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City Council Minutes Page 4 <br />April 30, 2018 <br />----------------------------- <br /> Franchise fees <br /> Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) <br /> <br />Mission Statement <br />Mr. Portner returned to the Mission Statement discussion. <br /> <br />Councilmember Wagner asked if Elk River was ready to stop being referred to as a <br />“bedroom community” (a city where citizens own a home but work, shop, and recreate <br />in a different city). She asked if the list of comparably-sized cities presented during the <br />financing section would consider themselves to be bedroom communities. <br /> <br />Councilmember Westgaard added Elk River used to have a vision and mission as a <br />manufacturing hub to attract companies and employers. He added people change jobs <br />more frequently than they move, contributing to the concept of living and working in <br />two different communities. <br /> <br />Councilmember Wagner proposed the following mission statement: <br /> <br />Where Council and Staff work with citizens to develop a sustainable and prosperous <br />community for all to live, work, and play and to appropriately govern in an ever <br />changing environment. <br /> <br />Mayor Dietz suggested council take some time to look over the statement and offer any <br />changes, questions, or suggestions at a later meeting. <br /> <br />Sustainability <br />Mr. Portner asked council to consider and explore building a sustainable plan to undo or <br />get around impending challenges of the near future. <br /> <br />Council proposed the following options for developing sustainable funding: <br /> Sinking fund – money from NSC growth <br /> Service Levels – GF Budget <br /> Bonding <br /> LOST <br /> User fees <br /> Tax Increment Financing (TIF)/Abatement <br /> Get out of funds (GRE, Landfill) <br /> Asset inventory with peer comparisons – Divest quality vs. quantity <br /> Look at asset management partners with shared facilities <br /> <br />Councilmember Ovall expressed there seemed to be too many parks that are not <br />developed and other cities seem to focus on enhancing signature parks. <br /> <br />Councilmember Olsen countered it seemed past decision makers wished to have parks <br />within walking distance of neighborhoods. Many park lands developed out of remnants <br />of land that couldn’t be developed for other uses. Maybe in the future, the city should be <br />more intentional about picking park lands. <br /> <br />