Laserfiche WebLink
Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday, December 4, 2017 <br /> Page 9 <br /> provide emergency medical treatment (EMT) services, Councilmember McGehee <br /> opined that they were much involved in serving with the Police Department in <br /> saving lives daily. Therefore, Councilmember McGehee opined that she could <br /> not find a problem with the intended parsing between the Fire and Police Depart- <br /> ments, opining that the Fire Department reorganization would become a more fi- <br /> nancially beneficial arrangement than the current structure. <br /> In response, Councilmember Willmus called attention to several of Councilmem- <br /> ber McGehee's remarks. Specific to the License Center comments, Councilmem- <br /> ber Willmus reviewed the history of the initial estimates for the remodel of this <br /> leased space and its significant increase through the design plan stages with con- <br /> sultant fees that resulted in a cost of approximately $135 per square foot. Coun- <br /> cilmember Willmus referenced recent improvements made in the City of New <br /> Brighton License Center for renovations of their lower level space that resulted in <br /> approximately $73 per square foot, according to bid information he had re- <br /> searched, including a lump sum of$20,000 for a special security gate. In his con- <br /> sultation with one of the bidders on the City of Roseville's project and the win- <br /> ning proposer of the New Brighton bid, Councilmember Willmus reported that he <br /> was told that Roseville had some levels of finishes included in their bid package <br /> that resulted in considerably higher bids than those of New Brighton. For com- <br /> parison purposes, Councilmember Willmus encouraged his colleagues to tour the <br /> New Brighton facility, opining that he considered something comparable as suita- <br /> ble in Roseville. Councilmember Willmus expressed appreciation for Coun- <br /> cilmember McGehee's ongoing advocacy for stewardship of city dollars which he <br /> considered himself sharing; but asked that she take a hard look at potential sav- <br /> ings for License Center remodeling costs. <br /> Regarding operational costs for city employees, Councilmember Willmus clari- <br /> fied that he wasn't suggesting sending any employees home and asked that Coun- <br /> cilmember McGehee not imply that context from his previous statements. How- <br /> ever, Councilmember Willmus stated his preference to hold the line on FTE's as a <br /> very real cost effective strategy to consider. Councilmember Willmus referenced <br /> Councilmember McGehee's comments and asked that she review her website <br /> when campaigning for office in 2009 or 2010 related to staffing costs compared to <br /> current staffing levels and services/programs provided. <br /> Specific to comments related to planning strategies for new assets and their ongo- <br /> ing maintenance, Councilmember Etten clarified that there were plans in place for <br /> those new assets based on recent changes made to do so, including $14,000 set <br /> aside in 2018 for the new clubhouse still under construction. Councilmember Et- <br /> ten noted that the council had recognized the need to plan quality care for the <br /> clubhouse and any other city park or other facilities in the future, as already ad- <br /> dressed in the 2018 proposed CIP. Councilmember Etten agreed that this had <br /> served as a learning exercise for the city going forward, and that this City Council <br /> had taken the lead to address. <br />