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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-09-11 Council Minutes - Part 1Document 5.b September 25, 2003 Agenda Drafted by Kary Tillmann, City Clerk CITY OF CORCORAN COUNCIL WORKSHOP SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 H:\City Hall Information\CITY GOVERNMENT\Council, Commissions & Committees\Council Information\Council Minutes\Previous Years\2003 - Need to PDF\09.11.03 Budget Workshop.doc Acting Mayor Gageby opened the workshop at 6:02 p.m., on September 11, 2003, at City Hall in Corcoran, MN. The purpose of the workshop was to address the City’s 2004 preliminary budget. Present were Councilors Bucher, Gageby, Lymangood, and Thomas. Mayor Guenthner was excused absent. City Staff present included Administrator Vergin, Clerk/Treasurer Tillmann, and Police Chief Schutte. MOTION by Lymangood, seconded by Thomas and carried unanimously to approve the agenda with the following addition: • Discussion regarding LMCIT article on dissemination of information Administrator Vergin clarified that the $33,912 designated for EDA in the levy is the Lease Revenue debt for the Civic Center construction project. Police Chief Schutte requested further discussion regarding the facility expansion. Councilor advised that there were many reasons why they felt it was not appropriate at this time. The majority of the Council feels that it is best to wait until the community expands before expanding the building. Council has not been presented with projections on population increases that would drive the need to expand the facility, but there is nothing that indicates that it must happen this year. However, if presented with other mitigating factors, Council would be willing to revisit the issue. Councilor Lymangood advised that interest rates are at a 40 year low and that costs will rise when economy picks up. Feels that now would be an appropriate time to complete an expansion project. Feels that staff is currently working under tight quarters. There is not adequate separation for prisoners, and the City would like to accommodate Hennepin County Sheriff’s Department and the ambulance service, which provides excellent services to the City. Expressed disagreement with the financing proposed by the group. Feels that there are better ways to fund such a project. Councilor Gageby suggested that there may be some ways in current facility to make minor accommodations without doing a major expansion project. The Facility Committee put a lot of time and energy into the report. Recent discussions at the NW League of Cities meeting with the Association of Metropolitan Municipalities suggested that now is a good time to plan and execute building and infrastructure projects in spite of budget concerns. Funding could be done under current legislation without a referendum. Administrator Vergin suggested that the City continue to include the debt in the preliminary levy to allow time for further consideration of the expansion and alternative methods of financing. First year costs are estimated at approximately $33,000, based on a flat 20 year loan. Council agreed by unanimous consensus to include the facility expansion in the preliminary levy and requested another presentation from the facility committee to address timing, immediate needs, today’s cost vs. one year in the future, and alternative suggestions for financing. Call to Order Roll Call Agenda Approval EDA Lease Revenue Levy Facility Expansion Document 5.b September 25, 2003 Agenda Drafted by Kary Tillmann, City Clerk CITY OF CORCORAN COUNCIL WORKSHOP SEPTEMBER 11, 2003 H:\City Hall Information\CITY GOVERNMENT\Council, Commissions & Committees\Council Information\Council Minutes\Previous Years\2003 - Need to PDF\09.11.03 Budget Workshop.doc Discussion was held regarding the inclusion of an EDA Market Value Levy in the 2004 preliminary levy. Councilor Gageby expressed his support for including in the 2004 preliminary levy. Councilor Lymangood advised that he would be meeting with Cynthia Smith-Strack of Municipal Development Group (MDG) on September 12, 2003 to discuss the City’s EDA. No action taken. Administrator Vergin advised that the CIP would be addressed during the budget workshops in October and November when reviewing the individual department budgets. Also requested that Councilors contact her by phone or email with any comments or specific needs or projects for each department in 2004, for example, striping the City Hall parking lot, so those items can be addressed during the remaining budget process. Discussion was held regarding an article about preliminary budgets at the local level from the League of Minnesota Cities. The article references tools available to Cities to help disseminate information to residents. Suggested that the City utilize this resource. Budget Timeline Administrator Vergin advised that budget workshops have been scheduled for Tuesday evenings in October and November to allow more time to consider each department budget. If additional workshops are necessary, they will be scheduled. A revised comprehensive calendar will be distributed to Council on Friday MOTION by Lymangood, seconded by Bucher and carried unanimously to adjourn the budget workshop at 6:42 p.m. ____________________________ Kary Tillmann, City Clerk EDA Market Value Levy Capital Improvement Program LMCIT Article Budget Timeline Adjournment