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EDC Minutes <br />September 19, 2003 <br />Page 2 <br /> <br /> <br />D. Report of Staff: <br /> <br />1. Developer Activities—Velmeir Companies (Amoco Site): A number of activities occurred <br />pertaining to the Amoco redevelopment project. URS, the architectural firm hired by the <br />developer Velmeir have been working on a number of plans trying to find the best location for <br />the building that meets parking and setback requirements, that minimizes the purchase of <br />additional land, and that meets the needs of the end user, CVS/Pharmacy. On September <br />11th Jim Ericson and Backman had a conference call with Velmeir regarding these issues. A <br />letter of intent has been prepared for Mr. Fox, the residential property to the south. Backman <br />anticipates that Steve Alexander, representing the developer, will be bringing the latest <br />concept plans to Mounds View next week. A variance from the setback requirements will <br />probably be sought. Field asked whether Velmeir was able to resolve environmental liability <br />issues with BP Amoco. Backman responded that it appears that Velmeir will buy out Amoco <br />and assume such risk. <br /> <br />2. Developer Activities—LandCor / Long Lake & Hwy 10 Office & Retail: As the EDC members <br />are probably aware, on August 14th ATA Architects submitted detailed building plans for the <br />office and retail buildings that will be along Hwy 10 north of the theater. The building <br />inspector has been reviewing those plans. Backman is pleased to report that LandCor, the <br />developer, has tentatively scheduled a groundbreaking for the projects on Monday, <br />September 29th at 11:00 a.m. The office building is $1.3 million, two-story facility, and the <br />retail building is a $900,000 single-story structure. As more details become available <br />Backman will pass them on to the members. <br /> <br />3. Developer Activities—Pro Craft Homes (The Woods of Mounds View) Project: Per the Pre- <br />Development Agreement between the City and Pro Craft Homes, the developer reimbursed <br />the City of Mounds View for the nine soil borings undertaken in June on the City’s and Mr. <br />Fyksen’s property. A check for $2,895 was provided on September 3, 2003. During the past <br />month and a half the developer has continued negotiations with the private landowners <br />regarding purchase price. Those efforts continue. The Developer hired Sunde Engineering <br />to undertake a wetland delineation of the development area. Two Type 2 Wetlands were <br />delineated (each being less than a tenth of an acre). The wetland delineation maps were <br />presented to the City on September 17. Backman previously e-mailed copies of the wetland <br />delineation maps to members and pointed out the wetland locations during the meeting. <br /> <br />4. TCAAP Stakeholders Summit—August 27, 2003: Backman, along with Kurt Ulrich, Jim <br />Ericson, and Mary Burg, participated in this event. Congresswomen Betty McCollum <br />sponsored a stakeholders meeting at the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant (TCAAP) in <br />Arden Hills. Following a bus tour of the site, attendees listened to presentations by the U.S. <br />Army, GSA, MN National Guard, U.S. Army Reserves, ATK (a defense company), MPCA, <br />City of Arden Hills, U.S. Postal Service, and Ramsey County. The U.S. Army has proposed <br />to sell 661 acres (deemed excess to its needs) out of 2370 acres on the site. Most of the <br />rest of the land is now part of the Arden Hills Army National Guard Training Site (AHATS, <br />see map). The main impetus for the meeting is a proposed Regional Postal Facility that <br />relocate functions that are currently in downtown St. Paul to Arden Hills. The 86–acre facility <br />along 35W would preclude other redevelopment plans for the western portion of the TCAAP <br />property. The City of Arden Hills, Mounds View, and all the cities of the 35W Corridor <br />Coalition are on record as being opposed to the postal facility at this location. Backman <br />reported that yesterday in the Star Tribune the Postal service decided to not pursue TCAAP <br />as a location for its distribution facility. Ulrich added that TCAAP area will have business