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City Council Regular Meeting Minutes August 23, 2005 Page 9 project come to completion. He urged the Council to accept this Development Agreement change and work with Amcon in creating the shopping center. 3 4 Councilmember Stille related the story of Spectators in 2003. He said he has heard a lot of this 5 before as far as permits being applied for and the lease being almost ready to sign. He said he 6 would like to see what is out there in terms of options and opening up for a Request for Proposal. 7 He said the City has come this far and should see what other options are there. He is concerned 8 that the operator has not done this before, and is concerned it could revert back to a bar. He 9 would encourage this applicant to participate in the RFP. 10 11 Councilmember Thuesen said he was glad to hear this would be a neighborhood restaurant vs. a 12 neighborhood bar. He said this cannot be emphasized enough. The establishment being run in 13 Anoka is a different time and place, and he said he is willing to recognize that. He said he 14 believes the operator that wants to build this establishment understands what we are looking for. 15 This process to this point has been painful. He said he is leaning toward approving this 16 operation. He added that he thinks the potential is there for a neighborhood restaurant. 17 18 Councilmember Gray agreed with Councilmembers Horst and Thuesen; he said he thinks it is 19 time to get going. He said he likes the concept and believes it will be a good neighborhood 20. restaurant. This is within walking distance from many residential units and apartments. He 21 noted he has heard from apartment residents that they would like to have something to walk to. 22 The developer is willing to pay the difference on taxes, and he thinks the Council should proceed. 25 Mayor Faust indicated he did not feel an obligation to do anything for the sake of speed. He said 26 there is a reason there is a Developer's Agreement. We are at the 11 `h hour of the second 27 extension with the Developer's Agreement. He stated he didn't find that Amcon, or whomever 28 the operator is has been forthright with the Council. He said he would like to see what is out 29 there as well. He said he doesn't doubt Mr. Peterson's ability to do what he does. Jackson Street 30 Bar and Grill is a bar and SRO is a greater bar. He commented he heard that 6,000 square feet is 31 the size needed to run a restaurant with a liquor operation. He said he has been told that 32 Applebee's has a 6,000 square foot building. He indicated that 3,900 square feet on the main 33 floor plus a basement is used for the Jackson Street Bar, so it is evident he uses more than 4,500 34 square feet at that location. He also stated there has been time to provide sketches since June. 35 This Developer's Agreement has been trusted for two years. Now he said he would be inclined 36 to take possession of the land and would prefer to direct the City Attorney to do that. 37 38 Councilmember Horst noted that when this proposal was first created, it was because the City 39 went out for bids for proposals. No one came forward right away. The first company that came 40 forward was rejected due to a report by Ehlers. Ehlers found other developers that were 41 interested, including Amcon. Amcon is one of the top developers in the Cities and they are well 42 respected. He said he cannot explain the lack of communication in this project, but he said he 43 has faith in this operation. He said that if bids are requested again, there may not be a response, 44 and time will be wasted. He would like to keep this good partner. He said the City should stop adversarial looking at Amcon and work with them. .J