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If the board does direct the fire department to move forward, below are next steps on the land acquisition: • Board directs Fire Chief to sign the purchase agreement • Bethel University works with the City on a preliminary and final plat to subdivide the northern piece of their property into two parcels • Following approval of a lot split and if the fire department and Bethel come to an agreement, the fire department would take ownership over their parcel • Future fire station construction would be at the direction of the board of directors City Staff will also be seeking direction on proceeding with a future agreement between the three cities on the mechanics of moving forward with the property acquisition. Below are questions or points of discussion raised between the City Administrators/Managers. Staff does not need final direction tonight, but an agreement would be brought forward between the three cities for approval before the fire department closes on the property. Items for discussion: • Paying for the land: each City will pay for their respective portion based on the formula the fire department currently uses for the budgeting process. The fire department has suggested using $300,000 from the fire department’s General Fund, which would help offset the cost of the land acquisition (approximately $75,000 in savings for Arden Hills). • Bond issuance: when the construction for the fire station moves forward, Arden Hills could bond for the entire project, which would save on overall issuance costs and the three cities could take advantage of the city’s bond rating to obtain a lower interest rate. The total cost of the project, including issuance costs, would be split between the cities based on the aforementioned formula. Depending on the mechanics of the issuance, each City may be able to roll their cost for the land into the bond issuance and refund themselves with the bond money, spreading the cost of the land acquisition over the duration of the bond. The other option is to have each city individually bond for their portion of the project, but this could lead to higher overall costs for the project due to additional issuance costs, varying interest rates, and there may be concerns from other cities about bonding for a project outside of their city. • Bond repayment: the bond issue will be repaid through annual appropriations by each city consistent with the cost share formula. • Municipal fees: Arden Hills may waive park dedication fees for the fire department parcel. The city may consider other fees to include the Building Permit Fee, Plan Review Fee, etc. • Development approvals: the City of Arden Hills will provide necessary development approvals for the construction of a fire station when needed. • Timing of construction of a new station: the timeline of construction has not been identified, however, if the city decided to refund its cost for the land acquisition through bond proceeds, it would need to have a completed station within three years of the expenditure of the land purchase. It has also been discussed whether the three cities want to set a date for construction to begin, such as, June 30, 2022 (or another mutually agreed upon date). Budget Impact The funding for the land acquisition would come from the City’s Public Safety Capital Fund, which had a negative fund balance of $5,198 at the end of 2019. This fund is primarily supported by property taxes ($70,000) and charitable gambling revenues ($23,000 est.). While