Agenda - Council Work Session - 05/14/2019

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CC Work Session 2. 2. Meeting Date: 05/14/2019 Information Title: Discuss Updates on Interim Public Works Facility Options. Purpose/Background: The purpose of this case is to update the Council on the status of the interim Public Works facility solution. On April 9, 2019 the Council approved cancellation of the lease for PACT School Bus storage in property that it currently owns at 6701 Hwy 10 (garage space behind the Youth First office). In addition, the Council directed staff to begin negotiations for the purchase of property located at 8175 Riverdale Drive (former Quality RV), for the purpose of meeting the short-term needs of the Public Works until a new Public Works Campus is constructed. Purchase Price of 8175 Riverdale Drive Anoka County has informed the City that, because this project was funded via nine different funding sources and several of those sources have requested any project savings to be refunded to them, the County needs to sell all remnant parcels at its highest and best use value. This means that, at a minimum, the county needs to sell this parcel at its appraised value (or at what the market would offer to pay if we put it out for public sale). Because this parcel is not currently connected to a sanitary sewer, the appraised value of the property is $615,000. The County has requested that the City inform the County if this price is acceptable to the city. Otherwise, the County will be putting this property up for sale to the general public. Other Improvements 1. Sewer and water utilities would need to be connected to the building. 2. There are no existing floor drains in the garage area, drains would need to be installed and connected to the sanitary sewer. 3. Overhead garage door openers need to be installed on each of the five doors. Pros of Purchasing existing building 1. Moving the utility department functions to this location would free -up space for our traffic engineering operations at our existing location. 2. Property is located in a commercial area away from residential properties. 3. Property is located next to the Armstrong Interchange making access to the northern part of town convenient. 4. Building contains more than adequate office space for staff. 5.Currently the building is owned by Anoka County and is tax exempt, so purchase by the city would not effect the property tax roll. 6. The building is a good size for the utility department operation. 7.When the Utility Department moved back to the new PW facility, staff believes that the site and small size of this facility offer better resale or development opportunities. 8. Interior remodeling would be performed by City staff. 9. The property is currently appraised at $615K, without the sewer connection. The initial investment, improvements required to the property for Utility Department use, and the ease of resale, are important factors with this location. New Public Works Facility Financing Attached are different financing runs for a proposed new public works campus: