Minutes - Council Work Session - 11/28/2017

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revisited as continuing to bond for road projects will have an impact on the City's debt. He stated that the topic can reassess whether this is the best long-term strategy. Mayor Strommen asked if the Council would be interested in revisiting the topic in a future work session. It was the consensus of the Council to place the topic on a future work session agenda. Councilmember Riley stated that he is skeptical that the Ramsey Boulevard railroad underpass would occur in 2019, but recognized that the project needs to show on the CIP at some point. City Administrator Ulrich agreed that 2019 would be extremely early. He stated that for comparison purposes, the Anoka Thurston/Fairoak project is planned for 2021, which may be more realistic noting the projects could possibly align. Finance Director Lund asked if the Council was comfortable with the dates for the other Highway 10 improvements. It was noted that those dates seemed fine and that they would possibly change in the next iteration of the plan. Councilmember Riley stated that he has heard comments from multiple residents regarding parks that need improvement. He stated that he would like to hear more information on the plans not just for new parks but improving existing parks. Parks and Assistant Public Works Superintendent Riverblood stated that previously the park replacement had been included in the supplemental document. He stated that some of the items are hard to balance the return on investment. He stated that in updating an older park, you need to make it ADA compliant, which causes an additional cost. He noted the cost to update an older park that may not get much use, against a demand for the community, such as a splashpad. Councilmember Riley stated that he appreciates that input and additional information. He noted that the community does have assets that needs to be maintained. Parks and Assistant Public Works Superintendent Riverblood stated that the parks department is working to develop a list of the capital assets and the plan for updating the parks infrastructure. He noted that it will be an onerous task, similar to the process for roads. Mayor Strommen agreed that there will need to be a discussion to determine how to create a balance of not only creating new amenities in the parks system but also updating and improving the existing equipment and facilities. Parks and Assistant Public Works Superintendent Riverblood stated that staff has been working to develop a playground replacement policy that will allow staff to better respond to resident requests. City Council Work Session/November 28, 2017 Page 2 of 5