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ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION – JULY 10, 2023 2 provide better coverage to North Oaks, northern Shoreview, and TCAAP when built. Between 2019 and 2021, the Arden Hills City Council, along with the other two cities, passed resolutions of support for the new station, and have also approved a Joint Powers Agreement to facilitate future funding of the new station. Along with the new station project, the department has also been discussing staffing, specifically hiring at least six new full-time Captains. The board did recommend that the new staffing was their preferred option moving forward. The department previously applied for a SAFER Grant and was unsuccessful at the time, and is pursuing one this year, too. The fire department gave a presentation to the City Council in July and August of 2022, and the City Council was supportive of applying for the SAFER Grant and the associated new positions. City Administrator Perrault explained the board has also been discussing the possibility of creating a fire district, which would be its own separate taxing authority. A fire district is viewed as a more efficient form of governance versus the current board as the fire district board could independently approve projects. The fire district would bring the fire department off of each City’s tax rolls, but would still have implications to each City. The first being how would the fire department’s cost be split amongst the cities. The cities would have the option to split the cost based on a formula, which could be similar to the one we use today. Another option would be to have it based on overall market value. The market value option would likely increase the cost to North Oaks, while decreasing the cost to both Arden Hills and Shoreview. It is believed that should the cities use a formula with the fire district that the cities would still then be responsible for presenting the fire district’s items through our Truth in Taxation process, which may give the optics to residents that the fire district taxes are part of the city’s taxes. Another point to consider, is while the fire district would still have one elected from each City for representation, the district would be acting independently at the direction of the fire district board. The board has not yet made a recommendation for or against a fire district, but is looking for feedback from the City Councils. City Administrator Perrault commented the three cities, via a Joint Powers Authority (JPA), have been awarded approximately $6.37 million in State funding for the construction of a new headquarters (must be spent or encumbered by 12/31/2027). Recent estimates have put the cost of the station close to $19 million, which leaves approximately $13 million to be paid for by the three cities. Arden Hills portion of this would be 25 percent, or $3.25 million. Should the three cities decide to move forward with construction, the City of Arden Hills would likely need to bond for its portion of the project. Assuming a 5 percent interest rate, it can be assumed the annual cost to the City would be approximately $260,788 per year. Our current levy for the General Fund is $4,098,680, and our overall levy is $4,718,680, this addition would equate to a 6.4 percent increase and a 5.5 percent increase in the General Fund and overall levy, respectively. City Administrator Perrault reported the department is seeking to hire additional full-time staffing in the upcoming years. To help offset those costs the department is pursuing a SAFER Grant through the Federal Government, which would pay for the new positions for the first three years (an approximate total value of $2 million). The cities would be responsible to pay for the positions following the grant period. Regardless if the grant is received or not, the fire department is planning to have six of these new positions in next year’s budget. At full cost, the new positions would cost approximately $900,000, with Arden Hills’ portion being 25 percent, or $219,502. Not accounting for the future fire station cost increase, this alone represents a 5.4 percent and 4.6