Agenda Packets - 1998/12/07 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Item No. 1-7 Meeting Date: 12-07-98 Staff Report No. Type of Business:WK WK: Work Session;PH:Public Hearing; CA:Convent Agenda;EDAB:EDA Business Mounds View City Counoll Work Session Staff Report To: Mounds View City Council From: Kevin Carroll, Economic Development Coordinator Item Title/Subject: Mermaid Hotel/Banquet Center (Progress Report) Date of Report: December 4, 1998 SUMMARY At the meeting on December 7, 1998, I intend to give you a verbal report on the status of the Mermaid project. Staff members and representatives of the Developers will be available to answer any questions that you may have. Your thoughts, suggestions and guidance with respect to the future handling of this matter will be gladly received and greatly appreciated. I anticipate that my presentation on Monday will touch on the following subject areas: 1. Background: I will summarize the history of the project to date, for the benefit of audience members, viewers at home, and the newly-elected Council members. 2. DTED Redevelopment Grant: As you may recall, in October we submitted an application to the Department of Trade and Economic Development for a grant in the amount of$500,000.00 to assist with certain costs related to the Mermaid project. The grant funds, if received, were to be used for acquiring nearby property and constructing a stormwater detention pond thereon. The bad news: Mounds View was not chosen as one of the six successful grant applicants. The good news: we finished 10th out of 26 applicants,just five points behind the last of the six applicants that WAS awarded a grant. (The final point totals are attached.)If we wish to do so, we can resubmit our original application in the second "round" of this two-part funding cycle, which has a 4-1-99 application deadline. 3. Metro Transit Park& Ride Facility: In the early stages of this project,Metro Transit expressed an interest in possibly siting a new Park&Ride lot somewhere within the Mermaid redevelopment project. The Rent All corner was initially targeted as the best or most likely location. However, as Metro Transit staff members began to examine their options more closely, it appears that their interest began to shift to locations further north along Highway 10. They seem to believe that a more northerly location for new bus routes and new bus stops would be more convenient for potential bus riders living in current and future multi-family housing units located farther away from the Highway 10/County Road H intersection. They also expressed some interest in exploring less costly options, such as incorporating a Park&Ride lot into the movie theater development. I have some reservations about the wisdom of these new directions, and continue to believe that the Mermaid site is the best location for new Metro Transit facilities. In any event, our contact person at Metro Transit assured me that they would be making some final decisions about these matters on or