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Regular City Council Meeting Monday,July 1, 2013 Page 8 to consider will be how to finance a project to make it work or how a project can prove innovative enough to qualify for grant funds; noting that something will be required to fill the financial gap, and how best to do that. At the request of Mayor Roe as to whether or not the City Council needed to for- mally adopt the next steps, Chair Maschka advised that, with concurrence by Act- ing HRA Executive Director Kelsey, the HRA had received fairly good direction for the next step. Chair Maschka advised that Ms. Kelsey was currently working with the University of MN to get student architects to do design work on the type of housing; opining that the design would prove important to attract the right partners to make a project work financially. Councilmember McGehee concurred with Chair Maschka on the process used for this project, opining that she'd found it exciting to see citizens attending from be- ginning to end, and fully engaged and involved. However, she recognized along with Chair Maschka that the details were the most important element. From the point of view of the City Council, Councilmember McGehee opined that it was vital that this project succeed, not just for the community, but for this difficult site, with a number of serious issues beyond its minimal size. While concern has already been raised about price, Councilmember McGehee opined that it was not as important as moving forward as a community to find different forms of devel- opment and new amenities and housing types for the community to allow them to blend in and be acceptable to existing residents in a neighborhood. Councilmem- ber McGehee opined that the bungalow housing style seemed to be very appealing to people in the neighborhood during the process and would serve to blend a higher density into the existing single-family neighborhood, while allowing for a potential apartment complex on the busier Dale Street side. Councilmember McGehee opined that environmental issues would continue to be an important as- pect for this project for her; as well as impervious surfaces and addressing drain- age and stormwater runoff, and providing gathering places for residents beyond that available in City parks. Having had the opportunity to observe the meetings, and attending three of the four workshops, Councilmember Willmus expressed his appreciation throughout the process; noting that while the group has remained sympathetic to the concerns of the neighborhood, the project continued to be a work in progress. Coun- cilmember Willmus advised that, prior to acquiring the adjacent parcels, his rea- son for advocacy was to ensure a buffer for homes to the north, an element he would continue to seek. Councilmember Willmus encouraged a continuation of the neighbor involvement moving forward; and from an HRA Member stand- point, he remained unsure if he agreed with Chair Maschka on the need for PUD's, opining that the City's recently-updated code provided sufficient flexibil- ity.