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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-25-2005 CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING AGENDA Monday, April 25, 2005 6:00 PM 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. ROLL CALL: President Marty, Vice President Stigney, Commissioner Flaherty, Commissioner Gunn, Commissioner Thomas 3. APPROVAL OF AGE NDA 4. PUBLIC INPUT: Citizens may speak to issues not on tonight’s agenda. Before speaking, please give your full name and address for the minutes. Also, please limit your comments to three minutes. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. EDA Minutes March 28, 2005. B. EDA Minutes April 11, 2005. 6. CONSENT AGENDA A. Schedule an Executive Session immediately following the April 25, 2005 City Council Meeting to discuss and consider the sale of real property commonly known as The Bridges Golf Course, and a buyout offer of the billboard signs. (Verbal Report) 7. EDA BUSINESS A. 6:05pm Continuation of the April 25, 2005 Public Hearing for the purpose of considering the proposed sale of land comprising The Bridges in the City of Mounds View to Medtronic, Inc. 8. REPORTS 9. NEXT EDA MEETING: Monday, May 9, 2005 @ 630pm 10. ADJOURNMENT PROCEEDINGS OF THE MOUNDS VIEW EDA 1 CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW 2 RAMSEY COUNTY, MINNESOTA 3 4 Regular Meeting 5 March 28, 2005 6 Mounds View City Hall 7 2401 Highway 10, Mounds View, MN 55112 8 6:00 P.M. 9 10 11 1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER 12 13 2. ROLL CALL: Stigney, Gunn, Flaherty, Thomas and Marty 14 15 NOT PRESENT: None. 16 17 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA 18 19 MOTION/SECOND: Gunn/Flaherty. To Approve the March 28, 2005 Agenda as presented. 20 21 Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 22 23 4. PUBLIC INPUT 24 25 None. 26 27 5. APPROVAL OF EDA MINUTES 28 29 A. March 28, 2005 Minutes 30 31 Commissioner Thomas stated that on page 2, line 75, it should be inserted that, “Mr. Backman 32 indicated that none of this property is in the MnDOT parcel.” 33 34 City Clerk/Administrator Ulrich stated that the meeting had recessed at 6:32 p.m. and then 35 continued after the regular City Council meeting, and adjourned at 12:53 a.m. 36 37 MOTION/SECOND: Flaherty/Thomas. To Approve the Minutes of March 14, 2005 as 38 Amended. 39 40 Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 41 42 6. CONSENT AGENDA 43 44 Mounds View EDA March 28, 2005 Regular Meeting Page 2 A. Schedule an Executive Session Immediately after this EDA Meeting to 45 discuss and review potential sale of real property commonly known as The 46 Bridges Golf Course (Verbal Report). 47 48 MOTION/SECOND. Gunn/Marty. To approve the Consent Agenda as presented. 49 50 Ayes-5 Nays-0 Motion carried. 51 52 7. EDA BUSINESS 53 54 None. 55 56 8. REPORTS 57 58 President Marty reported that there had been more ongoing talks regarding finances and details 59 about the Bridges Golf Course property. 60 61 Commissioner Stigney reported that he and Economic Development Coordinator Backman had 62 attended a legislative session last week dealing with TIF legislation for the golf course parcels, 63 and there is continued discussion going to take place on that. 64 65 Economic Development Coordinator Backman stated that the Ramsey County Board had adopted 66 a resolution in support of the legislation in House File 310, and he passed out a letter that was 67 received back from Mr. Bennett, the Commissioner who represents the Mounds View area. He 68 stated that they will need to set a public hearing for April 11th. 69 70 City Clerk/Administrator Ulrich stated that a motion would need to be made to set the public 71 hearing for Medtronic, and that meeting had been pushed back for various reasons, so he 72 requested that a motion be made and a public hearing be established for April 11 at 6:05 p.m. 73 74 MOTION/SECOND. Thomas/Stigney. To establish a public hearing for April 11 at 6:05 p.m. 75 for the Medtronic project. 76 77 Ayes-5 Nays-0 Motion carried. 78 79 Economic Development Coordinator Backman stated that public notice had been sent to the local 80 paper, the bulletin, the Pioneer Press, and that will be published on March 30th. He stated that it 81 says that citizens may see the proposed terms and conditions of the sale at Mounds View City 82 Hall. 83 84 9. NEXT EDA MEETING: Monday, April 11, 2005 at 6:00 p.m. 85 86 Mounds View EDA March 28, 2005 Regular Meeting Page 3 10. ADJOURNMENT 87 88 President Marty recessed the meeting to Executive Session at 6:08 p.m. 89 90 Respectfully submitted, 91 92 Recorded and transcribed by: 93 94 Sheree Theobald 95 TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. 