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ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — AUGUST 25, 2025 24 Councilmember Holden said we didn't have the participation so she is worried that we aren't reaching a population that we need to reach. She doesn't view Cummings as a community park. Most people have to drive to Cummings. Councilmember Monson said that is what Councilmember Rousseau meant by a community park vs. a neighborhood park. Councilmember Holden thinks Cummings is highly utilized by people who live in that area. Same as Hazelnut is mostly utilized by people in that area. That what makes it a neighborhood park. Councilmember Rousseau said it is because of the size. We have the community picnic at Cummings. The Penny Carnival is held at Perry vs. one of the smaller neighborhood parks. Councilmember Holden said it's because of the pavilions, more than anything is why those events are there. Mayor Grant said Council will discuss a couple more items and then recess and return after the regular meeting. Finance Director Yang wanted to recap the different scenarios to ensure she is getting Council all the numbers they requested. She will look at scenario E with some level of an annual levy increase, without shifting projects. She will look at scenario E with annual levy increase and include shifting the projects. She will look at bonding for Old Highway 10 Trail in 2026, without project shifting and look at bonding with shifting the projects. Councilmember Monson said there was a lot of conversation about scenarios D and E. She asked if Councilmember Holden and Mayor Grant will get the information they are looking for with the scenarios Finance Director Yang outlined. Councilmember Holden thinks if we are going to bond, she only wants to do it once. She said it costs us so much money to bond. The interest rates change and then you can't fix it. We have more than enough money for the Highway 10 trail. We have Lake Johanna Trail coming up. We don't know what's going to happen with that one. Councilmember Monson believed scenario E is just a single bond. Staff confirmed. Mayor Grant said he is in favor of scenario D. He doesn't want to see us in an interest rate scenario with bonds going out 20 years. All we are doing is jacking the levy for 20 years. He doesn't want to put us in that situation. There will be opportunities for bonding. He doesn't think we want to do it in 2026. We may take a look at in in 2027-28. He agrees with Councilmember Weber that we should put some PIR money into the levy. He would like to see us get around that because the interest will hurt us. Councilmember Holden said we know the interest rates are going to drop significantly.