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I I. I I I I I I I -- I I I I I I I. I I The City operates under a strong mayor/administrator form of government. The City Council is made up of four members plus the mayor, all of wbom are elected at-large. Both the present city hall and public works facility are less than adequate to serve the needs of the community over the long term. The community has debated investing in a new city hall for a number of years; these discussions have been prolonged by uncertainties about TCAAP's future, which would be the most logical place for a new facility. On-going discussions have also occurred among the City, Ramsey County and the Minnesota National Guard regarding the possibility of constructing a joint maintenance facility somewhere ou the TCAAP property. C. Description and History of TeAAP The Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plan (TCAAP) occupies 2,370 acres, or nearly four square miles, in the northwestern portion of Ramsey Couuty, Minnesota. It lies entirely within the municipal boundary of the City of Arden Hills approximately ten highway miles from Downtown St. Paul and eleven higbway miles from Downtown Minneapolis. The site is owned by the federal government -- specifically, the U.S. Army Ammunitions and Chemicals Conunand (AMCCOM) within the Department of Defense. The property is managed and operated by Alliant Techsystems, Inc., the sole remaining on-site defense contractor. Although the entire property drains eventually into Rice Creek, TCAAP contains several land formations. The southern and western portions of the site are dominated by relatively flat land that drains direcily into Rice Creek, which crosses TCAAP's northwest corner. The center of the site is dominated by a kame, a glacial sand deposit that is the highest point in Ramsey County. To the northeast and east lie extensive weilands, including Marsden and Sunfish Lakes. Site acquisition by the federal government began in 1941. The site was assembled from three dozen small farm parcels, each 40 acres or less in size. To this day, the remains offannsteads may be seen in lighily used portions of the site. Groundbreaking took place on August 28,1941, and within ninety days most of the major wood-frame buildings were either constructed or well underway. Production of .30- and .50-caliber ammunition started in February 1942 and continued for 42 consecutive months (through August 1945). The workforce reached its historic peak of about 26,000 in July 1943. Federal Cartridge Corporation (now Federal Cartridge Company) was the prime operating contractor. The facility was placed in stand-by status late in 1945. It was reactivated in 1950 to support the Korean Conflict and continued to produce ammunition until late 1957, when it was again placed in stand-by status. It was reactivated a second time during the Vietnam War and remained in operation until the end of 1976. In 22 years of production, Federal Cartridge produced more than 16.5 billion accepted rounds of small-arms ammunition for the U.s. Government. Several years ago, two small parcels at the northwest comer of the site were excessed. Both are now occupied by state agencies: Sixteen acres on County Road I are used by MnDOT, while another eighteen acres adjacent to 1-35W are used by the Department of Public Safety. Environmental studies were initiated in 1978. The Army began by searching records of past operations to determine if a significant potential hazard existed for contamination to migrate from the installation. In 1978, the U.S. Army Toxic and Hazardous Materials Agency (USA THAMA) Report #129 indicated that any contamination would be contained on the site. However, in 1981, solvents were discovered in off-site groundwater wells, including municipal wells supplying the City of New Brighton. Since that time, the Army, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EP A), and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) have worked jointly to determine what contaminants are involved, where they are located and how Camiros, Ltd.JSEH. lnc./LHDL. Ltd. Chnpter I TCAAP Framework Plan Page 4