96 97 PROCEEDINGS OF THE MOUNDS VIEW EDA 1 CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW 2 RAMSEY COUNTY, MINNESOTA 3 4 Regular Meeting 5 April 11, 2005 6 Mounds View City Hall 7 2401 Highway 10, Mounds View, MN 55112 8 6:00 P.M. 9 10 11 1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER 12 13 2. ROLL CALL: Stigney, Gunn, Flaherty, and Thomas 14 15 NOT PRESENT: President Marty. 16 17 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA 18 19 MOTION/SECOND: Flaherty/Thomas. To Approve the April 11, 2005 Agenda as amended. 20 21 Ayes –4 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 22 23 4. PUBLIC INPUT 24 25 Dave Jahnke asked if they would b able to ask questions after Medtronics explained their project. 26 27 Vice President Stigney stated that they could. 28 29 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES. 30 31 None. 32 33 6. CONSENT AGENDA 34 35 None. 36 37 7. EDA BUSINESS 38 39 A. 6:05 pm. Public Hearing for the purpose of considering the proposed sale of 40 land comprising The Bridges in the City of Mounds View to Medtronic, Inc. 41 42 Vice President Stigney asked if the public could limit their comments to three minutes apiece 43 since there were so many citizens in attendance. He stated that this is primarily an informational 44 meeting. 45 Mounds View EDA April 11, 2005 Regular Meeting Page 2 46 Economic Development Coordinator Bachman informed that last year the Mounds View City 47 Council considered various alternatives to operating the golf course as is, and one option 48 included the sale and redevelopment of the site. He stated that the Council’s priority was to 49 enhance the City’s financial position, and the debt associated with the golf course is about $4. 50 He stated that Medtronics has indicated they would like to build a new Cardiac Rhythm 51 Management Campus, and that the first phase involves the construction of 820,000 square feet of 52 office space in several buildings. He stated that the City Council authorized staff to pursue 53 various actions, including commitment research, wetland delineation study, commercial 54 appraisal, boundary and topographic surveys, and alternative urban area-wide review process, 55 and a comprehensive plan amendment. He indicated the sale price of the property is $8.65 56 million, which excludes park dedication and other customary fees. He stated that the reverter 57 clause legislation was introduced as passed the Senate and is working its way through the House. 58 As part of the legislative process, a payment to the Minnesota Trunk Highway Trust Fund has 59 been negotiated with Medtronic agreeing to contribute $1 on behalf of the City. He stated that 60 Tax Increment Financing legislation for the project has passed the Senate and awaits House 61 action. He stated it is projected that increment generated would result in total payments to 62 Medtronic of between $14 and $15 million over 25 years for eligible development costs. 63 This is only 34 percent of the property taxes Medtronic will pay; the rest goes to the state. 64 He stated that negotiations will continue with Clear Channel regarding the removal and 65 relocation of some or all of the billboards. He stated that a traffic impact study reviewing traffic 66 information costs and capacity analysis for the proposed Medtronic development was completed. 67 Phase 1 development is projected to generate 8,300 vehicle trips a day onto County Road J. 68 Ramsey County will be taking the lead in the road improvements and is currently preparing an 69 RFP for design work. He stated that Governor Pawlenty signed the state bonding bill this 70 afternoon, and appropriations are in the bill to provide funds to improve County Road J and other 71 roads impacted by Medtronic and other developments in Blaine and Shoreview. He stated that 72 the Mounds View EDC supports the redevelopment of the Bridges and ranks the Medtronic 73 campus as the number one economic development priority, the reason being that private industry 74 represents the engine of economic development. Business creates services, products, income, 75 employment, and tax base. He stated that Medtronic is a solid business, and last year its sales 76 grew 16 percent. He stated the office complex would be Medtronic’s largest in the world, and it 77 would pay its employees an average of $70,000 per year for high quality jobs. He stated that the 78 City’s proposed assistance as outlined in the handout is commensurate with Medtronic’s capital 79 investment, job creation and wages. 