Minutes - 2001/06/11 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mounds View City Council June 11, 2001 Regular Meeting Page 4 Economic Development Coordinator Parrish indicated that while TIF funds are not generated the developer would not pay as much property tax so the two should balance out. Council Member Stigney indicated if they are paying less TIF then there would be fewer dollars for the pay as you go plan and therefore, developers can do less. Economic Development Coordinator Parrish explained that since the developer would not be paying as much in the developer would have more money in pocket due to reduced taxes and that money could be used for the project. Dan Hall from the Mermaid commented that if taxes are compressed it means the legislature has given him his own TIF. He then noted it may not be a perfect balance but stated reducing property tax would mean he has more equity left in his company to pay down debt. Council Member Stigney asked if Mr. Hall intended to scale his project back at all in light of potential legislative changes. Mr. Hall indicated he is not planning on scaling back the project. Economic Development Coordinator Parrish noted that, as his staff report had indicated, he had discussions with the Mermaid and was told that project finances are spread fairly thin with soil corrections and other issues. He noted he did not speak with the other benefiting property owners but did speak with Public Works Director Ulrich who indicated that the maximum amount that could be assessed to each property owner is $3,600 which is tied to acreage. He then noted that, based on that scenario, the most the City could generate with assessments would be $11,000. He further noted, however, that the City would need to determine benefit and that in determining benefit the costs could out weigh the potential gain. Council Member Thomas indicated that the amount Council is being asked to approve has gone up to $150,000 which is nearly three times the original amount. She then asked why the amount has increased so much. Economic Development Coordinator Parrish indicated that the estimate initially received was an engineer's estimate and it was received a year and a half ago. He then noted that, in the interim, several issues arose which added to the cost of the project. He then noted that the estimate is an engineer's estimate and that if sent out for bids the amount could be lower. Council Member Thomas inquired as to why the project could not be scaled back to reduce costs. Economic Development Coordinator Parrish indicated he is not sure how much would be saved by scaling back the size of the pond. Council Member Thomas stated she felt there needed to be research done on the amount of increase to explain how costs went up that much.