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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-14-81 CCMSPECIAL LAKE ELMO COUNCIL MEETING, JULY 14, 1981 Mayor Eder convened the meeting at 7:13 p.m. with the following Councillors present: Fraser, Morgan, Mottaz and Novak. City Administrator Whittaker was also present. LIQUOR LICENSE: Helen Hurd'- M/S/P Fraser/Morgan to grant a liquor license to Helen Hurd for a non -intoxicating malt liquor license for the 3M International Audio/Visual Club at Green Acres. BUDGET: Administrator Whittaker passed around the summary of the Budget Priorities Survey completed by the City Council. OFFICE NEEDS: Novak - We are considering improvements to the. City Office because: A. We need additional space; and the present office building with the garage has more space than we need at, this time B. We want to make the office more attractive; and the present building could be made more attractive with things as simple as paint C. Expansion - the present building would provide for expansion. If need be, offices could be put in the area designated for a breakroom or the work area designated on the plan. For the long term, we could look at acquiring the house to the west as the budget permits. D. We need to improve the parking for the Fire Hall and the City Office. We could meet this need by improving the parking lot that we have and expanding to Lion's Park, if necessary. { E. Location - likes the present building because it is in the old downtown area. F. Prefers the present area because it consolidates the City complex. Fraser - Indicated she had examined the present building inside and out and came to the following conclusions: A. It is old; it was built for completely different purposes; may have been alright at the time it was purchased for the needs we had at that time but it would not be practical to convert it to meet present office needs. B. It is grossly inadequate for office purposes - could be reno- vated but the City would not have the same value for its dollars if it invested in remodeling as it would have if it built a new building. C. The building is poorly sited, unattractive and very un- economical to remodel. Morgan - He agrees with Novak that there is adequate room atthe present location; the area could be made more attractive if the entrance faced the central area between the Fire Hall and the City Office; it would eliminate the need to buy more land; it could be renovated for less cost than a new building and become attractive and have utility; and this is a reasonable compromise after considering all of the alternatives before the City Council. SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING, JULY 14, 1981 -2- OFFICE NEEDS: Eder - Indicated that he would favor remodeling the present — 'building only if it were done at minimal expense on a temporary basis. He felt the key problems were the present structure of the building and the extensive structural work that would be required to make it into an adquate office. He feels the new office should be attractive, should have adequate space, and that it ought to be a good investment. M/S/F Novak/Morgan to retain a professional who could give the City an idea of what is possible with the present building, the limits of expansion of the present building, the limits remodeling the present building, and, basically, to see if it is worth salvaging. In discussion they indicated that these should be permanent im- provements, that the building should be attractive when it is completed, and that it should not be a 'patched -up' job. Eder indicated that he did not support this idea as the building was not acquired with this in mind. He thought if we should do any- thing at this site we should tear down the old building or make very temporary improvements to it. ,I Fraser indicated that this was a make -shift arrangement when the building was purchased but felt that it:.was inappropriate to spend more money on this building and end up with inadequate facilities. Mottaz felt that the present estimates for remodeling this building made it seem too expensive to be worthwhile. Mottaz, Eder, and Fraser voted against the motion. The Council then decided to more carefully define the criteria' they were trying to meet in the office improvements. Fraser - Said she felt the City was trying to develop an office that would house the staff and an enviroment that encourages efficiency and convenienceJso that the employees can better per- form their functions. She said it should be functional for the citizens and should be convenient,comfortable and have private areas where necessary. She indicated that the City Council should also have space and facilities to better handle their meetings. Morgan indicated that he would like to get the maximum utility for the least dollars and did not feel that location was a factor. Fraser - indicated that she still preferred the'old village area as it is closest to the largest number of people in the City. She also indicated that we ought to build the building we need for the least possible money as opposed to choosing the least expensive course for meeting office needs. She went on to say that.-t,a very limited investment today may prove to have the largest long term cost. if we build something with the useful life of 20 years, we may save money in the long run. SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING, JULY 14, 1981 -3- The Council, in general, agreed that the building that is finally constructed should be functional for the long-term use of the City in some capacity. Eder - indicated that he would like to encourage development in the old village over the next five to ten years. He said that he was not concerned about this initially, but became aware of the interest in the old village in keeping the City Hall downtown. Ile also said it may be difficult to predict where the growth will occur in the City and that quite possibly that a building in the south- west corner might be more central ht sometime in the future. Mottaz - agreed and said that if we�:were planning to build a building where we expected the most growth we would build it in Section 32 where there is sewer and where business is expected to expand. Eder - went on to say that he thinks, at this point, that it would be good to keep the office in the old village area and does not think it should be in Section 32. Mottaz - indicated that he did not believe the City Office location had much impact on the old village; and that adjacent communities were not building their new City halls in the old downtown areas. Whittaker suggested that the Council reconsider another alternative, adding on to the Fire Hall. He said that the central concerns about this option were the lack of parking and the inability to ex- pand. He suggested that we meet these problems by leasing the property to the west of the City property for parking and secure an option to buy that land for expansion. This would enable the Meyer's to resolve their problems with respect to the land; and, then, when they want to sell the property the City would have the option of purchasing it. He said that this would give the City and the Meyer's time to evaluate the need for additional space to operate their businesses. Eder said that the City should consider tearing down the present office building if we do expand next to the Fire Hall. Mottaz expressed reservations about this option, as he feels it will interfere with the function of the Fire Department. He asked the City Council to reconsider the Landfill as a least cost option for the City Office needs. Each Councillor, then, listed their preferences for a location, as follows: Fraser - 1. Meyers property 2. Brookfield Addition 3. Investigate an addition to the Fire Hall 4. She opposes any move toward the Landfill Morgan - 1 . Landfill 2. Demolish the present 3. Addition to the Fire 4. He opposes buying any building and reconstruct an office there Hall land for office space SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING, JULY 14, 1981 -4- OFFICE NEEDS: Mottaz - 1. Landfill 2. Tear down the old building and construct a new one on the present office site 3. Tied with the second choice --move the City Office function into Lion's Park 4. He opposes buying new land or cluttering up the Fire Hall with an addition Novak - 1. Did not favor any of the previous solutions; but would con- sider tearing down the present office and putting up a new one at that site. Eder - .1. Landfill or tearing down the presentbuilding; because those options received the most support among other City Council people, Fraser suggested that the Council have an architect evaluate the present building to see if it is worth remodeling or if it would be better to tear it down or if an addition would be more practical. Mottaz indicated that tearing down the present building would mean a loss of $50,000 in resources. M/S/F Mottaz/Morgan to select the Landfill as the site for the new office. In.. discussion, Eder indicated he would first like to evaluate the alternatives at the present.site. He also indicated that the actual investment on the part of the City in the present office was more near $25,000; and that he would still like to develop the office in the present area so that it might encourage the businesses to redevelop. Mottaz indicated that he did not think the City Office was an incentive _ for the businesses and that our activities would not stimulate any redevelopment. Novak indicated that she was opposed to selling the land we presently ownf and, .wants to keep t-he costs down. Novak, Eder and Fraser voted against the motion. M/S /P Morgan/Novak to hire an architect to look into the cost of tearing down the present office and building a new one on the same sitefor remodeling the present buildinglor adding on to the Fire Hall. Mottaz voted Nay. Members of the Council indicated they wanted to interview the architects at the next City Council meeting. ADJOURNMENT: M/S/P Morgan/Novak to adjourn at 9:15 p.m.