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Joint Development Authority Work Session <br />Monday, December 1, 2025 <br />Arden Hills City Council Chambers <br />Minutes <br />5:30 pm <br />Roll Call <br />Joint Development Authority: Chair Jon Wicklund, Commissioner Tara Jebens-Singh, <br />Commissioner Kurt Weber, Commissioner Kelly Miller, Commissioner Tena Monson <br />Also present: Jessica Jagoe (Arden Hills); Ella Mitchell (Ramsey County) <br />Roll call taken. <br />Public Input <br />Lyle Salmela, 1480 Arden Vista Court, commented on the Building 116 study. He noted the <br />Army has done a good job removing contamination from the BGRS. He indicated studies do not <br />improve the remediation system, but rather delay the project one to two years. In order to get <br />the economic tax benefits from the Big Beautiful Bill passed in 2025, the spine road needs to be <br />built in 2026 and Rice Creek Commons from 2027 to 2030. He said this law could save the <br />development of Rice Creek Commons. <br />New Business <br />a. Discuss Building 116 <br />Director Mitchell stated Building 116 was constructed by the U.S. Army in 1942 as a water <br />treatment facility for the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant (TCAAP) operations. The facility is <br />located on property now owned by Ramsey County, but the building and related equipment is <br />owned, operated, and maintained by the Army. <br />Director Mitchell reported in 1987, under the Superfund law (CERCLA – Comprehensive <br />Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act), the EPA and MPCA implemented <br />requirements to investigate and conduct appropriate remedial action at TCAAP due to the <br />possibility of contamination at the site. The Army, as responsible party, was required to treat <br />the contaminated groundwater in the underlying and adjacent aquifer and installed a <br />remediation system on-site, known as the TCAAP Groundwater Recovery System (TGRS), to do <br />so. The TGRS is composed of multiple components: primarily wells, piping, and remediation <br />treatment technology. Extraction wells on the property pump contaminated groundwater <br />through a network of underground pipes to the air stripper system located in Building 116. <br />Once the water is treated (contaminants of concern removed), it is pumped and discharged to a