CCP 01-25-1999 - Laserfiche WebLink

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ARDEN HILLS EDA SPECIAL MEETING - JANUARY 4, 1999 DRAFT "" 2 ~ The City has been working on improving the intersection of Round Lake Road and Highway 96 with Ramsey County. The work has proposed the easterly relocation of this connection, so as to __ improve separation from the 135W interchange for safety purposes and to improve access to the Gateway Business District (GBD). Providing this separation will allow for signalization of the intersection in order to improve the movement of traffic in the area. The City Engineer, in conjunction with Ramsey County, have determined what the realignment should be. It was noted that the City Council, on June 8, 1998, adopted Resolution #98-44, which authorized the condemnation of the 6.8 acre Indykiewicz property. The City Attorney served legal notice to the Indykiewicz's on September 11, 1998, which started the 90-day "Quick Take" process. Therefore, the theoretical acquisition date would be Thursday, December 10, 1998. However, the City has yet to provide the property owner the required 30-day notice to vacate the property. The Staff has been continually working with the property owners in an attempt to avoid court action and resolve this acquisition through a negotiated settlement. The City has conducted two appraisals and the property owner has completed one appraisal for the total acquisition of the property. The two appraisals by the City were required by Ramsey County to qualifY for reimbursement. The two City appraisals were sent to a review appraiser who determined what the value of the property should be. The review appraiser determine that the value of the property should be $1,030,000.00, which happened to be exactly the value of the higher of the two appraisals. The Staff extended an informal offer to the Indykiewicz's of $1, I 00,000.00. The Indykiewicz's counter-offered with a purchase price of $1 ,150,000.00, which is halfway in between what staff believes to be their appraisal value of$I,300,000.00 and e the City's appraisal value. Mr. Ringwald read through some general questions and answers in relation to the acquisition. Do we have to buy the entire property? No. The EDA can choose to just purchase that part of the property required for the road under a "partial taking", which is approximately 4.05 acres. However, the property owner has stated that they are not interested in a partial take. For this reason a negotiated settlement could not be conducted and the issue would have to be brought to court. The property owner has stated that, if a partial take is pursued, they would file an adverse condemnation suit and attempt to force the purchase of the entire site. The property owner believes that the remnant parcel is too small to provide for their business needs and that it provides for an unsafe point of access for trucks entering and exiting the site. The property owner mayor may not prevail on their adverse condemnation claim, but it would certainly add time and money to the project. What is the status on the price for fixtures and dirt? The property owner has stated that the fixtures are worth $143,650.00 and the dirt is worth $210,000.00, for a total of$353,650.00. The Staff has authorized the preparation of a fixture appraisal, which will determine the price of the fixtures and dirt. It is anticipated that the appraisal will be ready within 10 to 14 days. .