HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-13-09-TCAAP WS �i . EN�HILLS
Approved: August 31, 2009
CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA
CITY COUNCIL TCAAP WORK SESSION MEETING
JULY 139 2009
5:00 P.M. - ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS
CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, Mayor Stan Harpstead called to order
the City Council Work Session meeting at 5:00 p.m.
Present: Mayor Stan Harpstead; Council Members David Grant, Brenda
Holden, Fran Holmes, and Dave McClung (arrived at 5:06
P.M.).
Absent: None.
Also present: City Administrator Ron Moorse; Finance Director Susan
Iverson; and via telephone Attorney Mike Comodeca.
1. AGENDA ITEMS
A. Preparation for Army-GSA Meeting
City Administrator Moorse presented the City Council with information to
prepare the Council for the meeting with the Army-GSA on July 15, 2009. He
explained that Kevin Legare, GSA and John Dugan, GSA would be in attendance
at the meeting along with Mike Fix representing the Army. City Administrator
Moorse noted that Bill Harper would not be attending the meeting and further
explained who would be in attendance.
City Administrator Moorse further discussed the cleanup and reuse of the
property. He indicated Kevin Legare would be responsible for the public sale and
auction of the property. City Administrator Moorse noted it was important to the
ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL TCAAP WORK SESSION-JULY 13, 2009 2
Councilmember Holden questioned if the City has received any invites for bid to
see how the public auctions have been handled in the past.
City Administrator Moorse noted he has not received any information to date, but
that he has spoken with Kevin Legare about this topic requesting the bid
information.
Councilmember Grant agreed that it would benefit the Council to review the
bidding process information as this would differ from the negotiated sale process.
City Attorney Comodeca reviewed some information that he forwarded to the -
Council about a previous sale the GSA had completed in Strafford, Connecticut.
He explained that the early transfer of the property would need assurances that it
would be cleaned up which could be secured through a performance bond or a
signed clean up agreement.
Discussion ensued regarding the early transfer of the property and the public
auction.
Councilmember Holmes asked how the FOSET would be dealt with on the site.
City Attorney Comodeca indicated the FOSET would take time to put together on
the Army's part, and involved 22 sites on the property. He felt the trouble would
be more with the cleanup itself and the involvement needed from the EPA and
MPCA.
Councilmember Holden questioned how the transportation and access to this site
may affect the sale.
City Attorney Comodeco stated this information would be passed along to the
bidders but that it would be their problem to solve.
Mayor Harpstead indicated the GSA was interested in hearing the City's concerns
about the property. The cleanup, transportation and infrastructure concerns should
be brought to their attention.
ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL TCAAP WORK SESSION-JULY 13, 2009 3
Councilmember Holden suggested that the GSA's proposal be brought to the
City's attention as well.
Attorney Comodeca indicated the wildlife corridor would need to be addressed to
assure that it remains even after the public sale. He stated that the transfer of the
land would need to be discussed in detail to see if it would be in one or two pieces.
Attorney Comodeco explained that if the land were to be transferred in several
pieces the sale required special legislation from the State of Minnesota.
Mayor Harpstead stated the transfer of pieces should be questioned to see how
the parcel would be sold or conveyed. He explained that another question would
be what the land would be used for.
Attorney Comodeco indicated a timeline for the sale would be great information
to provide the City with.
Councilmember Holden stated she would also like to know what they are hoping
to get out of the public auction and what potential uses does the City foresee on
this site. She suggested the Council begin looking at the zoning of this site.
Councilmember Holmes indicated the City would be making no assurances of TIF
for roads or infrastructure. She stated the City had no obligation to the bidder
under a public auction.
Mayor Harpstead questioned if the Council would be presenting their resolution
to the Army-GSA, with regard to what the City would like to see on the site.
Councilmember Holmes felt there did not have to be anything formal in
presenting the City's resolution, but that the City could make the Army-GSA aware
of their wishes for the site.
Councilmember Holden indicated the Army wants to do "what the community
wants". She questioned if the public auction would write into the sale that the
property had to be cleaned immediately or if the bidder could sit on it for 25 years.
Attorney Comodeco stated he would need to further investigate this as he has seen
a boilerplate agreement with a cleanup schedule that is part of the bid package. He
ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL TCAAP WORK SESSION-NLY 13, 2009 4
explained that this information would go to the EPA as well, to assure that the
superfund site would be cleaned up.
Attorney Comodeco indicated it would take a huge pot of money to clean this site
up in order for it to become a park as there would be no money coming out of the
site. He explained that the wildlife corridor would continue to be a concern and
that Bill Harper would be present to address this issue.
Councilmember Holmes explained it would cost $80 million to do the road
improvements, required for development, and these funds could instead be used to
cleanup the property. She noted that these numbers should be taken into
consideration with the bidding process and was a lot of money that could be used
to build parkland. Councilmember Holmes explained that wind energy could be
used on the site to raise funds as well.
