CCWS 09-20-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORKSESSION September 20, 2004 7 . City Administrator Wolfe noted that the proposed SCADA system can be installed even if the existing lift stations are not all updated. The other lift stations can be retrofitted over time, but there is a cost to doing that. Mayor Aplikowski asked the City Council members if they would like to move forward with the CIP or slow down. Council Member Larson would like to see the SCADA system installed. He feels that the City needs to improve and maintain the infrastructure system. Council Member Holden is concerned that the new lift stations will be reaching their age capacity at the same time. The City will be in the same position thirty years from now. Mayor Applikowski noted that for many years the City was not very aggressive in improving the infrastructure system. Council Member Grant does not want to stop the CIP process but feels that it would be good to slow down project spending. Council Member Rem is also concerned about taking on too many expenditures and not having enough money in emergency reserves. . City Administrator Wolfe mentioned that the CIP can be considered a plan or a budget. The budget approach gives the City Council and staff a better understanding of how much money the City has to spend on a yearly basis. The planning aspect of the CIP programs allows staffto plan for the future. Mayor Applikowski asked the City Council if the CIP plan should be slowed down and what should the proposed utility rates be for the residents. Councilmember Larson questioned if the City should create a one-time fee increase or slowly increase the utility fees over time. Mayor Aplikowski feels that staff members should create two utility rate proposals: 1. Utility rate increases of $22 and $18 per month; 2. Scale back the CIP projects for this year; 3. Create a list of priority projects for the City Council to review (wants and needs). County Road E Bridl!e and Sidewalk Proiect City Administrator Wolfe requested feed back from the City identifying the next steps for staff to take regarding this project. The following options were reviewed: 1. Hold another neighborhood meeting; . 2. Schedule an additional work session with the City Council; 3. Proceed as directed at August 23, 2004 work session meeting.