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anticipated in the building budget. It is estimated that the increase would be $3,430 and there is sufficient funds remaining in the Council Contingency fund that could be used for this. Motion by Councilmember Beyer and seconded by Councilmember Zimmerman to recommend City Council adopt the resolution authorizing budget amendment for the construction of evidence and property storage room in the Police Department facility. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Hardin, Councilmembers Beyer, Zimmerman, Beahen and Peterson. Voting No: None. Case #4: Authorization to Terminate Civil Defense Siren Maintenance Contract with Doradus Corporation and Enter into an Agreement with Embedded Systems, Inc. Finance Officer Hart stated that the City has had a contract with Doradus Corporation for the maintenance and monitoring of the civil defense siren system for the past several years. Initially the cost was on a time and materials basis but the most recent contract was converted to a fixed price service agreement. The Doradus Corporation, who has been the only option for this type of service, has been lacking severely in their attentiveness to the City's needs and the communication between their repair agent and the City is terrible. Because of this, Ms. Hart requested a proposal/contract from Embedded Systems, Inc. Their proposal is identical to that of Doradus but at a lesser cost. Chief Auspos contacted references and Embedded came highly recommended. Motion by Councilmember Beyer and seconded by Councilmember Zimmerman to recommend City Council authorize Police Chief Mike Auspos to inform Doradus Corporation, in writing by November 1, 1996, of the City's intent to terminate their contractual arrangements. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Hardin, Councilmembers Beyer, Zimmerman, Beahen and Peterson. Voting No: None. Motion by Councilmember Beyer and seconded by Councilmember Zimmerman to recommend City Council authorize the City Administrator to enter into an agreement with Embedded Systems, Inc. for providing maintenance and monitoring services for the City's civil defense siren system. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Hardin, Councilmembers Beyer, Zimmerman, Beahen and Peterson. Voting No: None. Case #5: Consider Alternative to Ramsey Resident Newsletter Administrative Services Manager Waite Smith stated that she has been approached by the Andover, Ham Lake, Ramsey Times to consider buying two pages in their paper each month. The cost is $500 for the two pages per month plus 6¢ per household delivery charge. She presented some comparisons: $11,675 per year printing seven issues of the Ramsey Resident versus $10,104 per year printing our information in 12 issues of the Andover, Ham Lake, Ramsey Times. If we printed 12 newsletters per year, the cost of printing would be $20,014. The amount of staff time required to produce a monthly newsletter, however, would be beyond our current capabilities. She explained that the quantity of information would be significantly lower in the newspaper but it would be more focused specifically on items related to Ramsey. The paper quality of the newsletter is better than that of the newspaper. The amount of staff time would be less with the newspaper option. One advantage the newsletter has over the newspaper is that it has a more specific community identity. People know exactly what it is when they receive it. They may not take time to read a publication that has "Andover" as the first word in the title. Another advantage of a community newsletter is that we have total control over what appears in print. We would only control the pages we pay for in a newspaper. Finally, the Andover, Ham Lake, Ramsey Times Finance Committee/October 22, 1996 Page 3 of 6