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
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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