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1988-02-12 Special Development of Industrial Park . . . CITY OF ALBERTVILLE POBOX 131 ALBERTVILLE, MINNESOTA 55301 PHONE (612) 497-3384 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING FEBRUARY 12, 1988 A specIal work meetIng of the CouncIl was held on February 12, 1988. Persons present Included: Mayor Loretta Roden, CouncIl members Gary Schwenzfeler, Donatus Vetsch and Bob Braun; staff people Maureen Andrews, Thore Meyer, Brad Farnham, Bob MIller; JIm Wl11lquette, representIng the developer, and JIm LuShlne, of the Department of Trade and EconomIC Development. The purpose of the meetIng was to dISCUSS the pOSSIbIlIty of the CIty of AlbertVIlle beIng Involved wIth the development of a 1,500 to 2,500 acre IndustrIal park. Mr. LuShlne explaIned that the State had been contacted by a fIrm, LONGEVITY CITY USA, INC., located In IllInOIS, who was Interested In developIng an aIr IndustrIal park In the state of MInnesota. The Department of Trade and EconomIC Development's Invlovement IS lookIng for optIons WhIch create new MInnesota based Jobs. Mr. LuShlne went on to explaIn that they had been gIven a set of crIterIa from the fIrm that needed to be met. These crIterIa Included: * There would need to be enough land to develop a park WIth between 1,500 to 2,500 acres. * The land needed to be located close to a metropolItan area. * The land needed to have easy access to major hIghway systems. * The land would need to be readIly accessable to munICIpal serVIces. The State then went back to the developer WIth the follOWIng major areas: Mlnneapolls/ St. Paul, St. Cloud, Mankato and Rochester. It was the developers WIsh the search for the land focus on the MInneapolIs/St. Paul area. The Department of Trade and EconomIC Development then began to look at land that met the crIterIa lIsted above. Mr. LuShlne explaIned why certaIn areas were ruled out from conSIderatIon and why AlbertVIlle had been determIned to be a good canldate. SOUTHERN SUBURBS - (LAKEVILLE, FARMINGTON, ETC.) -- ThIS area was determIned not to be feaSIble because of the competItIon WIth the Alrlake IndustrIal Park In Lakevl11e. SOUTHWESTERN SUBURBS - (SHAKOPEE, CHASKA, ETC.) -- ThIS area was determIned not approprIate for development because of present traffIC constraInts and lImIted land access due to the current development presently occurlng In the areas. Make our OIl' Your eliI' We tnvlle Home Induslfl' BU5tneS5 SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING PAGE 2 . EAST SIDE SUBURBS - (WHITE BEAR LAKE, EAST ST. PAUL, MAPLEWOOD, ETC ) -- Th1S area d1d not meet the cr1ter1a set forth by the developer so 1t was not cons1dered. NORTHWEST CORRIDOR - (ELK RIVER, MONTICELLO, ALBERTVILE, ETC.) Th1s area was determ1ned to be the most feas1ble to be looked at for the development because the area best matched the cr1ter1as set forth earl1er 1n the d1Scuss1on. Once the area had been determ1ned, the State p1cked two poss1ble sltes, one wh1ch 1ncluded the area around Albertv1lle, St. M1chael and Mont1cello. The second one was located near Elk R1ver It was later determ1ned that Albertv1lle best sU1ted the needs of the developers. Mr. LuSh1ne stated that the Department of Trade and Econom1c Development had not contacted any other commun1t1es and wouldn't prov1ded the C1ty of Albertv1lle lS 1nterested 1n part1c1pat1ng 1n attack1ng the f1rm to the area. Issues d1scussed 1ncluded: . - F1nanc1ng of a project of th1S magn1tude. - The need for establ1sh1ng 1mprovement d1str1cts, and gett1ng the necessary opt1ons on requ1red land. - Mr. LuSh1ne p01nted out that 1t lS 1mportant that the land be1ng d1scussed be under the C1ty'S Jur1sd1ct1on. - It was asked 1f the State would be 1nvloved w1th the development of the a1r str1p. The answer to th1S quest10n was that the a1r str1p would be developed uS1ng pr1vate money. There was some d1Scuss1on about the fact that somet1me 1n the future the Metropol1tan A1r Comm1ss1on (MAC) may get 1nvolved w1th the a1r str1p but that would not 11kely be for another ten years (at a m1n1mum). - The lssue was ra1sed regard1ng the fact that some type of agreement would need to be developed 1n order that annexat10n could occur. - Mr. LuSh1ne