80 81 David Etzwiler, Senior Director of Government Affairs for Medtronic, stated that Medtronic is a 82 company providing long life solutions for the treatment of chronic disease. He stated their roots 83 were in the treatment of heart disease, but in the last five to six years the company has 84 significantly diversified. He stated that Medtronic has 33,000 employees world-wide and does 85 business in 120 different countries. He stated there are approximately 6,800 employees in 86 Minnesota, and they are adding approximately 300 employees a year in Minnesota. He stated 87 Mounds View EDA April 11, 2005 Regular Meeting Page 3 that Medtronic has been named on Fortune’s list of employer benefits six times and has been 88 named one of Fortune’s 100 most admired companies seven times, including the latest listing. 89 In addition, Business Week recently named Medtronic’s Board of Directors one of the ten best 90 boards in corporate America. He stated Medtronic is proud of the work they do in the 91 community, and they are a founding member of the Med Keystone Program and provide 2 92 percent of their domestic pre-tax dollars back to the community in the form of philanthropy. He 93 stated that the master plan for the Mounds View site is to provide 1.5 million square feet in the 94 future. He stated that accounting, sales, education, legal, marketing, and research and 95 development jobs would be housed in the facility. He stated that the reasons for wanting to build 96 in Mounds View are its central location and transportation options. 97 98 Vice President Stigney opened the public hearing. He stated that written comments could be 99 given to staff. 100 101 John McKusic, 8465 East River Road, stated he has been in Mounds View for 30 years, and he is 102 against Medtronic and for the golf course. He stated there are other locations that Medtronic 103 would choose, and he questioned how many Mounds View residents would be working there. 104 He stated that the golf course is a good asset for the youth. He stated that by the time all this 105 money is spent to get Medtronic in there, all of that money could have gone toward the golf 106 course. He stated that as soon as Medtronic located in Fridley, a lawsuit had started because they 107 wanted to cut down their square foot costs, so he didn’t think this was a good deal. 108 109 Nyle Rolfer, 7945 Long Lake Road, stated he has been a resident for 44 years, and he is not in 110 favor of giving Medtronic money. He stated he paid for his own sewer over 20 years. He stated 111 he didn’t know if anyone had seen the paper that was floating around, and he didn’t know if it 112 was true or not. 113 114 Council Member Stigney stated the Commission wanted questions regarding the Medtronic’s 115 proposal rather than reading something that may not be factual. 116 117 Mr. Rolfer asked what percentage of the buildings in Mounds View are TIF financed. 118 119 Council Member Stigney asked whether he had any questions that were relevant to Medtronic. 120 121 Mr. Rolfer stated that the golf course is about the only thing left in the city. He stated there are 122 thousands of acres if you drive up 35W and turn off on Lexington. 123 124 Mr. Rolfer submitted a piece of paper to the Commission. 125 126 Duane McCarty, 8060 Long Lake Road, stated that Minnesota is very fortunate to have 127 Medtronic in the state, and they are one of the premier companies in the entire country. He stated 128 an important part of the discussion is that this hearing is to get information to the Council, and 129 Mounds View EDA April 11, 2005 Regular Meeting Page 4 for the Council to take some time to look that over, and not to make a hard and fast decision this 130 evening. He stated that he is opposed to TIF, and in his eight years as mayor, he didn’t do a 131 single TIF. He stated that at one time TIF served a good purpose and was necessary for 132 economic development. He stated that Mounds View’s TIF percentage of commercial industrial 133 is one of the highest in the Twin City area, and that means they are pre-empting tax revenue from 134 not only the city, but other districts as well, and in particular the school district. He stated the 135 Council should get input from the School Board on how TIF affects their operations. He stated 136 that the franchise fee issue is quite a debate at the legislature at this time, and he had read that the 137 applicant is willing to pay the franchise fee. He stated that the label of fees is on its last days. He 138 stated the taxpayers and many of our representatives in the legislature at this time are working 139 very hard to make sure that taxation is not only fair, but it’s up front where everybody can see it, 140 so he wouldn’t count on the franchise fee. He asked the Council to slow down a little bit, and 141 step back and take a harder look. He submitted some written comments to the Commission. 