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09/16/1993 - City Council Special 00300 MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF EAGAN CITY COUNCIL Eagan, Minnesota September 16, 1993 A Special City Council meeting was held on Thursday, September 16, 1993, at 4:00 p.m., in the Eagan Municipal Center building. The purpose of the meeting was for the City Council to meet with Dewey Thorbeck, the City's Architect for the Municipal Center/ Public Safety Expansion project and to meet with members of the Cable Advisory Commission to discuss the rate regulation certification. Those in attendance were Mayor Egan and City Councilmembers Awada, Hunter, Masin, and Wachter. Also present were Chief of Police Geagan, Director of Community Development Reichert, Director of Public Works Colbert, Director of Finance VanOverbeke, Administrative Intern Joyce Pruitt, and City Administrator Hedges. MUNICIPAL CENTER/ PUBLIC SAFETY EXPANSION City Administrator Hedges introduced Dewey Thorbeck, the City's Architect, for his presentation and preliminary review of plans for the Municipal Center/ Public Safety Expansion project. City Architect, Thorbeck, presented plans for the Municipal Center/ Public Safety Expansion which included information compiled from the DRW Study and space needs analysis of individual departments. The presentation included current space needs for each department, as well as a combined layout arranged on a single plan. The police and fire department plans were developed according to the Architect's interpretation only. City Architect Thorbeck clarified the plans were drawn according to a single floor layout, and could be discussed at a later date to divide departments among the two floors. The Architect illustrated specific areas on the plans to Councilmembers. These areas included a central location to serve as a lobby for access and a service counter, two staff entrances including a primary area where individuals could wait for rides, and an engineering mud room for field survey equipment. The total net square footage for current space needs is 2,635 square feet. Councilmember Hunter commented on the size of the police storage area. Chief of Police Geagan clarified that the designated area was required for cold storage, which required a strict process regarding rules of evidence. Councilmember Wachter and Hunter discussed the possibility of utilizing the basement as a training area for police and fire departments. Councilmember Awada requested clarification of square footage for the basement area. City Architect Thorbeck, stated 6,173 square feet of net space is available in the basement of the current Municipal Center. Councilmember Wachter expressed 003 al. Minutes of a Special Meeting of Eagan City Council September 16, 1993 Page Two concern regarding ease of access from the proposed ice arena to the Municipal building. City Architect Thorbeck, explained to Councilmembers the preliminary plans for the Municipal Center required 21,153 square feet. That calculation, combined with circulation and mechanical space, an additional 35%, totals an approximate space need of 28,000 square feet for the Municipal building alone. Departmental space needs exceed space available in the existing Municipal Center. Staff projections for 2000 and 2010 will be available in approximately two weeks. City Architect Thorbeck also noted that the fire and police department plans are only the Architects interpretation of the raw data, and have not been discussed with the respective departments. The police and fire departments square footage need was not computed in the 21,153 figure. He also advised Councilmembers that new office space would cost approximately $75-$80 pre square foot, and new public safety space would cost approximately $110-$115 per square foot. Mayor Egan questioned as to what percentage of the basement is currently window space. City Architect Thorbeck stated the ground floor is approximately one-half without windows. The diagrams presented suggested all departments on one floor. Architect Thorbeck, suggested department heads would need to discuss the specific placement of each department in relation to others. City Architect Thorbeck, presented several policy issues for Councilmembers to examine. One policy issue was whether police cold storage should be contained on or off site. The second issue for the Council questioned how many fitness spaces should be located in the Municipal Building. Proposed options involve no fitness center located on-site,separate fitness areas for police, fire, and other city staff, or a combination of the proposed fitness centers. A third issue to consider was whether a consolidation of facilities like dispatch, entrances, and training areas should be pursued with the police and fire departments. Administrator Hedges complimented City Architect Thorbeck and E & V Construction Management on their prompt presentation, and challenging departments to conservatively describe space needs. Administrator Hedges also questioned the Council if they would require