HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-15-97 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE AGENDA
Wednesday, January 15, 1997
8:00 a.m.
Army Reserve Center
4655 North Lexington Avenue
1. Call to Order
2. Oath of Office
3. Election of Vice Chair - 1997
4. Approval of Minutes from December 18, 1996 meeting
5. 1997 Goals
6. Council Comments
• 7. Committee Comments
8. Adj ournment
If you are unable to attend this meeting, then please contact Julie at 633-5676.
CITY OF ARDEN HILLS
• MEMORANDUM
DATE: January 18, 1997
TO: Economic Development Committee
FROM: Kevin Ringwald, Community Development Director
SUBJECT: Oath of Office
The Economic Development Committee will find attached to this memorandum an Oath of
Office form. Please fill out this form and bring it with you to the meeting at which time you will
be sworn in by City Council Liaison Aplikowski for the year of 1997.
•
• STATE OF MINNESOTA
COUNTY OF RAMSEY
CITY OF ARDEN HILLS
I, do solemnly swear that I will support
the Constitution of the United States and the State of Minnesota, and faithfully discharge the
duties of the office of
of the City of Arden Hills in the County of Ramsey and State of Minnesota, to the best of my
judgement and ability. So help me, God.
. Subscribed and sworn to before me this day of , 19
HOME ADDRESS
HOME PHONE NO.
NAME OF BUSINESS
BUSINESS ADDRESS
BUSINESS PHONE NO.
•
MINUTES
CITY OF ARDEN HILLS,MINNESOTA
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1996
8:00 A.M.
ARMY RESERVE CENTER
1. CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 8:07 a.m.
2. ROLL CALL
Present were: Dan McCallum, Chair; Ray McGraw, Vice Chair; Jeanne
Winiecki; Arnold Lindberg; Council Liaison, Beverly Aplikowski; and Kevin
Ringwald, Community Development Director.
Others present were: Tom Steele, Finance Committee Liaison and Julie
Tostenson, Department Secretary.
Absent were: Terry Nagle; Tom Andreason; Tom Goblirsch; Steve Freimuth;
Ted Brausen.
3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Minutes from the November 20, 1996 meeting were approved, following a
motion made by Ray McGraw and seconded by Arnold Lindberg.
4. MARKETING BROCHURE
The Staff informed the EDC that the City Council unanimously approved the
marketing brochure. The council authorized publication of 500 marketing
brochures, not to exceed $5,000.00, including assistance for graphic design
presentation. The Council thanked the Economic Development Committee and
gave a special thanks to Chair McCallum for all the efforts in putting together
the brochure.
It was decided that the brochure should contain at least three (3) letters from
business included in the brochure instead of one(1). Chair McCallum is going
to contact some of the recognizable organizations such as; CPI, Land O'Lakes,
St. Paul Metal Craft etc., to see if he could obtain a letter from these businesses
to include in the brochure. Mr. Ringwald is going to contact the businesses
whose photographs are used in the brochure to make sure that the use of the
photographs are approved by those companies. When all the necessary
corrections are made the brochure will then go to a graphic design consultant
• where they will review and put into sort order. The pages of the brochure may
change once the information is sorted in the appropriate spaces, this may affect
the original bid of the printer, if so new bids may be warranted.
A
Jeanne Winiecki made a motion to approve the marketing brochure with the
necessary corrections and to send the brochure to a graphic design consultant to
review and put in sort order Ray McGraw seconded the motion. Motion carried
4-0.
5. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE - 1997 DIRECTION
The Council is in the process of evaluating each of the Committees and working
on re-structuring the existing Committees into Commissions, Committees, or
Task Forces. The Council is also considering creating additional task forces to
work on other items. The City will be hosting a Town Hall meeting on
Saturday, January 25 at Bethel College.
The EDC discussed at length where they would like to see the Committee's
direction going in 1997. The EDC discussed on how members would have
specific issue(s)to work on and could concentrate on that one area. It was
discussed that the EDC may wish to split up into several work groups to work on
implementing the 1997 goals, rather than the entire EDC working on these tasks.
It was discussed that more tasks will get accomplished in this manner and that
the members who would like to work on certain issues could work in separate
groups.
The next issue that was brought up was what role does Council and Staff play
with the Committee. It was stated that is an important area that needs 0
clarification. The Committee members seem to have put in a lot of time and
dedication into the issues of concern.
It was stated that when residents who express concern on issues pertaining to the
City, the staff, committee member etc. should try and recruit the resident to
serve on one of the Committees.
Another suggestion was to have Council designate a task to the Committee, and
staff will obtain the information necessary. Then the Committee can decide
their own task forces.
