Minutes - Council - 05/10/2016 - Laserfiche WebLink

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him and the Assistant Chiefs in presentation of the badges to the new fire fighters. He congratulated the new fire fighters. Mayor Strommen stated that she is honored and proud to welcome those new fire fighters to Ramsey's excellent fire department. 2.02: Update from Public Works Department Public Works Superintendent Riemer provided an overview of the winter maintenance completed by the department, noting the low number of plowing events this past year. He provided additional information on the technology used to complete maintenance during winter months. He reviewed the cost to build and maintain skating rinks, noting the season was shortened by about one month due to the warmer weather. He stated that because the department was not busy plowing snow they were able to complete other actions such as cutting trees and brush; noting that there are woodchips available free to the public at the public works building. He noted that the department was able to get an early start on street sweeping and was able to assist in painting the fire station. He advised that the department was able to make new water main flushing signs that are double sided and have sprinkling information on the other side. 2.03: CBRE Update Brian Pankratz, CBRE, provided a snapshot of the Twin Cities marketplace during the past year, which featured industrial, office and retail development. He summarized the feedback from the market stating that completion of the Armstrong interchange will help the ingress/egress and there is an improvement in the residential market, noting there is a demand from different types of home products. He stated that in regard to Ramsey becoming a retail location, there is already retail nodes in Coon Rapids and Elk River and therefore the retailers would like to see additional population to ensure that they do not cannibalize their other locations. He stated that in regard to industrial and office markets, the City has limited vacancy and new construction costs are high. He provided an overview of the marketing efforts of CBRE. Mayor Strommen stated that these updates are very helpful and expressed her appreciation to Mr. Pankratz and CBRE. 2.04: Highway 10 Update Elwyn Tinklenberg, The Tinklenberg Group, stated that he does not have a great deal to report. He stated that a bonding bill was brought to the floor of the Senate and lost by one vote, noting that the bill is currently being restructured. He stated that the House leadership has also been working on a bonding bill. He stated that at the end of the day he believes that there will be a transportation bill and bonding bill which go hand in hand, although not to the original scale desired. He stated that Ramsey had been included in the Senate bonding bill under the general obligation bonds for the Ramsey underpass. He noted that if the grade separation program continues through MnDOT, four of the five next crossings on that list are within Anoka County, and two of those are in Ramsey. He noted that the current bills at the legislature that include Ramsey are not City of Ramsey' bills and were brought forward by legislators that are aware of City Council / May 10, 2016 Page 3 of 10