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EDC Minutes April 19, 2002 Page 3 2. Manufactured Home Park Revitalization Activities: Last year the City was able to garner a CDBG grant through Ramsey County to improve the home units at Mounds View Mobile Home Park. The voluntary program has two elements to it—an acquisition program to purchase and demolish substandard manufactured homes and a rehabilitation program to upgrade existing units to eliminate health and safety violations. The manufacturing program slowed down in late 2001. Subsequent to the awarding of the grant, Ramsey County required that a survey be done of the park residents. In addition to the survey, staff turnover occurred. To the move the process forward, Backman encouraged a meeting of all the parties to be held at the MV MHP main office. Representatives from Ramsey County, Durand & Assoc. (property mgmt. company), and the City met on April 10th. Five expectations/steps were agreed to: 1) Ramsey Co. wants to move forward with the project and wants to see a commitment on the part of the park owner to invest in needed infrastructure (eg. $300K+ for water line replacements). 2) Ramsey Co. will write a letter to the City delineating its expectations. A copy will go to Durand & Associates. 3) Perry Hansen from Durand will contact the park owners regarding the commitment, timelines, etc. 4) Tom Hipps, the new park manager, and Backman will draft a letter inviting all residents to a meeting at City Hall or the Community Center to discuss the program. The goal is to hold the meeting before Memorial Day. 5) Ramsey Co. will check on the feasibility of an interest buydown program as an added option to encourage new units. A reduction of 1 to 3% in loans rates would stimulate new manufactured units in the park. Sonterre inquired if there were studies showing if people maintained manufactured units. Backman responded that the condition of units reflected the management policies of parks and other factors. Some households view the units as intermediate housing options, whereas others view it as a long term choice. McDonald asked about the resale value of manufactured homes. Backman stated that the market is different than regular detached homes. In general, manufactured homes do decline in value over time. However, well-maintained units can hold their value. McDonald added that a rehab program may encourage other households to upgrade their units as well. 3. Mermaid Hotel & Banquet Center Project Update: Backman reported that the AmericInn Hotel portion of the complex started taking guests on April 6th. A Grand Opening with black tie casino gaming occurs tonight and members are welcome to attend. Fox mentioned that now that the facility was open that it would be good if somebody could clean up construction materials that have blown across County Road H toward Rice Creek. Backman will relay the concern to Mr. Hall. 4. Highway 10 Revitalization Public Meeting: Earlier in the week Backman dropped off a copy of the schematic plan for redeveloping Highway 10 to each member. Backman briefly reviewed the plan discussing some specific pages, such as the H2 intersection and the adjacent redevelopment opportunities. Sonterre mentioned that the Long Lake Road redevelopment site could open up an area (3 ½ acres) to the east of Gas & Splash that the City owns along Highway 10. The Highway 10 Revitalization Plan will be presented by URS and the City at a Public Meeting on April 24th at 6:00 p.m. in the M.V. Community Center. 7. EDC BUSINESS A. Review of EDC Bylaws: Members considered the Commission’s Bylaws. Chair Belting noted that the Commission did review the Bylaws last year and adopted two changes at that time. The most notable change was moving the regular meeting date for the EDC. Johnson moved to amend Section III Informational Packets. The present language in the first sentence states that