Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-10-24 JDAJoint Development Authority Worksession Tuesday, September 10, 2024 Arden Hills City Council Chambers Minutes 5:30 pm Roll Call Joint Development Authority members present: Chair Jon Wicklund, Commissioner Nicole Frethem, Commissioner Tom Fabel, Commissioner Tena Monson Commissioner Victoria Reinhardt was absent Also present: Jessica Jagoe (Arden Hills); Ella Mitchell (Ramsey County), Jenny Boulton (Kennedy & Graven), Commissioner Mary Jo McGuire Roll call taken. Public Input None. Legislative Update Jennifer O’Rourke, Director of Government Relations at Ramsey County, introduced Pierre Willette, Director of Government Relations, and Rachel Sosnowchik, Lobbyist, of Goff Public to provide a recap of the 2024 legislative session and to discuss strategy for the 2025 session. Pierre Willette, Goff Public, introduced himself to the JDA noting he works on behalf Ramsey County, specifically around their bonding priorities which includes Rice Creek Commons. He was of the opinion the 2024 session as very successful even though a bonding bill was not approved. He believed Rice Creek Commons was very well positioned for consideration at the State legislature and had strong support from the authors and other delegates. He indicated the tours of the property were well attended. He discussed what has changed in the bonding world, noting there is fierce competition. He understood it would have been great to receive $25 million in bonding, but he was of the opinion the County was well positioned for consideration. He stated he appreciated the fact that the developer was active at the legislature. Commissioner Fabel asked if there was any prospect for a bonding bill in 2025. Mr. Willette stated there were discussions and he anticipated there were representatives that would want to get this done. Ms. O’Rourke commented after speaking with Senator Pappas she understood Senator Pappas was hopeful an early bonding bill would be considered in 2025. She indicated this would be her top priority in the new year. Commissioner McGuire thanked the Goff Public team for doing a great job on for Ramsey County. She explained she wanted to see this project funded in the coming year and the County had great advocacy working to achieve this. Commissioner Monson asked how Goff and County staff started to make moves in preparation for the coming year. Ms. O’Rourke reported she would be happy to include the JDA and City with updates, noting she could also provide assignments. She discussed how complicated some funding projects were, but she indicated legislators were now very aware of the Rice Creek Commons project. She anticipated Senator Marty and Representative Moller would be the chief authors of a bill for 2025. She stated she did not have a hard time getting co-authors to sign onto the bill in 2024. Commissioner Monson noted the City had spoken to a tournament facility director that was looking for land on TCAAP. She questioned if there was a way to give this project a bump or boost that would be of value. Mr. Willette stated the tournament center would be a great add and he understood cities were competing for these amenities. He stated anything the City and County can do to promote this project would be beneficial. He discussed how well the communications team worked to promote this development. Commissioner Monson asked how well received the energy vision and sustainability goals were within this development. Mr. Willette stated he believed this was really important to a lot of folks. He indicated these aspects certainly give this project a boost or a differentiator. Commissioner Frethem suggested the tournament facility not be brought up at this time because it could confuse the ask. Commissioner McGuire agreed with everything Commissioner Frethem stated. She supported all hands on deck in order to ensure others saw the value of this development. She explained she wanted to be a part of the conversations when it comes to Rice Creek Commons and suggested conversations be held with local business owners, due to the importance of the communities economic base. She commented on how this development would positively impact the economic base for Arden Hills along with the economic base for surrounding communities. Commissioner Monson stated she was looking forward to the next legislative session. Chair Wicklund thanked Ms. O’Rourke, Mr. Willette and Ms. Sosnowchik for attending this meeting and for the information they provided to the JDA. Rice Creek Commons Project Status Update Ms. Mitchell provided an update on the Development Agreement discussions, including an overview of the other agreements that must be drafted alongside the development agreement. She reported the mass grading and the financing gap has been discussed between Alatus, City, and County staff. She questioned how the JDA wanted to handle the agreements going forward. She reviewed the worksheet that had been created and discussed how the agreements being drafted were connected. Commissioner Frethem asked if the agreement connection would require the purchase and sale agreement to have language with contingencies on the other agreements. Jenny Boulton explained there was a document in process that could be approved and signed, but it would state that one of the contingencies to convey the land would be a final agreement on all of the