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Mounds View City Council September 12, 2016 Regular Meeting Page 6 between CKA and KinderCare were further discussed. He believed CKA could serve the 1 community best. He understood that the City could save a small amount of money by having the 2 YMCA provide childcare. However, he urged the Council to consider the long-term value of 3 these children and the valuable services that are being provided by CKA. He stated that he has 4 worked very hard to create the child care center that he has and has paid a lot of money to use 5 and improve that space. He made these investments because he was passionate about serving his 6 families. 7 8 Council Member Mueller asked if Mr. Garg was a part of the original Creative Kids child care 9 center. Mr. Garg explained he was not, but stated he acquired the lease with a partner in 2009. 10 11 Council Member Gunn stated she has considered both sides of this matter. She explained she has 12 tried to view this matter strictly from a business point of view, in addition to an emotional point 13 of view. In the end, she believed the City should honor the contract it has in place with Creative 14 Kids Academy. For that reason, she would not support the resolution. 15 16 Council Member Mueller thanked both parties for the information that has been provided to the 17 Council. She discussed the matter from a business perspective and understood that Creative Kids 18 Academy was willing to pay the property taxes. After thoughtfully weighing both sides of the 19 matter, she wanted to see the City honor the current lease. 20 21 Council Member Hull explained his opinion has not changed since the work session meeting. He 22 was in favor of keeping the contract with Creative Kids Academy. 23 24 Council Member Meehlhause noted he visited Creative Kids Academy last week with City 25 Administrator Ericson and thanked Mr. Garg for the tour. He then read a written statement for 26 the record. He believed this was a very difficult decision for the City Council given the fact the 27 Council was being forced to choose between two outstanding entities within the community. It 28 was his opinion that the community would continue to benefit regardless of the outcome. He 29 appreciated Mr. Garg’s comments and understood the passion he had for his organization. He 30 noted Creative Kids Academy has been an excellent tenant for the City since 2009 with zero 31 issues associated with their monthly rental payment. 32 33 Council Member Meehlhause continued his statement by indicating he did not appreciate the 34 comments made by Mr. Garg regarding the YMCA’s hostile takeover of his business and feared 35 these comments detracted from his otherwise positive presentation. He explained the City has 36 had a great partnership with the YMCA for the past 18 years. He appreciated the Y’s dedication 37 to the community by offering successful programming. 38 39 Council Member Meehlhause stated after touring the childcare space he agreed with Mr. Garg 40 that it would be difficult to utilize this space after hours. However, there was some open space 41 that could be used by the Boy Scouts or Mounds View Lions. He then discussed the 42 accreditation process that would have to be followed by the YMCA. He believed it was in the 43 best interest of the community to send the notice of termination of lease to Creative Kids 44 Academy. He commented on the savings the City would receive if the lease were terminated. 45