Agenda Packets - 2006/01/23 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Mounds View City Council January 9, 2006 Regular Meeting Page 23 Councilmember Gunn reviewed that there had been a blighted house which stood empty for 1 years. In that case, the City bought the property, cleared it, and now there is an animal hospital in 2 that location. 3 4 Councilmember Stigney stated that only cost $145,000, not $675,000. He noted that TIF is not 5 an infinite pool of money and the Council needs to decide where is the best use for TIF. He 6 stated his support to first have a plan that addresses trails and other issues. 7 8 Councilmember Gunn stated the Council has an obligation to the City to make County Highway 9 10 presentable. That has been one of the goals, and is still a goal. Councilmember Gunn stated 10 that she thinks this should be done since the City is going ahead with the Highway 10 11 development. 12 13 Councilmember Stigney stated the Council should look at how much money is available, what 14 are the priorities, and then create a plan on what can be done with the property. 15 16 Mayor Marty asked about the timeline on how quickly the property may sell or if they may drop 17 the price. Director Ericson stated that is difficult to gauge because some properties stay on the 18 market for a long period of time while others sell quickly. He noted this property is blighted 19 enough that some may be reluctant to take it on but he has no doubts that if someone buys it, they 20 will make no appreciable improvements and operate it as is. 21 22 City Administrator Ulrich stated there are a lot of activities the City can use TIF for and staff has 23 looked at those in the past. With all the plans done to date, at least part was for property 24 acquisition. He agreed that the City does not want to tie up all TIF with property acquisitions 25 and the intent is not to commit a major portion of TIF. City Administrator Ulrich stated the 26 intent is to buy the property, clean it up, and turn it over in an expedient way. He noted the City 27 has the resource of TIF and it would be a small percentage of the available funds. 28 29 Mayor Marty stated in the past the City has purchased the properties, demolished buildings, and 30 sold the properties for less than paid for. However, a new structure was built on the property that 31 was more taxable than the original building. Mayor Marty noted that after the purchase, the City 32 has costs to demolish the building and remove the gas tanks so he expects it may be closer to 33 $800,000. He asked about the EPA coming in to determine whether there are contaminants that 34 have to be addressed. 35 36 Director Ericson stated a Phase 1 environmental analysis costs $2,000 to $2,500 and can be 37 completed in several weeks. A Phase 2 environmental study would involve borings and soil 38 sample testing. He stated he would not recommend the City go to that stage without further 39 discussion and direction from the Council. 40 41 Mayor Marty stated he feels something needs to be done with this property because it is a 42 reflection on the City’s image. He stated this is what TIF was originally designed for, the 43 purchase of blighted properties or buildings and to turn them around. He stated that out of 44 necessity, he would support going ahead at this time. 45