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Special Joint Meeting EDA and City Council
June 20, 2005
Mounds View Community Center
Banquet Center, 5394 Edgewood Drive, Mounds View, MN 55112
6:00 P.M.
1. MEETING IS CALLED TO ORDER AT 6:22 P.M.
2. ROLL CALL: Marry, Stigney, Gunn, Flaherty, and Thomas
NOT PRESENT: None.
3. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
MOTION/SECOND:. Gunn/Flahery. To Approve the Monday, June 20, 2005 agenda as
presented.
• Mayor Marty opened both public hearings at 6:24 p.m.
4. INTRODUCTION
A video regarding The Bridges Golf Course was shown to the audience.
5. OVERVIEW OF PROPOSAL (City Administrator Kurt Ulrich)
City Administrator Ulrich stated the project involved the sale and development of 72.2 acres of
land known as The Bridges Golf Course to Medtronic Corporation for a CRM corporate campus.
He stated the project required consideration and approval of a development agreement and tax
increment financing assistance. He noted the City was first approached by CRESA partners in
July of 2004. He reviewed the action items that would need to be approved by the CityBDA and
the history of the project. He summarized the impacts of the project including financial,
economic, environmental, airport, city services, and traffic.
6. REVIEW OF ALTERNATIVES (Community Development Director Jim Ericson)
Community Development Director Ericson summarized other options/alternatives for The
Bridges Golf Course. He indicated option one was the "do nothing" approach and keeping the
golf course as was, reaping the benefits of the twenty-year billboard leases. The second option
• was to keep the golf course and sell the driving range. The third option was to keep the golf
course, sell the driving range, and build a new driving range. The fourth option was to relocate
Mounds View City Council June 20, 2005
Special Meeting Page 2
• holes 2 through 5, and develop the excess 26 acres. The fifth option was the Medtronic proposal
with TIF financing. The sixth option was to sell the course to a different entity and provide no
TIF. In summary, he noted the Medtronic proposal would be above and beyond the benefits of
the golf course.
7. PUBLIC SUBSIDY AND FINANCL~I. REVIEW (Ehlers & Associates)
Stacie Kvilvang, Ehlers and Associates, reviewed the special legislation by the creation of an
Economic Development TIF District and the sale of the former MnDOT property -reverter
legislation. She summarized the acquisition/park dedication fees and the retention, conditions
prior to conveyance, right of reverter, resale of reacquired property, and relocation or
termination/acquisition of billboard leaseholds. She reviewed the construction of minimum
improvements, public improvements, administrative expenses, and tax increment financing. She
summarized the wetland mitigation, prohibition on tax exemption, sale or assignment, events of
default, Phase II and Phase III, and golf course equipment and club house. She reviewed the golf
course financing, how the golf course was financed, the historical golf course gross revenue, and
the annual Interfund Loan required.
8. PUBLIC HEARING
A. Public Hearing in regard to a proposed business subsidy to be granted by the
EDA to Medtronic, Inc. under Minnesota Statues Sections 116J.993 through
• 116J.995. The proposed subsidy involves taz increment financing assistance
to facilitate development by the Recipient of an 820,000 sq. ft. business in the
City of Mounds View.
B. Public Hearing in regard to consideration of the proposed sale of land
comprising The Bridges Golf Course in the City of Mounds View, which is
presently owned by the City of Mounds View, to Medtronic, Inc.
9. PUBLIC COMMENT
Mayor Marty asked that before speaking, audience members give their full name and address for
the minutes. He advised Mounds View residents and businesses would have the first opportunity
to speak, with nonresidents speaking last. He advised that afive-minute time limit would be
strictly enforced with PowerPoint presentations being limited to 10 minutes.
Warren Johnson, 7710 Greenwood Drive, asked if MEDTRONIC built this building, how much
money would the City receive per year in taxes. Ms. Kvilvang, Ehlers & Associates, replied the
City would receive approximately $43,000 annually for the general fund that would increase over
time while the TIF District was in use and once the TIF District was done, the amount would go
up considerably because Medtronic would be paying the full value in taxes.
• Mr. Johnson asked with all of the money coming in, how much would the resident's property
taxes to be reduced. Ms. Kvilvang replied the goal of the City and EDA was to not have any tax
Mounds View City Council June 20, 2005
Special Meeting Page 3
• increase to the taxpayers, but there was no promise to reduce the taxes. However, there might be
a reduction to the school referendums, which would amount to a couple of dollars a year.
Jim Bergales, 8400 Red Oak Drive, indicated the traffic had drastically increased and asked from
Highway 10 up to Red Oak Drive and County Road J, what would happen to that intersection.
He asked if there would be a freeway hookup. Vernon Swing, RLK, City Consultant who
prepared the AUAR, responded initially the intersection would change with additional turn lanes
provided as well as some modifications to the signal timing, but the intersection at County Road
J and Long would remain the same.
Jan Brenk, 7800 Gloria Circle, stated since Medtronic's goal was to consolidate all of its smaller
companies at this site, she did not believe there would be any hiring because they would be
transferring employees. She asked what guarantee they had that Medtronic would not turn the
golf course into Medtronic's private golf course. She asked if Medtronic had ever donated any
campaign funds to any Council Member. The Council Members/EDA Commissioners as a group
replied Medtronic had not given any campaign funds to them.
Ms. Brenk noted her family owned the land prior to the State and she was opposed to this
transfer. Ms. Kvilvang replied Medtronic would not be able to retain this as a golf course or they
would be in default and with respect to the hiring of employees, this would be a condition in the
Development Agreement.
