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City Council Minutes Page 7 <br />August 19, 2019 <br />Councilmember Wagner stated she is uncertain how she feels about keeping the <br />sinking fund allocation. <br />Acting Mayor Westgaard stated he'd like to evaluate the possibility of raising the Elk <br />River Municipal Utilities contribution rate from 4 to 4.5 percent, which would net <br />about $150,000. He stated it appears Elk River may be on the lower end of average <br />compared to peer cities. He wanted to make it clear this wouldn't mean creating a <br />pass-through fee increase to rate payers. <br />Councilmember Ovall noted Elk River Municipal Utilities has assisted in other ways, <br />such as the water tower and light poles. <br />Council consensus was for staff to approach Elk River Municipal Utilities about <br />having a review of the rate contribution to the city. <br />Council would like to continue to work on reducing the budget after setting the <br />maximum tax levy. <br />Mr. Portner stated none of the territory acquisition was added into the accounting <br />for the four percent, which was done purposely to ensure Elk River Municipal <br />Utilities had the funding to buy into Minnesota Municipal Power Association. <br />9.2 Ordinance Amendment: Gambling <br />Ms. Allard presented the staff report. <br />Acting Mayor Westgaard stated he is not interested in increasing the number of <br />premise permits an organization can have expressing concerns with monopolization. <br />He noted youth hockey has repeatedly requested to increase the number of permits <br />allowed and he would like to leave room for other organizations to have an <br />opportunity at getting permits. Councilmember Wagner agreed stating other <br />organizations may be upset by this change. Councilmember Ovall stated he is curious <br />if other organizations realize they can have more than one permit, and is surprised <br />more of them don't. Mayor Dietz's comments were read into the record, noting he is <br />against increasing the number of permits. <br />The majority of Council was not interested in allowing an organization outside of <br />Elk River's trade area to have a permit. Mayor Dietz's concurred in his submitted <br />comments. <br />Council was unsure of the pros and cons for allowing more than one organization at <br />one location but noted it could solve the issue of one organization monopolizing the <br />permits. <br />Council consensus is to invite the stakeholders; gambling organizations and on -sale <br />liquor license establishments to discuss the requested ordinance amendments. <br />r <br />0111RI1 11 <br />NATURE <br />