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Staff Report - 08 17 23 Meeting1 Staff Report Date of Meeting: August 17, 2023, City Council Meeting To: IAC Chairman and Committee Members From: Kyle Morell, City Administrator Re: August Staff Report ______________________________________________________________________________ MidCo Project Updates Melissa could not attend our meeting this month because she is traveling for work. She did provide the following update: Thanks for reaching out. I don’t have any updates at this time. We are still hoping to hear about our line extension grants in Scandia sometime next month. The BEAD timeline still stands that the Office of Broadband Development has until the end of the year to submit their initial proposal so that we will know more about timelines and when BEAD grant rounds might be open when that is released. I did speak with OBD, and it seems likely that actual construction of BEAD areas won’t happen until late 2025 or 2026, given the steps that have to take place before then. Melissa is available for our September meeting. CIP Committee Funding Request The 401 CIP funding spreadsheet that was submitted to Council is attached. Currently, there is $250,000 allocated for Broadband Development Grants in 2024 and 2025. At their August 2nd work session Council discussed the proposed 2024 budget. They expressed concern over the impending tax rate increases due to a proposed significant street project in 2024 that would result in new debt service payments starting in 2025. The 2024 levy was proposed to increase by $310,778, resulting in a 1.452% tax rate increase. Council asked staff to prepare a tax rate- neutral budget, suggesting the IAC funding request could be reduced to achieve their goal. The attached 401 CIP funding spreadsheets and Summary Budget documents show the proposed changes in IAC funding. 2 Project Financing Spreadsheet Review Councilmember Kronmiller has provided an updated Expense Spreadsheet with the graphs discussed at the July meeting. Next Areas for Expansion This has been a Committee Chair led discussion. Staff has nothing to add at this time. IAC Charter Discussion At the July IAC meeting, the Committee proposed changes to the IAC Charter. The Committee made changes to the Purpose and Goals sections of the Charter. The new language is updated and included in the attached Updated Charter. Midco Day Midco Day is scheduled for August 23, 2023. Four hundred bags have arrived at City Hall. Staff has placed an order for 144 ice cream sandwiches from the Mercantile. The graphs discussed for the IAC booth are included in the packet. Items For Future Discussion