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ARDEN HILLS REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 14, 2004 5 . Council member Grant raised the issue of combining law enforcement and fire departments. Mr. Dillenberg responded the geography should stay as it is. Ms. Wolfe summarized the decision of the Council is that it does not want one station only, and would not opt to split the fire and police departments. She noted the City Administrators have been meeting and have discovered they are on the same page with their preferences. She added that since seven cities are involved in this decision, it would be helpful to decide in a unified vOice. B. Easement at the Former City Hall Site to Qwest . Mr. Hellegers advised that Robert Wenger of Ulteig Engineers, Inc., on behalf of Qwest Communications, has requested an easement at the former City Hall site on Highway 96. He said the easement would house two or three telephone cabinets which would serve an area of approximately eight blocks around the easement site and would provide the service for the new Ramsey County Partners Public Works Facility on the north side of Highway 96. He noted the City owns the property for the former City Hall site and the current Maintenance building, as well as another four acres of property to the east terminating just west ofthe childcare center. He stated this item was brought before the Planning Commission for discussion at their June 2,2004 meeting. He said the Commission had some questions about locating an easement on the City's property, south of Highway 96, when the telephone cabinets would primarily serve the Ramsey County Partners Public Works Facility on the north side of Highway 96. He added that there is a manhole on the south side and it is more convenient to work from there. The other side of the street is being disturbed by construction, which would have to be taken into consideration while working. Ken Asmonson, Qwest Engineer, explained the service is designated for the Ramsey County new building, as well as the old Arsenal area. He noted the capability would exist to serve 30,000 to 40,000 homes or businesses with DSL, phone and enhanced services. He explained where the service originates now and where the cables run. He said the new equipment is fiber. He noted all the facilities are on the south side of Highway 96 now, however Qwest cannot provide customers in this area with enhanced services because of the distance from the office. The existing copper wiring cannot be upgraded, and a fiber cabinet must be placed where the fiber can be converted back to copper. He said he did approach Ramsey County for an easement and they granted an area on the southwest area of their property on Highway 96. He further stated the technicians would be parking on the shoulder at a blind approach off a hill, which would not be safe. He explained that when this office was set up, the Arsenal was still functioning and services were not needed beyond this area. Now it is becoming evident that additional services will be needed. . Mayor Aplikowski said she didn't think there would be that many homes and businesses in the area.