Minutes - 2005/06/20 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mounds View City Council June 20, 2005 Special Meeting Page 10 • Mounds View and she did not believe that facility added to the economic benefit of Mounds View. She asked if there would be any animal research at this facility. She stated Medtronic had been given the world in Fridley and knew first hand that when they got the Fridley facility that they "ran over" the citizens who had no say in the process, including her parents who lost their home to the Medtronic World Headquarters building. Aaron Backman, Economic Development Coordinator, stated he understood that 50 percent of the Medtronic employees ate out of the facility. John Dietrich, RLK, stated in terms of the traffic on Xylite, there would be a traffic signal proposed on Coral Sea and County Road J as well as improvement from Naples. He stated the traffic increase while it would be coming would be managed. Rodger McCombs of Medtronic stated there would be no animal research at the facility. Michael Hemenway, 8389 Pleasantview Drive, stated he grew up in this community and moved back to the City. He indicated he was partial to big business and he supported this proposal. He noted there was not much to do in Mounds View and it would be nice to have some respect be brought back to the City again. He stated he would be happy if his property taxes did not go up. He acknowledged this would be a difficult choice. Lisa Rolfs, 8429 Eastwood Road, stated she has never worked in the City, but they chose to stay in Mounds View due to the quality of life. She stated the Medtronic opportunity was a once in a lifetime opportunity. She stated there were a lot of good things about the proposal that made it attractive such as the trail proposal, the green space on the site, and the benefits to the schools. She stated generally she was for it, but she was not necessary for this "deal". She felt the City was being out negotiated by Medtronic and did not want the City to give out too much. She expressed concern that they were at the top level of the TIF financing right away and that the traffic and noise issues had not been addressed. She noted they needed to have a concrete plan in place with much more information concerning the traffic as well as the increased need for public service officers, etc. She stated the City needed to think big and any proposal should remove all of the billboards. She asked the Council/EDA to determine what they wanted Mounds View to be. She noted this was a large, attractive site, and ideally situated. She stated the City should not underestimate the value of this. She asked the City go back to the table and renegotiate. Valerie Amundsen, 3048 Woodale Drive, stated she had done some research and Mounds View was one of the highest taxed cities in the entire metropolitan area. She stated Medtronic had grown their revenue from 6.4 billion to ten billion, which is a large increase. She stated Medtronic's taxes have grown 83 percent to 1.8 billion. She noted their income was growing faster than their revenue. She asked at what cost was the company growing and asked if they were taking advantage of Mounds View. She stated she did not want to be taken advantage of. She noted she was a stockholder in the City and she cared about the bottom line and the future and she wanted to see the City's leaders do what was right. She noted she had not seen any • evidence that this was the best thing for the City. She asked the City to explore what was best for the City and the land. She stated this was a great deal for Medtronic, but was it the best for the