was asked 1f the C1ty of Albertv1lle was compet1ng w1th the other c1t1es ment10ned through an open b1dd1ng process. Aga1n the Counc11 was assured that Albertv1lle was the only C1ty subm1tted to the developer. - It was p01nted out that any delays w1II force the State to look at other areas so that the project lS not lost. - A member of the Counc11 asked J1m W1ll1quette 1f the ava1lab1l1ty of ra11 11nes was 1mportant to the locat1on of the proJect. Mr. W1ll1quette stated the project could be done w1thout ra11 access. . The group then d1scussed what type of land was currently ava1lable w1th1n the C1ty Ilm1ts for th1S project and what was the 11kelyhood of Otsego Townsh1p part1c1pat1ng 1n the venture. It was est1mated that the C1ty has approx1mately 300 acres w1th1n 1tS corporate boundar1es that would 11kely be the slte of the 1ndustr1al park, and that the rema1n1ng port1on would have to come from Otsego Townsh1p. (Th1S lS assum1ng that the developers w1II need the total 2,500 + acres 1n some type of cont1guous layout). Mr. W1ll1quette and Mr. LuSh1ne were asked 1f the developers have done any work 1n the State of M1nnesota pr10r to th1S proposal and whether or not they were fam1l1ar w1th M1nnesota law regard1ng tax 1ncrement f1nanc1ng and the prov1s1ons for condemnat1on and qU1ck-take prov1s1ons. The C1ty SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING PAGE 3 . was lnformed that the developers have not worked In Mlnnesota prlor to thlS proposal, but are currently lnvolved wlth a project In Callfornla whose tax lncrement laws are slmlllar to Mlnnesota's. There was dlScusslon regardlng the State's asslstance In the area of flnanclng a project of thls magnltude. Mr. LuShlne stated that at thlS tlme the Clty should not assume that there would not be any State money lnvolved for any of the up front costs that the Clty would occur. Furthermore, he went on to explaln that the only llkely sources for future money would come In the form of Communlty Development Block Grants (CDBG) or 504 money. It was pOlnted out at thlS tlme that lf thlS lndustrlal/offlce complex park would become a reallty, lt would be the largest park of ltS klnd on the State of Mlnnesota. Mr. LuShlne stated that he needed to hear from the Councll whether or not they were lnterested In the porposal, and lf so, they wanted to proceed wlth the proJect. It also became apparent that the Clty would be looklng at a fast track tlme frame, Slnce the developer appears to be lnterested In some type of ground breaklng by early Fall. Issues that would need to be resolvEd prlor to thlS actlon would lnclude the Clty assurlng the avallablllty of land, the ablllty of settlng up the needed tax lncrement dlstrlcts and necessary flnanclng requlred for a project of thlS Slze, and the assurance of belng able to provlde the publlC lmprovements for the area. . The Clty asked whether or not the developer wlll be present durlng the early stages of thls proJect. It appears that Mr. Wllllquette would serve as the real estate broker for the developer on thlS end of the proJect. Mr. Wllllquette stated that he was plannlng on gOlng out to Callfornla to meet wlth the representatlves of Longevlty Clty, USA, Inc. sometlme after February 22nd and would be wllllng to hand carry the Clty's response to the proposal. The project was agaln brlefly resummarlzed, and Mr. LuShlne stressed the urgency of the Clty decldlng whether or not they want to be lnvolved In the proJect. The Councll agreed to notlfy Mr. LuShlne and Mr. Wllllquette of thelr declslon as soon as lt was made. At thlS tlme Mr. LuShlne and Mr. Wllllquette left, but the remalnlng group stayed on to dlSCUSS the proJect, what optlons were avallable to the Clty and what would need to be done provlded the Councll declded to move forward on the proJect. It was agreed that the Clty had nothlng to loose to take the step to lnterest In the project and pursue the proJect. The group then went on to dlSCUSS what would need to be done prlor to the Clty contactlng the developer. The IlSt lncluded, but was not Ilmlted to, the followlng lssues: . * Prepare a cover letter from the Clty acknowledglng our lnterest In the proposal. * Develop a worklng team to surround the Councll