142 143 Economic Development Coordinator stated that the water and sewer would be connected to the 144 city utilities from the south under Highway 10, and there would be a franchise fee generated from 145 that. He stated that currently the whole property is tax exempt right now, and there would be a 146 base that would generate revenues, and that base would be approximately $8 million. 147 148 Kevin Griffin, 8161 Red Oak Court, stated he has been a resident since 1988, and he stated he is 149 in support of the golf course. He stated he owns an underground construction company, and he 150 brings clients to the course and frequents the restaurants in Mounds View. He cautioned the 151 Council to exercise caution on committing any type of tax incentives for this project or any type 152 of project, especially to insure that there are guarantees or security in place that that type of 153 funding will be recovered in the future. He encouraged the Commission to pursue other 154 alternatives to reduce the debt of the golf course. 155 156 Greg Holee, 8192 Groveland Road, stated he is an admirer of Medtronic, but he and his wife are 157 golfers, and he thinks it’s a wonderful amenity. He stated it’s a nationally recognized facility, 158 and awards have been won for the youth development. He stated it would be a huge sense of loss 159 for the community to lose that facility. 160 161 Cindy Carlson, 2215 Kenwood Court, Maplewood, stated she is in favor of the proposed 162 acquisition by Medtronic. She stated she has participated in golfing at the Bridges, but she feels 163 it’s a tremendous opportunity to sell this property to Medtronic. She stated that not only is 164 Medtronic involved in a lot of different philanthropic activities that benefit the state and many of 165 the residents, but they also participate very actively in the community through the Twin Cities 166 North Area Chamber of Commerce in various committees on the Board of Directors and in 167 various fundraisers. 168 169 Dan Hall, 12860 Lever St, Blaine, stated that he has been operating the Mermaid in Mounds 170 View since 1972 and lived in Mounds View for 11 years. He stated the Medtronic has been a 171 Mounds View EDA April 11, 2005 Regular Meeting Page 5 customer of his for over 20 years. He stated that the image of having Medtronic in Mounds View 172 would be good for the community. He stated he is planning a hotel addition because of 173 Medtronic moving in. He stated if it wasn’t for the golf course, Mounds View might not have a 174 4 percent franchise fee that everyone is paying right now. He stated that the gas utilities for the 175 Mermaid alone is $150,000, and 3 percent of that goes to the franchise fee for NSP. He stated 176 that bringing Medtronic in is going to be worth over $100 million to the tax base, even if 35 177 percent of it is being paid by TIF over a 25-year period of time. He stated that that leaves $75 178 million worth that is going to be entering the tax base that is going to be paying the school 179 district, going to taxation, and that might even put a separate coffer in for new roads to be built in 180 Mounds View. He stated he would stand behind Medtronic coming in 100 percent. 181 182 Tim Mazzoni, 1520 – 23rd Avenue NW, New Brighton, stated he is a retired professor from the 183 University of Minnesota, College of Education, Human Development, and he wanted to speak 184 for the kids in the area who find that golf course to be a wonderful opportunity involving skills, 185 attitude, and behavior, which are attributes prized by adults. He stated the youth program there 186 has been recognized at the state and national levels, and it works for the youth. He applauded 187 Medtronic for the kind of company it is, but there will be thousands of youth using the golf 188 course in the future. 