• Rodger McCombs, representing Medtronic, replied Medtronic would create the jobs they
indicated they would create.
Brian Knox, 2291 Knoll Drive, stated this "smacks of a sweetheart deal to the detriment of
Mounds View residents". He suggested they put this land on the open market and Medtronic can
join the open bidding at that time. He expressed concerns about the quality of life issues, the
noise, and the increase in traffic. He requested Council/EDA do the right thing for the citizens of
Mounds View.
John McKusick, 8465 Eastwood Road, expressed concern about the quality of life, the noise
pollution, air pollution, the increase in traffic, and the additional expense for police and fire. He
asked why they were selling this property so cheap and believed his property would not decrease
in value. He expressed concern about the increase in jet noise when they used the Blaine airport.
He stated he was against this proposal.
Rita Guzzetta, 7434 Knollwood Drive, stated she was a Medtronic employee and she purchased a
home in the City in anticipation of the Medtronic property being located in Mounds View.
Nancy Gollnick, 8085 Greenwood Drive, stated she was a former teacher in the City. She noted
Mounds View schools were running into difficult times and Medtronic had been a good friends
to Mounds View schools by providing funds to the science programs without any strings
• attached. She believed Medtronic would continue to do this if they were located in Mounds
View. She stated the future of the company depended upon hiring well-educated people and the
Mounds View City Council June 20, 2005
Special Meeting Page 4
• schools needed additional funding in order to have educated students. She noted the City already
had two schools that were considered low income schools and believed a good company coming
into the City would benefit the schools. She stated she was in support of this project.
Daniel Hall, 2200 Highway 10, asked if the golf course was self-sufficient and what was the
revenue trend. He noted a three percent a year growth was unrealistic. He stated it was probably
a three percent negative growth during the past five years. He stated Blaine had never turned
down Medtronic to go into that City and Medtronic had not been turned down by a lot of cities.
He complimented Jim Ericson for his paper and noted it was a very thorough report. City
Administrator Ulrich replied the golf course was self-sufficient with the three percent revenue
growth and the billboard revenue. However, if there was no billboard revenue, the golf course
would not be self sufficient.
Mr. Hall noted the golf course was still being funded by the taxpayers. Ms. Kvilvang replied Mr.
Hall was correct because the operating of the golf course did not cash flow annually and that was
the reason for the billboards. She noted the City was required to put additional funds yearly to
make sure the reserve was maintained.
Phil Sipe, President SYSCO, 2400 County J, stated he had an emotional tie to the golf course,
but as a business person, it made sense to do this development project. He stated they presently
employ 639 jobs with benefits and their employees made use of the facilities in Mounds View.
He stated they supported this because of the additional tax revenue, high paying jobs, it was a
• clean industry, it resulted in badly needed improvements in County Road J and the bridge over
35W, and this might be the only opportunity to improve the road in the near future, the project
included trails and the wooded land dedicated to the City by Sysco. He noted their employees
enjoyed walking during their lunch hour, but had to cross the street to access trails. He stated
their employees patronized the Mounds View businesses. He stated the Medtronic project was
an important improvement to the City and encouraged them to go forward with the development.
Ken Glidden, 5240 Edgewood Drive, stated he has lived in the City for 37 years and supported
the Medtronic proposal. He questioned how they had reached this point in the discussions with
respect to TIF financing and it being an inherit part of this proposal. He asked if this was a deal
breaker and who initiated the discussion regarding TIF financing. He stated he would like to
welcome them as a corporate tax paying neighbor, but he did not understand why they got this
type of a tax break. City Administrator Ulrich replied this was a Medtronic request and
Medtronic needed that to make the site work for their business requirements.
Torri Johnson, 7730 Long Lake Road, stated she was a 14 year resident of Mounds View and
lived on the north side of County Road 10. She expressed concern about the increase in traffic
and she had every reason to not support this project, but she wholeheartedly did support it
because the schools would benefit from this proposal, the City would get an immediate benefit
from the sale and the reduction of the debt, the tax base would increase, as well as $800,000 for
the parks. She stated she was excited for Medtronic to be part of the community. She urged the
• Council/EDA to approve this project and do what was right for the City and its residents.
Mounds View City Council June Z0, 2005
Special Meeting Page 5
Brian Kaden, 7675 Spring Lake Road, stated he has lived in the City for 32 years and he liked the
idea of Medtronic coming into the City, but he did not like Medtronic coming into the City at the
cost of the taxpayers and he did not like to subsidize businesses. He stated Mounds View had the
fourth highest TIF in the state. He asked if he would get a tax break if he put an addition on his
house through TIF financing. He stated the taxpayers were helping the businesses pay their
mortgage and that was one of the reasons he believed this was not a good deal. He stated the TIF
financing was put into place to develop land that was not desirable and this practice was being
abused. He questioned how much of a benefit Medtronic would have in the City being located in
the northeast portion of the City. He believed Shoreview and Blaine businesses were going to
benefit more than the Mounds View businesses because of the location. He stated Medtronic
was amulti-billion dollar company and if they were a good corporate neighbor, why were they
asking for a tax break that the citizens did not get. He asked why Medtronic was not paying the
same taxes as Walgreens. He stated this would be a good project if Medtronic was not requiring
TIF financing. He suggested the City look at their TIF financing programs in the future.
Lloyd Bardwell, 2932 County Road J, stated County Road J was a public drag strip. He agreed
that Medtronic was a good corporation, but he also agreed Medtronic should not be given TIF
financing. He expressed concern about the increase in traffic on County Road J and he hated
living in his home because of the traffic. He stated there was no enforcement along that road and
the infrastructure was missing to go east and west on the road. He stated he was for the
development, but he did not believe Medtronic was paying their fair share of taxes. He stated he
was not complaining about his taxes, but the City needed to do something about the speeding
traffic.
