Lake Elmo City Council — Transcript

Tuesday, July 14, 2026

Future of Old City Hall Building

Evaluation of Request-Based Parking Restrictions

Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and Strategic Financial Planning

Storm Water Funding for Street Projects

Votes (4)

Discussion on the Future of the Old City Hall Building

No official action taken; discussion for feedback.

The discussion centered on the disposition of the vacant Old City Hall, highlighting options such as demolition, leasing, or deferral. The building requires over $800,000 in repairs, creating a dilemma regarding investment versus potential returns from leasing. Concerns included code compliance, the city's role as a landlord, and the unknown future development plans for adjacent properties. The council largely favored demolition to maintain flexibility and avoid becoming involved in long-term real estate management for minimal financial gain, with a suggestion for temporary gravel parking if demolished.

Development of Administrative Review Process for Parking Restrictions

No official action taken; staff sought feedback and counsel.

Staff proposed a new administrative review process to standardize how resident requests for parking restrictions (installation or removal) are handled. The process distinguishes between minor, site-specific issues that staff can address administratively and larger-area changes requiring a property owner petition and public hearing. Council members generally supported the initiative but requested clearer definitions for what constitutes a 'large area' and emphasized that public safety should be the primary justification for implementing or removing parking restrictions.

Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and Strategic Financial Planning

No official action taken; discussion for feedback.

The council reviewed the 10-year, $137 million Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and an accompanying 25-year strategic financial plan designed to improve fiscal health, reduce debt, and stabilize revenues. A key debate involved balancing necessary capital investments with controlling the rate of increase in city spending. One council member advocated for capping annual CIP growth at inflation plus 1-2%, while others argued that capital needs are inherently variable and that past underinvestment necessitates current accelerated spending, especially with current development growth providing increased revenue capacity.

Use of Storm Water Funds for Street Projects

No official action taken; discussion for feedback.

The council deliberated on redirecting storm water funds to help cover the storm water components of local street projects. Estimates suggested an annual transfer of $480,000, which would necessitate increasing annual storm water utility rates by 10% (up from 8%) and delay the fund achieving a positive balance by two years. Debate centered on the administrative burden of precise cost allocation versus a simpler annual transfer, and the equity of charging storm water utility payers for general street-related storm water costs, given the different revenue structures compared to water and sewer utilities.

Notable Quotes (13)

the repairs are over 800,000. We could talk about that a little bit later, but there's a list of repairs. There's there's a lot of repairs. I mean, one of the AC condensers is from 1986. So, you're looking at HVAC, electrical, sighting, roof, almost everything to get this ready.

Jason [0:7:50]
Discussion on the Future of the Old City Hall Building

taking a look at that building over there, one, it would be higher, highly desirable if it were on the market right now. If you were trying to lease it and or sell it for that matter, I think you'd find a lot of folks very interested in it.

Scott Kragnness (Metro East) [0:11:32]
Discussion on the Future of the Old City Hall Building

I look at and say, do we really want to be in the real estate business for 5,000 bucks a year of income? I mean, if we if we think the space could be used for office or someone could lease it, we should sell it. And if we want to hang on to it, you know, probably just demolish it and leave the site vacant till you determine what's happening with the other sites and then decide what you want to do.

Mayor [0:42:47]
Discussion on the Future of the Old City Hall Building

Uh currently city does not have a formal process for evaluating residents requests on existing roadways. Uh in many cases, existing parking restrictions were installed years ago for reasons that are not always documented.

Public Works Director [0:44:40]
Development of Administrative Review Process for Parking Restrictions

Under this framework, the public works director would evaluate requests using the city's current parking standard along with professional engineering judgment. For requests involving a limited area, such as a single intersection or location, with documented site distance concerns, staff would review the request and make a determination administratively.

Public Works Director [0:44:40]
Development of Administrative Review Process for Parking Restrictions

I personally would need it to be it's a public safety reason why this change needs to occur. Yeah, that's the only because otherwise it's a public street.

Council Member [0:52:43]
Development of Administrative Review Process for Parking Restrictions

capital expenditures typically are not in a smooth uh you know incline across time. We we would expect actually that they go like this which is why we're segregating these all out into different funds... capital purchases by virtue of being capital purchases are going to kind of pingpong up and down over time depending on the year.

Director Hadler [1:06:06]
Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and Strategic Financial Planning

My honest opinion would be is that we aim for um inflation rate, you know, maybe plus one or two percent is kind of the annual increase that we're looking for how much we're spending in our CIP and then staff has to figure out how to make that work.

Council Member Hearn [1:06:06]
Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and Strategic Financial Planning

I think our goal to the staff should be when you look at these expenditures, are do they really make are they really absolutely necessary in this year based on those factors?

Mayor [1:11:42]
Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and Strategic Financial Planning

We are in the prime um sort of point in time to be making these changes because we have so much development. If we were another city and we were this far behind, we would be struggling desperately to try and figure out how to make this work.

Clarissa [1:31:01]
Capital Improvement Program (CIP) and Strategic Financial Planning

So if we if we add in the 480, we need to up it to 10% and we're not achieving that solveny for another two years.

Clarissa [1:35:56]
Use of Storm Water Funds for Street Projects

I'm kind of confused because we we don't have any problem doing with the water, don't have a problem doing with the sewer. So why is this such an issue with the storm water?

Mayor [1:39:10]
Use of Storm Water Funds for Street Projects

Because you're doubling the amount of uh accounting that I have to do on on any project. So now I'm tracking every time we get in an invoice. I'm I'm we're we're having to analyze where that where that gets paid out of.

Clarissa [1:41:40]
Use of Storm Water Funds for Street Projects

Ordinances & Resolutions (12)

Space Needs StudyStudy

A document discussing issues with the Old City Hall building and estimating repair costs.

Broker Price OpinionReport

An assessment of the commercial value and leasing potential of the Old City Hall building, prepared by Scott Kragnness from Metro East.

Building ReportReport

A report detailing the condition of the Old City Hall, including non-code-conforming bathrooms and rotted siding.

Purchase AgreementContract

A contract for the school site, noted as being 'locked up' but not yet closed.

City's Current Parking StandardStandard

Document used by the Public Works Director to evaluate parking restriction requests.

Request PetitionProcess Requirement

Required from affected property owners for large-area parking restriction changes.

Capital Improvement Program (CIP)Plan

The 10-year plan detailing proposed capital projects and expenditures for the city.

CIP WebsiteInformation Portal

An interactive online version of the Capital Improvement Program for public access.

Draft Projections and ModelingReport

A five-page document explaining the financial numbers and projections used in strategic financial planning.

Utility StudyStudy

A study conducted to update utility rates and determine increases needed to cover depreciation for storm water.

SEQ (Statement of Estimated Quantities)Engineering Document

An engineering document used to estimate costs for construction projects, including water, sewer, and potentially storm water components.

Where do our taxes go spreadsheetInformation Tool

A spreadsheet created to show residents how their property tax dollars are allocated to various city services.

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Lake Elmo City Council - Lake Elmo Recorder