The Eden Prairie City Council will discuss steps to finance its city hall remodeling project in a way that might avoid a voter referendum during its meeting on Tuesday.
The current plan has the city spending up to $26.5 million for city hall improvements, mostly to accommodate its growing Police Department. General obligation bonds would be sold to finance the project, and the city would use property taxes to repay the principal and interest on those bonds.
State statute allows cities to finance capital improvements such as city hall renovations without holding a bond referendum, unless a petition requesting a vote is signed by at least 5% of the number of voters in the last municipal election, in which case the city must hold a public vote.
In Eden Prairie’s case, a petition would need to be filed with the city clerk by Jan. 2, 2025, and if the petition were valid, the referendum would be held sometime in 2025. Its outcome would determine whether the plan could proceed.
There were 37,480 ballots cast in Eden Prairie in the last general election, according to the city clerk. Five percent of that is 1,874, which is presumably the number of signatures needed to force a referendum on the city hall plan.
Tuesday’s meeting includes a public hearing on the outline of the capital improvement plan and a potential vote by the council to proceed. The hearing and a majority vote of the council to proceed are also steps required by the 2003 state statute. If those steps are taken and no valid petition is received, the city can move ahead with the sale of bonds.
The city is considering moving its police force from offices in the lower level of Eden Prairie City Center to the vacant west wing of the building. The police have been located on the lower level of the building’s east side since 1993, and their staff has doubled since then. The 2025 project involves remodeling about 73,000 square feet for police use, including indoor storage for police vehicles. The plan also includes about 23,000 square feet for offices and meeting rooms for other departments and public use.
Tuesday’s meeting starts at 7 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the City Center at 8080 Mitchell Road.
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