The EDC requested additional information on several items, such as: building
permits; new development; housing; business retention etc., so the Committee
can work on new tasks. The EDC, Staff and Council need to work on how they
can improve the lines of communication between them so that they all may work
more effectively.
It was suggested that at the January of 1997 EDC meeting, that the EDC make a
list of the direction and tasks that the Committee would like to work on 1997,
and provide the list to the Council for consideration. The list should be
presented to the Council before the January 25, 1997 Town Hall meeting, so the •
Council is prepared for discussion at the Town Hall meeting and can designate
certain task to work on.
6. COUNCIL COMMENTS
Council Liaison Aplikowski stated that there would be a Town Hall meeting on
Saturday, January 25 at 9:00 a.m. at Bethel College.
Ms. Aplikowski commented on one of the issues that would be discussed at the
Town Hall meeting was the Committee's re-structuring and the EDC could take
part in that discussion if they had any comments.
7. COMMITTEE COMMENTS
Arnold Lindberg stated that we would not be at the next three (3) EDC meetings.
8. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 9:20 a.m.
.CITY OF ARDEN HILLS
• MEMORANDUM
DATE: January 15, 1997
TO: Economic Development Committee
FROM: Kevin Ringwald, Community Development Director
SUBJECT: 1997 Goals
The EDC at its December 18, 1996 meeting directed Staff to place the discussion of the 1997
Goals as the primary work topic for the January 15, 1997 meeting. The EDC also directed each
member to bring a list of goals to facilitate that discussion.
The 1996 goals as adopted by the EDC were as follows:
1996 Goals
1. Increase Committee Membership.
2. Enhance Business Contacts:
a. Produce a marketing brochure;
• b. Discuss the economic development budget;
C. Establish business retention programs; and
d. Attract, develop, re-develop, and retain business opportunities within the City.
Future Goals
1. Evaluate the participation of the City in the Star City program.
2. Conduct joint meetings with the Planning Commission on topics of mutual interest as
topics should arise.
3. Evaluate the creation of loan/re-development programs.
•
CITY OF ARDEN HILLS
MEMORANDUM
DATE: January 15, 1997
TO: Economic Development Committee
FROM: Kevin Ringwald, Community Development Director
SUBJECT: Monthly Report
1. Cardiac Pacemakers Inc. The City Council on January 2, 1997 authorized the City
Administrator to execute the loan agreement with CPI which is required as part of the
$300,000 grant(forgivable loan) from the State of Minnesota.
CPI received a proposal from Governor Arne Carlson on August 21, 1995 stating that the
City will apply for a$500,000 grant from the State of Minnesota. The City received a
letter from the Governor August 12, 1996 informing the City that it had received a
$300,000 grant from the State of Minnesota to help support the consolidation and
expansion of the CPI facilities in Arden Hills. As a part of this grant, the State required
the City to provide a forgivable loan to CPI. The terms of the forgivable loan are three
• (3) percent for five years with 50 percent of the loan being forgiven on August 12, 1999 if
CPI has retained 540 jobs and has created 70 jobs. The remainder of the loan will be
forgiven on August 12, 2001 if CPI has continued to retain the 540 jobs and 70 jobs
previously created.
The City on January 6, 1997 received an application from CPI to construct an
approximately 40,000 square foot addition(two floors @ 20,000 sq. ft./floor) to one of
their existing buildings (Building E). The building addition will enhance the research and
development potential of CPI. Additionally, CPI currently estimates that the addition
will add 200 new highly paid scientists to their staff. Therefore, Staff is pursuing the
second part of this grant, which is $200,000. Additionally, the Staff will be requesting an
additional $100,000 from the State to offer to CPI as a low interest loan. The repayment
of the loan would provide the City $100,000 to use a revolving loan fund to assist other
business expansions, retentions, or relocations within the City.
2. Gateway Business District. The Staff has been working with Welsh Companies on
Phase I of their Arden Hills Commerce Center. Currently, Staff anticipates that the
construction of Phase will start in February or March of 1997. Additionally, Staff has
been working with Welsh Companies on advancing the Phase II building (approximately
110,000 square feet on the Pentair property) and starting discussions on the Phase III
building (approximately 110,000 square feet on the City and Zafke properties). To that
end, the Staff anticipates that Welsh Companies will submit the Phase II building for
• approval in February of 1997, so that construction can start in April or May of 1997.
Furthermore, by April of 1997, Welsh Companies would like to close on the City and
Zatke parcels so that review approval can be had to allow for construction to occur in
September of 1997. •
Lastly, the City and the developer will be having discussions with Ramsey County
regarding the potential for signalizing the re-aligned intersection of Round Lake Road
and Highway 96.
