memorial. However, it has to be something visible. He does not think the current City Hall site is visible. Something at the Rambling River Park, children will ask questions about it and they want to get the kids involved. Mr. Anderson is also on the Rambling River Center Board and they would like to use the current City Hall building. It was originally built for the youth as a Community Center. He felt they would be missing the boat to not trade the current Rambling River Center for this building looking at the outside structure, the foundation, the heating, the square footage, etc. A parking lot at the current Rambling River Center site would be useful for the new City Hall. Parking is a big issue when anything is going on. Council Workshop Minutes August 11,2008 Page 3 Ms. Kris Akin, owner of 302 Oak Street, was a business owner for 20 years in downtown Farmington, there have been surveys done by the City and the Chamber asking residents what they would like to see in the community. One thing that has been brought up many times is a Teen Center. There are lots of outdoor programs, but not so many indoor programs. If the Parks and Recreation Department does not want to do it, then rent it to the YMCA, or someone who will do something indoors for kids. As a downtown business owner there is a problem with teens downtown. She would be mortified if they had a memorial downtown that was defaced or that was treated disrespectfully. She believes the memorial should be at Rambling River Park because it is a showcase of the community. When talking to other people, what they remember about Farmington is the beautiful park and the river. If the City were to rent the building, she does not consider it competition as a building owner. She considers it good competition to help get other businesses with more people coming and going so if the City decides to rent this building to other businesses, offices, retail, it is not competition. It is good for the downtown. Farmington needs an adult daycare, so if a Senior Center or a Teen Center was located here, that would work well with an adult daycare situation. We have the nursing home, the community home health, but we do not have an adult daycare where you can drop off a person for respite care during the day. That is another type of business Farmington needs. Ms. Marilyn Briesacher, member of the Rambling River Center, stated since she has been on the board she realizes how much they are outgrowing the space. One of their goals is to be a resource to the community. We cannot provide some of the services because we do not have the room. There are a lot of things going on at the same time such as card playing, line dancing, they are interacting and the noise gets to be an issue. The parking is a big issue. There were only two days out of all of last year that the facility was not being used. They provide space for 4-H, Girl Scouts, churches, receptions, AA meetings, Alanon meetings. There are senior programs consisting of card playing, organ club, model train club, computer classes, use of the computers for seniors, line dancing, yoga, men's coffee group, fitness center, wood carving. For non-members there is also the day old bread program, blood pressure checks, happy feet, 55 Alive classes, senior food for health program, and CAP dining. With all these things going on, they could use the space of a larger facility and be a resource for the community they would like to be. Mr. Charlie Weber, 5220 Robin Lane, member of the Rambling River Center Board and the Parks and Recreation Commission, noted there is a lot of talk about what it will take to upgrade this building. He had a copy of the estimates and there are a couple things he wanted to point out. One is the demolition of the existing building is $210,000. It does not say anything about fixing the ground the building sits on after it is torn down. You do not build a park for 50 cents. All of the things noted such as heating, etc. they have the same problem if not worse, at the Rambling River Center today. They have two furnaces, one does not have an air conditioner and the one that is there does not keep up. This is an excellent opportunity for this to be a community project for the young and old to work together in making these changes. In the past the Rambling River Center has put things in the budget that most of the time were turned down and the seniors raised the money with the help of the community to fix those things. Mr. Tim Burke, 20087 Heathrow Way, did not have anything to add about what the potential use of this building might be, but they have heard a lot of potentially very good uses of this building. I think it would be a horrible waste to knock this building down. The things we want to Council Workshop Minutes August 11, 2008 Page 4 accomplish here can be accomplished in other places where we do not have to destroy a perfectly good and functional building. Across the block is an open lot that the Council and EDA have been struggling with for a long time to try and put a building there. We have a perfectly good building here and some people want to knock it down. If the issue is where do we want to put a memorial, there are other excellent opportunities. He liked the idea of the memorial being at Rambling River Park where there is more green space and more space to conduct activities around it and gather. Having a resource like this and doing away with it would be a terrible waste of resources in this community that we would come to regret in very short order. Mr. Colin Garvey, asked when it was decided the well house could not be split. He believed there was a study done in 2003,2004 and there was a task force. He was personally called and asked if he was interested in buying the City Hall. They were going to put this up for sale and thought they could get $583,000 for it. That was the reason for choosing the new site, was because the well house could be split off. He asked where it was changed that it could not be split. Mayor Soderberg did not know that it had been changed, but you still have to control 50 ft. around the well site. Mr. Garvey understood that, but he heard earlier that it was just about impossible, and that is not what was said four years ago. Mayor Soderberg stated it makes the site less desirable. Mr. Garvey feels the current City Hall should be put up for sale and the money could be used to remodel the old Senior Center and buy the building next to it. There are enough spaces sitting in town and the rest of the business community is struggling. Every project there are assessments and values are going down, businesses are leaving. There is too much space sitting already. To tear this down to have another space, he cannot believe they are even thinking about it. At the worst, a Senior Center/Teen Center makes good sense. He was here in 2005 when the Veteran's Memorial people came to town and Rambling River Park was their first choice. That seems to be changed also. The use of this building has changed quite a bit since the original task force came up with a City Hall site. He felt it should be put up for sale and start reducing some of the taxes. Ms. Kris Akin suggested moving the liquor store to the current City Hall site if the City will be