2013.09.17 Work Session Packet (2nd)CRYSTAL CITY COUNCIL
SECOND WORK SESSION AGENDA
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
To immediately follow the Regular City Council Meeting
Conference Room A
Pursuant to due call and notice given in the manner prescribed by Section 3.01 of the
City Charter, the second work session of the Crystal City Council was held at ______
p.m. on Tuesday, September 17, 2013 in Conference Room A located at 4141 Douglas
Drive, Crystal, Minnesota.
I. Attendance
Council members Staff
____ Hoffmann ____ Norris
____ Libby ____ Therres
____ Peak ____ Norton
____ Selton ____ Mathisen
____ Adams ____ Revering
____ Budziszewski ____ Serres
____ Deshler
II. Agenda
The purpose of the work session is to discuss the following agenda items:
· Solar panels at City Hall and pool buildings
· Legal update (portions of this discussion may be closed pursuant to State law)*
* Denotes no supporting information included in the packet.
III. Adjournment
The work session adjourned at ______ p.m.
Memorandum
DATE: September 12, 2013
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Anne Norris, City Manager
SUBJECT: Solar Projects at City Hall and Crystal Pool Buildings
Earlier this year the City Council approved a project with All Energy Solar and Newport
Partners to install solar panels on the Community Center roof. The panels were
installed on the Community Center and were operational by late July. The city received
a grant for this project from Xcel Energy which was approved late in 2012 but funds
were not available until 2013. At the same time the Community Center project grant
application was submitted, applications for the City Hall and Crystal pool building wer e
also submitted.
Both these projects were approved for funding from the MN Bonus and So lar*Rewards
program. These projects will require a 10% downpayment, approximately $33,360 per
project (approximately $67,000 total), and would need to be completed before
December 15, 2013. The City Council discussed these projects at its September 3
work session and requested additional information regarding:
- Anticipated costs and cash flows for the proposed projects;
- Potential source(s) of the 10% downpayment; and
- Data for the Community Center project.
All Energy Solar will have costs and cash flows for the proposed project and data for
the Community Center project at the September 17 work session.
Because the solar panels would be capital projects and essentially one-time costs, it
would be appropriate to use funds from either the general fund fund balance or from the
PIR.
As discussed at the September 3 work session, one of staff ’s concerns about the pool
building project is the reroofing of that building currently included in the PIR for 2017. In
discussions with All Energy, they would consider taking on the responsibility for the cost
and labor of removing and reinstalling the panels to accommodate the reroofing project.
One option for guaranteeing this is to require some sort of escrow amount and
agreement so that funds are available for the required labor.
The City Hall roof project presents other challenges. As mentioned earlier, a portion of
the roof will be redone this year and won’t be complete until mid-November at the
earliest. Another challenge is there are already many obstructions on the roof with air
conditioning units, antennas, etc. Staff has concerns about placing additional
equipment on the City Hall roof. There are also several large trees which shade
portions of the roof.
Representatives of All Energy Solar will be at the September 17 Council work session
to answer the Council’s questions on these potential projects.