Minutes - Council Work Session - 04/25/2006

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get a new Fire Station, and there are starting to be morale issues. It would be very well accepted by the Fire Department if they were to know the window of when there would be a new station. Councilmember Elvig stated he appreciates Mr. Lewandowski's statements. The Council realized the liability of the existing City Hall, and the Fire Station is another issue on top of that. There are a lot of things on the plate right now, including infrastructure, Town Center, economic development and HRA projects. The big picture needs to be looked at, and he will look very seriously at what the needs are. If a decision is made regarding a new station it would be very fair to provide the firefighters with a timeline. Assistant City Administrator Nelson indicated a couple of weeks ago the Weekly Update included information regarding the ongoing situation with the air conditioning units in the existing City Hall. The 15-ton air conditioning unit that services City Hall went down last week. She reviewed that last fall the other air conditioning unit that services City Hall went down and its repair was postponed in hopes that over the winter more clarity could be gained regarding the future use of the existing City Hall. Ms. Nelson stated staff has been researching both temporary and long-term repair options that would provide cooling for the sununer months in City Hall or beyond if needed. To replace both units, the cost would be approximately $20,000. As an altemative to replacing both the units, options such as placing window units in accessory doors in the first floor of City Hall and replacing the 10-ton unit with a used unit and repairing the 15- ton unit have been researched. Both of these options represent temporary solutions, which may forsake the future use of the existing City Hall. The 10-ton unit cannot be repaired. At this time, it is unclear whether the 15-ton unit can be repaired; the mechanical contractors are continuing to work on it. The mechanical contractors are liable to maintain and repair the system to the life of the equipment. However, the use of this equipment is pushing 30 years, and it may have outlived its life. An agreement was reached with the mechanical contractors that they will make one more attempt to keep the equipment running. However, it cannot be certain that the equipment will continue to mn through the summer. The management team has decided they are willing to put up with uncomfortable quarters this summer. Ms. Nelson advised it needs to be recognized if the decision is made to not make long-term repairs what it will mean to the future of the building, and that the office side of the building will be heading for demolition in the future. Staff would like acknowledgement from the Council that the future of the building is understood with this type of procedure in relation to repairs in the building. Councilmember Elvig stressed the importance of BKV Group getting out to the site on an immediate basis to provide a first blush of the study with the basic parameters explored. Assistant City Administrator Nelson explained one potential short/mid-term solution that has been discussed is to move turn-out gear, office space, and equipment of the Firefighters to the existing Police Facility in October. This solution may address both the safety concerns and the mechanical issues in the existing City Hall. She indicated staff would like direction from the Council on whether they are in agreement with using the Police Facility for the short/mid-term for Fire Department use and whether they are on board with this decision regarding the mechanical operations in the building. City Council Work Session / April 25, 2006 Page 4 of 6