Minutes - Council Work Session - 02/11/2014

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and Representative Abeler is working with legislators on the Republican side to have it part of their request. Mr. Tinklenberg stated a meeting is scheduled at The Fountains tomorrow morning with some Legislators of the corridor to reinforce the importance of getting Armstrong Boulevard done this year and to start talking about what is next for improvements on Highway 10. He advised of who is expected to attend that meeting including 30 members of the community as well as people from Andover, Anoka, Coon Rapids, and the business community, showing the high level of support for improvements on Highway 10. Mr. Tinklenberg stated the Highway 10 traffic numbers are astounding and especially when compared to the eastern edge of Anoka County. Those traffic numbers are larger by 20 -30% when compared to Interstates 35E and 35W. He stated that is an incredible reality and the reason is the amount of the State that Highway 10 serves. In addition, Highway 10 is the main corridor into the Twin Cities. Mr. Tinklenberg stated it is a persuasive case and the City's legislators are being heard. He believed that Armstrong Boulevard is secure and the next stage is to consider the other improvements needed in the Highway 10 corridor. Mayor Strommen thanked Mr. Tinklenberg for organizing the meeting of all the Legislators, Senators, business community and neighboring representatives, especially at this busy time when the session is only weeks away. She stated this will help to back the City's bonding request. Mr. Tinklenberg stated it has been a fun project to work with and he believes it is nearing the finish line. City Administrator Ulrich noted that Amendment #3 to the 2013 Consulting Services Agreement to extend the term to provide additional service to advance the construction of the Highway 10 and Armstrong Boulevard interchange is on tonight's Consent Agenda. Councilmember Backous thanked Mr. Tinklenberg for his work on Ramsey's behalf and stated he does not think there is a better person to be working on this initiative than Mr. Tinklenberg. The Council agreed. The consensus of the Council was to support approval of Amendment #3 to the 2013 Consulting Services Agreement with The Tinldenberg Group. 2.02: Selection of a Replacement for Current Telephone System Finance Director Lund stated the current telephone system has out lived its projected life and has archaic system software that may no longer be supported by Integra, there is scarceness of replacement parts, and support is getting to be very expensive. It was noted staff's recommendation is to purchase a new telephone system from Integra that could be supported and managed using internal staff, which would cut down on service calls and protect the system using internal backup, and increase efficiency by providing new features. Staff had contacted eight telephone vendors and provided information within the report including pros /cons of each City Council Work Session / February 11, 2014 Page2of9