05/10/2012 EDAC Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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1 APPROVED CITY OF LINO LAKES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES DATE: May 10, 2012 MEMBERS PRESENT: L. Salzman, J. Stranik, J. Schwartz, M. Kassner, B. Combs MEMBERS ABSENT: L. Thor, D. Johnson, L. Masonik, C. Wagner OTHERS PRESENT: M. Divine, M. Grochala (part) APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes of February 16, 2012 were approved with correction to Page 2. April 16, 2012 were approved. REVIEW OF MEETING WITH ANOKA COUNTY Ms. Divine reviewed the results of staff meeting with Anoka County regarding the tax forfeited parcels in the Legacy development. The county has now set a value for pay 2013 and has determined it will not put them up for public auction at this time because it is unlikely to get sold. If the city finds a developer, the city can ask the county to hold a parcel from public sale, and can purchase the property as fair market value. There has been an ongoing guesswork with attempting to attract new development because staff could not tell a developer what a parcel will cost. If a developer must pay for property and assessments, it was unlikely to be financially viable to develop at this point. Staff learned that if there are assessments pending on a property, the county will return what it got for the land to the city, minus what the county spent administering tax forfeited lands for that particular year. Based on past averages, the city must assume that it will not receive the first $100,000 of the land price back for assessment. Ms. Schwartz said there is a risk to a developer not knowing if the $100,000 was coming off his assessments. Likewise, first floor commercial with housing above will no longer sell. Staff agrees and has begun discussion with P&Z regarding the need to change that. It is more likely if apartments/density is developed, commercial will follow. Ms. Schwartz said it’s on average $110,000 to build a unit, and apartment 10,500 units are planned in the next year. Mr. Grochala said the city will look at writing down assessments based on what else a new development brings in, including building permits, property taxes, utility connections, etc. The next step is to have Springsted, the city’s financial consultants, complete an analysis that identifies the city’s options, looks at the cost of doing nothing versus offering discounted assessments or other financial incentives to get development moving. Ms. Schwartz said the large scale projects are getting built, largely financed by the insurance companies.