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Home My WebLink About8A - Early Learning School AGENDA #: PREPARED BY: SUBJECT: DATE: BACKGROUND: DISCUSSION: ISSUES: STAFF AGENDA REPORT 8A FRANK BOYLES REQUEST BY PRIOR LAKE/SAVAGE SCHOOL DISTRICT #719 TO WAIVE CERTAIN FEES FOR THE EARLY LEARNING CENTER NOVEMBER 7, 1994 The School District has completed a project to refurbish the Prior Place Bowl into an Early Childhood Learning Center. The original estima~ed cost of the project was $400,000. The actual project costs are more in the range of $770,000. As with all such commercial/industrial remodeling projects certain fees were charged to the School District. The School District is requesting that approximately $50,000 of those fees be waived by the City. Attached is a copy of the permit form which itemizes the charges which the developer paid for securing a building permit. The fees for which the School District has requested a waiver are: 1. Park Dedication Fee 2. Collectors Street Fee 3. City Sewer & Water Connect Fees 4. Water Tower Fee $13,000. $ 7,000. $18,000. $12.000. $50,000. Total The School District has argued that the fees charged are overstated. In the first place, all of the above listed fees are based upon an increase in service availability charges (SAC) originally calculated as five for the bowling alley now calculated as twenty-five for an Early Learning Center. They maintain that an increase of twenty units for an Early Learning Center used only part day is inaccurate. In their opinion all city fees based upon SAC increases should be waived or the number of SAC units increased should be lower, which in turn lowers the fees (see October 25, 1994 memo from School District Building Committee). In other conversations and correspondence the District. has argued that schools should be treated differently than other private entities. In short, the fees charged to the School District should be less than the typical private development. With respect to the park fee, the School District maintains that school property provides park and play field opportunities to the general public and, consequently, should not be assessed this fee. It is important to remember that the fees discussed above have already been paid. It is equally important that the building itself is privately owned and will be leased by the School District for the next seven years. While -1- 4629 Dakota St. S.E., Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372-1714 / Ph. (612) 447-4230 / Fax (612) 447-4245 AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER T 'r AGEN88 we understand that the School District may own the structure in seven years there is no way the current administration or board can obligate a future administration and board to carry out this action. Consequently, a fee waiver of any sort could create an undesirable precedent and may benefit a private property owner rather than the School District. The staff has already provided the School District with what amounts to a partial fee waiver. The actual project value is $770,000. For the purposes of calculating the building permit fee, however, we used the figure of $470,000. This change has already resulted in a $1,510 savings to the School District. Moreover, as with Hidden Oaks School we offered to spread out the payment of the fees associated with the Early Learning Center over three years. The School District declined this offer. To determine what other cities have done, the cities of Burnsville, Lakeville, Savage, Chaska and Chanhassen were contacted. The remodeling project was described and they were asked what fees they would charge the School District. Other cities indicated that they would charge fees similar to ours in type. It is not unusual for cities to calculate their fees based upon Service Availability (SAC) unit increase on the basis that the increase in these charges is a proxy for the additional burden to the City's park system, sewer and water system, street system and other infrastructure. In short, it costs money to provide these systems, and the fees are the primary way the city finances such capital improvements. If the City waives the fees it means that Prior Lake residents are once again subsidizing those in the townships and Savage who are served by the School District. The calculation of the service availability charge (SAC) is governed by the Metropolitan Council. They provide the City with a worksheet for this calculation. Metropolitan fees must be based upon this calculation, while the City has the option of using some other basis for calculating its fees. Most cities believe that the service availability unit is a