retaining ownership of the building. Mr. Ed Samuelson asked if the school district has expressed any interest in the building. They have not. Mr. Allen Koss, 1032 15t Street, asked what the procedure will be now. Mayor Soderberg replied Council will take the input received, along with the estimates staff has received from the architect, get answers to some of the questions regarding the original cost, and any earlier studies. This information will be compiled and somewhere in the future there will be another workshop to discuss it. Mr. Koss stated they receive a lot of communication from the City. He suggested polling the City population with a tear out in a mailing such as the water bill or the newsletter, list the suggestions offered, and see what people think. The kids have nothing to do at night. He has watched them set fires along the railroad tracks, put objects on the railroad tracks to be hit by the train, they have nothing else to do. St. Michael's Church has to be used as a community building, as Farmington does not have a community building. He felt this would be an ideal spot. Mr. Dave McMillen, 19440 Elsmere Court, appreciated the City and the Veteran's Memorial Committee looking into the memorial. Wherever it goes is fine, but to use this building as a Council Workshop Minutes August 11, 2008 Page 5 Senior Center is the right thing to do. The seniors as well as the teens are an asset to this community and we need to look out for them. He uses the current Rambling River Center once a month as a member ofthe model railroad club. It gets brutally hot and noisy, and for the seniors that use that building everyday, it is nice they have a place, but this building with the heating and air conditioning fixed, would provide a more secure, user friendly space for seniors. We have to keep these people in mind. They are an asset to the community. Mr. Tim Burke noted Council mentioned there was an estimate on the cost of doing something with this building. He asked what the Council was going to do, because he thought just like a feasibility study, unless you know how you intend to use it, getting a cost estimate is a waste of time, unless it is purely mechanical. Mayor Soderberg stated that is what the estimates were. Mr. Burke would like to know the source of the estimates and what they actually are and suggested staff put them on the website. City Administrator Herlofsky stated any estimate without a specific purpose is a guess and that is what was provided. It was technical based on the heating and cooling to give us some indication. Ms. Kris Akin assumed when Council makes a decision they will have an estimate for the current Rambling River Center building of what that will cost to maintain it or sell it. Mayor Soderberg stated we would have that information by what it has cost us in the past and estimates for upgrades or improvements. As the improvements are identified there will be studies done to determine the cost. City Administrator Herlofsky stated the Council in good faith is looking for suggestions so the efforts will bring the community together and not create division. The purpose is to get as much good information as possible. Councilmember Wilson noted some residents have mentioned a Senior Center/Teen Center. He asked if they can work well together. Mr. Charlie Weber stated Prior Lake has one. It works well because the seniors take their nap at 3 :00 p.m. and the kids get up at 3 :00 p.m. Ms. Blanche Reichert stated there would have to be a Teen Board with the Senior Board and some supervision. We have to get the kids involved with community things. Mr. Colin Garvey stated this was all looked at when the City Hall site was chosen. At that time it was decided to put this building up for sale. He asked when that changed. It was supposed to be sold to pay down the debt. Mayor Soderberg was not aware that it was decided, it was discussed. Councilmember Pritzlaff thought the estimate for fixing this building was high and thought all those improvements had to be made. He found out that is not the case. Whatever is on the list as far as what can be done to upgrade the building, just because we change the use, all of that does not have to be done. City Administrator Herlofsky stated until we decide a use, it is hard to determine which ofthem will have to be done. If the Senior Center/Teen Center is the consensus, what time frame are we looking at? We move into the new City Hall next month, he does not envision this building being empty 3-5 months before a decision is made. Mayor Soderberg stated we have not determined any timelines. The only thing we know is that we move into the new building August 25,2008. Then it will be up to Council to determine the timeline. A resident noted when Council was discussing building the Community Center in northern Farmington, it was a combined building for seniors, kids, activities, ball park. When that study Council Workshop Minutes August 11, 2008 Page 6 was done, there was a lot of money spent on that. We could not afford to build it at this time, so how can we afford to tear down a building we have. Ms. Kris Akin stated with the Downtown Business Association planning events, she felt a Farmers Market would be nice in this area. They are doing quarterly events. Whatever Council decides, make it quick. Don't let it sit empty. That is what hurts people trying to rent and sell buildings. Councilmember McKnight stated he has heard from plenty of people before tonight and it is also his preference to look at what it would take to turn this into a Senior Center. Everything does not have to happen over night. He would have no problem asking Rambling River Center staff, Missie, Peter, and staff to look at this building and what it would take to move in a month or two after we are in the new City Hall. Turning it into a Senior Center is his first preference. Councilmember Fogarty felt a Senior Center/Teen Center is a great use for this building. She would like to hear more about what Prior Lake is doing. She does not want this building sitting empty. We should have had this conversation six months ago so that we could be converting this in a month, but that did not happen. We do not need a long drawn out discussion if we have a consensus of what we want done. If obstacles become impossible then we will have to re- evaluate. It seems the majority of Council is leaning towards a concept and if that is what we are going with, let's dive in and see what it will take and what we need. Let's find out how Prior Lake works theirs so we don't re-invent the wheel. Councilmember Wilson suggested forming a short time ad hoc committee with one or two Councilmembers, members of the Rambling River Center Board, teen advocates and have three or four meetings to come up with a recommendation. Councilmember Fogarty agreed. Councilmember Pritzlaff stated he was in favor of the Senior Center/Teen Center. The parking in the downtown has been a problem, but that is not his biggest concern. Sometimes things cannot be done overnight, but if it becomes a Senior Center he would like to see it within a month. MOTION by Fogarty, second by McKnight to adjourn at 7:20 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, a~~ J/?~ ~thia Muller Executive Assistant