Minutes - Council Work Session - 05/14/2024

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Administrative Services Director Lasher shared that Council and Staff discussed union negotiation strategies for the upcoming contract which will begin January 1, 2025. She stated Staff has received Council's direction and they will proceed accordingly. 2.02: Anoka County License Center Lease Amendment City Administrator Hagen reviewed the Staff report in regard to the Anoka County License Center leasing agreement. He shared that the Anoka County License Center is requesting to amend the lease and add additional terms. He reviewed the requested amendments with the Council. Councilmember Riley asked for the reason why the Anoka County License Center does not want to pay CAM. City Administrator Hagen said the Anoka County License Center is just looking at how to reduce the expense of operating the center and they are looking to save some money. He noted this is the justification for most of their requests. Councilmember Riley said he is fine with most of the amendments given that this is a government entity; however, the request to not pay CAM does not make sense to him. Councilmember Musgrove shared that she is glad that they pulled their initial ask to change the rent amount. She added that she is okay with the change to a three-year term. She agreed with Councilmember Riley that it does not make sense to have them not pay the CAM. Councilmember Specht said the Anoka County License Center has been a great asset to the community and he likes having them here. He noted they are asking for a lot of amendments and thinks they should push back a little on some of these requests, including the request to not pay the CAM. Mayor Kuzma asked how the CAM charge is calculated. Economic Development Manager Sullivan explained that they have a formula that is based off of the Consumer Price Index of urban and clerical workers. He noted that when the Consumer Price Index comes out every April,they plug this into the formula to calculate the current rate. He added that their charge for CAM is under the going rate for this service; however, they are tax exempt, which puts them right where they should be with the market. Councilmember Riley said he is okay with the $14 per square foot rent;however, he said he would not want to approve this without the CAM charge as he would not want to burden the taxpayers by having to cover this extra amount. Councilmember Howell agreed. City Administrator Hagen explained that the request to lower rent to $14 a square foot was rescinded when the Anoka County License Center submitted their new request. He noted the current cost is $16.81 per square foot. City Council Work Session/May 14, 2024 Page 2 of 10