HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/22/2002 Council MinutesCITY OF LINO LAKES
MINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING
DATE : July 22, 2002
TIME STARTED : 5:35 P.M.
TIME ENDED : 6:30 P.M.
MEMBERS PRESENT : Councilmembers Carlson, Dahl, O'Donnell, Reinert, and
Mayor Bergeson
MEMBERS ABSENT : None
Staff members present: City Administrator, Linda Waite Smi
Others present: Attorney Jim Strommen
SETTING THE AGENDA
The sole agenda item was: Discuss with Franchise Atto centennial Utilities Request to
Amend Franchise Agreement.
City Administrator Waite Smith reviewed events • da Centennial Utilities requested the Lino
Lakes City Council consider amending the twe ' ar franchise agreement to reduce or
eliminate the seven percent fee on gross reve iLfrom customers in Lino Lakes. As part of their
review of the issue, council members req Mieceived a memo from Jim Strommen, attorney
with Kennedy and Graven, who special = in€anchise law. In response to the memo they asked to
meet with Mr. Strommen. During th t 9 k council members forwarded specific questions to
Mr. Strommen and he is present th' ve g t• « ddress those questions.
Mr. Strommen reiterated th
contains a clause stating the
Utitlities property, by state law
enforced.
anchise agreement, which expires in March 2012,
o Lakes waives its right of eminent domain over Centennial
City Council cannot relinquish that right so the clause cannot be
Mr. Strommen reviewed three types of franchise fees:
1. Percent of gross revenue or monopoly model which provides an unpredictable revenue
stream.
2. Meter fee which is a flat rate for all users in a group and provides a predictable revenue
stream.
3. A usage fee that applies to the amount of product used, regardless of the source from
which it is purchased.
The City Council discussed the advantages and disadvantages of the various types of fees, for the City
and for customers of the utility. A question that arose is whether a reduction in the franchise fee
COUNCIL MINUTES JULY 22, 2002
would be passed on to customers in Lino Lakes or if it would be distributed among all Centennial
customers.
After discussing a number of ideas, the consensus was that all of the options considered would benefit
Centennial Utilities at the expense of the City which relies on the franchise fees as a revenue source.
The council directed the city administrator to prepare a letter to the utility commission explaining that
the City of Lino Lakes has no incentive to modify the franchise agreement unless the modification
benefits both the city and the utility.
ADJOURN
There being no further business, Councilmember Dahl moved to adjourn at 6:30 p.m. Councilmember
Carlson seconded the motion.
Motion carried unanimously.
These minutes were considered and approved at the regular eting, August 12, 2002.
Ann Blair, Cij Clerk
ergeso , Ma or
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