Peter Martin, 2192 Oakwood Drive, stated he has been playing The Bridges Golf Course since
day one. He indicated dollars are fine and the large companies are going to get the money no
matter what they did, but what about the land and its value to the community and the values like
families being able to play golf together, health and fitness values, natural and wildlife values,
and moral values. He noted moral values are what the citizens need most and were harder to
come buy. He stated golf was based on honesty, integrity, and patience and these were values
needed by the children today because they were not taught in the school system anymore.
Barbara Haake, 3024 County Road I, stated she has lived in the City for 39 years. She indicated
Medtronic was a good company and she was neither for nor against this project, but she needed
more information. She thanked the Community Development Director for preparing the options
she had requested at a previous meeting. She noted Fridley had an appraisal done of $137.00 per
square foot and through mediation it went down to $109.00 and the $80.00 per square foot was
not a fair price. She stated Twin Lakes Development in Roseville was going for $300,000 per
acre .and Medtronic negotiated $120,000 per acre. She stated they were getting an appraiser price
as it was not as it was built out and she believed Medtronic should pay more. She stated
Medtronic should have to pay $235,000 to $260,000 per acre. She noted Medtronic had 4 billion
in cash and asked why the City was doing to subsidies for a company who had this type of
money. Community Development Director Ericson replied with regard to the Twin Lakes
• Development there were a lot of improvements made to the land in order for it to be sold and
Mounds View City Council June 20, 2005
Special Meeting Page 6
. there was a 40 million dollar TIF subsidy being proposed on that project. He noted this project
was not the same thing because they were talking about raw land versus improved lots.
Mike Szczepanski, 2385 Laport Drive, stated he has been on the Park and Recreation Board and
The Bridges had never made money and would never make money, even though the "City sold
its soul" to Clear Channel He stated he was for the transfer and sale to Medtronic and if most
people did not like TIF, they should ask the City Council/EDA where they have used TIF in the
past 25 to 50 years. He stated there have been no major projects coming to the City. He
indicated all large companies required TIF financing in order to locate within a City. He noted
corporations would come in and ask for everything, which was normal. He stated there was a lot
of white pollution on the golf course. He believed the City should get rid of the billboards. He
indicated the traffic was an issue and the City of Mounds View had promised a sound wall,
which had never been constructed.
Dave Hicks, 2749 Sherwood Road, stated he did not understand all of the figures and it looked
way too complicated for anything to be right about the project. He stated he believed the ending
cash value of the Medtronic development would be plus $31,000 due to somebody having to pay
the 20.5 million dollars to improve the road. Community Development Director Ericson
responded with respect to the transportation improvements, those were funded by the State of
Minnesota, which were being made available to Mounds View for this development. He noted
those funds were in the State's general fund and if Mounds View did not use it, then another City
would get the money. He noted the northern metropolitan area was historically under-funded
• regarding transportation improvements.
Tim Mitchell, 2280 Knoll Drive, stated he has lived in the City for 49 years and believed The
Bridges was the best 9-hole golf course in the metropolitan area. He asked where else were
people supposed to go to learn the game. He stated he wanted the golf course to remain a golf
course and Medtronic to find other land.
Stan Meyer, 2812 Sherwood Road, stated he did not like subsidizing fortune 500 companies. He
stated he did not have the opportunity to defer his taxes. With respect to traffic, his road was
busy also and the issue was enforcement. He believed their quality of life would go down with
this proposal. He stated Medtronic employees would not live in the City; they would commute
and believed there would be a bad impact on Highway 10. He stated $43,000 a year to the City
for taxes for 25-years was nothing and this was not a good deal for the City. He wanted some
other City to pay the cost for Medtronic.
Bob Musil, Visit Minneapolis North, stated he was here representing the recreational assets,
parks and trails, and the lodging and hospitality business in the northern metropolitan area. He
noted Visit Minneapolis North marketed and promoted 11 northern cities as a regional
destination and they supported this proposal. He presented to the Mayor a letter and Resolution
in support of the sale of The Bridges Golf Course to Medtronic. He encouraged the
Council/EDA to vote in favor of this project. He stated this might be a developmental
• opportunity of a lifetime for Mounds View and he hoped they did not pass it up.
Mounds View City Council June 20, 2005
Special Meeting Page 7
• Larry Huff, 5512 Erickson Road, stated he has lived in the City for 25 years and expressed
concern about the traffic and noise on County Road I and Erickson Road. He stated he did not
want to deal with more traffic. He stated Medtronic was a good company, but believed their
employees would commute. He stated he worked for another City as a plan reviewer and he did
not know if Mounds View Staff could handle the amount of workload this project would entail.
He stated he did not understand why Medtronic would come to such a small community and
expect "the world". He stated in Maple Grove, none of their TIF financing was over ten years.
He noted in 25 years very few people in the room would be alive to benefit from this. He stated
he did not golf, but he was concerned about the noise and the decrease in peacefulness they
would no longer have if this development went through.
Tom Belisle, 2515 County Road H, asked if New Brighton had turned down Medtronic. He
stated he did not believe there would be a negative impact to property values if this was
approved. With respect to TIF, he stated if they went any other route, there would be a cheaper
development on the site. He stated he could not see maintaining the golf course that could not
maintain itself except for the billboards.
Steve Larson, 2150 Arden Court, New Brighton, Mayor of New Brighton, stated they had been in
negotiations with Medtronic, but New Brighton could not meet all of the needs Medtronic
required. He stated New Brighton could not afford to go any further and negotiations fell
through.