3. TCAAP. Given, the Holidays nothing meaningful has occurred, related to TCAAP, since
your last TCAAP update.
4. Control Data. The Staff has finalized the documents (ie., Planned Unit Development,
Minor Subdivision, access easements,parking easements, and park dedication) with
Control Data Corporation(CDC) were approved as part of Planning Case 96-05.
Dynamark(via CSM Corporation) will purchase the land and the building (4290
Lexington Avenue North)north of their existing building at 4255 Lexington Avenue
North). The result would provide Dynamark a four building campus (two existing, one
approved unbuilt, and one proposed) on approximately 16 acres of land.
5. Hans Hagen Homes. The Staff has been made aware that Hans Hagen Homes has
accepted a purchase agreement from Food-n-Fuel for their site at the southeast corner of
Cleveland Avenue and County Road E-2.
The Staff met with representatives of Food-n-Fuel (Edward J. Bird, Executive Vice •
President) on Tuesday, January 7, 1997 to discuss their potential use of the site. The
representatives of Food-n-Fuel stated that they would hope to use the site for a 2,400
square foot Gas/Convenience Store (automobile service station) with an attached car
wash and four gasoline pumping islands. The property would require approval of a
rezoning and a special use permit.
6. Building Permit Activity (November of 1996). The City in November of 1996 issued
ten residential remodeling or additions permits which had a total value of$154,820.60
and had an average value of$15,482.06. The City in November of 1996 issued three
commercial remodeling or additions permits which had a total value of$153,000.00 and
had an average value of$51,000.00.
The first commercial permit (# 5585) involved a$15,000 interior remodel (adding
interior office space for tenant improvements) at the Saint Paul Properties building at
3711 Lexington Avenue to facilitate the relocation of the Kovex Corporation into the
building. The second commercial permit(# 5586) involved a$125,000 interior remodel
(remodel laboratory rooms) at the Land O' Lakes complex at 4001 Lexington Avenue.
Lastly, the third commercial permit (# 5588) involved a$12,600 interior remodel (adding
office space) at the Saint Paul Metalcraft building at 3737 Lexington Avenue.
•
7. Building Permit Activity (December of 1996). The City in December of 1996 issued
• two residential remodeling or additions permits which had a total value of$ 10,519.00
and had an average value of$5,259.50. The City in December of 1996 issued three
commercial remodeling or additions permits which had a total value of$43,901.00 and
had an average value of$14,633.67.
The first commercial permit(# 5593) involved a$5,500 interior remodel (relocate office
wall) at Shannon Square at 3673 Lexington Avenue. The second commercial permit(#
5595) involved a$8,401 roof repair at the Office building at 1306 County Road F.
Lastly, the third commercial permit (# 5596) involved a$30,000 interior remodel (tenant
improvements) at the Northwood Office Center at 3900 Northwoods Drive to facilitate
the relocation of Burke and Associates into the building.
8. Sign Permits (November of 1996). The City in November of 1996 issued two sign
permits. The first sign permit (# 96-21)was for Office Machines Sales& Service (New
& Used Office Furniture & Systems) at 3771 Lexington Avenue. The second sign permit
(# 96-22) was to the Friends of Bethel (Christmas Tree Sales) at 3900 Bethel Drive.
9. Sign Permits (December of 1996). The City in December of 1996 issued no sign
permits.
10. Building Permit Activity (1996 Activity Summary). Attached to this memorandum the
• EDC will find Exhibit A which the 1996 construction activity report for the City.
11. Land O' Lakes Agree to Merger. The January 7, 1997 edition of the Saint Paul Pioneer
Press contains an article written by Lee Egerstrom which discusses the merger of Land O'
Lakes and Atlantic Diary Cooperative (Exhibit B).
12. Farm Scene Decorates Land O' Lakes Trucks. The December 25, 1996 edition of the
Bulletin contains an article which displays Land O' Lakes' new delivery trucks which
carry the new"Good Things From The Land" logo and farm scene (Exhibit Q.
13. Bills Keep Church's Doors Closed. The January 2, 1997 edition of the Saint Paul
Pioneer Press contains an article written by Clark Morphew which discusses the financing
difficulties currently being experienced by the congregation of the St. Katherine's
Ukrainian Orthodox church. Also, included is an article from the January 8, 1997 edition
of the Saint Paul Pioneer Press on the Parishioners await answer($)to their prayers
(Exhibit D).
14. 50 Full-Time Positions Lost in St. Paul Book Closings. The December 19, 1997
edition of the Saint Paul Pioneer Press contains an article written by Jim McCartney
which discusses the modification of operations at Saint Paul Book& Stationery(Exhibit
E).
