Minutes - Council - 08/05/2002 - Special

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in the neighborhood of $600,000 or more if prices go up in the future. He stated that is a valid statement and the Council can wish something else will happen but it is not speculation that the City could be stuck with a very expensive tab. Councilmember Anderson asked how these issues can be resolved. City Attorney Goodrich explained that the State will have to be asked how long the City is responsible and then they can negotiate the language in the lease. He stated if the motion is approved he would like it subject to his final approval of these terms and how long the term of the lease should be. Councilmember Anderson stated that Hakanson Anderson has done some preliminary work and the design may be a service but he thinks the construction should be bid. City Engineer Olson stated this is just an estimate on the cost and it would be bid out. He stated Hakanson Anderson should prepare the design and the construction would be bid out on a competitive basis with the Council awarding the contract. Councilmember Anderson asked about the timeline. City Engineer Olson stated that, based on discussions with MnDOT, they said the construction and operation of the facility has to occur prior to the end of this year so at least Class V and curbing would be needed. City Administrator Norman stated the federal funding would go back to the FTA if not spent by the end of the year. Councilmember Hendriksen asked if they recognize this is a temporary facility. City Engineer Olson stated they have been told that and have seen the concept plans of the Town Center. Councilmember Hendriksen stated the City has a highly paid lobbyist consultant on retainer to act as our "heavy hitter, big gun" when negotiating with MnDOT. He suggested having a discussion about putting in a parking lot right here; 25 seconds from Highway 10, then at a minimum the money spent on the parking lot can be used as the parking lot for this facility. He stated that at a minimum, it will not put in half a million dollars of pavement that is expected to be torn up in several years. Mayor Gamec stated he does not want to tie heavy traffic into the Fire Station. City Administrator Norman stated this is site specific planning and needs FTA approval which has been given to the proposed site and the time has passed to get FTA approval of the Fire Station site. Dave Elvig, Town Center Task Force Chair, stated they were not aware of the details of the MnDOT issues or the lease. He stated some of the issues they looked at to recommend this approach were that this is a grant and does not use the community's money at this time. He stated he appreciates the position of Councilmember Hendriksen but if this grant is not used at this time, it would take the City's money to do it. He explained how using $500,000 over a course of 10 years at 10% per year shows you will get your money back in ten years and you are using someone else's money. He agreed with the concern about the retractable lease for the landlord and believes they would have to be responsible to replace it. He stated one of the purposes of the Town Center is to provide for parking and he thinks proof of parking could be considered to satisfy MnDOT. Mr. Elvig suggested a longer lease, an ordinance to allow proof of parking, and to change the retractable lease option. He stated no one is saying a Park and Ride is not a good idea or not needed and he would hate to lose this opportunity. Amendment by Councilmember Kurak, seconded by Mayor Gamec, to add "subject to final terms of the lease being negotiated between the City Attorney, City Administrator, and landlord with those final terms brought back for Council consideration at the meeting on August 13, 2002." City Council/August 5, 2002 Page 9 of 11