• Eric Bakke, 5250 Jeffery Drive, presented a petition from 135 students from Irondale objecting to
this proposal. He stated the high school students cared about the golf course. He noted the golf
course benefited youth in that it taught golf, fitness, and healthy living. He stated the golf course
also provided the youth with something. He indicated this business would not generate people
coming into the City to do something on a Friday night or weekend. He stated it was hard to
believe that $100,000 would "save" the Mounds View schools. He noted Mounds View was no
Edina and he did not believe Medtronic employees would move into the City, but would move to
surrounding cities. He asked what the salary range was for the new employees and asked what
the average household value in Mounds View was. City Administrator Ulrich responded the
average salary at Medtronic, excluding executives would be $70,200 per job and the average
household median value household in the City was $168,000 to $170,000.
Dan Mueller, 8343 Groveland Road, hoped the Council/EDA had not already made up their
minds and had listened to all of the residents. He expressed concern about the increase in traffic.
He stated if the City wanted to pick up an extra $44,000 in taxes, why not take some of this land
for house lots and collect taxes that way. He stated the City needed a grocery store and other
businesses including restaurants and not more drug stores. He stated if his taxes only went down
$1.00 per year, he would rather subsidize the golf course and see the wildlife instead of large
buildings and parking lots. Ms. Kvilvang noted this was not only the $43,000 annually in taxes,
but that the first year there would be a 6 million dollar surplus brought into the City.
• Dennis Hammes, 5511 Quincy Street, expressed concerns about traffic and noise. He stated the
City would need to hire additional police officers and suggested Medtronic fund these extra
Mounds View City Council June 20, 2005
Special Meeting Page 8
• officers because they were getting this tax break. He stated he was not necessarily for the golf
course because he did not play golf. He noted this was only a first bid and believed the City
could get a better offer. He suggested the City look at other alternatives also. He believed The
City could negotiate a better deal with Medtronic, such as bringing down the TIF to 8 or ten
years. He asked if this development created more residents, where would those residents live.
Community Development Director Ericson responded there were parts of the City that could be
redeveloped where it would be a possibility to add homes, but the City was fully developed.
Nick Hammes, 5511 Quincy Street, stated the $100,000 given to the Mounds View School
District was over 25 years, which was only $300 per school per year and he did not believe this
was a large gift for amulti-billion dollar company. He stated a vote for Medtronic was a vote
against the community.
Steve Bakke, 8261 Sunnyside Road, asked how they arrived at the 19 million dollars. He
believed at the end of 25 years, the property would be worth more than 12 million. He found it
interesting that the Blaine parcel would cost them 11 million and they were selling theirs for 8
million. He stated he was did not play golf and he agreed that if the City owned that property it
should be looked at like a business and there should be some value there. He stated he was
excited when he found out that Medtronic was proposing to come into the community. He stated
his wife was concerned about the traffic increase and the additional airport use. He stated the
benefit Mounds View received in property taxes would offset any negatives. He stated it
appeared the County, State and Schools would benefit from this proposal, but he did not see any
benefits coming to the Mounds View taxpayers. He stated there should be some TIF Financing,
but not 25 years. He suggested 8 to 10 years would be more reasonable.
Mayor Marty recessed the meeting at 9:14 p.m. and reconvened the meeting at 9:20 p.m.
Antoinette Sprung, 8465 Groveland Road, expressed concern about the safety on County Road J.
She noted there were trucks, semi-trailers, buses, motorcycles, and airplanes going down and
over her road. She expressed concern about the safety for the children in the area. She stated her
main concern was safety and that signs were posted and enforced in the neighborhood. She
stated she was on Social Security and could not afford to move.
Ms. Kvilvang stated prior to the break there had been some questioner asked and the difference
was the franchise fees, additional taxes, and that is how they came up with 19 million.
Mayor New Brighton Steve Larson stated that Medtronic was going to build in New Brighton on
a parcel that was in the northwest quadrant, which was now proposed to be 1,000 townhomes.
He stated parts of the old dump would be excavated and they were going to build on it, which
would be a successful development. He stated they were looking at a timeframe of 5 years when
it would be fully built out. He noted there was life after Medtronic and they were actually going
to come out ahead now. He stated traffic would not get any better because there were no funds
coming to 35W for at least the next 25 to 30 years because there was no money available from
. the State.
Mounds View City Council June 20, 2005
Special Meeting Page 9
Cynthia Winegarner, 2200 Highway 10, AmericInn and the Mermaid, stated she was a
stakeholder within the AmericInn and the Mermaid and believed it was rude that the Mayor
asked her to hold her comments and then had the Mayor of New Brighton speak before her. She
noted Medtronic already did a tremendous amount of business with them and their business
increased 25 percent year over year. She noted Medtronic created revenue in the City. She stated
they shuttled their guests around to local businesses and utilized the businesses in the City. She
stated Medtronic employees would have an economic impact in the City. She stated the
economic outcome to the City could be irreversible if Medtronic did not come into the City.
Mayor Marty apologized to Ms. Winegarner for asking the Mayor of New Brighton to speak
before her.
Peter Weinberger, 8011 Eastwood Road, student at Irondale, stated a few weeks back he made a
big mistake by basing his term paper on the current activities on the EDA and Council. He noted
he had interviewed three of the Council Members and had received some of the same
information. He stated he had also done a survey and came up with different results. He
believed the Medtronic employees would eat at their cafeteria instead of patronizing the Mounds
View businesses. He asked if Council Member/BDA Commissioner Gunn had a conflict of
interest because she worked for the Mounds View School District. Council Member/EDA
Commissioner Gunn replied $100,000 would not affect her job whatsoever and she doubted she
would ever see any of that money; it was not a benefit to her, and she did not think this was a
conflict of interest.