•
15. Costing out the Smokestack Chase. The December of 1996 edition of Governing as
published by the Congressional Quarterly contains an article written by William Fulton
which discusses accountability in corporate welfare as it relates to economic development •
(Exhibit F).
16. Where We're Going and State Scoreboard. The December of 1996 edition of
Governing as published by the Congressional Quarterly contains two graphics. The first
graphic "Where We're Going" looks at national population growth. The second graphic
"State Scoreboard" ranks the various national tax burden by state (Exhibit G).
•
•
AP+16/r A
3
CITY OF ARDEN HILLS
• MEMORANDUM
DATE: January 6, 1997
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: David W. Kriesel, Building Official
SUBJECT: 1996 Construction Activity Report
A total of 267 (236) building and 143 (115) plumbing, sewer, signage and water permits were
issued last year. The estimated valuation of all construction was $18,036,698. ($19,809,950.).
Building = $17,350,447.82 and other= $686,251.00.
NOTE: Number in parentheses is the corresponding number of previous year.
Total permit fees collected amounted to $209,004.63.
Building permit fees collected amounted to $196,314.70 ($173,146.17).
Other permit fees collected amounted to $12,689.93 ($8,900.51).
Contractor Licensing and verification amounted to $1,300.00.
The breakdown is as follows:
• 1. SINGLE FAMILY DWELLINGS - 15 (7). Valuation $3,391,981.24.
Average valuation $226,132.08.
AVERAGE VALUATION IN PREVIOUS YEARS:
1995 - 306,978 1988 - 193,681
1994 - 209,678 1987 - 160,681
1993 - 240,987 1986 - 147,965
1992 - 234,327 1985 - 135,380
1991 - 161,724 1984 - 122,825
1990 - 179,350 1983 - 128,952
1989 - 148,350 1982 - 121,560
2. TOWNHOMES - 4 (0)
3. ADDITIONS AND REMODELING- 167 (120)
4. ACCESSORY STRUCTURES - 14 (11)
5. FENCES - 7 (7)
�3
1996 Construction Activity Report
7. DEMOLITION - 1 (2) •
8. SWINP41NG POOLS - 2 (1)
9. DRIVEWAYS - 8 (10)
10. EXCAVATING- 2 (3)
11. MOVING PERMITS - 3 (0)
12. COMMERCIAL/ INDUSTRIAL
1300 Red Fox Road $ 2,552,509
1900 WCRF 139,000
3900 Bethel Drive 244,260
1201 WCRE 2,000
3585 Lexington Avenue 126,500
4100 Hamline Avenue 800,000
3585 Lexington Avenue 139,378
3775 Dunlap Street 15,000
4105 Lexington Avenue 7,500
4001 Lexington Avenue 18,000
4100 Hamline Avenue 250,000 •
4382 Round Lake Road 2,000
3585 Lexington Avenue 20,000
1170 Grey Fox Road 24,000
3757 Dunlap Street 10,000
4100 Hamline Avenue 140,000
3774 Dunlap Street 9,100
3900 Bethel Drive 154,000
4005 Lexington Avenue 729,111
3673.Lexington Avenue 6,000
4480 Round Lake Road 270,000
4100 Hamline Avenue 210,000
3900 Northwoods Drive 250,000
3585 Lexington Avenue 15,000
4100 Hamline Avenue 250,000
4100 Hamline Avenue 500,000
5420 I35W 51,000
4211 Lexington Avenue 56,000
4105 Lexington Avenue 100,000
4100 Hamline Avenue 500,000
3711 Lexington Avenue 15,000
•
315
1996 Construction Activity Report
• 4001 Lexington Avenue 125,000
3737 Lexington Avenue 13,000
3673 Lexington Avenue 5,500
3900 Northwoods Drive 30,000
1900 WCRI 587,040
3585 Lexington Avenue 266,000
4201 Lexington Avenue 1,046,788
3585 Lexington Avenue 184,514
3551 Lexington Avenue 114,203
1315 Red Fox Road 2,500
4001 Lexington Avenue 70,000
1900 WCRI 88,500
1220 Red Fox Road 40,000
•
•
SAINT PAUL PIONEER PRESS SS
7TH
SECTIO
JANUARY 1997
6 PAGE
TUESDAY
BUSINE
INSIDE BUSINESS
COOPERATIVES
V
Land O'Lakes agrees to merger
LEE EGERSTROM STAFF WRITER dairy foods each year, said Terry O'Lakes at a plant near Carlisle,
• Nagle, spokesman for Land Pa.
