Minutes - Council Work Session - 10/05/2010

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Councilmember Look reiterated he is not in favor of boardwalks — they look great when put in but the maintenance is a real issue. Councilmember McGlone suggested that the security concern is a non -issue as at least two sides of this property are public. Keeping public in the public right -of -way is a better idea than building things that cause maintenance issues. The work session was recessed at 6:38 p.m. to allow the Council to meet for a special City Council meeting. Mayor Ramsey called the work session back to order at 6:56 p.m. Councilmember Dehen is now present. 2) Rail Station Status City Administrator Ulrich stated that last time the rail station was discussed, he reported that Anoka County was trying to get Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railroad to secure a written cost proposal regarding the Ramsey Station. That has not yet been provided. Anoka County has submitted a request to CTIB for $1 million for the Ramsey Station. He talked about the funding and sharing costs. During discussion with Anoka County, they indicated that a Ramsey station is being opposed by the Sherburne and Stearns County representatives of the Northstar Corridor Development Authority (NCDA) because they are trying to get the Northstar rail line extended to St. Cloud (Phase II) and they want that to be kept as NCDA's top priority. He reported that Anoka County is still a strong supporter of the line to St. Cloud but they also have made a preliminary commitment to grant matching in the amount of $6.4 million. In discussions with Anoka County Officials — they support off -road traffic on Highway #10, which is one of the reasons for support for the line to St. Cloud. He talked about the money contribution, which is estimated, at about $15 million. That amount should be somewhat less when we get a commitment from BNSF. We do have opposition on the NCDA. We will continue to make progress with funding from ACCRA. We need to have a discussion of how we deal with the opposition from the counties to the north as well as soliciting some money from other entities — such as Hennepin County. Councilmember Dehen asked what the recommendation is from staff on how to deal with opposition from the communities to the north. Mr. Ulrich stated that where we run into trouble is when we go to the State, it's likely Sherburne and Stearns Counties would be in the audience. The argument would be to put in money for Stage II or the Ramsey Station. He felt the weight the NCDA has is strong and maybe we should work more closely with NCDA. There is an immediacy to be successful with the Ramsey project. What do we have to give up for that? Maybe our support in some fashion for Phase II. The other would be to align ourselves with Hennepin County. Councilmember Dehen stated that clearly everyone wants the line to be a success all the way up to St. Cloud. City Council Work Session / October 26, 2010 Page 6 of 10