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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003/11/24 - ADMIN - Minutes - City Council - Study Session ST.CITY LOUOIF S OFFICIAL MINUTES PARK CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION November 24, 2003 The meeting convened at 7:05 p.m. Present at the meeting were Councilmembers John Basil], Sue Santa, Sally Velick, Paul Omodt and Mayor Jeff Jacobs. Staff present: City Manager(Mr. Meyer); Finance Director(Ms. McGann); Community Development Director(Mr. Harmening); Planning Supervisor(Ms. Jeremiah); Economic Development Coordinator (Mr. Hunt); Housing Supervisor(Ms. Schnitker); and City Clerk (Ms. Reichert). 1. TIF District Update Ms. McGann introduced Mr. Mark Ruff of Ehlers and Associates Mr. Ruff presented the semi-annual TIF update to council The report presented indicated revenues generated,from each TIF distnct and fund available to pay outstanding obligations. The report also identified findings and presented recommendations regarding management of city bonds. Mr. Ruff reported that the city is in a very favorable position and using the Tax Increment Financing tool prudently. Council was pleased with the format of the report. 2. Project for Pride in Living (PPL)—Louisiana Court City staff and representatives from PPL met with council to provide an update on the current financial status o the Louisiana Court Development. Steve Cramer, Executive Director and Barbara McCormick, Director of Housing Development, of PPL were in attendance to present information and answer council's questions PPL and the Louisiana Court Development have been expenencing less than ideal cash flow and were not able to meet all of the financial targets for 2003 as outlined in the Loan Agreement. PPL presented a plan to implement a number of strategies to increase occupancy, which they feel will solve their financial problems. Council was pleased with PPL's efforts to continue screening applicants rather than renting vacant units to persons that may have less than ideal records in terms of cnme and ability to pay rent. Mayor Jacobs stated that when the project was approved in 1998 council knew this was a thinly financed project, but also felt it was important for the community He stated that he felt PPL was taking appropriate steps to resolve their problems. Councilmember Santa suggested that PPL submit regular reports to the council to keep them informed of the situation. Mr. Harmening offered to provide regular updates through staff Study Session Minutes - 2 - November 24, 2003 Mr. Meyer suggested that July 1st would be an appropriate target date for meeting the debt services goals with regular updates to be provided between now and then. Mr. Harmening commended PPL for operating according to the principles established when the project was approved. 3. Indemnity Clause- Anderson Builder's Purchase Agreement for 3501 Louisiana Ave Mr. Greg Anderson of Anderson Builders, Steve Bubul, the city's EDA attorney and Steve David of ENSR were also present at the meeting. Staff and legal counsel updated council on several questions regarding liability pursuant to the Reilly Tar Consent Decree. The question had been raised as to whether supplemental coverage could be obtained from the League of MN Cities Insurance Trust to cover the proposed liability of the city and EDA in excess of otherwise applicable limitations under MN statutes If not, the question was whether an environmental insurance policy could be obtained and at what cost. Mr Bubul explained to council how the proposed indemnification agreement was structured and stated that he felt the proposed agreement was reasonable. A number of questions followed regarding the specifics of the agreement. Mr. Meyer gave a brief history of the site from the 1960's to present. Mr. Harmening stated that by entering into the proposed agreement, the city would not be in any worse position than they are currently. Councilmember Basill asked if the city did agree to indemnify Anderson for future claims resulting from the environmental problems on the site, would that be added value and should the purchase price be reconsidered. Mr. Harmening explained that the pro forma and stated return on investment determined the price of the property. $80,000 has been included in the pro forma for environmental remediation and asking for a higher price for the land would not necessarily result in a better project. Councilmember Basill asked if the city should have the MPCA standards reviewed by another party and would our care to take additional steps reduce our liability in any way Mr. Harmening responded that both the City and the Developer have brought in additional consultants already and also stated that the MPCA had signed off on the project. It was unlikely that they would, in the future, impose additional requirements on the city or the developer. Councilmember Santa felt that we should move forward with the agreement, recognizing the difficulty of development on a former superfund site. She trusted staff to use their best judgment in bringing all factors into consideration and was in support of the proposal. Mr. Anderson assured council that it is also in his best interest to take every step along the way to ensure that there is not future liability associated with the development. He believed that based on the status of the property that he was offenng a good pnce and was not interested in going back for further negotiations. Study Session Minutes - 3 - November 24, 2003 Mr. Hannening stated that he and other city staff were also comfortable with the proposal. Mayor Jacobs and Councilmember Velick stated that they were also comfortable with moving forward. Mr. Hunt offered to prepare documents for the following Monday evening. Concern was expressed that two councilmembers were not present for this discussion and may have questions. Mr. Harmemng offered to contact them and provide any information they might need before taking action. 4. Shading Ordinance Ms. Erickson and Ms. Jeremiah introduced the subject by informing council about the Planning commission public hearing that had been held on the subject. The Planning commission had recommended approval of an amendment that eliminated protection of industrially zoned properties, but maintained protection of both commercial and residentially zoned properties. Councilmember was uncomfortable in that she wanted to protect break areas used by workers in industnal areas. Ms. Jeremiah offered to put language into the ordinance to satisfy the concern expressed pnor to bringing back to council for approval. 5. Council Communications Ms. Reichert presented a League of MN Cities handbook regarding meetings of city councils in which use of email was discussed. Discussion ensued regarding how email could appropriately be used for communication and when use of email may be in violation of open meeting law requirements. 6. Council Conference Planning Because several members of council had expressed interest in attending various seminars,Ms. Reichert presented information regarding budget appropriations for 2004. Council also discussed how to process requests for reimbursement and was informed that it was necessary to present original receipts should reimbursement be requested. 6. Police Advisory Commission Appointments Council informed staff as to which applicants were named finalists and requested that all finalists be subjected to a Police background checks on their criminal records. 7. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 10:20 p.m. 0 , /212-,--02---0— 9G( Celi Ci y Clerk ay r