O'Lakes at its Arden Hills head- At the same time, Atlantic com-
and O'Lakes has agreed to quarters. etes with Land O'Lakes in some
merge witth h one of its largest dairy That would be slightly more East Coast dairy markets. The
cooperative members, Atlantic dairy food sales than reported by merger would bring Atlantic in as
Dairy Cooperative, of ent that the AMPI cooperative based at an integral part of Land O'Lakes,
ton, df in t agreement that San Antonio, Tex., but less than Nagle said.
would form the nation's third larg- the food processing and manufac- g
est dairy food processing compa- the f revenues of and man.uf Land O'Lakes is owned by 3,800
ny. Dairymen, a Springfield, Mo., co- dairy producers and by 1,000
Members of Land the merger will operative,and Kraft Foods. member cooperatives in a 19-state
be asked to approve the merger in region,primarily in the Upper
February. Atlantic's members are Atlantic is owned by 3,600 dairy Midwest and Pacific Northwest.
expected to vote on the deal in farmers in the Middle Atlantic re- John Gherty, president and chief
March. gion. It is a cooperative member executive officer, said the merger
Combined, the two companies of Land O'Lakes, which processes would make Land O'Lakes a na-
will process about $2.1 billion in butter and products for Land tional organization.
•
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A L I L L I E SUBURBAN NEWSPAPER /
•
DULLITI
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Volume 22, Number 9 Wednesday, December 25, 1996 SVB
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Dave Schwain,a representative of Land O Lakes,uses a bottle of milk to christen the first of more
than 100 Land O Lakes trucks that will carry the new"Good Things From The Land"logo and farm
scene.
Farm scene decorates Land O Lakes trucks
Land O Lakes has christened its new truck design,a who held the honor of being elected to the prestigious
custom-commissioned watercolor scene of a traditional American Watercolor Society as an active member.
Midwestern farm by Roger Lundquist.The scene will According to Terry Nagle,Land O Lakes spokes-
be featured on more than 100 of the company's trucks person,the farm scene represents the company's
that travel throughout the region,delivering dairy commitment to agriculture as well as Land O Lakes'
products to retail stores.The scene is accompanied by strong Midwestern roots."We wanted to capture the
Land O Lakes Fluid Dairy Division's new tagline, beauty of the countryside,and honor the contribution
"Good Tbings From The Land." that farmers make to our economy and our quality of
The christening was held in October in the parking fife,"said Nagle,who adds that the scene also captures
lot of Land O Ickes headquarters in Arden Ilills. the fresh,wholesome purity of Land O Lakes'dairy
Lundquist,a renowned water-colorist and a native products.
• MinnesoLan who lives in Minneapolis,signed the first land O Lakes is a Minnesota-based food and agri-
truck to feature his pttining at the Oct.8 celebration. cultural cooperative,owned by farmers,ranchers and
Lundquist originally painted the farm scene for a Land local cooperatives in 19 states.It provides agriculture
O I akes advertisement,and it was so well received by inputs to 1,000 community cooperatives,supplying
I aid O Lakes employees and customers that it now 300,.000 farmers.It serves more than 9,000 direct
graces much of the company's stationery,holiday cards, producer members and it manu-factures and markets a
frwme,d prints for employees and customers,and fleet wide range of ftxxl products throughout the U.S.
trucks.Lundquist is one of only two Minnesota artists
.fn SAIN'r PAUL PIONEER PRESSZ�19/T P '
wr;
02ND F
JANUARY 1997 SECTION
THURSDAY 6 PAGES
Bills kee p church's doors closed
■ Rising construction resulting from the long planning money. But our congregation has a
COStS caught and construction timetable, the lot of people on Social Security.
140-member congregation doesn't We have a small congregation."
parish unaware have the extra funds to complete The new church building will
payments to the contractor and seat 250, about five times the
CLARK MORPHEW STAFF WRITER subcontractors. number who normally attend wor-
As a result, the completion of ship. It also has a large space for
Abrand-new $3 million church the church and its opening date weddings and other gatherings.
in Arden Hills is standing empty are still up in the air, according to Each year, the congregation
because the congregation cannot its pastor, the Rev. Gregory Pod- holds festivals at Christmas and
find $550,000 to pay off the last hurec. The congregation had hoped Easter featuring ethnic foods and
bills. to be in the church in December. crafts, such as Ukrainian Easter
• St. Katherine's Ukrainian Ortho- "We will open as soon as the eggs. That's one of the ways the
dox Church, known as Sts. bank gives us the money," Pod- congregation raises money.