satisfactory basis for fee calculation. We also asked the five cities whether they would treat the School District differently than another private firm. They indicated unanimously that the School District would be treated the same under the provisions of their ordinance. No fees would be waived. In one area the communities differed with Prior Lake. Three of the communities charged park fees for new construction only. Since this is remodelling, the assumption would be that the land paid park fees when it was initially developed. The School District argues that it creates green space and, therefore, should be relieved of park fees. To be sure, the Early Child Center will have its own play equipment. However, such play equipment will not have public access. It is also likely that the School District will periodically conduct field trips to the nearby Ponds play field. If the Council is at all inclined to waiving park fees to the School District, it should require that the District be solely responsible for the construction and maintenance of public park facilities in conjunction with the development of new schools. The park associated with the new elementary school, Five Hawks, for -2- ..."~..,........"" - "'~'~~~'.~..__..-....~-~_._"-,,... example, could become the school's sole responsibility in lieu of paying the $13,000 park support fee. We have recently provided the district with a draft Joint Powers Agreement which could be modified accordingly. I am attaching a memo from Bill Mangan on this subject. Bill confirms that if the City is to develop an effective park and trail system, then we must be willing to preserve the integrity of the park dedication funding mechanism. ALTERNATIVES: 1 . Deny the School District's request for fee waiver. 2. Approve a partial fee waiver for park dedication fees only. 3. Defer the question for additional information. RECOMMENDATION: The Early Learning Center is privately owned. Even though the permit fees are simply a pass through from the contractor to the School District it is not appropriate for the City to waive fees for a privately owned structure. The magnitude of the City's fees and the fact that they are based on Service Availability Units is not unique among other metropolitan area suburbs. Moreover, the City has tried to mitigate against the fee impact on the School District by reducing the project valuation on the permit form and by offering to accept payment over a three year time span. If the Council elects to waive any fee it should be park dedication. I have attached a memorandum from Bill Mangan. Bill points out that waiver of this fee undermines our ability to build and to maintain the new parks and trails needed to serve our growing community. I concur with his observation and would not recommend waiver of the Park Dedication Fee. In the first place, the Early Learning Center does not provide significant public recreational opportunities. Secondly it is entirely likely that through field trips the Early Learning Center will use adjacent park facilities. If the Council is inclined to waive the fee, then we may wish to do what Lakeville has done. They have waived their park dedication fees in exchange for a commitment by the School District to build parks as part of their new schools. In our case the City could enter into an agreement with the School District which would require that they pay all costs associated with the design, construction and maintenance of the park in the Five Hawks Elementary School area. Such language could be incorporated into the jOint agreement between the City and the School District. ACTION REQUIRED: Motion and second to deny the School District request for the waiver of fees. AGEN8B,CC -3- DISTRICT SERVICES CENTER Fax: (612) 440-1096 447-2185 Dr. Les Sonnabend Superintendent Jere Phillips Business Affairs Dr. Jerry Spies Curriculum & Personnel SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL Dr. Craig Olson, Principal 447-4131 Athletic Office 440-4036 Attendance Office 447-4131 Cable TV/Public Access 447-4131 Counseling Office 440-4033 Swimming Pool Office 447-4687 HIDDEN OAKS MIDDLE SCHOOL Dr. Paula Tetzloff, Principal 447-2188 Early Childhood Family Education 447-3233 GRAINWOOD ELEMENTARY Ronald Machacek, Principal 440-1091 FIVE HAWKS ELEMENTARY Darwin Fosse, Principal 447-4139 WESTWOOD ELEMENTARY Rickey Ravnholdt, Principal 447-2178 EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL Fred Blaisdell, Principal 440-2930 INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT 719 5300 WestWood Drive SE PO Box 539 Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372 October 25, 1994 TO: Prior Lake City Council FROM: Prior Lake - Savage Area School Board Building Committee RE: PEELS Building Permit Fees Thank you for agreeing to reconsider the Pond's Edge Early Learning School building permit fees. 1. Our first choice/priority would be to have the city portion of the fees, based on the SACC and WACC unit increases, be waived. We do intend to buy the building and there is a way that can be found to refund the dollars to the school district. 