5.2. SR 11-13-2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Citv and Facilitv Comparison: An important part of this initial study and report is to compare the city of Elk River to other cities that have recently completed, or started construction on their facilities. Oertel Architects has completed dozen's of studies and designed public works buildings for cities all around the metro area. We selected five cities that have key similarities to the city of Elk River. We will review two components for each city and facility for comparison to Elk River, to better understand the size and scope of the facility and department size required to service the city properly. The first component that will be reviewed is city size. The size of each city will be further broken down by population, future population growth, land area and lane miles the city is responsible for. The second component is public works department size and function. Subcategories that will be reviewed under this component are lane miles and facility size. The five cities reviewed in this section are Minnetonka, Shakopee, Woodbury, Faribault and Otsego. Minnetonka was chosen because it is a suburb that has reached the near limits in land growth and population size. It has a large, highly demanding population, with many sub-communities. Its previous facility is similar to Elk River's and the site restrictions were similar with a main city park and Minnehaha Creek and its wetlands surrounding the site on three sides. This facility represents an ultimate sized facility. Shakopee is the second city that will be reviewed. Shakopee, though smaller, is probably most similar to Elk River. It is a river city with a rich history. It is a third ring suburb with a large portion of undeveloped land, but increasing residential development. Though its previous facility is also similar to Elk River's, the new facility is located on a new site near the city hall, and fire station, creating a civic service area in the city. This facility represents an immediate planned expansion. Woodbury, as the third city considered, is essentially the ultimate of what Elk River could become. Woodbury started with a small facility that moved to a decent sized facility, expanded recently with another planned expansion in the next five years. The commercial and residential development is growing at a rate that appears to be similar to planned growth in Elk River. This facility represents multiple planned expansions during the facilities life span. The fourth city that will be reviewed is Otsego. The main reason that Otsego will be reviewed is because of proximity to Elk River. However, Otsego is a facility that is being planned as a phased building on a large site. That way as the city grows the facility can be expanded easily on the same site. The fifth city to be reviewed in this section is Faribault. Though Faribault is not in the metro area, there are two factors of the facility and department are similar to Elk River. They are population and lane miles. Overall size of the city may not be the same, but similar growth rates between the cities make it relevant. This facility represents a size that fits current fleet size, and future expansion. 20