to make the project move as smoothly and qUlckly as posslble. * Deflne a potentlal area for development on a map. * Meet wlth a representatlve of Otsego Townshlp and thelr attorney as soon as posslble to get thelr reactlon to the proJect. . SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING PAGE 4 . The Issue of a development team was dIscussed at some length. It was stressed that the CouncIl would need to surround themselves wIth a group of experts that would be avaIlable to put thIS project together. LIsted below IS the team that was agreed upon by the CouncIl: CIty AdmInIstrator - Maureen Andrews CouncIl LIaIson - Gary Schwenzfeler CIty Attorney - Bob MIller CIty EngIneer - Meyer-RohlIn, Inc. Bond Attorney - BrIggs and Morgan, ProfeSSIon ASSOCIatIon Tax Increment SpecIalIst - WIlson Management ASSOCIatIon FInanCIal AdVIsor - Juran and Moody, Inc. CIty PlannIng Staff - To be selected PrIor to thIS group beIng confIrmed, there were the follOWIng dISCUSSIons: . 1. BOND COUNSEL -- The CounCIl was asked how theIr aSSOCIatIon WIth Holmes and Graven came about and how commlted they were to stay WIth the fIrm. Brad Farnham pOInted out that typIcally he works WIth the fIrm of BrIggs and Morgan, but that If the CounCIl wanted to stay WIth Holmes and Graven that It would not present a problem. From the dISCUSSIon presented It appeared that the aSSOCIatIon WIth Holmes and Graven came through the former CIty Attorney, Gary Meyer. It was pOInted out that the CIty does not have a real close tIe WIth any partIcular attorney at the fIrm and have worked WIth any number of attorneys over the past few years. Brad pOInted out that one of the reasons he would recommend BrIggs and Morgan IS that they are WIllIng to go all out and aSSIst In creatIng unIque fInanCIng for proJects. He CIted an example In Cannon Falls that BrIggs had asslted In. The CounCIl IndIcated that they dId not have a problem WIth makIng a change In bond counsel If they felt that would put together a stronger workIng team. . 2. TAX INCREMENT SPECIALIST -- It was suggested that the CounCIl mIght want to conSIder the hIrIng of a tax Increment speCIalIst to aSSIst In developIng the needed tax Increment dIstrIcts and help WIth any relocatIon Issues that are lIkely to arIse from a project of thIS magnItude. The fIrm of WIlson Management SerVIces was recommended by Brad Farnham on the baSIS that Dan WIlson has a great deal of experIence In the areas of tax Imcrement fInance and relocatIon Issues. Brad gave a brIef background on Dan and saId that he would lIke to Introduce hIm to the CounCIl prOVIded they agreed to go ahead and hIre a tax Increment speCIalIst. The CounCIl agaIn stated that If It was the feelIng of staff that thIS was a needed team member that then the CIty should take steps to secure a fIrm. And based on Brad's recommendatIon that WIlson Management SerVIces should be contacted. The mInutes should note that Thore has worked WIth Dan WIlson In the past, as well. 3. CITY PLANNING STAFF -- ThIS dlScusIson was two fold, and Included the Issue of completIng the land use zonIng and comprehensIve plan and the need to have someone avaIlable to do plan reVIews for projects that would occur In the park. There was some dISCUSSIon about lIkely canIdates who would be able to undertake these Jobs. After some lImIted dISCUSSIon, no actIon was taken. . . . - SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING PAGE 5 Another lssue dlscussed was the Clty'S exposure In a project of thls Slze. It was agreed that there was a great deal of exposure, but that there was a consensus that lt could be llmlted by the use of a developers agreement, that lnvolvement of the consultants would be llmlted untll such tlme the Clty has a feel fro~ the developer how serlOUS they are In the project. Addltlonally, lt was agreed that a publlc lnformatlon hearlng wlth the development team, Clty and Townshlp, be held to stop any rumors regardlng the proposal. There appeared to be no other buslness that could be dealt wlth the group at the tlme, so the meetlng was adjourned. Prlor to adjournment lt was agreed that some type of draft would be prepared for the Councl1's reVlew before the February 16th Councll meetlng. 4CtuAQQn ~~