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8.g Administrator's Report February 2016i "t, 4 ;ter SCANDIA Staff Report Date of Meeting: March 15, 2016 To: City Council From: Neil Soltis, City Administrator Re: Administrator's Report Broadband access — Based on the support and commitments from the residents of Wyldewood Acres, Midco will be extending cable into the subdivision this fall. The extension did not meet the criteria of the franchise agreement for an extension without cost sharing, but with the commitments from the residents the extension will occur at no cost. The franchise agreement requires Midco to extend at no cost if there are a minimum of 6 connections within % of a node. This is a limiting factor in the further extensions of Midco services. Currently Midco provides digital services to 262 residences in Scandia. Frontier Communications will also be upgrading their internet speeds this year through a Connect America grant they received. Details on the timing of the system upgrades and the performance expectations are forthcoming. Data security — The League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust representatives visited the City to conduct a data security survey. They are conducting these surveys based on the number of claims they are receiving. Some of the issues discussed were: protection from physical threats, protection of data integrity, access, social media, board, committee, and employee training, and electronic transactions. A full report with recommendation will be sent and a discussion on the report will be on a work session agenda. The representative also provided 2015 loss information and updated the average experience modification that will be applied to renewal rates. The City's average experience rating for premise / operation coverage is 0.90 (90& factor applied to the base rate) and 1.046 for worksers compensation coverage. Crystal Springs SNA — The DNR is working on a plan to provide public access to the Crystal Springs SNA. They will be posting the property boundaries and establishing a parking area; however, that work is not expected to be completed until mid -to -late summer. Downtown street lights — Xcel Energy has corrected the billing code for the downtown street light and has issued a credit of $3,473 based on retroactively applying the rates for 3 years. Big Marine Lake Association - The Association sent an email thanking the City for its letter of support to Washington County for a grant to continue their efforts to reduce the Eurasian water milfoil population. The Association was awarded a $14,400 grant to provide for per and post treatment surveys, mapping, and herbicide treatment costs. Log House Landing — The agreement with the DNR for the concrete planks and been signed and the City will take delivery of the planks in advance of construction. The agreement with the National Park Service is in process and once the preliminary plans and costs have been determined, the items that will be funded through the Park Service will be identified. Ryan is working on the plans and a meeting will be scheduled with the Watershed District to review the plans once they are available. Tourism - The 2016 St. Croix Valley guides are available at City Hall and the Gammelgarden. The City has a presence in this guidebook to help draw tourists to the area. The St. Croix Valley Regional Tourism Alliance focuses on promoting communities within the St. Croix River Valley and increasing visitors to these communities. The guidebook is also on their website http://saintcroixriver.com/ Audit and year end — Schlenner Wenner & Co. completed fieldwork on the 2015 audit. The available balance in the General Fund increased by $189,782 to $1,746,294 which is 83% of the 2016 budgeted expenditures. A more detailed review will be provided when the audit report is released.