additional space as well. Councilmembers discussed the option, and agreed a meeting room with a cabinet to hold council materials would be suitable. RATE REGULATION CERTIFICATION Cable Coordinator, Mike Reardon, introduced Members of the Cable Commission: Chair Jerry Hansen, Doug Dahl, and Attorney Tom 00302 Minutes of a Special Meeting of Eagan City council September 16, 1993 Page Three Creighton. Doug Dahl presented the cable rate regulation certification information. In order for the Joint Burnsville/ Eagan Cable Commission to comply with the rate regulation certification process, direction was needed-from Councilmembers to the joint commission during the month of September. The FCC established September 1 as the first date for local franchising authorities to be eligible for certification. The LFA's certification will become effective 30 days after the FCC filing unless determined by the FCC that the LFA has not met one of three criteria. These three criteria include: an LFA's local rate regulations are consistent with the rate regulations of the FCC, the LFA has the legal authority to adopt and the personnel resources to administer rate regulations, and the LFA's procedural rules provide an opportunity for consideration and the views of interested parties. Doug Dahl representing Eagan's residents on the Burnsville/Eagan Cable Commission, presented a handout to Councilmembers and staff summarizing why cable should be regulated now, what it would cost, and who should do it. Councilmembers discussed basic services available presently and in the future, anticipated trends in cable, utilization of current video equipment, and the advisory nature of the Cable Commission. Cable Advisory Commissioner Dahl, explained Eagan should pursue certification for cable is currently a franchised monopoly. There will not be any actual competition for the next few years. Non-basic rates are capped by the FCC. However, the Cable Commission will be able to regulate the basic rate and all equipment. A basic package was defined as channels: 2,4,5,9,11,29, and government access. Cable Advisory Commissioner Dahl related although application may be made at any time, there is a nation wide rate freeze until November 15th, and there is minimum 30 day waiting period for certification. Thus, if certification is not pursued now, cable subscribers could be forced to accept at least one rate increase before challenging. Cable Advisory Commissioner Dahl specified the primary cost to include staff time, as well as outside consultants for legal and accounting services. He also expressed the Commission's goal is to keep cable service as simple and inexpensive as reasonable for subscribers. An initial cost ranged from $2,000 to as much as $20,000, if a full scale challenge to rate structure is necessary. Cable Advisory Commissioner Dahl contended the Commission should apply for certification due to the brief turnaround times, usually only 30 days, for responses to federal or company requests which creates difficulty in procuring information to cities and back to commissions in time to act. He added due to the fact the 4 00303 Minutes of a Special Meeting of Eagan City Council September 16, 1993 Page Four Cable Commission is advisory in nature, the Council could take away the commission's power by a single meeting. The Councilmembers discussed the issue of certification and expressed support. Cable Coordinator Reardon, stated the existing cable provider, Meredith, has been a satisfactory provider, however, this certification would provide a sensible insurance against sharp increases in the event of a new cable provider replacing Meredith. Councilmembers questioned whether Burnsville supported the rate regulation certification. Attorney Creighton and Cable Coordinator Reardon, stated the Burnsville Council expressed support of such certification, but were postponing any formal action until information was presented from an upcoming cable meeting. Eagan Councilmembers showed support for the rate regulation certification. Mayor Egan stated he was in support of deferring and delegating authority to the Joint Burnsville/Eagan Cable Commission, especially due to the short thirty day window available for doing so, and the Council concurred. OTHER BUSINESS Councilmember Awada explained that a landowner, Gary Sander, contacted her with an inquiry. The number of up-scale townhomes Mr. Sander is proposing for his R-3 zoned property would only be permitted in an R-4 zone. Councilmembers suggested having the resident pursue a Planned Unit Development proposal for the site. Administrator Hedges described an option available for Councilmembers who wish to take advantage of a special airfare rate of $286 through Northwest for the National Cities Conference. There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 6:17 p.m. &LLmnr 16. 1993 Date City Clerk If you need this information in an alternate form such as large print, braille, audio tapes, etc., please contact the City of Eagan, 3830 Pilot Knob Road, Eagan, MN, 55122, 681-4600, (TDD phone: 454-8535).