2. Our second choice/priority would be to question the unit increase from 5 to 25, as the building usage went from a bowling alley/bar to a school use with no showers or hot lunch facilities. There should be records that show past water usage and we can compare this to water usage through this school year to document any change. We would be willing to pay SACC and WACC increases based on this study. The most important aspect of this waiver request is educational in nature. The dollars spent on these fees could be used to buy books and otherwise improve the learning environment for our students. Thank you, in advance, for your consideration. Serving Prior Lake' Savage' Spring Lake Township' Cedar Lake Township' Credit River Township' Sand CreekTownship DISTRICT SERVICES CENTER Fax: (612) 440-1096 447-2185 Dr. Les Sonnabend Superintendent Jere Phillips Business Affairs Dr. Jerry Spies Curriculum & Personnel SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL Dr. Craig Olson, Principal 447.4131 Athletic Office 440-4036 Attendance Office 447-4131 Cable TV/Public Access 447-4131 Counseling Office 440-4033 Swimming Pool Office 447-4687 HIDDEN OAKS MIDDLE SCHOOL Dr. Paula Tetzloff, Principal 447-2188 Early Childhood Family Education 447-3233 GRAINWOOD ELEMENTARY Ronald Machacek, Principal 440.1091 FIVE HAWKS ELEMENTARY Darwin Fosse, Principal 447-4139 WESTWOOD ELEMENTARY Rickey Ravnholdt, Principal 447-2178 EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL Fred Blaisdell, Principal 440-2930 INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT 719 5300 WestWood Drive SE PO Box 539 Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372 CITY MGR ("\':,r~",... CfTV n L August 4, 1994 fij) AU G III E 110 LS U I:J '""" s '" "-v;.Ji.. Frank Boyles, City Manager Prior Lake City Council City of Prior Lake 4629 Dakota Street SE Prior Lake, MN 55372 Dear City Manager Boyles & Prior Lake City Council: This note concerns the amount of fees paid for renovating the Prior Place Bowling Alley to an Early Learning School, for kindergarten students. The change in SACC units from 5 to 25 seems like a large increase when we consider the previous use compared to this use by our youngest students. Having said that, the school district would ask for reconsideration of the entire fee package (collector street, water tower, park, sewer and water connection) in regard to the formula used by the city to assess these fees. Should or could there be a formula specific to schools only? Additionally, in our initial checking, we have not been able to find other school districts who have paid a park fee. In some instances, a city has charged a park fee but it has been forgiven upon request from the school district. This project, we believe, is beneficial for all parties concerned in that it will take a building that was not used to it's potential and turn it into a community asset for use by the school system. We appreciate the cooperation of the city in this project. since~Y~Ours. I' II ~'J. // ~~ S'c KEL Prior Lake - Savage Area School Board t2-~ DAN WHITE Prior Lake - Savage Area School Board BS/DWlkaj Serving Prior Lake' Savage. Spring Lake Township' Cedar Lake Township' Credit River Township' Sand Creek Township ....-......-.....---r--___ DISTRICT SERVICES CENTER (612) 447-2185 Dr. les Sonnabend Superintendent Dr. Jerry Spies Curriculum & Personnel Jere Phillips Business Affairs SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL (612) 447-4131 Fred Blaisdell Principal HIDDEN OAKS MIDDLE SCHOOL (612) 447-2188 Dr. Craig Olson Principal GRAINWOOD ELEMENTARY (612) 440-1091 Ronald Machacek Principal FIVE HAWKS ELEMENTARY (612) 447-4139 Darwin Fosse Principal WESTWOOD ELEMENTARY (612) 447-2178 Rickey Ravnholdt Principal INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT 719 Box 539 - 5300 WestWood Drive Southeast Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372 June 30, 1994 City of Prior Lake Frank Boyles 4629 Dakota Street SE Prior Lake, MN 55372 Dear Frank: This letter is being sent as a result of our meeting on June 28th, at City Hall, concerning the issue of fees for our Early Learning School. The school district would respectfully ask the city to waive the fees for the Early learning