TEAHOUSE RESOLUTION No. 936 (Amended)

WHEREAS, The city of and people of Dushanbe, Tajikistan presented to the city and people of Boulder, Colorado the gift of a traditional Tajik-style teahouse in 1990 as a way to honor our sister city ties;

WHEREAS, This artistically ornate teahouse also represents the single largest gift from the people of the former Soviet Union to the people of the United States;

WHEREAS, The City of Boulder donated the land for the Dushanbe Teahouse in a prominent downtown Boulder location, and provided a construction loan to help erect the Teahouse in 1998;

WHEREAS, The Dushanbe Teahouse has become one of downtown Boulder's biggest attractions, bringing much needed tourism and sales tax revenues to the city;

WHEREAS, The Boulder-Dushanbe Sister City group has proposed and designed a Cyber Cafe as a reciprocal gift from the city and people of Boulder to the city and people of Dushanbe; and

WHEREAS, The City of Dushanbe, Tajikistan has approved the Cyber Cafe concept and has donated a prominent Dushanbe city park site for its construction.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, The Boulder City Council pledges, subject to appropriations, all revenues from the city's Dushanbe Teahouse lease toward the Cyber Cafe reciprocal gift, subject to the following conditions:

  1. The city's original $700,000 construction loan, including 6% compound interest, must be completely paid off from the lease revenues before any proceeds are released for the benefit of the Cyber Cafe (currently estimated to occur in the year 2015);

  2. The city's FAM maintenance-and-replacement fee for the existing Teahouse will continue to be paid out of the lease proceeds as a first priority;

  3. The maximum financial obligation of this pledge is not to exceed the equivalent of a loan in 2004 of $350,000 principal with 6% compound interest until the terms of this pledge are fully met (it being understood that the city itself is not providing such a loan); and

  4. The Cyber Cafe is delivered to the people of Dushanbe, to such a degree and roughly equivalent to the manner and condition in which Boulder received its Teahouse from Dushanbe, this being accomplished no later than August 2007.

APPROVED this 21st day of February, 2006