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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL – APRIL 11, 2016 5 <br /> <br />Mayor Grant clarified that the article in the April Newsletter was written by City staff and the <br />Communications Committee inadvertently put in a byline which stated that the article was written <br />by Land O’Lakes. <br /> <br />Mr. Larson thanked Mayor Grant for this clarification. He provided further comment on the <br />numerous ways Arden Hills residents contributed to the community without seeking handouts. <br /> <br />Mayor Grant closed the public hearing at 7:32 p.m. <br /> <br />Mayor Grant requested staff speak to the benefits the City would be receiving through the <br />proposed tax abatement. <br /> <br />Community Development Director Hutmacher commented further on the benefits Arden Hills <br />would receive by retaining the headquarters within the community. She reported that Land <br />O’Lakes has 1,738 employees currently and will be adding another 200 after their project is <br />completed. She noted that these jobs were high paying and that these employees supported the <br />local businesses. She explained that if Land O’Lakes were to leave, the City would have a <br />difficult time filling this headquarter space. She indicated that the City portion of Land O’Lakes <br />property taxes were currently $64,000 which is approximately 2% of the City’s levy. She <br />discussed how the City would be impacted if this user were to move out of the community. <br /> <br />Mayor Grant recalled that 97% of Arden Hills’ residents have a high school education and 60+% <br />have a college education. He discussed how the Land O’Lakes jobs were well-suited for Arden <br />Hills. He requested further comment from Land O’Lakes regarding the new jobs that would be <br />created over the next few years. <br /> <br />Marcia Droege, Land O’Lakes, stated that through 2024, Land O’Lakes is expected to have 2,500 <br />employees on its campus. She reported that the 200 new jobs are required through the Job <br />Creations Fund and the MIF loan, but noted that historically Land O’Lakes has been growing at <br />3% to 6% per year at the headquarter site. She estimated that the campus will have an additional <br />600 employees in the next decade. It is Land O’Lakes’ goal to keep all of its employees on one <br />campus. <br /> <br />Councilmember Wicklund asked why the company needed assistance given its healthy growth <br />over recent years. <br /> <br />Bob Glass, Land O’Lakes Tax Advisor, stated that after running the numbers, it was fitting for <br />Land O’Lakes to build a new facility, except for a gap between the cost of building an expansion <br />compared to the cost of moving into an existing building. He explained that the Board approved <br />the construction of a new building so long as a certain level of assistance was offered to fill this <br />gap. <br /> <br />Councilmember Wicklund requested further information on how Land O’Lakes redistributed its <br />$100 million in net income. <br /> <br />Mr. Glass reported that Land O’Lakes is a co-op and that the net earnings are returned directly to <br />the farmers and co-op members.