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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCWkspAgenda 3-2-2011Falcon Heights City Council Workshop City Hall 2077 W Larpenteur Ave. 6:30 p.m. AGENDA Wednesday, March 2, 2011 : 1) City Hall Solar Panel Update 2) Carbon Footprint Baseline Analysis Update 3) Review of Ordinance Prohibiting Retail Activity in City Parks If you have a disability and need accommodation in order to attend this meeting, please notify City Hall 48 hours in advance between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at 651-792-7600. We will be happy to help. REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION Families, Fields and Fair __________________________ Meeting Date March 2, 2011 Agenda Item Workshop 1 Attachment ECS Proposal Submitted By Justin Miller, City Administrator The City That Soars! Item City Hall Solar Panel Update Description Earlier this year the City of Falcon Heights was approached with the opportunity to place solar panels on the roof at city hall. With the various tax credits and rebates that are currently available to private companies, the city would enter into a lease- purchase agreement where the city would take advantage of the energy savings while the upfront capital costs and rebates would be the responsibility of the private company. Over the past few months, staff and representatives of the solar panel manufacturer and installation company have been further discussing details. Staff believes that we are at a point where a financing decisions need to be discussed before the project can proceed any further. Attached to this report is the proposal from Electrical Contracting Solutions, which is the private entity that would own and install the solar panels. Both staff and ECS personnel will be prepared to better explain the proposal at the workshop, but in summary: 1) ECS would own and install the system for a period of five years. During these five years, they would receive Xcel Energy rebates and federal tax credits. 2) The City would pay ECS $5,400 per year for five years and then an exit payment of $27,000 in year six for a total investment of $54,000. The city would then own the system beginning in year six. 3) The system would begin producing electricity in the amount of $3,793 in year one and increase of a value of $9,580 in year 20, according to their projections. 4) The approximate break-even point would be year 11 (lease payments total $54,000, accumulated savings from production of electricity would be $53,928). A spreadsheet detailing the city’s cashflow during this project is also attached. Budget Impact The budget impact would be dependent on the financing structure that is agreed upon between the city and ECS. Attachment(s) ECS Proposal City Cash Flow Analysis Action(s) Requested Staff will be available to answer questions and to receive further direction from the city council on how to proceed with this project. Falcon Heights Solar ProjectCity Cashflows Year 1Year 2Year 3Year 4Year 5Year 6Year 7Year 8Year 9Year 10Year 11Year 12Year 13Year 14Year 15Year 16Year 17Year 18Year 19Year 20 Roof and System LeasePower Purchase Agreement(5,400) (5,400) (5,400) (5,400) (5,400) (27,000) Electrical Savings3,793 3,985 4,186 4,397 4,619 4,852 5,098 5,355 5,625 5,909 6,208 6,521 6,851 7,197 7,560 7,942 8,343 8,764 9,207 9,672 Maintenance and Inspection 200 206 212 219 225 232 239 246 253 261 269 277 285 294 (1,607) (1,415) (1,214) (1,003) (781) (22,148) 5,298 5,561 5,838 6,128 6,433 6,753 7,090 7,443 7,813 8,203 8,612 9,041 9,492 9,966 Cumulative "Savings"(3,022) (4,237) (5,240) (6,020) (28,168) (22,870) (17,309) (11,472) (5,344) 1,089 7,842 14,932 22,375 30,188 38,391 47,003 56,044 65,536 75,501 Energy Degradation-0.5%Electricity Cost inflation5.55%Maintenance Cost Inflation3% REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION Families, Fields and Fair __________________________ Meeting Date March 2, 2011 Agenda Item Workshop 2 Attachment Submitted By Justin Miller, City Administrator The City That Soars! Item Carbon Footprint Baseline Analysis Update Description A few years ago, the city engaged the Minnesota Climate Change Corps to conduct a city-wide carbon footprint baseline analysis to measure the amount of carbon that was produced within the city limits of Falcon Heights. To a certain extent, this type of report was groundbreaking, and a consultant involved in the Minnesota GreenStep Cities program offered to expand on the program for the five GreenStep pilot cities. The city agreed to pay $1,800 for the consultant to further study two more years of data, and he is ready to present his preliminary findings to the city council. Rick Carter from LHB Architects is the consultant working on this project, and he presented his findings to the Environment Commission on February 14th . At that time he inquired about presenting to the city council, so we have scheduled him to make a similar presentation during the March 2nd city council workshop. Budget Impact N/A Attachment(s) Action(s) Requested No action is required. REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION Families, Fields and Fair __________________________ Meeting Date March 2, 2011 Agenda Item Workshop 3 Attachment Submitted By Justin Miller, City Administrator The City That Soars! Item Review of Ordinance Prohibiting Retail Activity in City Parks Description One of the items included in the 2010-11 city council goals is to review the city ordinance that prohibits retail activity in city parks. Specifically, Falcon Heights City Code 34-22 (d) states: “Unlawful sales – No person shall sell or offer for sale, any object, merchandise or service or conduct any commercial enterprise except concessions invited by the city in conjunction with city-sponsored events or activities.” This ordinance is a matter of city policy, and could be changed by amending the city code. However, our lease with the University of Minnesota for Community Park and Grove Park has the following clause: 3. Use of Property. 3.1 City shall occupy and use the Property solely for playground and recreational purposes, and for no other purpose without University’s prior written consent, which University may withhold in its sole discretion. The only city park that is owned by the City of Falcon Heights in Curtiss Field. Budget Impact In theory, the city may be able to charge additional fees to vendors wanting to sell products in city parks. The amount generated would be dependent on the rate that is set and the number of vendors who take advantage of the change in policy. Attachment(s) None Action(s) Requested Staff is bringing this to the city council for discussion purposes only. If further direction or information is needed, staff will follow up at a later meeting.