1 Library Referendum
CITY OF
CHANHASSEN
690 City Center Drive, PO Box 147
Chanhassen, Minnesota 55317
Phone 612.937.1900
General Fax 612.937.5739
Engineering Fax 612.937.9152
Public Safety Fax 612.934.2524
W'eh www.ci.chanhassen.mn.UJ
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor
City Council
FROM:
Scott A. Botcher, City Manager
DATE:
July 19, 2000
SUBJ:
Resolution Ordering a Special Election on the Question of
Issuing General Obligation Bonds and Report of Library
Task Force
First, let me extend to you my thanks for gathering on such short notice to
consider the resolution that would place on the ballot the question seeking
authorization to sell debt for the construction of a public library as well as the
ballot language therefore. As I mentioned previously, bond counsel uncovered a
change that occurred as part of the 1999 legislative session changing the
notification date from 45 days prior to an election to 49 days prior to an election.
As we are on a tight schedule with this library project, it became necessary for
us to accelerate consideration ofthe resolution if the Council wishes to maintain
the referendum date of September 12.
In your packet this evening is the resolution that authorizes the referendum for
the library. If successful, the referendum authorizes the City of Chanhassen to
issue general obligation bonds in a specific amount for the purposes of
constructing a public library. The resolution authorizes the form of the official
ballot as it is attached thereto. The ballot question is restated on the official
election ballot. Additionally, there are two financial statements made and the
instruction to voters are included consistent with state law. These numbers will
be available at the meeting on Thursday.
Also enclosed is a report of the City of Chanhassen Public Library Task Force.
This Task Force, chaired by Community Development Director Kate Aanenson,
followed primarily the mission statement distributed at the Council meeting
many weeks ago. They have proposed a vision statement for our library,
developed draft recommendations to the City Council, and a draft Chanhassen
Public Library budget in order to more accurately document the assumptions
used to develop the recommended $6 million referenda amount.
A few points of clarification might be useful at this time. First, our objective
this evening (Thursday) is to pass a resolution authorizing the referendum and
establishing the ballot language. It is not our objective this evening to debate
neither the merits of the Needs Assessment nor the findings ofthe Task Force.
The Cit)' of Chanhassen. A flOwinK community with clean lakes, quality schoob, a charminr downtown. thrivinr businesses. and beautifUl varks. A mat place to live. work. and pia.
Mayor and City Council
July 19,2000
Page 2
Certainly the Council should review, once again, the Needs Assessment and
review the findings of the Task Force in order to help them establish the dollar
amount sought through the referendum. The Task Force received input from its
membership, as well as from the public who participated in their public
meetings. The feedback from the Task Force generally is supportive of the
findings of the Needs Assessment. In fairness, I suppose an argument could be
made that those who participated and took the time to attend the public meetings
ofthe Task Force may have been those largely interested in supporting the
construction of a new library in the City instead of those who may be opposed to
the construction of a new library in the City. Be that as it may, all individuals in
the community did have the opportunity to attend the Task Force and provide
input into the recommendation. As the process continues, we will continue to
afford all citizens in the City of Chanhassen these opportunities for input.
On Monday, under Administrative Presentations, I would like to discuss with
you whether or not the Council is interested in having City staff put together a
factual, non-partisan informational document to be mailed to all residents ofthe
City of Chanhassen. This document could very well be constructed in a
Q & A format, similar to that done for the Park & Trail Referendum. It is my
thought that staff would write it so as to maintain a non-partisan nature. Finally,
we would need to begin work on this document as soon as possible as the
referendum is less than two months away.
Finally, I don't want there to be any misunderstandings on behalf of the Council
nor on behalf of the Task Force. I am personally grateful to the Task Force and
its membership for the time and commitment they have given in reviewing the
Needs Assessment and soliciting public input. It is certainly a very valuable
task that they undertook and they should be commended for it. At the same
time, both the Council and the Task Force should understand that this is still a
very fluid process that we are involved in. Certainly, the City has focused its
efforts and its thought process on the construction ofthe library in and around
the City Center Commons area. However, until the design process is complete,
the City Council may not wish to formally commit to a site for this new facility.
