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City Council Minutes April 12, 1995 Page 3 R~ 1 ~ CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION NO. 95-09, SCHEDULING ASSESSMENT HEARING FOR THE 1995 ALLEY RECONSTRUCTION PROJECT Motion was made by Councilmember Gehrz to approve Resolution No. 95-09, scheduling the assessment hearing for May 10, 1995. Motion passed unanimously. REQUEST TO CONTRACT FOR PROSECUTION SERVICES Administrator Hoyt reported that staff had sent out letters of inquiry to four law firms regarding providing prosecution services for the city on a retainer basis due to an anticipated increase in prosecutions with a 24 hour police officer in the city's limits. Letters of inquiry were sent to firms with some affiliation with the city or the St. Anthony Police Department. Of the firms that responded to the inquiry, the lowest bid was from the Hughes and Costello firm. Hughes and Costello provide prosecution services for many cities (including Lauderdale, Maplewood, New Brighton, Mounds View, and Richfield) and received positive reviews from those cities. By contracting on a retainer fee basis, the city should see significant savings. Motion was made by Councilmember Gehrz. to contract with the Hughes and Costello law firm, effective June 1, and to notify the current prosecutor of the change. Motion passed unanimously. REQUEST TO AMEND THE ASSESSMENT AGREEMENT ON FALCON CROSSING Administrator Hoyt gave the initial background on this request. In 1984, the city gave financial assistance in the form of $1,400,000 of commercial revenue bonds and 5600,000 of general obligation bonds to improve blighted commercial property at the northeast corner of Snelling and Larpenteur Avenue (now known as "Falcon Crossing"1. This is the only retail center that has ever received public assistance and the only retail center with an assessment agreement (the city also has an assessment agreement on the 1666 Coffman project). The current owner, Mr. Steven Wellington, is asking for termination of the assessment agreement in 1999 to reduce his property taxes after 1999 and, in turn, to reduce rents to his tenants. Since the request had financial implications for the city, Springsted Public Finance Advisors was asked to analyze the request to determine if termination of the agreement would be in the best public interest of the city. Keith Jans, Springsted, reviewed the reasons for the request and its financial implications. Mr. Wellington's stated reasons for the request are to 1) a desire to reduce the negative financial impact to the property (taxes are higher on this property than they would be without the assessment agreement because the assessment agreement has a minimum market value) and 2) to expedite TIF revenue back to the county and the schools. Mr. Wellington states that