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Minutes, Lake Elmo City Council meeting April 7; 1981 page 2 (Office plans) Novak said she has a problem using land that was acquired with park funds for park purposes. Morgan said he did also but feels the Landfill and the few acres in Sunfish Park that are farmed would be an exception. Fraser still believes the Meyers property is the right location for the office; but, she agrees that it is not reasonable at the price asked. She said sewer and drainage are also problems with that site. While she would prefer to stay on the south side of Hwy. 5, she sees no alternatives there now. So, she sees the Brookman Addition as the next best site area even though it would cost somewhat more to build the offices there than at the Landfill. She went on to say that the present office has some value as a commercial building the way it #;and it should be used for that. Morgan said he did not think it was $25,000— $40,000 to the citizens to have the City office be convenient. Novak said that a remodeled City office would probably serve the City for 10 years. She does not think this would be money down the drain. There would be ample space for present office needs; and, the City could probably use the office space for some other function, like a parks or police depart— ment, when the administrative staff outgrows it. She also said the City's comp. plan does not call for the kind of growth that would lead one to expect the need for widely expanded office in the next 10 years. Mayor Eder asked if it would be possible to trade some of the farmed land in Sunfish Lake for a piece on Hwy 5. Novak said it would cost more to build there than at the �pand£ill, as there is no sewer system, well, or parking area at that location. Mottaz outlined his position: 1) It would not be cost—effective to remodel the City office, as you could not recover the cost of the remodeling if the building is sold; and, there is no room for expansion if growth of staff de— mands iti.. 2)_` Adding on to the Fire Hall would only solve the immediate space problems, would leave no room for expansion, would tie up the parking area needed for the Fire Department, and might make access to the back bay difficult. 3) The plan to shars facilities with the library is still very attractive to him; but, it is not practical at this time given library funding and location ptoblemst 4) There is too little sapee on Main Street and the price is too hith. 5) He is opposed to buying land when the City has enough land for the building. The location of the City office is not all that critical to the the citizen's. Other City Halls are not necessarily in the business section or population centers of other cities. He likes the Sunfish Park location; but feels it may be a bad precedent for the use of park lands. In summary, Mottaz favors the landfill site because there is lots of room for expansion, the City owns the land, there is sewer, water, and parking available, and because some other City functions are already there. ( The Council recessed for dinner at 6:06 p,m.; and Mayor Eder expressed his preferrenee for a site in the Broolmian Addition because he feels the City office ought to remain in the downtown area.