09-23-2013 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, September 9, 2013 7:00 o’clock p.m. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Page 6 of 11 (10. GOLF COURSE VOLUNTEERS – REQUEST FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS, Continued) From Staff’s perspective, the Public Works Department is in favor of utilizing the contingency funds since the labor is being provided at no cost. Anderson stated she has a very hard time with this because she fully appreciates the efforts of the volunteer group, but at the same time she is apprehensive, given the discussion about the 2014 budget, about approving a $9,000 expenditure that is not budgeted for this year. Anderson stated she is not comfortable with the expenditure since it was not budgeted for and the City is attempting to maintain flat levies and zero percent increases. Anderson stated the City Council knew what the costs would be going into this project and they are now exceeding this. Anderson indicated she would prefer to look at doing this in 2014 so the City can account for the money. Anderson noted the City has looked at the contingency funds for a couple of things right now and she does not know if this is one of the highest priorities. McMillan noted the contingency fund would come out of the 2013 budget and are for items that are not in the budget. Levang commented these costs were unanticipated and that the volunteer group and representatives from Staff have been meeting regularly to review items related to the golf course. Levang stated in her view the City needs to keep the ball rolling and that what the volunteer group is suggesting makes good sense. Levang stated she has met with the group often enough to know that they have made every attempt to repair the windows on their own. Levang noted next year is the 90th anniversary of the golf course, which will be a big celebration and an important point in the City’s history. Levang stated as some of the other local golf courses are going away, the City will likely pick up many more golfers if the facility is improved. For a number of years the facilities have been neglected and the City now has a group of volunteers donating their labor. Levang stated in her view it is a good use of the contingency funds. Levang noted the women’s league consists of 300 golfers and even getting a small share of that would help boost the revenue received from the golf course. Bremer stated she would appreciate a future projection of what the realistic costs are going to be into the future and that she would rather not be pennywise and pound foolish. Bremer stated the City needs to acknowledge there is a lot more to be done out there, and that no matter how much paint is put on the facility, some substantial repairs are required. Bremer noted the City is projected to lose quite a bit of money on the golf course this year. Bremer asked, as it relates to the two bids, if Staff is recommending the Low E windows because they should be more cost effective going forward and if Staff’s proposal would include the $7,200 bid and not the $6,000 bid. Struve indicated that is correct and that the recommendation was based on the input from the volunteer group. Struve stated there will be some energy savings by going with the Low E windows but he is not sure whether that is quantifiable at this point. Struve noted he just received the bids this morning and has not had time to thoroughly go through them. Item #02 - CC Agenda - 09/23/2013 Approval of Council Minutes 09/09/2013 [Page 6 of 11]