other aspects of the deal. She reported the idea would be to transfer the land for development and this meant the finances, timeline and what the development would look like would have to be addressed before conveying the land. Commissioner Monson wanted to make it clear for the public that the County was working with Alatus on a deal. Ms. Boulton stated this was the idea and this was a step in the process that will involve all of the other aspects. Ms. Mitchell commented the financing solution was part of this and has kicked off the development of the other agreements. Commissioner Fabel commented there was hopefulness in the genuine movement that was taking place. He asked if the numbers have moved closer together for both parties. Ms. Boulton stated there was a structured document that the Ramsey County Attorney was preparing with terms that would be responsive to the LOI that was submitted by Alatus. She indicated there would be some back and forth because the numbers were still in flux. Commissioner Frethem noted the purchase and sale agreement was a legal agreement between Ramsey County and Alatus. She indicated the JDA might not get the details of this negotiation process. She was hopeful that a purchase and sale agreement would be reached by the end of the year. Commissioner McGuire thanked all who were working on this agreement. Chair Wicklund stated he would appreciate seeing this type of document at worksession and regular meetings going forward to assist the JDA with understanding the legal flow of this transaction. Commissioner Monson requested staff run through the worksheet line by line in order to assist her with better understanding the role of the City of Arden Hills. Ms. Mitchell commented further on how all of the agreements were interconnected. Ms. Boulton explained the point of showing this was to allow the JDA to see how interrelated the documents were. She noted the cooperative agreement would be the home for the City’s issues, which included parks, park dedication fees, ongoing maintenance, the use of TIF, etc. Chair Wicklund commented on how important it would be for the City Council to be communicating their concerns or issues to the attorneys so when documents are drafted the concerns of the City of Arden Hills are being considered. Commissioner Monson recommended City staff draft an agenda for a special worksession to allow the City Council to address this matter further. Commissioner Fabel asked where the restrictive covenants would come into this development. Ms. Bolton explained the vertical developers agreement would address this matter. In addition, she noted indicated the declaration of restrictive covenants was related to the conveyance of the property. Road Map Ms. Mitchell reviewed an updated Road Map outlining meetings and tasks that would be completed through the end of 2024. Commissioner Frethem believed it made sense to start creating a Road Map that moves into 2025. Commissioner Monson hoped the JDA could quickly move through what was left in order to identify the big issues to keep the ball rolling in 2025. She suggested there be more discussion surrounding the community engagement efforts regarding the energy goals for this project. She stated if funding was not available for an in person meeting that surveys be considered. Commissioner Fabel expressed concern with the fact the purchase and sale agreement was no longer on the road map. Commissioner Frethem stated the hope was to complete the purchase and sale agreement by the end of the year, but because this was between the County and Alatus it was removed from the JDA Road Map. Chair Wicklund suggested the JDA review the proposed JDA budget for 2025 on October 7, if the was to adopt a budget for 2025 on December 2. Staff noted they could bring this item to the October 7 meeting. Chair Wicklund recommended an annual report be included in Q1 in 2025 within the Road Map. He explained the regular meetings in 2025 for the JDA would be held in January, March, May, July, September, and November and worksession meetings could be held in February, April, June, August, October and December. He noted both meetings are held on the first Monday of the month at 5:30 p.m. Administrative Director’s Report Ms. Mitchell reported work and conversations continue with Alatus and Ryan Companies. She explained the Energy Advisory Committee was hoping to schedule a kickoff LEED for Communities Precertification process in the next couple of weeks. She noted LHB provided her with a first draft of potential sustainability guidelines. Development Director’s Report Director Jagoe explained the conversation with the tournament facility director was not site specific and the City was simply exploring the opportunity on behalf of the region to better understand the need. Commissioner Updates Commissioner McGuire thanked staff for all of their assistance to onboard her and get her up to speed on the status of the Rice Creek Commons development. She stated she was looking forward to being a part of discussions going forward. Chair Wicklund thanked staff for all of their efforts. He asked that for the October meeting that staff have a conversation with Goff in order to draft a recommended strategy for communication going forward. Adjournment Meeting adjourned at 6:33 pm. Approved _____________________________________ _______________________ Jon Wicklund, Chair Date 9/10/24