CCP 09-11-2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL -AUGUST 28, 2006 Mike Aamoth, 3550 Ridgewood Road, stated he had received some information from the City that was inaccurate and was not clear. He stated this was a problem and an inconvenience for the residents. He recommended the construction company be more accurate. He asked if there was any place he could go and look at the bids submitted for this project from the various construction companies. Ms. Wolfe stated the bids were available at City Hall and ifhe left his name with the City Engineer, they would be provided to him. Mr. Aamoth asked if there was an assessment meeting in June. He noted initially he was told the assessment was going to be around $7,000 and now it went up 45 percent. He stated he was concerned the project had now been started and there was no assessment hearing. Ms. Giga stated the feasibility report was done last August and there might have been a tentative schedule in that rcport. Ms. Wolfe stated initially they thought the assessment hearing would be held earlier than it ended up being. She indicated in the feasibility study they estimated between $6,500 and $8,800 for the assessment, but the bids came in higher than anticipated. Mr. Aamoth stated it would be nice if there was better communication all around. Ms. Giga stated they were distributing information as best they could, but the contractor's schedule often changes hour by hour and not day by day. If the contractor conveys the information in a timely manner the City will do their best to distribute the information. Lisa Abraham, 3511 Siems Court, asked if everyone had received the letter she sent. She stated if they were going to go back and consider lots in different areas, the Island Lake Beach Club also had two separate areas, which were having their fees waived. She requested they look at this also. She stated hcr assessment should be waived because of her driveway access. Ms. Wolfe stated the basis for not assessing the Beach Club was because the parcels were not developable. Ms. Abraham believed there was a value to the islands and it should probably be assessed accordingly. Jennie Michael, 3436 Siems Conrt asked how many units was the Beach Club. Ms. Giga responded it was two parcels. Ms, Michaels noted the parcels were huge and a lot of residents did not use the Beach Club and therefore, they should not have to pay for that portion. She stated she was under the impression the City was going to pick up the shortfall difference between the estimate and the bid. Ms. Wolfe responded the City had increased their contribution to the project. Tom Mulcahy, 3530 Siems Court, stated when he was working and a project catne in as much over budget as this one did, they would ask who should be fired. He stated they needed an explanation as to why the costs came in so high. He stated if they had a feasibility study in August 2005 he believed they should rely on that feasibility study and why was the feasibility study so inaccurate. He asked if the City just accepted the bids. Councilmember Larson noted the City was subject to the market fluctuations at the time and in this instance that was what had happened. He stated they had met with the contractor to corne up with some changes to reduce 4 - - --