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<br />Sent: <br />To: <br />Cc: <br />Subject: <br /> <br /> <br />July 2004 <br />city. councH@ci.roseville.mn.us <br />dennis.welsch@ci,roseville.mn.us <br />Tim Kotecki's e-mail to Mayor Klausing <br /> <br />Dear <br /> <br />and Council Members: <br /> <br />Dennis Welsch was kind forward me a copy of Tim Kotecki's e-mail to Mayor <br />. The Twin Lakes ect has been and I knew that <br />when I to accept your invitation to facilitate the Stakeholders Panel <br />process. I also know from experience that it is sible to and a <br />certain amount of criticism is unavoidable. I am comfortable it to you to make up <br />your own minds there was such a disparity between the assessments of the process <br />from different members of the Panel. I also encourage you to review the evaluation forms <br />completed all the Panel members. <br /> <br /> <br />I don't believe that it is in the city's best interest for me to engage in a protracted <br />debate with Al Sands, or Tim Kotecki. Unlike some of the critics, I trust the process and <br />believe that most of these issues and allegations will be sorted out as the <br />proceeds through the next stages. It is, however, my responsibil for correct <br />inaccuracies included in their statements and to make certain that I have done <br />I can to deliver the maximum value from the Stakeholder's process. Let me try to do that <br />as succinct as possible. <br /> <br /> <br />THE DESIGN OF THE PROCESS: <br /> <br />Prior to my involvement with the project, you had already made the decision to select and <br />work with a Master Developer and a group of "Specialized ". You <br />members of the Development Team and representatives of the property owners to the Advisory <br />Panel, along with neighborhood representatives, "At-Large" representatives and the chairs <br />of commissions. The process I des took this group of s in~o account <br />and carefully identified the roles and responsibilities of all of the part s, <br />including the Development Team. <br /> <br /> <br />The process design, the make up of the panel and the role of the Master was not <br />only very spelled out when prospective members were invited to part , but <br />also very clearly explained at the first workshop, and repeated several times <br />the process. All of the members agreed to participate, based on the process that the <br />council approved. To go through the entire process and then that its des was <br />fatally flawed strikes me as an unreasonable criticism. <br /> <br />The argument contained in the "Minority Report" is that the city should create the <br />and then seek developers who will agree to commit to build it. There are a number of <br />communities who have taken that approach. Notably, St. Anthony took that approach, <br />although they hired professional land planners, urban designers, market research and <br />environmental consultants to help them and did not rely solely on the services of <br />members (as suggested in the report). St. Anthony approved the plan and then asked for <br />requests for qualifications and selected a developer who aggreed to develop that plan. <br />They then attempted to leases the community's plan. Eighteen months later, the Master <br />Developer had to come back to the community and tell them that the plan was not workable. <br />They brought in a retail development specialist, who insisted on the inclusion of "an <br />economic engine", revised the plan and it is now under construction. <br /> <br />The point is that despite all of the clear and often repeated statements to the contrary, <br />some members of the Advisory Panel thought they were going to be able to prepare and <br />propose the plan. The whole point of the process was to see how far we could progress <br />toward a plan that the Master Developer could commit to build, that would address as many <br />of the comments and concerns of the Panel members as possible. I did not see any value in <br />having my firm generate plans and renderings that the Panel would fall in love with, if <br />the Master Developer believed that they were not marketable. The City can still decide to <br />reject the best plan that the Master Developer can propose, but those decisions should <br /> <br />1 <br />