08-24-05 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES CITY COUNCIL AUGUST 24, 2005 The current zoning allows for outdoor storage; The site lends itself to screening; Soils appear to be good; There is no principal building on Che site; Removal of existing outdoor storage would clean up the area; City ownership may facilitate the correction of non-conforming access issues and provide for extension of utilities to other properties in the area; Access to/from the site is reasonable for Public Works. The City Administrator reported that the attorney representing MAC Properties has indicated that they oppose a voluntary sale of the property to the City. There is also a substantial difference in value from the City's appraised value at $520,000 to MAC Properties' position that the site is worth $2 million. The City Administrator indicated that if the City wants to pursue the property, the next step would be to make an offer of just compensation. At that point MAC Properties would have the site appraised. The City would have to reimburse up to $1,500 toward this appraisal. The two appraisals would Chen allow the City to see how far apart the situation is. Mike Hangge, McGough Construction, appeared before the Council and reported that this property is very important to McGough's operation. The key reasons are that this is an outdoor storage site that has a good location within the 694/494 ring. The site is also in close proximiCy Co McGough's main office and is easily accessible to the Twin Cities. Hangge reported that the property is a key component of what McGough does and is crucial to their operation. Blesener pointed ouC that Che site is 3.5 acres of outdoor storage thaC provides very little benefiC Co Little Canada. There is no building on Che siCe and it generates very little in tax dollars to the City. However, the property would be serviced by the Little Canada Fire Department and Ramsey County Sheriff's Department if the need be. The outdoor storage site provides no employment within Little Canada. Blesener suggested thaC the site, under its current utilization, is more of a burden on Che City than a benefit. Blesener indicated that he looked at Che site and in addition to the outdoor storage of materials and equipment that McGough Construction utilizes, there are junk trailers and scrap metal that should be removed from the site. Blesener pointed out that the City needs a new Public Works garage. It appears that this property is the best site for that garage, and again noted thaC this site is being underutilized. 14