11-13-2023 CC - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mounds View City Council November 13, 2023 Regular Meeting Page 5 ROLL CALL: Cermak/Gunn/Lindstrom/Meehlhause. Ayes – 4 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 11. REPORTS A. Community Center Discussion. Mayor Lindstrom reported the sales tax initiative was voted down for Mounds View on a 65/35 vote. He explained he spoke to numerous residents who had questions about this topic. He understood there was interest in updating the Community Center but in a manner that works for the entire community. He believed everybody’s heart was in the right place, but there may need to be more context if this matter were to move forward. He supported the City forming a community task force in early 2024 to further investigate this issue. He asked if there were any comments from the public regarding the vision for the community center going forward. Kris Lillemo, 5132 Long Lake Road, stated he would like to see the City start working for its residents. He commented on how busy the Community Center was and discussed the great event space Mounds View had. He supported the Community Center becoming an event center. He recommended the money made from these events be saved for future expansion of the Community Center. Rene Johnson, 7385 Pleasant View Drive, explained her vision for Mounds View Boulevard would be to have a brand new Community Center where one wing could be a fitness center and the other wing could be a senior center with space in the middle for food trucks. She anticipated residents were willing to spend money on something new if they understood the vision. Valerie Amundson, 3048 Woodale Drive, stated she loved the idea of creating a task force for the Community Center. She believed there were a lot of great people in this community and bringing a group together would allow people to brainstorm ideas. She anticipated there would be a great deal more buy in if this was the starting point for the Community Center. She encouraged the City Council to remember Mounds View was a smaller community that was not hugely wealthy, and it would be burdensome to overtax residents. Bethany Dickert, 5109 Rainbow Lane, recommended the Mounds View Community Center have things that surrounding community centers don’t have, such as an archery center or rock wall. She believed this would greatly assist in drawing people to the community center. Kathy Lee, 7719 Woodlawn Drive, supported the City upgrading the men’s restroom/locker room facilities within the Community Center. Kris Lillemo encouraged the Council to create greater connection between the businesses and amenities along the Mounds View Boulevard corridor by creating greater pedestrian connections for students, children and the elderly.