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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes September 26, 2000 Page 10 1 Hodson expressed his opinion that the Council move forward with this issue. He commended 2 the efforts and tremendous time spent by the Parks Commission on this project. 3 Horst expressed some concerns about the funding options and how those options related to 4 working with the School Board. He felt that the option of a referendum to the residents should 5 be considered. Horst noted that the community wanted to see the project done and the Council 6 would be in a good position to ask the residents for assistance. However, there might be other 7 projects in the future that would require the City's money. 8 Sparks acknowledged Horst's concerns; however, she noted that referendums are rarely easy and 9 she would be hesitant to go forward in that direction. Additionally, she noted that this project 10 has been in the works for a long time, and the only thing new to discuss is the funding. Sparks 11 noted that she is willing and ready to proceed with the funding. 12 Thuesen noted that he could view both sides of the issue regarding a referendum. Additionally, 13 he said he is on the fence about taking the issue to the voters. Another issue to consider, he 14 stated, is the time factor. At this point, he would be amenable to going forward with this issue 15 tonight; however, he does have some lingering concerns regarding the funding proposed. He 6 noted that the City was in dire need of a new public works garage and he felt that some of the / funds proposed to be utilized for the Central Park redevelopment, could be put towards a new 18 public works garage. 19 Cavanaugh added that he would recommend that the City support Roger Larson's memorandum 20 as presented in the agenda packages; however, he would suggest that a meeting be scheduled 21 with the School Superintendent and others to express the Council's feelings about the mid-range 22 objectives. This would help to take pressure off the general fund reserve. 23 Cavanaugh felt that the Central Park redevelopment was a key infrastructure and was an 24 excellent next step. Cavanaugh reminded the Council and the audience that when the Central 25 Park project was first started, it was deemed that the residents' taxes would not increase due to 26 the redevelopment. Cavanaugh would recommend that the funding be approved, and that the 27 Park Plan would be approved so that specification scan be drawn up sooner than expected. 28 Horst commented that when the Community Center was built, the charge of the Council was to 29 create a new City Hall without any new increases in taxes. Springsted had come up with a plan 30 and the previous Council had the option to go to a referendum or to take the funds from the 31 Autumn Woods Tax Increment Fund(TIF). The TIF fund was utilized and he has only heard 32 criticisms about the building since that time. He expressed concern that if the Park 33 redevelopment ended up costing additional funds -- more than the $1.6 million, then additional •34 funding sources would not be available.