Much of what the Task Force has provided will become useful should the
referendum succeed and we initiate design. I also believe the Council has been
very forthright in communicating to the public, library supporters, and to the
Task Force its desires to maintain, to the greatest extent possible, the integrity of
the vacant piece of property in front of City Hall as a civic and community
gathering place. I concur with the Council's findings, and with support and
efforts to enhance this property for these purposes. However, this may also
mean, as the community gathering place objective may be a higher priority than
.ê+
Mayor and City Council
July 19,2000
Page 3
having a library building on one story, but some of the recommendations of the
Library Task Force may not be followed as the Council sees other priorities in
the community as being more important. This should not be taken as an affront
to the Task Force, as the Council properly acting in their role as governors and
leaders of the City of Chanhassen, may conclude that other priorities in the
community hold greater weight than certain recommendations of the Task
Force. Finally, at the same time, Council should be cautious not to engage in
debate with the Task Force members as to their recommendations. The Task
Force did their business and these are their recommendations. Now the Council,
or individual Council members, mayor may not agree with specific findings
within the Task Force recommendation, and that is certainly their prerogative.
However, it is primarily the Council's role at this point to put the question
before the voters. Quite frankly, the hard work in building this library, if the
referendum is successful, will be successfully completing the design process.
Public input is very important when doing a building of the stature and
importance of a community public library. At the same time, all parties should
be cautious not to take personally decisions made by the City Council or
recommendations made by staff that are contrary to opinions held by those
individuals.
In conclusion, I would hope that you would support the resolution as presented,
that you would authorize staff to put together an informational brochure for
citizens, and then at that point, the Council sit back and wait until the results of
the referendum election are known. Those individuals on both sides ofthe issue
will now have the opportunity to seek to sway the voters to their side of the
issue. The Council, as the governing body of the City, should do its best to stay
above the fray, so to speak, and simply lay the question before the voters for
their guidance.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
c: Library Task Force
g:\userlscottb~ibrary 7·20·00.doc
Chanhassen Public Library Task Force
Draft Recommendations
to the
Chanhassen City Council
Revisions
The Task Force has met on three occasions including two public meetings. They have read and
reviewed the Chanhassen Public Library Needs Assessment as prepared for the City Council by
Meyer, Scherer & Rockcastle, Ltd. and dated June 13, 2000. The review ofthe document yielded
the following corrections:
· Page 15, K.3: Change and to an following Allowing
· Page 16, M 21 and M 22: Delete Carver County Administration Space
· Revise project budget: See below
Task Force Recommendations to the City Council:
1) Needs Assessment
a) Accepted as written and modified by this document.
2) Library Vision Statement
The library will promote the love of life long learning through its services and building.
The SERVICES will provide:
· Full and equal access to abundant and varied materials that meets the need and interests
ofthe citizens
· For multi-generational library related materials and uses
· Professional library staff to meet the public's needs
· Balance tradition and technology
The BUILDING will:
· Provide places for all ages
· Offer a central gathering space for the community
· Be warm, inviting, and welcoming
· Be designed to reflect the civic pride of Chanhassen
3) Building Location
a) The Library should be located in the heart of the Chanhassen community by being co-
located with the city hall, police and seniors center-at the northeast corner intersection
of Kerber Boulevard and West 78th Street. The building should be prominent and have its
own identity.
b) The location ofthe project must work with the city's plan to balance the overall location
needs with the Chanhassen Vision 2002 master plan for the City Center.
c) Plans for expansion of the city hall building should not impede the identity and access to
the library.
Chanhassen Pub1ic Library Task Force Recommendations
Page 1 of!
07/19/00
'-j.;
d) The Library should have convenient access to a minimum of 88 parking spaces.
e) The task force prefers not to recommend a particular scheme (1-4) from the Needs
Assessment-rather entrust that the preferred location will be authorized by the Council
and the final site design and placement will be a result of the public review process after
the referendum passes.
f) All Library services areas be located on the ground floor. Other non-library directly
related functions, such as the meeting room, could be placed on a second floor.
