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April 22, 2005 Roseville City Council 2660 Civic Center Drive Roseville~ MN 55113 Dear Members of the Council: I am writing to echo some concerns about the Twin Lakes project that were raised during the public comments at the April 11 Town Hall meeting. They are not new concerns, having been expressed at various times by members ofthe public at Council meetings. With a project of the magnitudeproposed for Twin Lakes, I feel it is especially incumbent on members of the Council to insure that its decisions with respect to this project will be in the best interests of the citizens of Roseville. Although I also have other concerns about this project; T am highlighting here two that I think are especially important, both of them relating to responsible spendil!g of public funds. It is my understanding that Roseville has a type of arrangement with the developers who have proposed the Twin Lakesproject that essentially precludes the possibility for the city to invite, much less consider, proposals from other potential developers. I find this arrangement incomprehensible. To guarantee that Roseville gets the best possible kind of use made of this unique parcel of land would seem to demand obtaining the broadest possible spectrum of su,ggested uses, which of course would require inviting proposals from multiple potential developers. Just as serious, if not more so, is the amount of public money that appears to be required for this project by the developers. I don't understand why the developers should not be required to pay for the majority of what they are demanding in public funds. Considerin~ a number of pressing needs overall in our community, there is no way that I could conclude that the expenditure of $ 40 million, especially in the context of the kind of exclusive arrangement that could require such an expenditure, represents anything like good stewardship of city funds. Sincerely, Thomas Sonten 1725 W. Eldridge Ave.