. Byran Griffin, 5505 Quincy Street, stated this was a big decision and the TIF financing was a big
question mark. He stated 26 years to go without any taxes was too long. He indicated the voters
should decide this question, not the Council. He expressed concern about safety and the increase
in traffic. He noted everyone had traffic issues and speeding problems, but the way to solve it
was not to add more cars. He stated they should look at some of the other options presented by
the Community Development Director.
Cindy Sebesta, 2.146 Hillview Road, stated she knew people who worked for Medtronic and they
liked the company, but she differed with the way this was structured and the sale price. She
noted the City had a lot of other options and they needed to look at this. She asked if this would
benefit the parcels that were included in the other TIF districts. She stated people had to look at
this on a personal basis and what this was costing them and they needed to reexamine the price
structure and TIF funding. She stated she did not want to subsidize a large business.
Jayne Griffith, 8778 Alamo Circle, Blaine, congratulated the Council Members for holding this
meeting. She noted she had lived in Fridley when the previous Medtronic proposal came in and
the City of Fridley did not handle it properly and hold a public hearing. She stated she was
opposed to this development. She indicated their quality of life would decrease due to the
increase of traffic, noise and light pollution. She stated it made her calm to see the golf course
and people out there golfing. She noted she was distressed about the major extreme in traffic.
She expressed concern about flooding due to the rapid development and the impervious surface.
She stated she believed it was highly doubtful there would be an economic benefit to the citizens
of businesses of Mounds View. She noted there was already a Medtronic facility very close to
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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
Mounds View City Council June 20, 2005
Special Meeting Page 11
• City. She stated this proposal would not make a bit of difference on her property taxes. She
stated she had nothing against Medtronic and believed they were a good company, and that was
not the debate, but they needed to do what was best for Mounds View and they needed to be sure
that this was the best use of the land. She stated Medtronic's stockholders wanted them to
negotiate as cheap of a deal as possible, but that did not mean that is what was best for Mounds
View. She requested the City should look at all options.
Sid Inman, Ehlers & Associates, responded the TIF Financing was 40 percent less than
Medtronic could have asked for and this had been negotiated down. He noted the important
thing to distinguish was that the multi-million dollar corporation could buy the land, but the
reality is that they would not buy the land and Medtronic would want what was best for their
stockholders.
Ronald Strittmater, 2911 Wyoming Avenue South, St. Louis Park, formerly of Coon Rapids,
stated he was introduced to The Bridges 8 years ago and he played there every weekend and
sometimes during the week also. He indicated one of the reasons he left Coon Rapids was
because of the traffic. He stated he enjoyed this community and he came up to this community
two or three times a week to play golf.
John Kulp, 8461 Spring Lake Road, thanked the Council for listening to them. He stated he had
lived in the community for 10 years. He stated he did not want Mounds View to turn into a
"little LA" and he moved here because it was a small community, yet it was close to the City. He
• stated he did not want this community to turn into something it was not designed to be. He noted
jets were being proposed to come to the Blaine Airport. He stated he was not anti-business and
he understood Medtronic's deserved some help to come into the City, but Mounds View had very
little available land and he did not think Mounds View was the appropriate place for this
business. He stated he did not have a problem with growing the City, but this was a small city
and everyone had to make choices. He stated did they really need to sell the golf course. He
suggested the City do a better job of advertising the golf course. He stated there had to be a way
to make The Bridges more profitable without giving it up entirely. He believed the City could do
better.
Cathy Olin, 8245 Spring Lake Road, believed her road was the busiest road in Mounds View.
She asked if the City had looked at any other options. She stated the Mounds View residents
moved here for areason -the land, the trees, and the community. She believed the residents
should have the vote and not just the Council. She believed most people speaking tonight
wanted to keep the golf course. She noted many people came from other areas to play the course
because it was a good course. She indicated they needed something to draw the people to the
community, like restaurants. She asked them why the City had not put a restaurant on the golf
course to get more people to come into the community. She asked if Medtronic had taken any
Council Members/EDA Commissioners out to dinner or for drinks, etc. Mayor/President Marty
replied as a Council/EDA they had not seriously looked at any other options. He indicated
Medtronic had not taken any Council Member/EDA Commissioner out and the only time the
• Council/EDA had met with Medtronic had been at City Hall in Conference Room C.
Mounds View City Council June 20, 2005
Special Meeting Page 12
• Aaron Backman stated in July, 2004 CRESA partners approached the City and within a week and
a half of that they had received some calls from a couple of residential developers expressing an
interest in the site. He stated they had one plan for various townhomes and other types of
residential development that could occur on the site, which was brought up to the Council, but
staff did not believe this was the highest or best use for this location and nothing further was
done with that proposal. He stated this spring they were also approached by a developer for a
large campus, which was also brought to the EDA's attention and it was felt that this
development might not bring in the amount of road development necessary.
