07-08-24-R - Laserfiche WebLink

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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL — JUNE 10, 2024 City Administrator Perrault stated he has made this point to the County. Councilmember Holden clarified for the record that the City Council was aware in 2016 that the soil under Town Center would have to be remediated. She indicated the County had this information when they purchased the property. She commented on how the County was supposed to sell the property to the master developer and the developer was to complete the mass grading. City Administrator Perrault reported the short answer was the City does not know. He explained if TIF and abatement were not options for this project, the project may stand still, unless a private partner equity piece were to work out. He stated if this option were to move forward, then the land would be taken down in one transaction. Councilmember Holden indicated the spine road has not moved at all and the County had funding from MNDOT to complete this roadway, which has now been forfeited. She questioned if the County would be going after additional funding from MNDOT for this portion of the project. City Administrator Perrault explained the County may have checked some of the boxes on the project, and he was uncertain if the funding had been forfeited. Mayor Grant thanked Councilmember Monson for her comments. He stated he was not aware that TIF was being discussed. He reported the muck on site goes back to 2017. He reported if the County were to ask the City to contribute $10 million, this was slightly less than two years' worth of a levy. He noted the County levies close to $1 billion in two years. He explained the County has been discussing a funding gap for quite some time. He noted the County paid $28 million for the property, of which $6 million was given to the Army and $22 million to Bolander to clean up the property. He stated the County claimed there was a gap of $17 million years ago and he did not understand why this gap consisted of. While he understood costs and interest rates were on the rise, the idea of a funding gap was not new to this project. Councilmember Monson indicated the County has not asked the City to put $10 million into this proj ect. City Administrator Perrault clarified this was not a formal request from the County, but rather an idea that the County put in $10 million and the City put in $10 million. He noted this was a comment made in passing. Councilmember Monson stated she was not following the $17 million gap statement from the Mayor. She indicated the question remained who was going to pay for the mass grading. Mayor Grant reported the County purchased the property for $28 million and shortly thereafter the County identified a funding gap of $17 million. He wasn't sure if this was a legal expense. He reiterated that the County has always identified a funding gap for this development. Councilmember Monson stated the County was previously going to cover the mass grading expenses and now they were no longer willing. City Administrator Perrault reported in 2024, there was clear accounting of the $40 million gap. He explained the $40 million of site work has always been understood and in 2018 the County had agreed to fund this and now they were not willing to.