189 190 Shannon Meyer, 11363 Fergus St., Blaine, stated she is the President of the Twin Cities North 191 Area Chamber of Commerce, and she felt that as far as economic development, the Medtronic 192 facility would not just bring a business to the community, but it would enhance the local 193 communities with increased traffic, and it would increase the number of students attending the 194 schools. She stated there are many positives for the golf course as well, but they need to focus on 195 the fact that there are numerous golf courses, including the golf course in Blaine and the National 196 Youth Golf Course, which was specifically built for children. She encouraged the Council to 197 look at the Medtronic site as a wonderful asset to the community. 198 199 Tom Field, 8409 Knollwood Drive, stated he is in support of pursuing investigation of the 200 Medtronic sale. He stated property taxes had increased 25 and 30 percent in the past two years, 201 and they need to bring some businesses back to Mounds View. 202 203 Dave Jahnke, 8428 Eastwood Road, stated he is in favor of Medtronic because it’s a good 204 company, and it is a clean business. He asked what the survey result was. 205 206 Vice President Stigney stated that the survey result showed 63 percent of the people supported 207 development of Medtronic. 208 209 Mr. Jahnke stated that Medtronic doesn’t depend on the weather, and the golf course is over $4 210 million in debt to the city. He stated that Medtronic would be a very solid investment, and he 211 wouldn’t foresee them not making money. 212 213 Mounds View EDA April 11, 2005 Regular Meeting Page 6 Valerie Amundson, 3048 Woodale Drive, stated she has lived in Mounds View for 27 years and 214 was concerned with property taxes. She stated that even before starting the road projects, they 215 are already being taxed more than any of the neighboring cities in Ramsey County. She stated 216 that new employees at the Medtronic facility won’t necessarily want to live in Mounds View. 217 She asked the Council to look at the numbers carefully. She stated Medtronic is a great business, 218 and she applauded them for the work they do, but they need to not price the Mounds View 219 residents out of being able to afford to live in the city. She stated that TIF financing may not be 220 the greatest thing for the residents and their property taxes. 221 222 Vice President Stigney stated he appreciated her comments, and they were looking at trying to 223 lower the taxes, and that is why they are looking at Medtronic. 224 225 Mary Berg, 224 Heritage Lane, New Brighton, stated she works at the Bridges Golf Course. 226 227 Vice President Stigney asked whether she was representing herself as an individual or as an 228 employee of the City or as a resident of New Brighton. 229 230 Ms. Berg stated she is representing herself and as an employee. She stated that some of the 231 numbers that were quoted are inaccurate. 232 233 Vice President Stigney stated that no figures have been presented on the golf course. 234 235 Ms. Berg stated that she was going to comment on Mr. Jahnke’s numbers that he was quoting 236 from the survey, and he had mentioned that 63 percent had wanted the golf course to go away. 237 She stated it needs to be said that it was in the survey that if the golf course had to be supported 238 by the General Fund, would you want it to go away. She stated as an employee of the golf 239 course, she didn’t think that was acceptable to accept that the General Fund would support that 240 amenity, and that isn’t what is being proposed in any way, shape, or form. 241 242 Vice President Stigney stated that the question on the survey is not something they are discussing 243 tonight. 244 245 Ms. Berg stated that Mr. Jahnke was not cut off when he talked about it. 246 247 Vice President Stigney stated that Mr. Jahnke was speaking about the overall debt of the golf 248 course. 249 250 Ms. Berg stated that half of the people would like to see the golf course go away if it costs them 251 money, and the other half said they would prefer to keep the golf course. 252 253 Vice President Stigney stated that there are three questions on there, and two questions said 63 254 percent of the people wished to have the Mounds View golf course redevelop or sold for 255 Mounds View EDA April 11, 2005 Regular Meeting Page 7 redevelopment. He stated that when she is correcting figures, he understands what she is doing, 256 but that’s a different question altogether. He asked if she had a comment that was germane to the 257 Medtronic development. 