Carol Mueller, 8343 Groveland Road, stated she heard the only way there would be improvement
to County Road J was if Medtronic took the golf course. She noted she had presented a petition
in the past regarding Groveland as a cut through. She asked what the rush was. She asked if the
deal was already made and was the City wasting their time. She indicated she wanted the best for
the Ciry. She noted if this deal went though she wanted to see a benefit in her lifetime and not
have to wait 25 years. She requested the City pull in some more opinions and think about this for
awhile. She asked the City to step back and reevaluate what their true purpose was. She asked
why the Ciry was being pressured into making a decision. She asked the City to look at other
options. She asked the City to look at all offers. She noted this was a beautiful community and
while she was not a golfer, the course was very nice. She asked the City not to rush into this
deal. She asked the City to consider everything they have heard tonight and take a little more
time before they made a decision. Stacie Kvilvang responded the Council/EDA had not made up
their mind and this was not a done deal. She indicated this was not the first deal the City had
• considered, but this was the first financially feasible plan presented to the City. She noted
Medtronic was a large corporation, but that did not mean they were better negotiators.
Tim Roberts, 1113 Nassau Circle, Blaine, stated this came to his attention because he was a
beginning golfer and he golfed at this facility. He indicated there had been a lot of numbers
given tonight and the ones that concerned him was the length of the TIF financing. He noted the
City was getting a taxpayer who was not paying taxes for 25 years and the second phases of their
development went out to 2014 and therefore, they were not getting taxes for 44 years. He noted
this development would increase administrative costs and the City would spend a lot of money
without having the tax money come in for a long time. He stated this TIF was just too long and
the City did not realize any economic benefit for a long time. He stated he was a CPA and this
did not appear to be a good financial deal for the community. Stacie Kvilvang responded it was
true that 25 years was the maximum term, but there were communities where TIF had been
shortened and she anticipated that this TIF would be paid off within 19 to 20 years.
Brian Amundsen, 3048 Wooddale Drive, stated he was upset the amount of time staff and non-
staff was taking answering questions instead of the Council/EDA answering. He stated the
Council/EDA was hired by a citizen vote to represent the citizens and they were charged with a
significant responsibility by growing the community and keeping it fiscally sound. He stated the
Council/EDA represent the citizens and voters in the City and asked them to fulfill their duty to
the citizens. He noted the Council/EDA did not represent outside businesses. He noted the
. Charter stated the City would need to transfer the property to the EDA and also noted the Charter
Mounds View City Council June 20, 2005
Special Meeting Page 13
• allowed a referendum petition to be submitted. City Attorney Riggs stated the Ordinance would
need to be adopted and residents would have 30-days to submit a referendum petition.
Mr. Amundsen stated it would be necessary to get 990 signatures for a referendum petition. He
noted Mounds View was one of the higher taxed cities in the area and had more TIF than most
cities in the state. He stated the City had a real need to improve their income. He stated the
Council/EDA needed to decide why they were allowing a private bid instead of competitive
bidding. He believed there was already a TIF District on the Sysco property and asked if the City
was planning on retiring that District in order to create a new TIF District. City Administrator
Ulrich replied there was an existing TIF District on part of the parcel and that District would still
exist in part.
Shelly Eldridge, Ehlers & Associates, stated it had been awhile since she looked at those
specifies, but she believed there might be a small portion of the District that would need to be
decertified, but the main District would remain in tact. She requested additional time to answer
this.
Mayor Marty stated that he would have been more than happy to answer and respond and staff
was because it was the consensus of the rest of the Council that for this meeting tonight, staff and
Ehlers and associates would answer the questions to get their expertise out. He stated they were
aware the Council represented the citizens and they took that responsibility seriously. He stated
competitive bidding was a good point.
Duane McCarty, 8060 Long Lake Road, stated he su orted the concern about staff answerin
pp g
rather than the Council. He stated because Council was not answering, they were allowing staff
to do their job. He stated Ehlers & Associates has been using an abstract value from Ramsey
County as their base value. He stated the fact was that the actual number was 9.1, which was 2
million higher. He suggested the City pay the one million and tell Medtronic that they would
consider their offer. With respect to the 20.5 million for transportation improvements, he stated
unless they had that in writing, he did not believe MnDOT would come forward and this should
not be used as a carrot for the residents of the City. He noted 25 percent of the City's tax base
was in TIF financing. He stated they needed to think in terms of the future within the residents'
lifetimes and a 25-year TIF was too long.
Stacie Kvilvang stated the difference in the numbers was that one of the parcels included in the
notice was not in the TIF District. She noted one of the parcels would remain exempt, which was
the former Sysco property.
Bob Glazer, 2625 Hillview Road, stated Medtronic was a fine company, but it was one of several
fine companies in the area. He stated the City Council was required to hold a public hearing by
law for this matter. He asked if Council had a predetermined position on this and he requested
Council and not the staff respond to this question. He stated he was afraid of the answer because
so much as gone on because the EDA and the Planning Commission has passed this, as well as a
lot of legislative pressure. He stated he was disappointed with the TIF financing. He believed
the number of jobs Medtronic were proposing was too optimistic. He noted the golf course was
Mounds View City Council June 20, 2005
Special Meeting Page 14
• owned by the residents and it was the City who had control of this and the future use of this land
should be determined by the resident's and not only by the Council. He stated the billboards
were compatible for the golf course, but not for Mounds View.
Mayor/President Mariy stated to poll the Council would not be justified because they were not
yet ready to take a vote.
Council MemberBDA Commissioner Stigney stated he was a taxpayer and his predisposition
was to do the very best for the overall taxpayer. He stated he would make up his mind as to what
he thinks was best.
Council Member/EDA Commissioner Thomas replied she did not have a predetermined position.
Council Member/EDA Commissioner Flaherty stated he had not made up his mind and asked
them to be allowed to gather all of the information and make a decision. He stated the citizens
made him a representative for the City and that was what he was going to do. He stated he would
make the best decision he could for the City.
