11/24/2003 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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COUNCIL MINUTES NOVEMBER 24, 2003 APPROVED 193 Economic Development Assistant Divine stated as to the comment about not understanding what they 094 will get, they have a plan for downtown redevelopment, which includes 450 units of lifecycle 195 housing, senior rental housing, work force housing; all things not currently available in Lino Lakes. 196 It includes 350,000 square feet of commercial space, and is designed to be a gathering place. She 197 stated they have received Livable Communities money for the project. She indicated it will have a 198 large community park, with the YMCA being part of the plan, and the Civic Center built on this site 199 to be an integral part of the design. She noted the potential tax increment would be significantly 200 higher than conventional suburban housing, on land that has been underutilized for a number of years. 201 202 Councilmember Carlson stated she has a drawing of another assisted living facility, noting she is 203 looking for that type of quality, not just quantity. 204 205 Economic Development Assistant Divine stated the City Council did see the application at the last 206 work session. She stated the facility Councilmember Carlson mentioned is an assisted living and 207 memory center. She indicated Hartford is proposing an independent living and catered living facility, 208 which is different. 209 210 Councilmember Carlson stated she is looking for more quality with public money. Economic 211 Development Assistant Divine indicated they have an 80 -page design standard, which Hartford is 212 fully meeting. 213 214 Councilmember Carlson indicated what she is saying is they are sitting here without a plan, and 215 without knowing what benefit they will get, and she believes $26 million is higher than they need. Abi16 lipt17 Economic Development Assistant Divine stated the $26 million is not a cost of the road construction, 218 just a division of costs within the budget. She indicated the City Council will be making a decision 219 on the dollar amounts when the time comes. 220 221 Community Development Director Grochala advised that TIF financing is simply a tool the City can 222 use to accomplish the goals they have been planning for, but they are not suggesting a dollar amount. 223 He added that within that $26 million amount it is broken down in categories of how they can use the 224 money. He stated at the appropriate time the City Council will make a decision, based on a number 225 of factors. He indicated each of the City Staff involved has high standards on what they want to see 226 for the Village. He stated he believes when they see that plan, the dollar amount will be part of it. He 227 cannot say what that plan will be now, but it will be a question for the City Council at that time. He 228 indicated the question now would be is this a viable tool for Staff to use. If it is not, and there is not 229 support from the City Council, he does not think they have the sources to continue with the project. 230 He agreed it is a high dollar amount, but stated there is a high potential in this development for the 231 City. He stated the dollar amount is large because the development is large. He reiterated the City 232 Council is not approving any dollar amount at this time. 233 234 Councilmember O'Donnell stated he concurred with the points that Community Development 235 Director Grochala had reiterated. 236 237 Councilmember Reinert asked Community Development Director Grochala to speak to the issue of 238 the timing of putting TIF in place tonight. Community Development Director Grochala indicated the '39 developer is starting to spend a significant amount of money. He stated the plan will be going before ligto the Environmental Board in December, and it will be coming back to the City Council in January or 5