05-28-1991 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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FROM THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS CITY FACILITY Many of you have been aware for some time of discussions to do something with our outdated and crowded city facilities. For those of you who have recently visited our facilities you are aware of the conditions that exist and agree that the over crowding and state of disrepair is not productive. Some people have suggested that a bit of fixing up here and there could assist us, but as a Council think it has gotten to the point that the most cost effective solution is to start over again and do an entirely new facility. This would not be just a five or ten year cure. At pr -?nt the City has utilized an architectural firm to determine the amount of space requirements we have without being superfluous. We are looking at a total cost for a new City Hall, Police facility and Public Works facility for a total of just about $3-3.6 million. The financing of this would translate, as we estimate it now, into a 1 to 2% increase in your tax bill. Last April we, as a Council, submitted 3 names apiece for a Citizen Advisory Task Force on facilities. From this group 13 persons were selected at random to give a good cross section of the community. They worked during May thru August meeting 4 times. They reviewed issues of need, site, architectural design and cost. They presented to us their preliminary report at a Council worksession held with them on August 23rd. Their recommendation, without descent, was for a site on Highway 12 and Old Crystal Bay Road opposite the schools and that the current site in Crystal Bay be used for a park. Their reasons for this included: - Compatibility with surrounding land uses and did not intrudr ■ peoples homes. - Adja o schools and the future Hennepin County Library site - Sufficient size for future growth - Limited availability of land in Orono of sufficient size