City Council Minutes 10-15-1984 SpecialMINUTES
SPECIAL MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL
October 15, 1984 - 7:30 P.M.
Members Present: Arve Grimsmo, Ken Maus, Jack Maxwell.
Members Absent: Fran Fair, Dan Blonigen.
1. Call to Order.
2. Public Hearing - Proposals Under the Municipal Industrial Development
Act. and
3. Consideration of Adopting Resolutions of Preliminary Approval.
A. WASHINGTON BUSINESS CENTER WEST.
Mr. Gary LaFromboise of Construction 5, Inc., informed the Council
of their plans to build a 25,000 sq. ft. commercial office/storage
warehouse facility just east of Lauring Hillside Addition.
The proposed commercial complex was estimated to cost $875,000
and Construction 5, Inc., requested Council authorization to
apply for Industrial Revenue Bonds in the amount of $800,000
to finance the project.
Mr. Bill Malone, property owner adjacent to the proposed development,
questioned the types of uses that may be allowed if this development
was to occur. It was explained that primarily the proposal
allows for light industrial manufacturing and/or office space
with commercial storage.
Mr. Dan Nelson, with the law firm of Holmes & Graven, explained
to the public and the City Council that if a preliminary approval
is granted through adoption of a resolution, the Council is
merely authorizing an application to be submitted to the Minnesota
Energy and Economic Development Authority for their consideration
as to whether the City can proceed with the issuance of bonds
for this project.
After hearing no other comments, motion was made by Maus, seconded
by Maxwell, and unanimously carried to adopt a resolution giving
preliminary approval to the project and authorizing the proposal
to be submitted to the Minnesota Energy and Economic Development
Authority for their consideration. See Resolution 1984 #45.
B. MONTI STADIA DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PROPOSAL.
Mr. Dick Maw, representing the Monti Stadia Development Company,
Special Council Minutes - 10/15/84
explained to the Council his proposed plan to disassemble and
move the Metropolitan Stadium from Bloomington to Monticello.
The first choice as a site is a 100 -acre site located adjacent
to I-94 just east of the present Oakwood Industrial Park presently
owned by Mr. Jim Boyle. Mr. Maw noted that he has been working
on the idea of relocating the Met Stadium for approximately
2 years and narrowed his choices to Monticello because of its
freeway location and proximity to St. Cloud and the metropolitan
area.
Mr. Maw introduced Lynn Middleton, an engineer with the L.H. Sowles
Company, a large steel erection firm. Mr. Middleton indicated
that the stadium is like a giant erector set and is bolted together
and could be economically disassembled and trucked to a new
site. Indications are that as each section is removed from
Bloomington, it could be trucked to Monticello and placed on
new footings. Mr. Maw also informed the Council that it was
his opinion there would be no problem in getting a Performance
Bond coverage from an insurance company to insure that the project
would be completed satisfactorily once started.
Mr. Maw went on to further describe the possible uses for a
stadium in Monticello, including approximately 30 days of soccer
events, possibly 105 dates of AAA or a baseball franchise, an
additional 30-40 outdoor concert dates with miscellaneous local,
high school, and college sporting events. The estimated total
usage dates could be as high as 160-200 dates per year, creating
up to 100 full-time jobs and an additional 100 part-time jobs.
The estimated cost presented by Mr. Maw to disassemble and erect
the structure in Monticello was $20,400,000.00, which is just
an estimate at this time.
Future plans for the stadium include additions such as a band
shell cone that could be moved to the infield for small concerts
to provide good acoustical sound along with tennis courts and
possibly a hockey rink. Additional ideas include enclosing
the hockey rink in a bubble for winter use. According to his
preliminary calculations, the expected revenue to the corporation
would be $3 million per year with the debt payment being $2.7 million,
leaving a $300,000.00 profit. Gross ticket sales could be as
high as $16 million according to Mr. Maw. After the presentation,
the public hearing was opened for comments from the public regarding
the proposed development.
Mr. Larry Nolan questioned the age of the present Met Stadium
and whether it would still meet current building codes after
it is moved. Mr. Maw responded that the structural steel is
still as good as new, but, of course, the stadium would have
new wiring, toilets, a new stadium club, new seating, etc.,
and an architect would be used to possibly alter the structure
somewhat to fit its new site in Monticello.
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Mr. Rick Carlson questioned whether the potential use of the
stadium for 30 or 40 concerts per year would create large traffic
problems and congestion problems and questioned whether Monticello
would really be set up for large rock concerts.
Mr. Bill Malone questioned the City Council on the background
of the developer and whether the City has researched whether
the City could get stuck holding the bag on this ambitious proposal.
Mr. Dick Maw indicated he was basically a marketing man but
would have a number of major investors backing such a project.
It was also noted by the City's representative from Holmes &
Graven, Bond Attorneys, that Industrial Revenue Bonds, if approved
by the City, would not be the responsibility of the City for
repayment should such a project default.
HRA Chairman and Planning Commission Member, Don Cochran, noted
that the development plans presented could become the City's
nightmare in that no specifics have yet been established by
the developer, and no guarantees for any soccer, baseball, or
concerts have been proven. Mr. Maw indicated that although
it may seem like a far-sighted dream at the present time, his
first priority is to get some kind of an indication from the
City of Monticello as to whether it would be willing to accept
the stadium proposal before he could firm up his letters of
intent and get the major backing he would need for such a project.
Mr. Ed Doran questioned what the City's responsibility or liability
would be in the worst scenario, that being the project would
fail. Again, it was noted that the City would not be financially
responsible for any repayment to the bond holders, but the project
could become a liability in that the City would have to determine
what to do with the property afterwards.
Mr. Bill Fair questioned whether the City's approval of a $20 million
bond issue for this project could subject the City to future
limitations on issuing other Industrial Revenue Bonds because
of the large dollar amount of this issue. It was noted that
present statutes would not curtail the City from issuing or
requesting other projects just because of this one large issue.
City Administrator Tom Eidem questioned whether the project
could proceed fast enough to actually sell bonds this year to
qualify for the 1984 pool of Industrial Revenue Bond money.
He noted that the deadline for applying for the 1984 allocation
was Friday, October 19, and that a 1% application fee totaling
$200,000.00 would have to be submitted.
It was also noted by the City Administrator that the City would
have to expend large amounts of money for engineering studies
and land use planning, etc., before such a project could be
given final approval. In addition, it appears that an Environmental
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Impact Statement would be necessary for this large of a project;
and it was felt that this could not be done by year end 1984
and still sell the bonds in 1984. Some of the regulations regarding
Environmental Impact Statements could take as long as 180 days
before final approval could be given, and it appears very unlikely
that the developer could meet all the requirements and still
sell bonds yet this year. This was also the opinion of the
attorney from Holmes & Graven that it would take the best of
conditions to line up a financing package and be able to sell
the bonds in 1984.
Mr. Maw responded by noting that Industrial Revenue Bonds may
not necessarily be the only source of financing for this type
of project and that possibly he could still apply for Industrial
Revenue Bonds next year if it didn't appear he could meet the
deadline for 1984. He again noted that before any further steps
could be taken by his company or a corporation could be established,
preliminary approval from the City would be necessary.
The major concerns of the Council centered on traffic problems
and the funneling of cars back onto the freeway both in the
easterly and westerly directions. It was noted that an engineering
and/or planning study would have to be completed before any
final commitment could be made.
After concluding the public hearing, motion was made by Maxwell,
seconded by Maus, and unanimously carried to apply to the State
for the authority to issue bonds for the $20 million project.
C7,-, 4�,
Rick Wolfsteller
Assistant Administrator
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