Volodymyr and Olga Ukrainian hurec said. "In my opinion, a cou- The trouble is, they can't get
Orthodox when it was located in ple of weeks, maybe a month. I'm into the new kitchen until they pay
St. Paul, has spent five years and not sure." the last bills, church leaders say.
almost $2.5 million to build the "We try to raise the money or "The contractor keeps the key in
five-domed worship and fellowship borrow from the bank," said his pocket," Paczkowski said.
space just off Minnesota 96. parishioner Alexander Paczkowski, "When we pay him, he will open
But because of price increases "but they want to have co-signers
— five or six people with a lot of CHURCH CONTINUED ON 66 P.
CHURCH $1 million, but price increases
raised the cost considerably.
The congregation "planned five
V CONTINUED FROM 1B years ago and waited too long, and
everything went up," Podhurec
and let us in. As soon as we can said. "That is the problem."
use the kitchen, we could raise Over the years as its numbers
some money." dwindled. the church tried to unite
The church building project was with other area Ukrainian congre-
started by two sisters, Vera Tan- gations, but to no avail. Now that
asichuk and Neonilla Maeser, who St. Katherine's has an opportunity
gave the congregation more than for growth and new life, the debt
$1.5 million to buy land and begin stands as a massive barrier to the
construction. Their only, stipula- future.
tion was that the building and "«'e tried to talk to our credi-
grounds be handicapped-accessible tors." Paczkowski said. "You look
so their mother, longtime parishio- across the parking lot and the
ner Katherine Zaslayetz. could at- church is finished outside but in-
tend worship. side it's not. I don't know what
• The congregation raised another vital happen. i
z •
SAINT PAUL PIONEER PRESS
8 TH NQ •
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1 — SECTION
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Father Grego-
Parishioners
ry Podhurec,
assisted by
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it await answer
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ducts Christ- i P � [R��M � t
mas Day ser-
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basement of T---—
the rectory 01
of Sts. '
Voiodymyr ong on faith,but short on cash,a tiny Ukrainian Ortho-
and Olga L dox congregation observed Christmas on Tuesday in a
Ukrainian paneled basement chapel next door to the magnificent
Orthodox Arden Hills church they built but can't yet call their own:
Church.The The 70 members of Sts.Volodymr and Olga Ukrainian
service was ' Orthodox Church are locked out of the
In the rectory BY CYNTHIA $2.5 mullion Byzantine-baroque structure
because the they'll name St.Katherine's—once
contractor is t BOYD they find another$550,000 to finish
keeping paying building costs.
doors to a WAIT COLUhINIST The empty, 15,000-square-foot new
new church church sits along Highway 96,a striking
locked until PIONEER PRESS PHOTOS BY CRAIG BORCK structure with five copper-domed cupolas:a sanctuary,a
he is paid. connecting passageway and a great hall for parish func-
tions.It's a symbol,the parishioners say,of prayer not
RIGHT:An untrimmed tree stands in the ark- •
p yet answered.
ing lot of the Russian Orthodox Church under "It's hard to see the building standing there and we are
construction in Arden Hills,Minn.The parish is not in the building,but we have hope,"said Carla Ryan,
short about$550,000 to complete construction, a Woodbury woman who brought her two young sons to
so the contractor has locked the doors until he services to mark the Eastern Orthodox Christmas.Christ-
Is paid.Parishioners held Christmas Eve services
Monday In the basement rectory.
CHURCH CONTINUED ON 3D
• � 3�3
CHURCH Lord will help said the Rev.
Gregory Podhurecec, the priest who
has led this parish for only a year.
V CONTINUED Face, I He comes from a Washington,
D.C., parish that did what these
mas is Christmas, no matter folks hope to.
where you are, she said. There are other hopeful signs.
The Ryans took their places on Since the church's plight has be-
folding metal chairs in a candle come public, several banks are of-
lighted room. They sat among a fering to help, at lower interest
flock of 50 faithful — many with rates.
graying hair and decidedly Ukrai- Now, what's needed are more
nian accents. loan guarantors, like Katherine
Here, icons of the Virgin Mary Buhajenko, whose late husband
and Infant Jesus hang on the walls was a fervent believer in the
and incense floats in the air. Red building project. ` I feel my hus
and white poinsiettas surround an band's spirit is still helping us,"
altar draped with gold and white she said.
cloths. A small choir sings the lit- Dick Naughton, owner of James
urgy. The priest, dressed in hand- Steele Construction Co., which
embroidered robes, leads a 90- built the church, has faith, too. "I
minute service of prayer, praise have all the confidence in the
and Holy Communion mostly in world in these people. They're
Ukrainian, but also some English. wonderful. I trust them. I i.ust
After services, there is talk of hope they pay us soon."
