10-10-2007 Council Agenda - Laserfiche WebLink

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(2) Probable impact of the District on city provided services and ability to issue debt. An impact of the District on police protection is expected. The City currently contracts with the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office for police services. The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office does track all calls for service by address, not property-type calls and crimes. With any addition of new residents or businesses, police calls for service will be increased. However, high tech, medical device manufacturers in a campus setting such as this will typically place a lesser demand on police services than multi - family housing. New developments add an increase in traffic, and additional overall demands to the call load. Based upon similar facilities in the community, as many as 20 new calls will be generated by the development, however, most will be associated with false alarms. Improved traffic flow and safety will be achieved at Viking Drive by eliminating the connection to Rice Street and tying in to Minnesota Avenue. The City does not expect that the proposed development, in and of itself, will necessitate new capital investment in vehicles or require that the City expand its contract with Ramsey County. The City expects an expanded tax base that will help with funding of future law enforcement costs. The Sheriff's Department sees no downside to the project, given the quality and type of business proposed. In terms of the St. Jude development, the campus setting aids in crime prevention by being a more "self- contained" property that generates less public interaction. The probable impact of the District on fire protection is not expected to be significant. Typically new buildings generate few calls, if any, and are of superior construction. Based on similar facilities in the community, about six new calls will be generated by the new development, associated with false alarms. The existing buildings, which will be eliminated by the new development, have public safety concerns that include several unprotected old buildings with issues such as access, hydrant locations, and converted structures. Given that the property will have fire suppression systems, the main impact associated with the development will be the process of becoming familiar with the property layout and potential hazards as they relate to fire fighter safety and building deployment. A major plus of the project will be the additional Fire State Aid the department should receive due to the value of the project. This will help with funding of the Fire Relief Association. There is limited fire flow (water) in this area of the City. Water system improvements are presently being explored in conjunction with this development to enhance fire flows in this entire area of the City. The impact of the District on public infrastructure is expected to be minimal. Trunk line costs for both water and sanitary sewer to serve the new development are anticipated to be funded by TIF. The Environmental Assessment Worksheet prepared for this project has identified the potential need for improvements to Rice Street (a county road) and B2 (a city street) through lane expansions. It is anticipated that TIF will assist with land acquisition to provide the additional right -of -way needed for the lane expansion (added left turn lane). Due to timing questions associated with improvements to Rice Street already being considered by Ramsey County, it is unsure if city road construction costs will be covered by TIF. It is safe to assume not all construction costs will be covered by TIF. There will be some sanitary sewer and water main maintenance costs. It is estimated that costs, based on present dollars, will be approximately $100 per year for water main and approximately $500 per year for sanitary sewer. Due to the increase in traffic volume, it is anticipated that there will be some additional street maintenance costs associated with the development, however, at this time it is difficult to quantify. Based on the development plans, there are no additional costs associated with sweeping, plowing, lighting and sidewalks. The development in the District is expected to contribute $16,900 to City sanitary sewer (SAC), $ 19,500 to City water (WAC) connection fees and $108,875 to Metro sanitary sewer (MSAC). The probable impact of any District general obligation tax increment bonds on the ability to issue debt for general fund purposes is expected to be minimal. It is not anticipated that there will be any general obligation debt issued in relation to this project, therefore there will be no impact on the City of Little Canada Tax Increment Financing Plan for Tax Increment Financing District No. 5 -1 2 -9 - 1 8 -