School which include the park support fee, the collector street fee, the sewer and water connection fee, and the water tower fee. This would be a total fee reduction of $50,000.00. I understand that these fees are set as a result of a change in use of this building and the redetermination of the SAC units by the formula from the Metropolitan Council. The school district believes that a 5-fold increase in SAC units is unreasonable for the use that we will generate out of this facility. I don't believe that students using this building, on a half-day basis, without hot lunch and lunchroom facilities, without locker rooms and shower facilities, and without other uses normally connected with other schools for older students is reasonable at this level. We would appreciate a chance to talk with you and the mayor, if you wish, to have more information short of taking our request to the full council. We appreciate our relationship with the city and we are entering into a time when there will be many opportunities to cooperate. We appreciate the city's concern over our inability to pass a referendum two years ago and their offer of trying to help us in any way possible. We believe this is a very tangible way of showing that support for our school district and this amount of money that could be saved by our taxpayers would help us complete a facility in a manner that would be most beneficial to the students in our district. Thank you for your concern and please contact me concerning additional information that you may need as we move forward. Sincerely your. , k DR. LES SONNABEND Superintendent of Schools Serving Prior lake, Savage, Spring lake Township, Credit River Township, Sand Creek Township and Cedar lake Township CITY OF PRIOR LAKE . _ BUILDING PERM~ TEMPORARY CERTIFICATE OF ZONING COMPUANCE AND UTlUTY CONNECTION PERMIT ~ J I z" J Permit No. Vl '4\- 41 1. Wbite 2.PIIIk 3.Ycllow File City AppIic;anc DIRECTIONS SPACB NUMBERED 1 THRU 11 MUST BE FlLI.ED IN BEFORE PmWIT IS ISSUED (PI.- Pr1nt or Type and sign at llclCII:Im) 2. SITE~Aess...- 1. CATE ~ S~ BUILDING INPOAMAnON 11. SIZE OF STAUcnJRE ~ (WIcIIlI ~I 12. NO. OF STOAIES 3. LS3Al. oesauP'TlCN LOTE. ~~ is..1.- BLOCl< ~ob1b:iJ~(/~ r ~ ~ ~. : PIC 13. TYPe OF CONSTAUCT1ON 14. F1.00A AREA APPORnONMENT USE I rw.oy c.r\Ify ltl8l1 have ~ il'lb.l~ on 1I'ia ~ wtlich is lD Ill. belt at my lcnCwledg.lnle and correct. I also cenify ltl8l1 am IIle 0WlW 01 autnoriDd agent far tile aDcNe ITNndoll.d property and ttllIt aI CICII'ISlNClIon 'Nil confarm lD all aisdng ... and lOCal '- and will proceed in accordanClt with sutImilbId pIML I am -- ltl8l1l'1. ~ atlIciIl CIn ,...1tia permit fer lull cause. FuI1MmIale. I henItly ~ ltl8l In. ~ oftIc:i8l ~ d;;r;:- rfWf .... upon ttIe property lD perfarm nMded inspedIOnL ___ u-- Na. 0.. 10. CULVERT SIZE Yes No 15. NUMBER OFOCCtJPANTS OR SEATS OCCUPANTS EATS 16. ~l}MATED VALUE ~/U, ~~~ 17. COMP CATE 7. TYPE OF WORK N.- ConsU\IClIOI'I 0 CNnv1ev 0 MIle. 8. PROPERTY AREA OR ACRES Sq.Ft. ~ =,.f SepUc 0 Healing 0 Plumbing 0 AdcIllIon 0 Finish AIIlc 0 Residing 0 FOR ADMINISTRAT1VE USE SETBACKS: Required Aclu8I FrOlW 8&:11 SIlle SilIe MAT'ERIAL ALED WITH APPUCAnON SOIL TeSTS 0 !=NERGY OATA 'ii1- P1UNG LOGS 0 PeRCOLATION TESTS 0 PlANS & SPECS -p- SErS SURVEY ~ CO~ES ~ PLOT ?tAN ..Ql PROPOSED GRACE FOUNDATION IN RaAT10N TO CUAB OA CROWN OF STREET' USEOFaulLOING ~--~\ - ,==- ~ O~ STReET' PARKING SPACES REa. SPACES ON PI.J\N ~ I PeRMITVALUAT1ON4 -; u. Oc::.c.~ ..... ,. 1YPt! OF CONSTRUCT10N: <!!::III rI V Oxupancy G/oup A ~ H R tot ~Z34 Permit Fee ................................... S PI8n ChecJdng Fee ......................... S State Su/'cI18rglt ...... ....................... s Penalty ....................................... s Sep\iC System ............................... S City: Amount Brought Forward .................. S Parle Support FeeZ.~::'..~-;;;.~......... S ,.>.-i'SAC ..~.~r....!:'~~..................... s . ~ Z. CoIIecl1ve SInltIt Fee ....... ~... ~........ $ . 2-'-."'7 I 3:" 0 I!I.C . 0 ~ [~. 0....0 -...... '7 ~<a" - .. <:::. \~O~~ /:J <7 3~ . ~Ci u.. .'=.:..._ \ 1.~7- -4~ .;l ? ~ ,-,r- . ~-" . ....- ...... 0ttI.. ......................................... s :*~~.;;:~~:: ~ at 0c::cuI*1CY ISaIed ~ - ~ _.~- ..~--'--_..__..Cly-""""""--_..- --- PlInW tlIn1pCnIy CartIIlca of ~,~a and allows CllI'ISII\ICIlC \a .Ao.IITIlIl'lCe. Before occupancy, a CarliIlI::a at 0c:cuIlanCY lTUl be issu8d. ~-7-4 ClIy "'-* 0.. ~ eor-. d.., 24 HoU' I1lllIclI for aI i1~1S 4<47-4230 9:00 ~ . 10:00 am. Checlcit 0ef8ITed sewer T8I' ................................... S Ucense Checlc Fee ....... .................. S Pr-.. RedUCeI' .......................... S M8lIIr Hem ................................... S W'" Meter ......'1.O:;.:,;.j;C......... s OrJ Sewer&WaterConn8CliOn~ ........... S ! 