10-27-25 - City Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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Page 4 of 5 It was identified that the nature of the bond under a special assessment would be taxable vs. non-taxable bonds. With special assessments the costs would be higher than without assessments. The net gain without assessments is $30,750. Therefore, it was not recommended to include assessments with this project. It was also noted that the property owner‘s that would be assessed in this project area already have I-35 assessments which many have been deferred under Green Acres rules. The Community Development Director stated that the timeline for the Otter Lake Road project is construction in 2026 with property owners being able to begin land development projects in 2027. The Community Development Director noted that the City of Hugo was interested in paving up to 80th Street and that we have been in discussions with them regarding the proposed improvements to Otter Lake Road. Councilmember Lyden asked for a status update on the City’s negations to purchase the Winter Property to establish wetland banks. The Community Development Director stated that based on the most recent Army Corp of Engineers report he did not believe the city would be closing on the property and that the current purchase agreement would expire. Council Consensus It was the consensus of the City Council to support the 2026 CIP projects and funding as presented, with no assessments for the Otter Lake Road project. 7. Franchise Fees The City Administrator reported that the City Charter requires a franchise agreement with utility providers. She stated that city staff are working to draft new and renewal agreements as needed. The City Administrator stated that another consideration is franchise fees. The City has a franchise fee ordinance for Centennial Utilities, which generated $57,000 in revenue in 2024. The City also has a franchise fee for Comcast that is administered by North Metro TV, which provided the city with $17,000 in revenue and the cable broadcast services. The City Administrator presented a list of current utility providers. She presented information on franchise fee schedules for area cities for comparison. She asked if the Council would like to consider franchise fees as part of the discussion on franchise agreements. The Council discussed the pros and cons of a franchise fee as presented in the presentation on franchise agreements. Noting that a matrix of the franchise fees and revenues for Xcel Energy would be useful in considering the matter further. Page 23 of 166