258 259 Ms. Berg stated that she would like to see the City do a cost benefit analysis of the two projects 260 because she has not seen them. 261 262 Vice President Stigney stated that they haven’t either, and it’s in the process, and they will all see 263 if before they take any action. He stated that wanted to bring people up to date on the status of 264 where they are on the proposed Medtronic development, and they don’t have all the answers in. 265 He stated when they are here, they’ll probably do a continuation to April 25th, by that time they’ll 266 have more information available. 267 268 Jerry Kahn, 2833 Crestway Drive, stated that he supports the golf course. He stated that once 269 that land is gone, he is not aware of any other developable land in Mounds View available for a 270 golf course. He stated that the City of Mounds View needs it for their families and children. 271 272 Brian Amundson, 3448 Woodale Drive, asked if someone could clarify how much of the 273 property the City or the EDA is seeking to put into TIF, if any of it. 274 275 Economic Development Coordinator Backman stated that 72 acres would be in the TIF district. 276 277 Mr. Amundson asked if that was the entire property, and Coordinator Backman stated that it was. 278 279 Mr. Amundson stated that that will add 23 percent of the total property that is currently in TIF. 280 281 Economic Development Coordinator Backman stated it might change it 2 percent. He stated that 282 you have to bear in mind that they are talking about the value as well, and that value right now is 283 about $8 million for base value. He stated that in addition, last summer they decertified 80 284 parcels, so they are in the process of putting some of the parcels back onto the tax rolls. 285 286 Mr. Amundson asked if the projected tax base value of $2 million is net to the city over five 287 years. 288 289 Economic Development Coordinator Backman stated it would be approximately $4 million over 290 25 years, $2 million net present value. 291 292 Mr. Amundson asked if from a financial standpoint when calculating the benefit of Medtronics 293 moving into the City it was $4 million. 294 295 Economic Development Coordinator Backman stated there is much more than that. He stated 296 they are talking again the base value, so right now there is nothing, and it’s tax exempt. He 297 Mounds View EDA April 11, 2005 Regular Meeting Page 8 stated that normally when there is a property that is taxable and it goes to tax to a TIF situation, 298 there is base, and it goes up from there. He stated in this case it’s zero right now, so there will be 299 $8 million that will have a base value, and that will generate about $150,000-$160,000 a year in 300 taxes for various jurisdictions, but there are other things beyond that, but that is an example of 301 one element. 302 303 Mr. Amundson asked if that $160,000 is already in the $4 million net to the City, and 304 Coordinator Backman stated that that was correct. 305 306 Mr. Amundson asked if the net was $4 million of benefit to the City, and Coordinator Backman 307 stated that that was correct for that piece. 308 309 Mr. Amundson gave some written comments to the Commission from Barb Haake. 310 311 Gary Nordness, 55 Dierdel Circle, North Oaks, stated he was in favor of Medtronic. He stated he 312 was very familiar with tax increment financing. He stated that from other areas that he’s worked 313 with TIF before, traditionally there is some additional tax value on the appreciation of the 314 structure. He stated that if it is, they are going to go from a zero tax base to a significant tax 315 base, and they will be utilizing the property to its highest and best use. He stated they would be 316 bringing in one of the most renown companies in the world, and he didn’t know why they 317 wouldn’t do it. 318 319 Vice President Stigney closed the public hearing. 320 321 MOTION/SECOND. Gunn/Flaherty. To continue the public hearing to the next EDA meeting 322 on April 25, 2005. 323 324 Ayes-4 Nays-0 Motion carried. 325 326 8. REPORTS 327 328 None. 329 330 9. NEXT EDA MEETING: Monday, April 25, 2005. 331 332 10. ADJOURNMENT 333 334 Vice President Stigney adjourned the meeting at 6:55 p.m. 335 336 Respectfully submitted, 337 338 Recorded and transcribed by: 339 Mounds View EDA April 11, 2005 Regular Meeting Page 9 340 Sheree Theobald 341 TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc. 342 343