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Joseph R. Zwack 2548 Irene street Roseville, MN 55113 Feb. 14, 1995 Mr. Michael Falk City Planner 2660 CIvic Center Drive Roseville, MN 55113 Dear Mr. Falkj We have been Rosevl11e residents since 1967 and have enjoyed living in this city. When we heard of the District 623 Lake Owasso property becoming available tor new residential development, we wrote to Councilman John Goedeke and to John Thein at the school district, to ex- press our interest in building a new home on the site. It seems If,ke eons ago, when this opportunity was first presented publicly. We were excited about the possibil- ities and pleased to note that homes might be available in the $115,000 to $200,000 range. Subsequently, we learned that the prices would be $225,000 at a minimum. Today, we are told that the minimum will be $250,000 and that as a matter of fact, one of the school districts builders has told us that we should plan to spend up t 0 $ 300, 000. Al SO, d u r 1 n g the t 1 me 1 n t e r val, 1 n t ere s t rates have gone from a reasonable 7% to a whopping 9+%. What a kind of fiasco bas been hoisted on us? We had hoped that while interest was low that the school district CQuld finalize their plans. Does the sale of the school district property measure up to Rosevllle1s Vista 2000 blueprint? The Vista 2000 sum- mary booklet that was sent to us states, "Housing must meet a broad range of needs. Roseville must oiier a mix of attractive, safe and well-maIntained housing, available without discrimination." ... ."We must dedicate remaining vacant land to housing appropriate to the diversity of our population .... including larger single-family homes, affordable or subsidized seniorsf and special needs housing, and a range of multi-unit dwellings." One of the goals: "Balance different types of housing alternatives to meet the needs of residents." We are interested in "stepping up" but feel that now we are being priced out of the opportunity to do so. We have learned further in our discussion with one of the builders that the school district has set up a contract with the builders that spells out that a realtor is to get a 6% commission from the sale of each new home. Why? We dontt need involvement of a realtor. We want to work directly with the builder/developer. We would rather have the. builder give us a reduced purchase price or to use the equivalent amount of the real estate agent fee for interior ~