Council Preview: Demolition of the Sperry Water Tower?

The Eagan City Council will convene at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening at City Hall to hold a work session meeting. Here's a preview of a selection of agenda items the council is expected to discuss. For a full agenda, click here.

• Reconsidering the City's Snow and Ice Removal Policies
  During budget cutbacks in 2008, Eagan city officials stopped employing contractors to clear the city's sidewalks and trails following winter snowfall. Instead, the city's Public Works Department took on responsibility for clearing the trails as a secondary priority after completing street plowing and ice control operations. But the city has recently received four petitions with signatures from hundreds of residents unhappy with uncleared sidewalks and trails in the community. In response, the council is poised on Tuesday to review those petitions and consider amendments to the city's existing snow and ice control policies.

• Weighing $16 Million in Infrastructure and Equipment Needs
  Each year, the Eagan council adopts a three-part Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) that outlines major facilities, infrastructure and equipment needs over the next five years. On Tuesday, the council is expected to review a draft of the 2014-2018 CIP that includes roughly $16 million in planned purchases and projects in 2014.

• Engineering Study Coming on Hwy. 77
  The Minnesota Department of Transportation is planning to create an improved connection between the Cedar Grove Transit Station and Hwy. 77—and develop a "managed lane" on Hwy. 77 to improve traffic flow. On Tuesday, MnDOT staff will discuss with the Eagan City Council a proposed engineering study that will be conducted as a precursor to both projects.

• Demolition of the Sperry Water Tower?
  Could the old Sperry Water Tower on 1420 Towerview Road be demolished? That's one of the questions in front of the Eagan City Council this week. The tower needs at least $510,000 in repairs and rehabilitation in the next 3-5 years in order to maintain structural integrity. The tower has been offline since 2009, and is not needed as part of the city's current water system, according to city officials. The city could remove the tower, but the tower also generates a significant amount of revenue for the city as the result of cell phone carriers leasing space on the reservoir for antennae.