3".00.0::.. - ..... o W...TowerFee~~~.~.....Jr. S 17.., oe:.o. . ~<:::. W... T..., ................................... S Build"s Deposit ............................ S 01ner ......................................... S Total Oue .............................. S (~C, .L..j '2. c-- ~ ~ - Paid ReceiIlt No. I' I' EARLY LEARNING CENTER PERMIT FEE BREAKDOWN 1. Building Permit Fee - $1,934.50 - Funds included as revenues in 1994 General Fund Budget. 2. Plan Check Fee - $1,257.43 - Funds included as revenues in 1994 General Fund Budget. 3. State Surcharge - $235.00 - State mandated fee for all permits. Collected by State. 4. Park Support Fee - $13,000 - Fees required to purchase, build and improve neighborhood parks and trails. Funds placed in Capital Park Fund. 5. SAC - $16,000 - Sewer Availability Change collected by Metropolitan Waste Control Commission for system sizing costs. 6. Collector Street Fee - $7,000 - Fees used by city to help construct larger collection streets and pedestrian walkways which cannot be assessed or paid for in full by Minnesota State Aid Funding. 7. Sewer and Water Connection Fee - $18,000 - City fee required to provide funding to size and help maintain sewer and water system. 8. Water Tower Fee - $12,000 - City fee required to repay bonds sold for construction of water tower. EARLRN.CM MEMORANDUM DATE: FRANK BOYLES, CITY MANAGER BILL MANGAN, DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND RECREATION PARK DEDICATION FEE FOR ISD #719 AT THE EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL AUGUST 9, 1994 TO: FROM: RE: Frank, as per our discussion last week concerning the waiving of the Park Dedication fees for ISD #719 for the Early Learning School, I want to let you know some of the rational for not waiving those fees. First of all, the Park Dediaction fee has been established to assist the Parks and Recreation Department with its Capital Improvement program for park development. It doesn't matter who it is, be it developer, school district, city, or whomever, they always look to the Park Dedication fee to be waived in order to save money. Frank, every time this happens, we cut our nose off to save our face. The Park Dedication fee is a dedicated fund used to develop and improve our parks and open space system. By waiving this fee, which is a primary funding source for capital improvements, simply means that the Parks and Recreation Department loses ground in keeping up with the demand for services. Secondly, the Early Learning School is being retrofitted to accomodate up to 300 students. On this site, there is no open space of any kind nor is there room to provide any. The children will probably be walked up to Woodridge Neighborhood Park or The Pond Athletic Complex, both of which will have play equipment for the students to play on. That play equipment was provided to the residents from the Capital Park fund which is money collected through the Park Dedication requirement. By waiving this fee, we are telling the school district that they don't have to pay their fair share. Thirdly, if the school district doesn't want to pay the park dedication fee for the building, I would offer a suggestion to shift the Park Dedication over to the Five Hawks site for youth athletic fields. As you recall, we are going to have to turn over the four acres of parkland to the school district so that they have adequate space for a second building. We should finalize the Joint Powers Agreement that would delineate the different responsibilities of each party and the school district could assume more of the cost of development for that project. The City of Eagan has used this approach in the past very successfully as has the City of Lakeville. While both Citys have waived the Park Dedication fee for building construction, the Joint Powers Agreement has resulted in the school district assuming the entire development costs of the site for community playfields. I would be comfortable with this approach. Frank, with the park system expanding and the constant shortage of funding sources, I would recommend to you that we not short change ourselves by waiving 4629 Dakota St. S.E., Prior Lake, Minnesota 55372-1714 / Ph. (612) 447-4230 / Fax (612) 447-4245 AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER 'I' . the one source of revenue that we do have. I don't feel that it is fair to the City, the Parks and Recreation Department, or the residents of the community. I would be happy to discuss or research this further at your convenience. Thank you. MEM029 MEMO'~9