Mayor Harpstead asked if the Council was willing to transfer the property in
parcels, if in four separate parcels.
Councilmember Holden stated this would depend on the parcels, zoning and the
level of details, but that she was not in favor of this suggestion at this time as it
would put the City at a disadvantage.
Councilmember Grant indicated he would like to discuss this further and that he
wasn't opposed to parceling out the property.
Councilmember Holmes explained that the City may not have much control over
the parceling of this property. Everything North of County Road H may be
parceled out separately from the public sale.
Councilmember McClung stated he had nothing further to add.
Mayor Harpstead noted that he would be willing to consider parcels if this did
arise from the public sale.
City Administrator Moorse stated he would like to further discuss with the Army-
GSA what the City's role would be in the public sale process, in the bidder's
conference, etc. He indicated the proposed uses for this site should be discussed
ARDEN HILLS CITY COiJNCIL TCAAP WORK SESSION-JULY 13, 2009 5
along with the need for a bidder to provide funding for any infrastructure needs
they may have.
Councilmember Holden expressed concern that the Army-GSA has not supplied
the City with examples of invitations for bid. She indicated she would like to see
this process remain community friendly and that they would have to do a lot of
convincing to see what they have done positively for other communities.
Further discussion ensued regarding the land cost with respect to the potential site
specific cleanup costs to the industrial standards.
Mayor Harpstead expressed concern on the City's role through the bidder's
conference process. He stated he would like to see the City address the
transportation and access concerns along with the infrastructure to support the use.
Mayor Harpstead felt the buildings on this site should be removed as well.
Mayor Harpstead questioned who would be working the agenda at the meeting on
Wednesday.
Councilmember Holden felt the Army-GSA should take the lead.
Mayor Harpstead indicated he felt it was a mutual meeting.
Attorney Comodeco suggested the Army-GSA's agenda be combined with the
City and that this be run through the City Administrator's office.
City Administrator Moorse questioned what key items should be on the agenda
for discussion at Wednesdays meeting. He suggested the public auction process
and timeline be discussed along with the role the City can play.
Councilmember Holden stated she would like to discuss how a public auction has
helped other communities through the sale of land.
Attorney Comodeco indicated the resolution for special legislation should be
brought to their attention.
City Administrator Moorse indicated the City should lay out for the Army-GSA
the wants of the City for the site with respect to the special legislation. He
MR-DEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL TCAAP WORK SESSION-JULY 13, 2009 6
questioned how the City would propose to fund the purchase and cleanup of the
site if conveyed to public parkland.
City Attorney Comodeco agreed stating the Army-GSA would need to be aware
of the funding sources if the property were to have special legislation brought in on
the transfer.
Councilmember Holmes stated there were funding sources available through the
Natural ResourceDamage Assessment through the MPCA that the City could be
involved with. She noted the Heritage Funds from the State was another option.
Councilmember Holmes explained it would be good to know the Army-GSA's
vision for the public sale, special legislation and what their timeline for this process
would be.
City Attorney Comodeco indicated the transfer mechanism should be discussed
and if this would be solely a public sale or if special legislation would be involved.
He felt the City should be involved with the bidding process before the bidder's
conference as well
Mayor Harpstead questioned if comments from Representative McCollum should
be gathered before the meeting.
Councilmember Holmes stated this would benefit the discussion.
Councilmember Holden expressed concerns with the Army-GSA's inability to
provide information to the City upon request. She stated this has been a concern
for quite some time and hoped that the communication level between the parties
would increase going forward.
Mayor Harpstead indicated he would hope to see continued conversations
between he Army-GSA and the City as this process proceeds.
City Attorney Comodeco explained that if the Army-GSA was moving forward
with a public sale they would proceed with or without the City, if Representative
McCollum wasn't standing in the way. He felt the dynamic at the meeting on
Wednesday would be different than before because the parties were no longer
across the table from each other.
MR-DEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION-JULY 13, 2009 7
Mayor Harpstead indicated the GSA has requested the PDA and that this
information should be forwarded to them for their review as it was a public
document.
City Administrator Moorse stated he would forward this information to the GSA.
Mayor Harpstead suggested an additional work session meeting be held after the
meeting with the Army-GSA to discuss the City's resolution and how the Council
would proceed. The Council was in favor of this suggestion.
City Administrator Moorse noted the next scheduled TCAAP meeting was
Wednesday, July 22, 2009. He questioned if this should be scheduled for another
time or if staff should begin developing a plan to proceed with the resolution.
Councilmember Holden stated she felt the Council should hold a meeting on the
scheduled day to discuss the resolution to create a plan to move forward.
Councilmember Holmes agreed.
2. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS
There was nothing at this time.
Mayor Harpstead the City Council Work Session me in at 6:12 p.m.
S tan H ste d Ronald J. T06orseJ
Mayor City Administrator