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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — MAY 13, 2024 5 Councilmember Holden indicated the Council may be over generalizing, noting there were seniors in the community that were living on fixed incomes. Mayor Grant commented that a recent study he reviewed found that 65% of Americans were now living paycheck to paycheck. Councilmember Rousseau stated she supported Councilmember Monson speak with Xcel Energy. Mayor Grant indicated he would be willing to continue his discussions with Xcel as well. Councilmember Monson suggested she and the Mayor speak with Xcel Energy together. Councilmember Fabel stated as a matter of principle he was against the use of franchise fees. He anticipated the vast majority of residents would not understand they were paying a regressive City tax through the franchise fee. Mayor Grant explained he could support a franchise fee for the fire station expense only. He questioned how the franchise fee should be split between gas and electric. Councilmember Monson questioned if the franchise fee would be applied to residents who have both gas and electric utility bills. City Administrator Perrault stated it was his understanding the franchise fee would apply to everyone. He explained all properties had electric bills, but not all properties had a gas bill. Councilmember Holden recommended the franchise fee only be applied to electric bills. Council consensus was to direct staff to further investigate an electric -only franchise fee to cover the fire station expenses. C. Rain Garden Discussion PTRC Member Liz Johnson stated the PTRC has identified a need to focus on land management and restoration. She discussed how rain gardens work to filter runoff, get rid of pollutants, and to take the burden off the storm sewer system when operating properly. She commented on how the rain gardens in her neighborhood were not working properly and were in need of maintenance. She anticipated that this concern was widespread throughout the community. She was interested in identifying the City's rain gardens and coming up with a process for maintaining them long-term. PTRC Member Nancy Jacobson estimated there were 200 rain gardens in Arden Hills. She indicated a City-wide inventory would be needed in order to create a plan going forward and the owners would have to be identified before a budget for this project could be created. She requested support from the Council to keep this project moving forward. Mayor Grant asked what was meant by the rain gardens were not working properly.