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Regular City Council Meeting <br /> Monday, March 26,2018 <br /> Page 20 <br /> Councilmember Etten stated he would like to see what funds have a CIP <br /> built in and what it looks like when the excess is removed. This will cre- <br /> ate a good discussion and potentially some lower reserves. <br /> Councilmember McGehee concurred with Councilmember Etten's com- <br /> ments. <br /> Councilmember Etten asked if this disincentivizes a department head from <br /> reducing their use of the budgeted amount. <br /> Commissioner Bachhuber stated it does not serve the City's interests to <br /> think that way, but rather to think of the City as one big department. It is <br /> much healthier for the City to have transparency. <br /> Chair Schroeder stated the FC found it frustrating to figure out and re- <br /> member what some excess funds were for. <br /> Commissioner Bachhuber stated the department heads have been very <br /> above board, but unless someone is part of the department, it is difficult to <br /> remember what the excess funds are for. <br /> Mayor Roe summarized the Council is in favor of removing the CIP from <br /> the operating funds and asked the FC to do more research about fund lev- <br /> els. <br /> Commissioner Murray presented the fifth bullet point: <br /> o The Commission recommends that the Council delay the ac- <br /> quisition of the strip center property located at 2719 Lexington <br /> Avenue to allow for more public discussion and development of <br /> a long-term plan for the site. <br /> Commissioner Murray highlighted 4 concerns of the FC about the pro- <br /> posed purchase: (1) how does the strip mall fit into the overall plan (2) <br /> cost (3) issues with using part of it for storage (4) operational concerns if <br /> the City manages the property. <br /> Commissioner Murray noted he has worked as a public accountant for 42 <br /> years with clients in commercial real estate, and there are a lot of problems <br /> that would be posed to the City. He suggested exploring other options ra- <br /> ther than rushing to close. <br /> Councilmember Willmus expressed appreciation for the comments of the <br /> FC. One fault is looking at this through the lens of the License Center. <br /> That is part of it,but it is not the whole picture. Another issue is the space <br />