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ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION— SEPTEMBER 9, 2024 17 Mayor Grant said it's important to prioritize the five trails. We want to do all of those. Finance Director Yang said the Master Parks Plan is in the PIR fund. It impacts the fund balance, not necessarily the levy. Councilmember Holden said we still have to put money into the PIR so it doesn't matter. Councilmember Monson said she would like to not underfund this year. She remembers last year Council landed on the decision to underfund, though it wasn't her choice. We were trying to find some level of compromise and we didn't quite get there. She doesn't think underfunding is a good practice. She feels we're just kicking the can down the road. Councilmember Holden said she doesn't think we ever kicked the can down the road. She remembers it being a lot of wants vs. needs. We don't approve every piece of equipment that is brought for replacement just because it's rusty. We have replaced some lemons after just a couple years. There has to be a practice for that. Councilmember Monson clarified that the phrase "kicking the can down the road"was used by Councilmembers in 2022. Councilmember Holden said it was used by Councilmember Holmes. Mayor Grant said Council should account for some underfunded amount. He thought $190,000 is not a good number but maybe $150,000 is okay. The levy is $5.6 million. He doesn't think every single dime of that will be spent. Last year the actual amount came in within $9,000. Some years you will be above and some years you'll be below. You can't fund it to the max, every time. Mayor Grant asked Finance Director Yang to recalculate the numbers, making the cuts discussed and include it in the Admin Update. Councilmember Rousseau asked to see what the numbers would look like if the Parks Manager position started after quarter 1 vs. waiting until June or July. Finance Director Yang asked what the decision is on the timing for the Public Hearing for franchise fees. Councilmember Holden said that wouldn't be until January. Councilmember Monson asked for clarification that we would want to have a decision prior to the debt in May. She thinks the fire department will want a clear indicator of how the bonding for the fire department will be done. She thinks it's important to commit to how the bond will be paid, as this is a partnership with three other cities. It should be clear, if we issue a bond in 2025, this Council will use franchise fees to pay that back. Councilmember Holden said it's our bond. She doesn't think the fire department will care how we pay it back. Councilmember Monson said it shows commitment that we are going to pay it back.