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Regular City Council Meeting Monday, March 19,2012 Page 10 Mr. Schwartz noted that if private electrical lines remained overhead, and the cit- ies' underground, a pole would need to connect them at each business. Councilmember Pust spoke in opposition to such an unrealistic engineering choice. Councilmember McGehee concurred with the comments of Councilmember John- son, and in support of undergrounding; as well as expressing willingness to cost- share with businesses or other options to make it happen to avoid any undue eco- nomic strain to property owners. Councilmember Willmus expressed interest in pursuing the undergrounding; however, he prefaced that support on receiving hard numbers on costs and break- down of costs for business owners. Councilmember Willmus sought additional information from staff on whether property owners had an option to prepay un- dergrounding costs and receive a discount from Xcel Energy. Councilmember Willmus noted that this could provide a much-needed incentive for business own- ers. Mr. Schwartz advised that he would consult with Xcel to determine if they pro- vided such an incentive; noting that they did include a carrying cost in their rates. In noting that the City's Public Works, Environment and Transportation Commis- sion was currently reviewing an overall undergrounding policy for recommenda- tion to the City Council, Mayor Roe asked for a status report on the timeline for that recommendation. Mr. Schwartz advised that he would anticipate a 2-3 month time frame for that recommendation. Mayor Roe expressed his enthusiasm for that short of a time frame, opining that it would be great to have that recommendation in place before too many more pro- jects come forward. Mayor Roe spoke in support of looking at undergrounding for Phase II of the project, recognizing the additional steps still pending and need for another firm estimate. Mr. Schwartz advised that when the issue was brought forward to the City Coun- cil in the future, firm costs as well as negotiated terms for an agreement between the Cities of Roseville and Little Canada and Xcel Energy would be available for their deliberation and decision-making. Related to the Highway 36 corridor, Councilmember McGehee advised that her contacts with citizens had expressed interest in soundproof barriers along High- way 36 similar to those of other communities along the corridor. Councilmember McGehee noted the negative aesthetics of the sound wall from I-35 at Highway