City Council - 03/08/2016 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP & OPEN PODIUM
TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2016 CITY CENTER
5:00—6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOMS
6:30—7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER
CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Council Members Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher
Wickstrom, Kathy Nelson, and Ron Case
CITY STAFF: City Manager Rick Getschow, Police Chief Rob Reynolds, Fire Chief George
Esbensen, Public Works Director Robert Ellis, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah,
Parks and Recreation Director Jay Lotthammer, Communications Manager Joyce Lorenz, City
Attorney Ric Rosow, and Recorder Lorene McWaters
I. AMC THEATRES PROPOSAL
Frank Lewis and Kate Becker of AMC Theatres Food and Beverage Division provided an
overview of a proposed remodeling project at their Eden Prairie Center location. The $6.5
million project would include:
• Conversion to luxury power recliners in 17 auditoriums
• Sight and sound upgrades
• Reserved seating
• Remodeled restrooms
• MacGuffins Bar& Lounge
The only theatre that would not be fitted with the recliners is the IMAX. The current seating
capacity of the theatres is 2,600 and the new capacity would be 1,152 seats —about 60%
fewer seats. Lewis said the reduction in seating is expected to have no negative impact. He
said the industry has changed significantly since the theatres were designed 16 years ago, and
they are currently filling only a fraction of their seats. In fact, theatres with the renovated
seating have seen increased revenue.
MacGuffins is a bar-lounge at which over-21 patrons would be able to purchase alcoholic
beverages to be brought into the theatres. Lewis said locations with MacGuffins have not
experienced increases in criminal activity or underage drinking. Everyone purchasing an
alcoholic beverage is carded, and the average number of drinks purchased is 1.1 per
customer. He said patrons are there for the movie experience, not the bar experience.
Council Member Nelson asked if alcoholic beverages would be allowed in children's movies.
Lewis said AMC is moving away from the model of alcohol-segregated screens. He said
AMC has found segregation is not necessary. Alcohol and soft drinks are served in easily
differentiated cups, and mystery shoppers are used to test the company's zero tolerance
policy.
Lewis said AMC plans to complete the renovations in two phases, to avoid a complete
shutdown of the facility. They are hoping to get the project underway as soon as possible, to
keep a step ahead of their competition.
City Council Workshop Minutes
March 8, 2016
Page 2
Getschow said the Police Department contacted AMC locations where liquor is served and
there were no issues reported. Police staff also visited the Inver Grove Heights AMC Theatre,
which has a similar set up to the one proposed for Eden Prairie. They observed good
inventory control and segregation of service, and the physical set-up was impressive.
Getschow said the Police Department has no concerns with AMC serving alcohol.
Mayor Tyra-Lukens said many of her concerns were addressed in the presentation and she is
more comfortable with the concept. Aho said his concerns have also been allayed, and he
thinks movie-goers will appreciate the proposed upgrades.
II. IT OVERVIEW
IT Manager Aditi Salunke and Systems Engineer James Goldenstein gave an overview of the
Information Technology Division. The IT Division has six areas of focus:
• Network Support
• Infrastructure Support
• Application Support
• IT Security
• Geographic Information Systems
• Project Management
IT projects completed in 2015 included:
• Fiber path to Edina to provide redundancy
• E-911 phone system
• GIS server upgrade
• Other infrastructure upgrades, included network switch replacements and workstation
replacements
Major projects planned for 2016 include:
• VM server upgrade from HP to Cisco
• Exchange upgrade
• GIS database upgrade
• Water Plant phone system upgrade
• Workstation replacements
• Camera system upgrades
• Purchase of a new GIS Trimble for Parks & Recreation
• New public map interfaces
Beyond 2016, IT staff is planning for upgrades to the City's disaster recovery site,
infrastructure upgrades, implementation of Office 365, and updates to the document
management system.
III. OPEN PODIUM
IV . ADJOURNMENT