06-01-11-S - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL — June 1, 2011 10 7.A. Zayo Contract (continued) the Cummings Park water tower property, Staff negotiated an initial lease rate of five thousand dollars annually for the twelve square -feet requested by Zayo Group. Councilmember Holden asked what the cabinet would look like and what would be done to keep the structure from being vandalized. Community Development Director Hutmacher stated there was no graffiti on the existing equipment building at this time. There is a sign posted that states it is a violation of federal law to vandalize the property. Justin Bannworth, 7400 Industrial Boulevard, Edina, described the appearance of the cabinet and its dimensions, and stated it would be made of metal and painted to match the building. He also explained that the wiring would be routed around any trees and tree roots. The structure would not be seen easily from the trail. Mayor Grant clarified this was being done to expand T- Mobile's capacity to 4G not to increase the reception or coverage area. He stated the agreement looked good and it would be minimally invasive while providing increased service to the residents of Arden Hills. MOTION: Mayor Grant moved and Councilmember Werner seconded a motion to Approve the Site Lease Agreement with Zayo Group. LLC, for an Equipment Cabinet at Cummings Park (Fernwood) Water Tower. The motion carried unanimously (5 -0). B. Tree Inventory Parks and Recreation Manager Michelle Olson stated the City of Arden Hills has begun the process to establish an Emerald Ash Borer Plan. Emerald Ash Borer (EAB), an invasive beetle that kills ash trees, was discovered in St Paul in the spring of 2009. Previous infestations of EAB have shown that the beetles will move out at a rate of one to two miles per year. At that rate, the entire county will be infested in approximately 10 to 15 years. There are critical steps within this process that must take place before the City is ready to establish a policy. Two crucial steps that the City needs to work on are changes to the right of way ordinance and a tree inventory. Staff is currently working on changes to the right of way ordinance and this will be brought to the Council at a future work session for review. A tree inventory was placed in the Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for 201 1. Included in this inventory would be trees located in boulevards, right of way, and parks. A tree inventory will assist Staff in indentifying the overall impact that Emerald Ash Borer may have on the City. The 2011 CIP includes $20,000 from the Permanent Improvement Revolving Fund for a citywide tree inventory. Staff contacted our 2011 tree contractor, Precision Landscaping who provided a quote of $65.00 per hour to conduct an ash tree inventory. They have stated that they would not be able to complete this work continually as they have other work and jobs that will take priority. It is difficult to identify an exact timeframe of how long it would take to complete this work. Precision stated that if they were just to identify ash trees, they gave a rough estimate of 88 hours to complete the work. This would come to $5,720.00 plus tax. This did not include City parks because that had been done last summer.