Agenda - Council Work Session - 06/30/2009

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CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION Topic Report: Old Town Hall By: Jessica L. Hendricks, Management Intern 4 Background: The Old Town Ball was constructed in 1892, and is the only historic building in the city of Ramsey. It is also the only remaining one-room school house in Anoka County. At the February 12th Leadership Planning Session, Council and staff identified making a decision on Old Town Hall as a priority. On August 23rd, 2005 a resolution was adopted by Council authorizing staff to move forward on the process of moving and renovating the Old Town Hall. The case and resolution are attached for Council reference. To date, no other formal actions have been taken, thus the resolution adopted on that date is still valid. Over the years, there have been several scenarios discussed with regard to the future of the Old Town Hall, in short, they include the following: . Complete the restoration of the Old Town Hall at its current location and utilize it for community meeting space and/or a historical center. In 2007 the estimate for this scenario was $221,300, and included creating parking and upgrading the private access road to a public street. . Complete the restoration of the Old Town Hall and lease the space to a private entity to operate a business out of the location, restoration work could be completed by the tenant in this scenario. In 2005, Landmark Bank had indicated an interest in this scenario, utilizing the building as additional office or meeting space. At that time, the Council opted to keep the building for public use. . Move the Old Town Hall from its current location to a new location in a City park and complete restoration at its new location. Utilize the building for community meeting space and/or historical center. Sell the lot where the Old Town Hall currently is located to a private entity for a business use. This option would most likely remove the "historical site" designation for the building. The 2007 estimate for this scenario was $195,000. This is the scenario reflected in 08/23/05 resolution. As Council will recall, at the current location of the Old Town Hall, parking is limited to 3-4 stalls that are a part of the Landmark Bank parking lot. In addition the road that provides access to the site is a private street; staff has recommended upgrading that street to a public street if public access and additional parking would be provided to the site. If a business use would lease the building at its current location, additional parking would need to be provided for the site. If Landmark Bank were to lease the building, it is possible parking could be accommodated in their existing lot, however, a parking analysis would need to be conducted by Planning to determine the additional parking required based on the use. (Topic Report from 07/28/05 detailing the costs of the road improvements is attached for Council review.) C