Minutes - Council - 08/05/2002 - Special

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City Engineer Olson stated he thought so. Councihnember Zimmerman asked how far the funds would go to purchase this property. Councilmember Hendriksen stated if leasing is an eligible expense, then purchasing may also be an eligible expense. He stated if this is a temporary location, not a permanent location, then the City would be putting in $100,000 initially and in excess of $600,000 to move it somewhere else in the future. He noted the first page of the grant says that if it is moved, the City will pay the whole cost. City Administrator Norman stated there is a greater value in the benefit of establishing a Park and Ride facility which the City has been lobbying for as a first step to establish the Town Center process. He stated no one can say today that the actual moving of the station will cost the City "X" amount of dollars. City Administrator Norman stated it may be too early to say and it could be handled through a developer and maybe the Northstar Corridor will come with a dollar amount. Councilmember Kurak stated the Northstar is a demonstration program at this point and noted it could be discontinued. City Administrator Norman stated it is a demonstration proejct and would need continued funding as well. Councihnember Kurak stated there is no guarantee that it will continue and the cost would not be exorbitant at this point. She noted that ultimately it will probably be part of the overall Town Center design so it could be negotiated. She stated she would hate to not do this and believes it will be a great service to the people who live here. City Administrator Norman stated it will establish a ridership and create a market for the ridership. Councilmember Hendriksen noted the Grant Contract, Page 1, Section II., E. indicates: "provide STATE with access to an equivalent replacemet park & ride facility that is agreeable to STATE, if the facility at the site described in Exhibit I becomes temporary." He noted that it has been said repeatedly that this is a temporary site and whether funded from tax dollars or someone else pays $600,000, the bottom line is that it has to come from somebody. Councilmember Hendriksen stated he is offended just as much if it is Federal, State, or City money. He stated the Council is here to safeguard taxpayers and shouldn't do anything that costs government $600,000. He stated if the City has a pot of money to the tune of $600,000 to pay for the replacement facility, then they can do something else or a better facility, maybe less of a train station or fewer roads or less quality roads or landscaping in order to make the numbers match. He stated because MnDOT is trying to shoehorn this into this building season, it will cost $600,000 down the road. City Council/August 5, 2002 Page 5 of 11