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LAKE ELMO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES FEBRUARY 18, 1986 Page 6 may become available to the City Council. Bohrer's observations are stated in his letter dated February 18, 1986. The bank must decide by October 31, 1986 whether to use the State's allocation of bonding authority to the Washington County Housing and Redevelopment Authority which was reserved for it. They have estimated a minimum of 18 to 24 months from now to vacate the present building. Therefore, the building may be available by February, 1988. The building appears to be well suited for City Hall use, wth some remodeling. The City presently leases 2,380 sq.ft. for City offices. A new building must have at least 3,100 sq.ft. to equal what the City now leases. An estimate for such a facility is $255,000. City Engineer Bohrer understands that the City has approximately $139,000 invested reserves which could be used for this project. Since the money available is less than the money required, a bond referendum will be needed. A bond referendum will have an impact on the project schedule. Requirements for a referendum will be looked into by the City Attorney. The following actions were asked to be considered by the City Engineer. 1. Negotiate a one-year extension of the present lease now for the period February 1, 1987 to February 1, 1988. 2. Ask the Bank to have a building appraisal done so that the City can evaluate the "buy and remodel" alternative. 3. A new building should be planned to met the City's need for 15-20 years and a building budget of $300,000 may be more realistic. City Attorney Knaak indicated that it was acceptable to trade park land for farm land owned by Mr. Friedrich. Councilmen Christ and Dunn brought up questions as to whether the sewer system is adequate at the bank and would the total cost of purchasing the bank building be too high. Mayor Morgan suggested the City Council review the office space recommendations and the City Engineer's recommendation. F. Proposed Metro Waste Control Commission Rate Changes The MWCC has proposed changes in the Rate Schedule for Sewage Treatment Users and the Sewer Availability Charge (SAC) for potential users and sewer service. These proposed MWCC rate changes are commented on in City Engineer's Bohrer letter dated February 11, 1986 to City Administrator Overby. The consensus of the City Council was that the increase in the rates were too high and City Administrator Overby will check into