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City Administrator Hagen explained that Mayor Kuzma was reached out to by the Mississippi <br />River Cities and Towns Initiative which is an associate that Ramsey has been a part of in the past, <br />but since has been dropped. He stated the request is coming from a bridge over the Mississippi and <br />which will be a priority to Ramsey in the coming years and it could be an association that Ramsey <br />becomes part of again. He added the association can help with funding resources, how to design <br />the project, and other things of that nature. He wanted to gauge Council’s opinions on considering <br />this association in the future. He stated the quote for 2022 was $3,000. <br /> <br />Councilmember Musgrove stated she is not in support at this time. She thinks right now it would <br />be better to get local people together in regard to the Mississippi crossing and get action going on <br />a local level. She added it may be something worth looking into down the road. <br /> <br />Councilmember Howell agreed with Councilmember Musgrove and is not in support at this time. <br /> <br />Councilmember Heineman said he did not really know what Ramsey would be getting out of this. <br />He mentioned he liked the idea of working with cities directly, starting with Dayton. He stated he <br />is also against it at this time. <br /> <br />Councilmember Specht agreed that with the tight budget now he is not in support. He discussed <br />the meeting from last December with some of the State Representatives and it was not much of <br />Ramsey’s appetite at the State level. He said it seems to be quite a ways off before anything will <br />happen. <br /> <br />Acting Mayor Riley said it seems the consensus is a no for right now. <br /> <br />City Administrator Hagen stated the cell tower lease is set to expire in approximately three years <br />and the City was reached out to amend or extend the agreement. The current lease amount is $2,800 <br />a month which is $33,600 a year, the proposal is to drop it to $1,800 a month. He added the notion <br />behind it is that the cell towers on top of water towers are 4G capable and this technology is <br />changing, and carriers are decommissioning sites. He asked for Council’s feedback on how he <br />should push back with Verizon on the lease amount, if he should stand firm on the price so the <br />City can get the revenue while risking them walking away or drop the lease amount to keep them <br />in the agreement. He added that Verizon would be requesting up to 25 years, which equals <br />$600,000-$650,000 depending on the final agreed upon amount over the 25 years. <br /> <br />Acting Mayor Riley asked if any discussion had been had on a fair market value would be from <br />an outside party. <br /> <br />City Administrator Hagen said he reached out to some other cities and those cities are getting a <br />much better rate. He added that they would continue to push back as the equipment is already on <br />the water towers and Verizon would not have to build their own standalone tower so there are cost <br />savings there. He stated other cities are seeing close to $2,500-$2,700 a month in revenue on leases <br />established within the last two years. <br /> <br />Councilmember Woestehoff asked for clarification that this is for the water tower. <br /> <br />City Council Work Session / September 13, 2022 <br />Page 9 of 16 <br /> <br />