Agenda - Council Work Session - 08/06/2018

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Ramsey Municipal Center 7550 Sunwood Drive NW Ramsey, MN 55303 ECRWSS POSTAL CUSTOMER Presort Standard U.S. Postage PAID Anoka, MN 55303 Permit No. 131 The City Council identified the following terms that would need to be met before implementing fran- chise fee program. • Special assessments would not be used to fund projects as long as franchise fees are used. • Franchise fees would only be spent on street main- tenance program projects; nothing else. • Franchise agreements would include 5 year sunset terms so the city can research new funding sources and compare revenues versus costs after 5 years, chcn consider adjustments as needed. • A rebate program would be applied to prevent those currently paying an assessment on a previous screen improvement project, or who paid an assess- ment up -front but would otherwise still be paying the assessment, from paying franchise fees an top of their assessments. Cities are authorized by State Statute to impose franchise fees on utilities operating within public right-of-ways. The utility companies typically pass the franchise fee costs along to consumers via their invoices, along with a note stating that the fee is being imposed by the city. Franchise fees can and will be dedicated solely to help pay for the maintenance of city streets. Budget The city currently budgets $500,000 annually to help fund the street maintenance program. A franchise fee of$8 per month for each gas and electric utility serving all commercial, industrial or residential proper- ties throughout the city, would generate approximately $1,700,000 in annual revenue, which would cover the remainder of the $2,202,000 needed to fund the long- term street maintenance program over the next 5 years. The draft Franchise Agreement/Ordinance lan- guage will be read during the Public Hearings on October 8th. Then, based on input received from the Council on October 8th, final Franchise Agreements and Ordinances are proposed to be presented for Coun- cil adoption following the second reading on October 22nd. Notice of the Public Hearings will be published in the Anoka Union on September 27th. An informal public Open House will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on Tuesday, October lsr in the Lake Itasca Room ar the Ramsey Municipal Center, 7550 Sunwood Drive NW. Various information concerning franchise fees will be presented at multiple sratinns around the room. Feel free to stop by the Open House anytime between 6:00 and 9:00 p.m. For more information on Franchise Fees: + Visit the city website at www cityofrainsev.comj Franchise Fee + Attend the upcoming Open House any time from 6:00 - 9:00 p.m., Tuesday, October 1st • Contact your City Councilmember via the city's web site at www.cityoframsey/rainsey-city-council • Contact City Engineer Bruce Westby at bwestby rr ci.ramsey.mn.us or 763-433-9g25 1'.irrin nt