Minutes - Council Work Session - 02/20/2007

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Councilmember Strommen requested information regarding 2006 consulting costs. Interim City Administrator Nelson indicated the. total to The Tinklenberg Group since the inception in December 2004 to date for RALF is approximately $154,000. A good portion of this is not reimbursable; this is being reviewed by Finance Officer Lund and herself. The issue is that the City gets reimbursed for their expenses when the property gets taken down, so if The Tinklenberg Group works on a property that never gets purchased the City incurs those costs. There is likely approximately $90,000 of these costs that will not be funded by Metropolitan Council. Council and staff discussed consultant work versus work being completed by staff, including the expertise offered by consultants in areas where City staff does not have expertise, the efficient use of consultant time, and the importance of monitoring consultant time. Councilmember Dehen suggested caps be placed on the consultant contracts. Public Works Director Olson explained The Tinklenberg Group bills per hour at their fee. Councilmember Strommen commented it would be difficult to bid out the federal funding work and lobbying, but it is important that the costs be monitored. Interim City Administrator Nelson indicated when staff met with The Tinklenberg Group in early January they shared the concern that things needed to be tightened up, and The Tinklenberg Group understood that. It is a delicate balance in terms of making sure they are tuned into the important work the consultants need to do and what can be done in-house. Mayor Gamec suggested the Tinklenberg Group be informed to hold off from further work until the priority list for RALF funding is worked out. Councilmember Dehen commented moving forward on Highway 10 is pivotal on the City of Anoka proceeding with planning and improvements. Public Works Director Olson indicated there are many steps to get to that point. It is correct that MnDOT will not allow Highway 10 to be upgraded to a freeway from west to east, but what Ramsey was most concerned about and pushing so hard on regarding Highway 10 was the unknown impact to the property owners with interchange designs completely in the air. They did not know impact to the property owners and were not able to make smart planning decisions as far as what to allow and recommend. Highway 10 planning has come a long way in this regards. MAYOR, COUNCIL AND STAFF INPUT Interim City Administrator Nelson announced the following: · The next Ramsey3 forum is scheduled for Thursday, February 22nd. There will be an open house with Douglas Farr ofFarr and Associates at 5:30 p.m. with the forum starting at 7:00 p.m. · Chamber Gala on Friday, February 23rd City Council Work Session / February 20, 2007 Page 7 of8