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Item No. /1 <br /> Staff Report No. q7--/q(o <br /> • Meeting Date: February 3, 1997 <br /> • <br /> • Type of Business: WK <br /> WK: Work Session;PH:Public Hearing; <br /> CA:Consent Agenda;CB: Council Business <br /> City of Mounds View Staff Report <br /> To: Honorable Mayor and members of the City Council <br /> From: Bruce A. Kessel, Finance Director <br /> Item Title/Subject: Retainer for legal fees <br /> Date of Report: January 29, 1997 <br /> At the present time,the City has a contract with Hughes and Costello for services performed as <br /> our prosecuting attorney. The contract is for$3,000 per month, including expenses. <br /> For other legal services, the City has used a variety of firms, with Kennedy and Graven being the <br /> firm most often used. Over the past year, legal fees for these other services have varied from less <br /> than two thousand to as high as eight thousand per month. Due to issues facing the City in the <br /> next year, it is anticipated that there will continue to be a need for legal advise, and as such, it has <br /> been proposed that the City enter into a contract with Kennedy and Graven under which the City <br /> would pay a monthly retainer of$3,000 per month which is based upon a regular billing rate of <br /> $100 per hour, and other specified services would be billed at rates from$115 to $125 per.hour. <br /> 1111 The proposed agreement is attached which outlines the proposed terms and conditions. <br /> Staff feels that our relationship with Mr. Long and Kennedy& Graven should be confirmed by a <br /> written agreement and feels that the proposed agreement sets forth terms that will be in the best <br /> long term interest of the City. The staff wishes to be able to continue to use, on a limited basis, <br /> some of the other attorneys such as Mr. O'Meara of Briggs &Morgan since they have a working <br /> knowledge on some areas such as TIF, but our goal is to consolidate the non-prosecuting legal <br /> work with one firm as much as possible to improve the level of service, and to minimize <br /> potential conflicts and higher fees by having two or more legal firms involved in reviewing and <br /> providing legal advise on the same topic. Staff feels that Mr. Long is very responsive and <br /> addresses the concerns of the staff and the City. <br /> • <br />