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CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION March 5, 2012 <br /> APPROVED <br /> 89 Bruce Miller, property owner in the assessment area, noted that his company has already <br /> 90 obtained appraisal information and it indicates that the improvement costs are <br /> 91 appropriate. When asked he confirmed that his company does have a client interested in <br /> 92 the area and as the process draws out longer and longer,there is always a possibility of <br /> 93 losing them. A council member noted that he feels certain that all properties assessed <br /> 94 will benefit from the improvements and he is afraid also that time kills all deals. The <br /> 95 mayor noted that it appears that the council prefers to move ahead with the plans and <br /> 96 specifications knowing that the appraisal will come. City Engineer Wedel then reviewed <br /> 97 a possibility construction schedule with the council. It could be completed this year but <br /> 98 he warned that a condemnation process could slow everything down. <br /> 99 <br /> 100 The council concurred to put the matter of authorizing plans and specifications for the <br /> 101 project onto the next council agenda. <br /> 102 <br /> 103 4. Centennial Utilities Franchise Ordinance—Administrator Karlson recalled that the <br /> 104 city has a franchise ordinance with Centennial Utilities (run by the City of Circle Pines) <br /> 105 that expires on March 31 of this year. He received a proposal for a new ordinance from <br /> 106 Circle Pines City Administrator Jim Keinath. Included in the proposal are some changes: <br /> 107 1) the original franchise agreement included language that would allow the city to <br /> 108 purchase its share of the system; that option no longer exists as of 2010; 2)the franchise <br /> 109 fee in place (7%) would be capped at 5%; 3)the Utility will no longer collect the fee at all <br /> 110 unless other utilities are charged(currently only Centennial customers are charged a <br /> 111 franchise fee in Lino Lakes); and 4)that the Lino Lakes representative be eliminated from <br /> 112 the commission that oversees the utility. Mr. Karlson noted that he had the proposed <br /> 113 agreement reviewed by the city's attorney and has been advised that the utility cannot <br /> 114 unilaterally change the contract that has been in place including stop collecting the <br /> 115 franchise fee as they have suggested; that fee is included in a contract and the contract <br /> 116 must be renegotiated. Mr. Karlson noted that his report includes a history of council <br /> 117 discussions on utility franchise fees across the board in the city and also information on <br /> 118 the status of other franchise agreements. <br /> 119 <br /> 120 The Mayor noted that Centennial Utilities is a non-profit organization, not like Xcel <br /> 121 Energy or Centerpoint Energy. The franchise fee collected by Centennial would not <br /> 122 become part of a profit but would be part of the budget and therefore reduce the cost of <br /> 123 services. He suggested that he doesn't think it is a good idea to make a change to <br /> 124 customers during this time of a difficult economy. He would prefer to not act and <br /> 125 perhaps look at the issue again next year. The council expressed an interest in seeing a <br /> 126 rate comparison between all utilities. The council concurred that they would not accept <br /> 127 the proposed franchise ordinance at this time. <br /> 128 <br /> 129 5. Upgrade to City Website—Administrator Karlson explained that city staff has been <br /> 130 encouraged by a council member to improve the city's Web site. He explained that <br /> 131 historically the city's Web site was managed by the receptionist who was laid off several <br /> 132 years ago. After that two employees were assigned work on Web matters, one of those <br /> 133 employees being part time and both of those employees having also been asked to assume <br /> 3 <br />