HomeMy WebLinkAbout1A, TCAAP Public Sale Update two.
EN HILLS
MEMORANDUM
DATE: December 14, 2009 Item LA
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Ron Moorse, City Administrator
SUBJECT: TCAAP Public Sale Update
Backiround
Attached is a summary of the December 7, 2009 conference call with Kevin Legare. The two
main topics of discussion were the license agreement and the Ramsey County proposal regarding
the access corridor from County Road I through the primer tracer area.
License Agreement
Kevin Legare invited the City to provide written comments regarding the City's concerns related
to the license agreement. Staff will prepare a draft letter to GSA regarding the City's concerns,
and would like direction from Council regarding the issues to include in the letter. Based on the
discussion during the conference call, the City's concerns include the need for additional detail
regarding the license agreement and the lease agreement; incorporating documents such as the
Federal Facilities Agreement, which set out required remediation standards, into the license and
lease agreements; and the importance of requiring adequate financial assurance for the
completion of the remediation.
Ramsey County Access Corridor Proposal
Kevin Legare has suggested that, if there is to be a public benefit conveyance in relation to the
access corridor proposal, a conference call with all interested/affected parties should be held to -
discuss how the conveyance could happen. The type of contamination on the primer tracer area
is similar to the contamination that was on the Rice Creek Trail Corridor that was conveyed
through the National Park Service to the County. However, the Army remediated the trail
corridor property prior to transfer, and the Army does not have funding for the remediation of the
primer tracer area.
Kevin suggested the National Park Service should be contacted about their willingness to
sponsor a public benefit conveyance of property that has not been remediated. An additional
potential transfer option is a conservation conveyance that can occur directly from the Army to a
local public entity. Kevin indicated the Army has used this on BRAC sites, but he is not sure
whether the Army would use it on the TCAAP site. With either transfer option, the issue of
remediation and related funding needs to be addressed.
At this point, while Greg Mack, Ramsey County Parks and Recreation Director, is spearheading
the access corridor proposal, the Ramsey County Board has not taken an official action regarding
the proposal. Also, while the National Guard is open to the proposal, including their ability to
use the eastern portion of the primer tracer area; they have conditions on their support and
participation, particularly that the site needs to be remediated.
Prior to having a conference call with all of the stakeholders and possible supporters, it is
important that Ramsey County is officially on board, and that we have identified all of the issues
that need to be addressed.