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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005/05/16 - ADMIN - Minutes - Economic Development Authority - RegularA(fh CITYOF ST. LOUIS PARK OFFICIAL M INUTES ECONOM IC DEVE LOPME NT AUTHORITY ST. LOUI S PARK, M INNE SOTA M ay 16, 2005 1. Call to Order President Santa called the meeting to order at 7:03 pm. 2. Roll Call. Commissioners present: Sue Santa, John Basill, Jeff Jacobs, Phil Finkelstein, Paul Omodt, Susan Sanger, and Sally Velick. Staff present: City Manager (Mr. Harmening), Community Development Director (Mr. Locke) and Economic Development Coordinator (Mr. Hunt). 3. Approval of M inutes 3a. Economic Authority M inutes of May 2, 2005 It was motioned by Commissioner Sanger, seconded by Commissioner Jacobs to approve the minutes as presented. ) The motion passed 7-0. 4. Approval of Agenda It was motioned by Commissioner Jacobs, seconded by Commissioner Finkelstein to approve the agenda. The motion passed 7-0. 5. Reports Sa. Motion to accept and file vendor claim report It was motioned by Commissioner Velick, seconded by Commissioner Finkelstein to accept the vendor claims for filing. The motion passed 7-0. 6. Old Business 7. New Business 7a. Consideration of a First Amendment to the Redevelopment Contract with Aquila Senior, LLC Mr. Hunt presented the staff report. EDA Minutes -2- May 16, 2005 Comm issioner Sanger stated opposition and did not support public financing with the proposed changes. W hen this project was first discussed, they were told that it was set up in a way that would appeal to a large number of seniors in the imm ediate vicinity. By appealing to that target audience, it would free up houses. Now they were told there weren't that many people in the area and would have to change how they marketed and change the financing to appeal to a larger market. Either the first research was not competently done, or it was not accurately represented. This was pitched as affordable housing. The proposed amendment disregards the first quarter of a million dollars of assets people have in their home, and she did not believe it was appropriate to have city tax subsidies for so called affordable housing. She believed it was a "bait and switch" to get the city to approve this and she did not appreciate the change in strategy and would not support it. Commi ssioner Finkelstein stated that he supported this project. They looked at this option for two reasons. First, they wanted to provide a different type of housing to seniors. There were no limited equity senior co-ops in St. Louis Park. Second, they wanted something that would be affordable both now and into the future for seniors. This project did that. He was concerned when they came forward with changes in terms of the initial funding, however he called their market research firm and reviewed the information. It seemed clear that by raising it from $500,000 to $750,000, did not defeat the purpose. When you look at the net assets used for this, it included their home, pension and all of their savings over a lifetime. They wanted the project to work because it would be beneficial to all residents of St. Louis Park. It was providing additional options at reasonable prices. It was something that would be available to seniors both now and into the future. He was still interested in seeing more advertising and marketing of this program to the area around the project. It was the right thing to do. Commissioner Omodt concurred with Councilmember Finkelstein. The developer came back with new data and they were getting the same result that they had in mi nd, to provide longer range, moderately priced housing for seniors so they could roll over housing in St. Louis Park and were marketing first to St. Louis Park residents. In terms of TIP used in the City, they listened to a proposal prior to this where they were talking about use of TIP for units that may be $400,000. They used TIP at Excelsior and Grand where there were some very expensive units. They used it for the bank building. There are legal reasons for TIP and legal precedence and qualifications TIP must face and he believed this project passed the test. Commi ssioner Velick noted when the project first came forward a group went to see a project. She had since gone to Gram.m ercy and knew what a limited equity co-op was. The seniors living there were extremely happy. She supported the project and believed the final goal was what they were looking for, another way to find housing for seniors. For the greater good of redevelopment, sometimes the TIP dollars needed to be spent. Comm issioner Santa stated she struggled with this quite a bit. She was initially a strong supporter of this due to HUD 's involvement. They had a reputation of maintaining buildings and being strict. After research, thought and study, she had concerns about Fannie Mae because that would be a change. She saw advantages that seniors could sell their home and make a lateral move, staying in their own neighborhood and had the option of taking the check from one place to another, knowing what they were going to pay for the upkeep on their property. She also had concerns when it came to looking at the first $250,000 that a person would get by selling their home. W hen she looked at the E D A M inutes -3- M ay 16, 2005 li st of assets, if the pension that she had to support her fo r the rest of her life were counted as an asset, and she w ould spend it dow n as she continued living, hopefu lly she w ould have enough to last. She support ed this. T he num bers she cam e up with supported this. It was motioned by Commissioner Finkelstein, seconded by Commissioner Omodt, to approve the First Amendment to the Contract for Private Redevelopment by and between St. Louis Park Economic Development Authority and Aquila Senior, LLC dated October 4, 2004. The motion passed 6-1, with Councilmember Sanger opposed. 8. Communications: None 9. Adjournment It was motioned by Commissioner Finkelstein, seconded by Commissioner Omodt to adjourn. gt T he m eeting adjourn ed at 7: 17 p.m . ) Sr-Ap,2 ma,,k Secretary President