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Regular City Council Meeting <br />Monday, April ll, 2016 <br />Page 41 <br />Councilmember Willmus stated that he was familiar with the interior of the facili- <br />ty, having toured it several times, and therefore was not interested in another tour. <br />Councilmember Willmus further stated that he was not interested in leaving the <br />parcel zoned Institutional, but would be interestecl in seeing what the city could do <br />for a zoning change to greatly restrict and guide its future use to avoid the city be- <br />ing put in a situation where they wouldn't be as involved or worry about this par- <br />cel as with some others in question in that iinmediate area. <br />Since Ramsey County has the second right of refusal on the parcel, Councilmem- <br />ber Etten asked if staff had held conversations with them as to their level of inter- <br />est. <br />Ms. Kelsey reported that she had spoken with Ms. Heather Worthington of Ram- <br />sey County, and at this point they stated they may consider it, but had no actual <br />decision at this point. Ms. Kelsey further reported that they had stated that they <br />may be willing to partner with the city on a collaborative effort should one or the <br />other parties be unable to take on the parcel. <br />At the request of Councilmember Etten, Ms. Kelsey opined that Ramsey County's <br />intended collaboration would be of a financial nature. <br />Councilmember Laliberte expressed interest in a tour, but stated she trusted staffls <br />judgment and their assessment. Councilmember Laliberte noted that this situation <br />prompted the city's need for a discussion on what future zoning they'd lilce to see <br />for this parcel, and with that in mind, suggested advising the Department of Mili- <br />tary Affairs to extend the city's timeframe for consideration, especially since this <br />is the first conversation being held and obviously more vetting was needed. <br />Mayor Roe also supported an extension for City Council deliberation and consid- <br />eration. <br />Mayor Roe noted that the city couldn't take advantage of all opportunities pre- <br />sented to it, and opined he wasn't even sure if this rises to the top of the list. <br />While having soine interest in the parcel, Mayor Roe noted the challenges, not <br />liinited to how to finance its purchase, but agreed with extending the city's time <br />for considering before passing it off to the next entity in line. <br />Councilmember Willmus was also agreeable with an extension, but if the desire <br />was to potentially control what could come of this site in the future, he reiterated <br />the need to have serious discussions on rezoning the parcel in the near future. <br />Councilmember Willmus spoke preliminarily of zoning for single fainily, LDR-2 <br />or MDR zoning designation. <br />