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contributions from anyone outside. They're handling their own proportionate assessments. . MAYOR WOODBURN: Just to round out that answer - Ramsey County is also contributing, according to their land, and the State of Minnesota is contributing, according to their land. MR. STEILEN: I might take a minute to address some of the comments that Mr. Popovich has made. I've always heard that he's one of the more eloquent and crafty speakers among City Councils and as I was sitting there being soothed by his voice, leaning in his direction, I have to admit that that's absolutely true. MR. POPOVICH: Jim, you forget - I wrote this law when I was in the legislature. MR. STEILEN: Everything I've heard about you is true. How- ever, I don't make any tacit admissions of benefits to my clients' property. I do have great respect for your staff. I think it would be valuable to sit and talk with the City engineer and who- ever else is responsible for spreading the assessments to see if there's room for reasonable men to corne to agreement, but I do want to be on record of making no admissions - tacit or otherwise- that our property - my clients' property - has been benefitted by these improvements, because, to the best of our knowledge, it hasn't. I haven't seen or heard any evidence to the contrary and so I have no basis to make any kind of admission. I don't think that meeting would be a waste of time and I think it would perhaps be fruitful, but I'll leave that to the Council .and its advisors. COUNCILMAN McALLISTER: You said that there's no benefit to the property. MR. STEILEN: property. I have Ci ty engineer. As far as I know there is no benefit to the not had the opportunity of talking with the COUNCILMAN McALLISTER: If that's what you think, then why bother meeting? . MR. POPOVICH: Mayor and members of the Council, I must comment on what was just said. As your advisor, where there's been no admission of a benefit - we're poles apart - and to sit down and talk, all they want to do is to cross-examine your staff and what have you, preparatory to their filing a lawsuit. I think we ought to fight it in another arena. I would recommend to the Council that you adopt the assessments. MR. COLESTOCK: I would like to make a comment, enlarging on the remarks made by both counsel. Actually, the occupants of the industrial park are interested - because we're pragmatists to begin with - in sitting down and seeing whether or not there is what can be interpreted as "reasonable settlement" being made. Let's face facts - it costs money to hire an attorney. It cost you money to hire Pete and it cost us money to hire our attorney. It takes a lot of time. We feel, as a group, that if we can sit 12