• the problems that have barred the When a loan is negotiated and
congregation from the new facili- builder paid, church members will
ty. "It's so sad and painful. The open the facility for banquets and
church is there and we can't come wedding feasts to pay off the loan.
in," said parishioner Vera Tanasi- "I think everything will be fine,
chuk, who gave mightily to make but this canyon we must jump,"
the small congregation's dream Podhurec said, sitting down to a
possible. traditional Christmas dinner of
She and others want to preserva borscht, turkey, pickled herring
the Ukrainian language and reli- and fruit soup.
gion. They hoped the new church
would lead to a merger of the
three Ukrainian Orthodox church-
es in the Twin Cities, but it hasn't.
The merger would have brought
more money. Besides that, some
monetary pledges weren't paid.
The problem is, said Oksana
Bryn, who comes to worship from
Minneapolis, "The heart is there,
but the pocket is not," at least yet.
But there is faith. "The good
•
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ACOutSITIONS
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50 full-time positions lost in St. Paul Book closings
JIM McCARTNEV 57 4F v;a'-Ea ees will be affected by the store closings. store closings.
which are expected to occur late next "In most normal acquisitions.the name
S��++ month. All will be eligible to apply for converts to Corporate Express.' Holm• Corporcrie
t. Paul Book S Stationer. one o[ the other job openings at the company,but it Strom said "Since St. Paul Book is an
oldest companies in St. Paul. plans to is unclear how mam' matches might be old, established name. there will be a
close six of its seven retail outlets in the made,said Tom Holmstrom, president of longer transition.'* E pR�SS
Twin Cities.and eventually plans to drop the company. Corporate Express. a fast-growing sup-
its name in favor of its new corporate Holmstrom did not have an estimate plier of office products and services
parent—Corporate Express. on the number of pan-time and seasonal
About 50 full-time. permanent employ- workers who also will be affected by the CLOSINGS= c'.2E
CLOSINGS Holmstrom said.
"Retailing has been the most
visible side of St. Paul Book — our
V CONTINUED FROM I E commercial business has been a
well-kept secret," Holmstrom
said.
based in Broomfield, Colo., essen- Corporate Express bought the
tially wants to focus on schools 145-year-old St. Paul Book & Sta-
• and commercial clients in the Up- tionery last month from Mankato
per Midwest market. businessman Glen Taylor, who
But Holmstrom acknowledged bought the company in 1990. Be-
that the retail office supply busi- sides his printing and banking
ness faces a very tough competi- businesses, Taylor also is the own-
tive climate with the rapid growth er of the Minnesota Timberwolves
of such category killers as Office professional basketball team.
Depot and Office Max. Corporate Express has more
Corporate Express typically en- than 700 locations, including 100
ters new markets through acquisi- distribution centers, and 22,000
tions and grabs market share employees. It has more than dou-
through aggressive price cutting, bled in size through acquisitions in
according to analysts. That can be the United States, Europe, Austra-
good news for customers, but lia and New Zealand in the last
promises a changing environment year.
for Twin Cities suppliers. The company was spun off from
Unaffected by the closing will OfficeMax Inc. in a public stock
be St. Paul Book & Stationery's offering in March 1995, and it
corporate store in Arden Hills and bought back OfficeMax's shares in
its 10 locations in outstate Minne- September 1995.
sota, Iowa and Wisconsin. Those The office supply industry has
locations fit the Corporate Ex- undergone rapid consolidation,
press' commercial emphasis by with the number of dealers
serving commercial clients as well shrinking to 6,000 today from
as walk-in traffic in those areas. 12.000 a decade ago.
The remaining locations also face Other big competitors in the
less competition from the catego- corporate office-supply industry
ry killers. are also rapidly expanding
While retail sales accounted for through acquisition. Besides Cor-
nearly half of St. Paul Book & porate Express, the key plavers
Stationery's business five years are Boise Cascade Office Products
• ago, it now accounts for about 10 Corp., BT Office Products Interna-
percent of the total revenues, tional and U.S. Office Products.
_:.