Council Member/EDA Commissioner Gunn stated she was not the swing vote and she had a
mind of her own. She indicated she needed to hear from everyone so she could make a decision.
She stated they were all going through the numbers and the information.
Mayor/President Marty stated he had in the past stated that based on the information he had at
different points that he could not vote for this deal, but now they were getting more information,
pieces of the puzzle were coming together, but he still wanted to hear from the residents. He
stated when he has met with the Medtronic representatives, he had always told them that
whatever deal came in it had to be the best deal for the citizens and if he did not feel it was the
best deal, he would not vote for it and at this time, he was still waiting to hear from everyone and
he was still gathering information which was still coming in. He noted, personally, on a decision
of this magnitude, he would not feel uncomfortable at all for this to go to a resident vote.
Jim Gould, 7879 Spring Lake Road, stated it appeared the Council/EDA had painted themselves
into a corner and asked who would pay the $312,000 staff time if this did not go through. City
Administrator Ulrich responded right now the amount was at $314,000, which would be the
responsibility of the City if this did not go through.
Mr. Gould expressed concern that the bill would keep going up and the taxpayers would end up
paying for it. He expressed concern about the increase in traffic. He expressed concern about the
increase in planes at the airport. He stated the City needed to look at the recreational asset the
golf course was to the community and it would be better to hold onto the land because the land
value would always be there and there was no rush to get rid of it right now. He stated the golf
course probably got utilized a lot more than they realized. He believed this was a conflict of
interest for Council Member/EDA Commissioner Gunn also.
•
Mounds View City Council June 20, 2005
Special Meeting Page 15
• Mayor Marty stated the issue of conflict of interest had already been raised and addressed. He
indicated this was a public elected job and a public school system and he did not see this as a
conflict. City Attorney Riggs stated from a legal standpoint, this was not a conflict of interest.
Wendy Marty, 2626 Louisa Avenue, stated this was her opinion and her opinion alone. She
stated she had lived in Mounds View for 15 years and she grew up in St. Anthony, which she
loved, but she could not afford to live in St. Anthony. She stated she was sure Mounds View had
the lowest income in the area. She stated the Medtronic proposal was not a good proposal and
she recommended they realign the golf course and sell a portion of the property to Medtronic.
George Winiecki, 2704 NE County Highway 10, stated he has been doing business in Mounds
View for 21 years. He stated in owning his own business he learned a lot and he had trouble
when the City got involved in property ownership because it led to problems. He stated the City
did not belong in business. He noted they had to put their emotions aside and look at this in
strictly a business sense. He stated he was for Medtronic, but with guarded reservations. He
believed Medtronic should "sweeten the pot a little more", but at the same time, they had a great
blue chip buyer and they could deal with one developer instead of a bunch of them. He stated the
City had to look for a good, solid buyer, which the City had, but he believed the City needed to
hold Medtronic's "hands and feet into the fire" to get a better deal. He stated the golf course land
was a great asset and it would not go away if they lost the deal. He appreciated what the
Council/EDA was doing and he did not envy them, but he believed they could get a better deal.
• Shannon Meyer, President TC North Chamber of Commerce, stated this was a difficult decision.
She noted the business community was important for the vitality of the City. She indicated they
had asked their members for input regarding this proposal and the members agree that The
Bridges was a fantastic golf course, but some of the concern was the overall feasibility of the golf
course with the main concern being the 3 percent projected increase in revenue. She noted the
other golf courses in the Chamber were flat lined and were not making their revenues. She stated
the same quality of life issues that the citizens were concerned about were the same issues
businesses were concerned about. She noted it was important to revitalize the school system,
which this project would do. She stated it was great to have the 20.5 million dollars for.road
improvements. She stated the impact of Medtronic was great on the local businesses. She asked
the City look at all perspectives and noted without businesses they could not have a City.
Jerry Blanski, 2933 Wooddale Drive, stated he wished they had all of this material in their hands
prior to walking in the door tonight. He stated many people could not see the display screen and
recommended it be raised up the next time. He thanked Stacie Kvilvang of Ehlers and
Associates and wished he could present something as well as she did. He stated he had received
a flyer in his mailbox today regarding this proposal and did not understand why anyone would
distribute this type of a flyer. He stated he was not for or against Medtronic and he did not play
golf, but if the City was looking at different options, the City was looking at a good company that
did good things for the entire world. He stated he did not the City should open this up to bids
because there was the risk of getting a company in there that was not as good. He asked if they
• were so proud of the golf course, why the City had signage on a skid on County Road J and Coral
Sea Street to advertise the course.
Mounds View City Council June 20, 2005
Special Meeting Page 16
• Todd Leffler, 7660 Woodlawn, New Brighton, and owner of a rental property in Mounds View.
He stated as he drove here this evening and drove by 19 for rent signs. He noted it was a tough
rental market right now. He stated there were 1,400 rental units in the City which was a huge
part of the population. He noted he was losing money and could not afford to raise his rent,
which meant he could not put more money into the building and therefore the building get run
down and the quality of tenant went down. He noted the police were not issuing speeding tickets
because they were busy at the rental places. He stated he wanted Medtronic in the community so
he could put some money back into his rental building. He stated if they did not have Medtronic,
they would have a "Pawn America" community and the community needed new jobs and fresh
blood. He stated he lived off Interstate 694 and he would gladly take the freeway noise of this
community. He stated he did not believe the Mayor of New Brighton when he indicated new
Brighton was going to put townhomes on the dump.
Mike Read, 2208 Lois Drive, stated all they have been hearing tonight was numbers being added
and subtracted to make anything look good. He stated he golfed, but there were other golf
courses. He indicated he did not like the 25-year TIF Financing and if that could be lowered, he
believed more people would be in support of this proposal.
