Agenda - Council - 10/25/2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The consensus of the Council was to direct staff to set up email addresses for the Councilmembers, and to include automatic reply for Councilmembers that prefer not to utilize email. 3) Future of City Hall Buildings and Fire Station II City Administrator Norman reviewed that during the work session of September 20, 2005, the Council directed staff to place the future of the City Hall buildings and Fire Station II on a work session agenda. He advised the Municipal Center and the Police Department will be vacated one year from now. The.bigger issue to address is the Fire Station' II building. He advised some type of creative financing would be needed if a.new Fire Station II building were to be built sooner then five to seven years from now. A decision is not needed for at least one 7ear, but the Council should begin the discussions. Mayor Gamec stated other factors to consider are the City's plans to purchase land for Fire Station III, the City's association with Bums Township Fire Service, and the School District. Councilmember Strommen noted the discussion regarding Fire Station III was for site preservation, not to actually begin construction of the building.. City Administrator Norman stated the current discussion does not hinge on what the School District will do, as the School District cannot do anything regarding land for seven years due to the bond referendum that would be needed. As a community it is the Council that will make a decision regarding holding land for future schools, which the Council has indicated support for up to this point. Mayor Gamec commented the Council had stated they would look into building the new Fire Building, and the Fire Department will be disappointed if this is not done. Councilmember Elvig commented land could be sold to the School District in the future, and in the meantime the Fire Hall could be restructured. When the land is sold it could provide dollars to build a new Fire Hall at that time. He stated he does not see the hasle to build a' new Fire Hall too soon. The revenue estimated in the fiscal impact is behind, and there are projects the City will need to slow down on. He would suggest the building be inspected by an architect tO determine what is needed to make the building useful. Councilmember Jeffrey concurred. He stressed the need to have the Fire Building inspected by an expert to dete~rnine the status of things such as the air quality, and what would be needed to make the current building fit for occupancy. He noted there ~s'a difference between occupying the building and utilizing the building for heated vehicle storage. Assistant City Administrator Nelson indicated BKV and Associates has completed 14 renditions of the Fire Building/City Hall over the past seven years, and it would not likely be difficult for them to look at reconfiguring the building. -14- City Council Work Session / October 4, 2005 Page 4 of 6