4) population
The design population for the building should be 40,000 through the year 2020.
5) Size of Building
The task force recommends that the size of the building be as follows:
a) ..Size of building from Needs Assessment .......................................................36,990
b) ..Addition of two (2) collaborative workrooms for school-aged children .............560
(two (2) rooms at 14 x 16 including circulation factor of25%)
c) ..Addition of Community Living Room with fireplace and
casual furniture.......................................... ........................................ ...................300
d) ..Deletion of Carver County Space ..................................................................(3,400)
Note: The Carver County Library Board has not completed it's assessment of where the
administration space should be located.
e) ..Revised total area of the building ...................................................................34,450
The committee recommends that the [mal configuration and allocation of the internal
spaces in the library be determined during a public design review process after the
successful passage of the referendum. The committee does not recommend less than
34,450 gross square feet. This translates to approximately 0.86 gross square feet per
person-{)r slightly less than midway between the national range of 0.75 and 1.25 gross
square feet per person.
6) Project Budget
The total project budget is recommended as $6,961,053. The recommended breakdown ofthe
budget is as follows:
a) Total budget ............................................................................. ...... ..........$7 ,249,829
b) County Contribution ................................................................................$1 ,250,671
c) City Contribution (bonded amount).............................·..·..·....................·$5,999,158
A revised page 18 (Project Budget Estimate) is included with this list of
recommendations. The above recommendation is based on accepting the average national
costs of library construction as determined from data published by the Library Journal.
7) Official Ballot Language
a) The language should read as provided by the City ofChanhassen Attorney. The amount
of the bonds to be issued should be $6,000,000.
8) Referendum Education
a) The City of Chanhassen should inform and educate its residents by printing and mailing
an informational brochure to each household. The City should work with the Vote Yes
committee to design and create the brochure.
Chanhassen Public Library Task Force Recommendations
Page 2 of2
07/19/00
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July 19.2000 Update by City orChaDbaHen Public Library Task Force
Revised page J 8 of the Needs Assessment
Line. Pro.i!~~ AssumptioDS
I As~~~ bond referendum date is September 12.2000
2 Construction begins in June 2001
3 Mid point of construction November 200 t
4 J.ength of time from this estimate and the mid point of construction
s Lenß~ of time from this estimate to the end of construction
6 Inflation rate;: 4% per year straight-line
7 !~.~ Scop~
8 Total Gross Area of BuUdin
-----~-------
-----~--------
J.7
2.3
4.00%
years
years
98IDP
10 General Construction
II Site Work
12 Landscapi!!L__
13 Subtotal
14 Contingency
15 -lnflatiòñ-to mid omtorconstnîCifOtî-~-----
16 md Patkil O.e;¡:¡ttDí.'te.;;</:"
11 BID PACKAGE NUMBER TWO
I' MiJlWO'C--.-------·------··· -------.--- -..-.---------- -----W·---$136;000·------$í36,OÖO-- $3.95
19 CarpèÚ@$3500per yd material only. Instillat;;;;;;s in the bid'--'- --~·=~-----$51,2.¡¡¡-- -- .-- - ---$0 ----151}¡¡f---·$ 149
20 li<J_m¡¡,,',.~ejvlniT~ros.-.;...ies..-~j:e.¡;~eC=~= ~~=-==._--=-==..::=)0=---=$47rÕ7Õ=-$4i3~670 -$tÜY
21 ~ij!naj!e.. It'teEior(Carve....Coun'¥l.a"dJö.xte<ior (CitLofChanhassen)_ ._..__ ______Jllh.~____~2:s<fo.::..-...::.-)t7.:s.ºº::...:.:$ó..80:
22 Compute's/E'!.uÌ >ment ._ ___un. ____ ______ .__. $0 _ $155.900 $155.900 $4.53
23 Pjl,,"es______ ________ _______ _______- --...: $1'8,000 - ,:='::=Jf~----$i8,@'- ... $052
24 O >ening Day Collection (10.000 volumes add toexiting collection) . .. $0' $250,OOÒ - - $2S0.00ò- '$7.26
25 - !i"bloW-- - - --- ----.-.--- .. -.-.--- --- --- -- --$79,240 --SI.032;47ö---SÜll.710-- $jÜT
26 Co;,t;ngency-------- --===.::..-=------ -- - ßO%-- --ss.943--W.43S-----:ss3.378- $2.42
27 Inflation ioendofcOnsiruction - -- --8000/;------ $6)39---$82,598- ---- -$88.937--$2.58-
28 Øi4'1'. . :SU ;:",;;$,284,0:1$, ';,$31i1f!'