. r
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
WILLIAM FULTON
Costing Out the
-
Smokestack Chase
hen Don Jakeway took over as have set up blue-ribbon commissions to what they're up to for the first time.This,
Ohio's economic development examine the effectiveness of economic in turn, has led to a sharpening of pro-
director six years ago, he development programs. gram goals and objectives. For example,
decided that just pulling in companies The accountability trend is driven economist Timothy Bartik of the Upjohn
and holding press conferences wasn't partly by conservative state legislators, Institute in Michigan argues that most
enough. Working for Republican Gover- whose small-government ideology is taus- economic development programs simply
nor George V. Voinovich, Jakeway ing them to question something that looks don't pay for themselves in increased tax
wanted to make the whole system more suspiciously like left-wing"industrial pol- receipts. But they still can be worthwhile
accountable—so that the state could icy."And in part, it's driven by the need, investments if they bring in jobs and
measure success more readily, and make resulting from ever-tighter fiscal condi- improve the general economic health of
sure that the companies were rewarded tions,to reassess government spending of the region or state. "Too many people
for doing the right thing,not for threaten- all types. Hence, economic development still think of economic development as a
ing to move out of the state. programs—long accepted as a political fiscal game, not an employment game,"
Today, Jakeway presides over an necessity,at the very least—are under the he says. With more accountability, the
unusual employment tax credit program microscope for the first time. fiscal argument is likely to be "shaken
• that is nothing if not accountable. The All this is a big change from how eco- out"of the program's goals if it's bogus—
credit on state income taxes is not fixed;it nomic development has worked histori- and then politicians can debate the pros
varies depending on the type and pay tally—especially big-time economic and cons of the program based on its
scale of the job, as well as the socioeco- development, in which mayors and gov- impact on the labor market.
nomic profile of the worker. Jakeway ernors have played a game of high-stakes Of course, accountability—or, at least,
works ,vith the state's income tax collet- poker with company CEOs. In that envi- supposedly objective measurement of
tors to double-check company reporting. ronment, all that mattered was the num- success—may not really be all it's
And instead of up-front subsidies,compa- ber of jobs that got into the headline; the cracked up to be.Many experts are suspi-
nies get tax credits only for those new pressure has been on politicians and eco- cious of the numbers companies report.
jobs they actually create. "If you don't nomic developers to push the numbers as "Only the company knows how much[of
create a job," Jakeway says, "you don't high as possible, no matter how much a tax break] is enough,"says Schvyeke. If
get the incentive." truth was in them. "In general, they go a state official asks a company CEO if the
The Ohio program is just one example after everything that flies,"quips William tax break from the governor helped keep
of the latest trend in economic develop- Schweke,program director at the Corpo- the company in the state—well, how
ment programs around the country. It's ration for Enterprise Development, "and many CEOs are going to say no?
not enough anymore for the governor to claim everything that lands." And there's no question that some-
hold a photo op at the site of the new fac- The accountability trend has forced a times politicians don't really -want to
tory and say that a thousand jobs are lot of economic developers to document know whether the deal they're pursuing
going to be created.Now,both governors is worth it.The accountability trend is lit-
and their economic development direc- tered with discarded data that showed
tors are under pressure to be account- Forcing economic some particular incentive was a loser—
able. They want to prove that the tax but it was chosen because the mayor or
breaks they're giving away actually make developers to be the governor, finger to the political
a difference in company location deci- winds,decided it was a winner.
sions, and to follow up and make sure accountable has led Overall, however, accountability prob-
that the promised jobs are actually ere- ably will bring more political credibility
ated. Indeed, governors in several states to economic development, if only by
................................................................................. to a sharpening of defusing the notion that economic Bevel-
• William Fulton is editor of California Plan- program goals an opers are plaid-jacket giveaway artists
ning & Development Report, a monthly d who will make a deal at any cost. Of
newsletter. His new book, The Reluctant course,accountability might actually help
Metropolis:The Politics of Urban Growth objectives. create better public policy in the eco-
in Los Angeles, will be published early nomic development area as well. But,
next year by Solano Press Books. clearly,that would be a bonus. 0
70 G 0 V E R N t N G December 1996 hair Sundrr photoginph
r4+16t-t G VI
1.1
x 2.2 3.7
T 3.1 ® •
5.1 1.0
12.1 4
1.6 1.1
3.2 1.5 3.2 3.1
16.6
2.7
10.1
�g, �° 3.1 3.2
5.9
2.4 3.9
2.3 4.6
10.6 3.5 3.7 7e:;
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1.5 5.8
WA
i
i
Hal Hovey :s- ,State ,Scoreboar
T , AL way to r<uilc state tax burdens is to com-
p�re# tes'ar►d personal income. An alternative is to
measure state and local taxes and fees per worker.It is
a method that is preferred by taxpayer groups in
California because it captures fees that local govern-
tnents use to avoid voter-imposed tax limits•The per-
r er method may,however,distort burdens in stittes
lorida with large numbe rs of retirees, or in
F where 1 lot of people work m other states.
` .s c,V
.' 1 dy
8 17 6
*e
13 10
12
4 A�
15
16
f � m
j State and local taxes and
z ' fees per worker,FY 1993 18
' 0 3 M,,$7.000 or more
u1$6.000 to$6.999
$5.500 to$5,999
d i$5,000 to$5,499
M,
Less than$5,000
Source:California Taxpayers Association
4