Fritz Gastreich, 5030 Bona Road, indicated he was in favor of this proposal. He stated they were
12,000 residents in a 3 million population metro area. He believed it was amazing Medtronic
• chose this community for their facility. He thanked Medtronic for giving Mounds View
consideration. He stated there seemed to be a bit of a consensus that the City should go back to
the bargaimng table to get a better deal. He stated the City needed to remember that Medtromc
was a world class business and being a world class business Medtronic had world class
competitors and Medtronic did not have time to sit around and negotiate endlessly on their
business future. He indicated there were many, many other options for Medtronic. He stated if
the City was walking away from this, they were walking away from Medtronic and in the
meantime the City would be subsidizing the citizens around them to the tune of 80 percent for
the non-citizens who used the golf course. He requested the City keep in mind that most likely
this was final one way or another and Medtronic would look for other options.
David Jahnke, 8428 Eastwood Road, pointed out the City prepared a survey on these issues and
62 percent of the people wanted to get rid of the golf course so he did not think they needed a
citizen vote on this. He stated time was running out and the golf course has been "bleeding" the
City. He believed cities should stay out of business and the golf course has lost money since day
one. He stated there were no guarantees that the golf course would ever make money. He noted
the billboard company could cut their contract in five years or cancel it altogether. He indicated
they had to count on good weather in order for the golf course to make money. He stated with
the Medtronic proposal, they did not have to depend on the weather or billboards to make money.
He stated they had an opportunity that they would never get again. He noted they did not have
time to waste and Medtronic would pull out and the City needed this tax base, even though they
might not see the entire realization for many years.
r~
u
Mounds View City Council June 20, 2005
Special Meeting Page 17
• John Kopas, 2222 County Highway 10, stated he had very strong emotions and if he lived by the
golf course, he would be concerned about the traffic also. He noted he was before the Council
about 2.5 years ago and he was the victim of Brighton Village and was told he had to move
because they were going to get torn down. He noted he did not want to move, but he was not
given any choice. He believed the Medtronic employees would do business in Mounds View.
He stated Highway 10 was beginning to look nice and the City should be proud. He supported
Medtronic coming into the community and there were a lot of benefits to having a first class
company come to the community.
Stacy Gardebrecht, 8484 Sunnyside Road, stated this was the first time she had heard that The
Bridges Golf Course was owned by the City. She noted she had lived in the City for three years,
but did not know the City owned the golf course. She stated the City should never say never and
the Council/EDA needed to look at what was best for the community. She asked if there was a
guarantee that Medtronic would be a good solid company and still be in the community in 25
years. She noted there were no guarantees and asked what would happen if Medtronic was not
around in 25 years.
Edwin Benson, 5108 Long Lake Road, stated eventually the golf course would probably have to
go, but he did not believe this was the appropriate development because of the 25-year TIF
financing. He noted the City was not making any more land, so the land would not go down in
value.
• Bill Folkes, GM and Director of Golf, 701 Bunker Lake Boulevard, stated he had read through
the proposals and he had done a lot of research over the years. He noted under option one he
would not place a lot of weight on the three percent yearly increase. He indicated they were
budgeting flat rounds over the next couple of years, so the three percent was hopeful, but he
would not put a lot of stock into it. He believed it would be a good idea to determine what the
utilization rates were back in the year 2000 and if it continued to grow to the level of 50,000
rounds could they actually do a level of 50,000 rounds, and if they could not do that to break
even on the property, they had to take that into consideration. He asked how much longer the
City would want to subsidize the golf course.
Mr. Blanski asked if this went through that Medtronic consider putting their address as Mounds
View and not Minneapolis.
Brian Amundsen asked if they had checked into how much TIF money a City should be allowed.
City Administrator Ulrich replied they had not looked into this.
Mr. Amundsen requested they look into this.
Mr. Amundsen asked what the City was going to do with the existing TIF District they already
had in place. Shelly Eldridge replied all of the parcels they were looking at putting into the TIF
District were currently exempt and therefore they were already not generating taxes and they
• would have no effect on the current tax district.
Mounds View City Council June 20, 2005
Special Meeting Page 18
• Mayor Marty requested staff look into if there were any guidelines for the use of TIF.
10. CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING
Mayor Marty closed the Public Hearing at 11:52 p.m.
11. NEXT STEP
City Administrator Ulrich stated the next meeting would be on Monday, June 27, at which time
Council/EDA would be either approved, table or deny this Resolution.
Mayor/President Marty stated he did not know why they needed to only look at this option and
noted on a project of $50,000 or more they needed to get three bids.
MOTION/SECOND. Marty/Flaherty. To put out RFP's to see what other bids might come in
and what other options there were.
Council Member/EDA Commissioner Stigney stated from what he heard there was something
that was passing here and he did not see it as prudent to go out for bids and suggested they look
at the merits of this project alone and see what happened at next week's meeting.
Council Member/EDA Commissioner Gunn agreed and to do this now would open a can of
• worms that they did not need at this stage and if Mayor/President Marty was not in favor of this
project, he could vote this down next Monday.
Mayor/President Marry stated he wanted to throw this out because they were tentatively set to
take a vote on this next Monday and whether this passed or failed he wanted this set out for
discussion.
Ayes-2 Nays-3 (Council Member/EDA Commissioners Stigney, Thomas, and Gunn)
Motion failed.
12. ADJOURN
The meeting was adjourned at 12:00 a.m., June 21, 2005.
Transcribed and recorded by:
Kathy Altman
Timesaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.
•