29 TotalCoDstruetion $S,589.123 $1,t92,s03 $6.781.626 $196.85
30 Profe',i<>n.IF....,d,itects.Dd engineer'9';;¡n<> fe" ""equipment) .---- --9-000/,,·---$503.021.07 --'---$56,391--$559.4 I 2--$1'624
31-resiini and~uiv.ey,,=:='::_~="::':: ...:=~~::: :::...-_. ..:_::::.::---- _=-:::.S6.üOO-====.:::----J:(@.::=·s2eif
32 Reirnbursa.bleJ'~t1ses Jmil.eage. co¡>ie~._fa.x,_delive....i,s. ¡>nntingL___ ___ ____ ._ _$J4,ooJL..... _ ---- $\4.000 $0.41
JJ Salestaxexem tioncredi.. 30% of construction costs X 6.5% ($\08.988 - -($15.258 - ($j24,246)- . (s3:61)
J4 .Tot.' PrÞ ·'m·,,>~,QØ315() ;';$.~J;~ S7,z~,792 $210.07
35Rèe.."''''....deidBónd¡\moo,¡r...... ;/;~;... "".;,..1.".,,;;;1.\}"':5« ;\100. ';;\(;'.;';.1;"';01.:')·4,'" . "I" ,....
$4,58 I ,850
$85.000
$40.000
54.706.850
$470,685
$320.066
7
$0 $4.581.850 $133.00
$0 $85.000 $2:47
$0 $40.000 $1.16
·-----SO--S4;7õ6,850-Sl36.63
$0 $470,685 $13.66
$0 $320.066 $9.29
"$5,49760þ',s1$9
10.00010
6.80%
:AAj~ijf~j¡(:o.n~~t\i¡:¡'¡'¡¡¡~'
43 General Construction __._____________---" $4,581,850 $0
44 -s¡te-Wörk------'--------~-"----- ---- -~------$85.000--- $0
45Signai'--- . ---- -------- $10,000 $17;500
46landsca¡;¡ng------==-________~__________. $40,000 $0 $40,000 $1.16
47 MillwOrk $0 $136,000 $136.000 $3.95
48 Ca<Pet@$3S60 pér;d-m.-tC,¡âl<>;;¡y~nstâifa~~Si."c"t~bid,--~x.:..=~--------: -m;¡.¡o-,___---so---- --$51',240 ...$1.49
49 J:~t!<>r~~.\!!!!f~n~~edn-".,Ç~~DL~¡¡ij2;':..:.;:.L¡.:'...¡;:.¡:~{:.3ij.¡;4j);S::¡.~.j,S< ;7(i11ø~'¡;51~~.2::;~.~!?J~!II)-.;-....~!~2~06
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$4,581.850 $133.00
$85.600-' -. --nA7
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City of Chanhassen Public Library Task Force
Library Vision Statement
The library will promote the love oflife long learning through its services and building.
· Full and equal access to abundant and varied materials that meets the need and
interests of the citizens
· For multi-generational library related materials and uses
· Professional library staff to meet the public's needs
· Balance tradition and technology
The SERVICES will provide:
The BUILDING will:
· provide places for all ages
· Offer a central gathering space for the community
· Be warm, inviting, and welcoming
· Be designed to reflect the civic pride of Chanhassen
,
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