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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL—MAY 8, 2023 11 <br /> Councilmember Rousseau recalled the Council had discussed an open house earlier this year. <br /> She commented the list of concerns stated by Councilmember Holden was not what she was <br /> hearing from residents. She explained she was hearing concerns about the plans for schools, the <br /> energy plan for the site, environmental concerns, and what the plans were for a civic center. <br /> Councilmember Holden reported she would be open to adding any other items the Council may <br /> find important to address with the public as the list she provided didn't include everything and she <br /> agreed the points Councilmember Rousseau brought up are important. <br /> Councilmember Monson agreed it was a good idea for the City to have an open house that was <br /> run by the City. She questioned if the JDA would be presenting this information to the public. <br /> Councilmember Holden stated she would like this event to be put on by the City and not the <br /> JDA. <br /> Councilmember Monson believed this type of event would be appropriate. She agreed an open <br /> house was needed. She indicated the JDA does have a community engagement event that would <br /> be coming and she wanted to make sure this event coordinated with this plan. She supported the <br /> list of topics being expanded. <br /> Councilmember Holden stated the residents that live on Hamline were very concerned about <br /> traffic. She discussed how an open house would allow the City to provide residents with detailed <br /> information on the roadmap and plans for TCAAP going forward. <br /> Councilmember Fabel indicated he was looking forward to this conversation, but he was hoping <br /> more information could be shared than what has happened since 2016, given the fact nothing else <br /> was on the table. He discussed how interest rates have increased and the office market has <br /> changed since COVID. He understood the financial capacity of Ramsey County was dramatically <br /> different when the City could have agreed to go forward with something and unfortunately did <br /> not. <br /> Councilmember Holden asked for a point of clarification. She explained Councilmember Fabel's <br /> comment about the City choosing to not move forward was not a true statement. <br /> Councilmember Fabel stated he recognized that there were two sides to the story. He understood <br /> Councilmember Holden and Mayor Grant had a position of why things broke down and many <br /> other people have a different view. He indicated there was no denying that things broke down. <br /> Whether the Council was to blame or County Commissioner Ortega was to blame, things have <br /> changed dramatically in the years since then. He reported there could be a meeting tomorrow and <br /> the only things that could be shared was that the JDA was working on a plan from 2016 that had a <br /> lot of favorable aspects, but this plan was not approved. He reported four years have since passed <br /> and the JDA was trying to understand the changes that have taken place in this time. He stated a <br /> new plan was not yet in place so he questioned how helpful an open house would be at this time. <br /> He believed it would be more helpful to do what Councilmember Monson has proposed, which <br /> was to wait for the JDA to better understand what the economic consequences are, what the <br /> inflation rate is doing, and the financial capacity of Ramsey County. He did not find it useful to <br /> discuss what happened in 2016, but rather thought the progress of this development should be the <br />