2008-02-13 CC WS - Approved - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Counci12008-02-13, 7:50 p.m Minutes of Work Session ~, n ~n\~' ~~~Ii~J r Present were Mayor Capra, Council members Tom Lee, Linda Broussard-Vickers, and Michelle Lakso. Also present were Finance Director John Meyer, City Attorney Kurt Glaser, Mark Statz of Bonestroo & Assoc. Absent was Council member Jeff Paar. Ron Mehl of Beard Group provided an update on the status of the downtown development. Mr. Mehl reviewed the phases that are planned and noted that they are working on financing for the buildings in Blocks 8 & 9. They have made offers on several properties and are negotiating with others. The developer plans to break ground on the first phase in the fall. Mr. Mehl plans to return in about a month to report on their progress. John Meyer reviewed a study of tax abatement on the property of Northern Forest Products. The company was granted tax increment financing and tax abatement but the projected assistance has fallen short, primarily because of changes in property tax structure by the State Legislature. The owner has requested that the term of the abatement be extended by three years in order to get closer to the target amounts. The Council reviewed the ordinance on fees charged by the City. Mr. Meyer presented a study of the drainage utility charges comparing residential and business properties. It indicated that the commercial/industrial properties in Centerville are not paying based upon any measure of storm water contributed. A chart was prepared showing that the commercial/industrial properties should be collectively paying about $12,000 per year more than they currently are. The consensus was that the rate should be modified immediately to rectify the situation. Other fee changes were reviewed including the possibility of increasing liquor license fees to encourage participation in the Best Practices program. It was apparent that the licensees are not failing the compliance checks, so the benefits of Best Practices may not be that significant. Engineer Mark Statz reviewed his planned presentation for the public open house related to the 2009 Street Project. He noted that two significant changes have been made. Center Street will be constructed in a way to leave most of the curb. This will save about 10%. Secondly, Mill Road will be modified to leave the southerly end as a rural section on the west side and a trail constructed behind a curb on the west side. This will save substantially over the cost of a full reconstruct as was earlier considered. The Public Open house will be held on February 21, and the project brought back the following week to consider setting a public hearing. The Council reviewed the proposed project schedule and encouraged the engineer to compress the time frame so the hearing on assessments could be not later than September. The Council discussed the possibility of including LaValle Drive in the improvement, since this would be the remaining portion of the City without watermain, if the 2009