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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION—OCTOBER 24, 2011 6 Councilmember Holden spoke in support of hiring a lobbyist. Councilmember Holmes commented that if the Council is going to take a position on the stadium, we may want to hold a public hearing. Councilmember Tamble stated that residents have expressed opposition to the stadium and one commented that as long as tax dollars are going to be used to build the stadium, residents should be allowed to participate to a certain degree. He added that the "not knowing" for residents is worse than the negative news they're hearing. He suggested there be an educational element to any public hearing. City Administrator Klaers stated that the Metropolitan Council's report is thorough and it could be the document used in the decision-making process by the Legislature. Councilmember Holden asked if the public hearing would cover the proposed taxes or the stadium itself because the City has no control over the tax issue. She then asked if there is anything in the current legislation that the City has requested. _ City Administrator Klaers responded that we do not know what is in the current legislation or even if there is any current legislation. He then stated he doesn't know what the City would need that we can't control through the municipal approval process for such things as land use and water and sewer connections. He also explained that his mission would be to protect the City financially so that we don't have extraordinary police, fire, or public works expenses and the language the City has seen in an earlier draft is acceptable. Councilmember Holden stated that at one time the Council had talked about a hotel tax and she believes this is the perfect time to ask for such a tax. She then stated that the lobbyist would be able to tell the Council whether or not this is the appropriate time to request such a tax. City Administrator Klaers presented correspondence from the consultant, Todd Hill, for the Council to review. Mr. Hill has excellent contact within the Republican group and has frequent meetings with both leaders. If the Council chooses to hire him, we will want him to advocate for the City and the stadium, and to get the word out that the stadium benefits the city and state. He referred to Mr. Hill's correspondence which offers two options and he recommends that if the City is interested in having the stadium, they need to be more engaged in the legislative process. Mayor Grant stated the question before the Council at this time is whether or not they want to hire the lobbyist to advocate for the City. Councilmember Tamble stated a lot of these decisions piggy-back each other and he wondered how the Council could invest taxpayer dollars in the lobbyist without public input. Councilmember Holden commented that by not taking a position,the City may have a little more edge with Ramsey County.