02-08-2018 CCM SPECIAL - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Minutes February 8, 2018 Page 4 Councilmember Ovall questioned Mayor Dietz if he is linking the repayment with the sales tax. He questioned if he is saying he doesn't want to move forward with the project until Council definitively knows it is moving forward with sales tax funding. Mayor Dietz stated no. He stated he wanted a special election for the sales tax but found it is required to be on the November ballot. He stated the majority of Council voted to move forward with this project but he still needs to participate in the discussions and vote on project details as they happen. He stated it could be explained to the public how a sales tax option would work versus a property tax option. Councilmember Ovall stated he wanted to clarify whether one drove the other or if the mayor were recommending moving forward with bonding and if it fails Council is stuck with the property tax option. It sounded to him like Mayor Dietz didn't want to wait for a conclusion on the sales tax referendum to move forward with the arena. Mayor Dietz noted this was a good point and he needs to think about it. Councilmember Westgaard stated Council had this discussion when talking about the community center. He noted the city has three failing facilities and questioned if Council is willing to replace them. He questioned what the plan would be if voters say no to the referendum. He stated this was laid out very clearly in the literature to the community. He stated the sales tax seems like a good funding option to help spread the tax burden beyond the local tax base but asks what happens if it fails. He noted the city has gotten benefit in its building fund from the landfill and been able to construct a lot of buildings and deferred and paid for a lot of bond payments and as a result hasn't been a burden on taxpayers. He stated Council wouldn't be having this discussion if talking about a police/fire station, but are now because the arena is more controversial. He stated it is a quality of life issue. He questioned if Council should replace the arena to maintain current service levels. He agrees combining all three facilities was a better dollar value, but it was voted down and be questioned how many times the city should go back to voters. He stated this community has looked at community centers for 16 years. He stated as policy makers Council has the ability to build and bond for a community center if they feel it is a better project. Councilmember Ovall stated a lot of issues need to be broken down for him. He questioned how many times a sales tax has been turned down by the state or governor. Mr. Pormer stated he is not sure it has been turned down but wants Council to know; per a consultant, Elk River is closest to the metro and these are different political times. He stated most of the sales tax allowances have been for regional centers or out state communities. Councilmember Ovall stated there are a number of other cities and counties around us utilizing sales tax. 1011R11 RI NATUREJ