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City Council Minutes 12-26-1986 SpecialMINUTES SPECIAL MEETING - MONTICELLO CITY COUNCIL Friday, December 26, 1986 - 7:00 a.m. A special meeting of the Monticello City Council, duly called by the Mayor, was held at 7:00 a.m., December 26, 1986, in the City Council Chambers. Members present were: Fran Fair, Bill Fair, Jack Maxwell, Dan Blonigen. Members Absent: Mayor Grimsmo. Also present were Councilmember Elect Warren Smith, City Administrator Eidem, Assistant City Administrator Wolfsteller, and Director of Economic Development Koropchak. Acting Mayor Fran Fair called the meeting to order and explained that the special meeting was called for the express purpose of discussing two issues, to wit, an offer to deed to the City three lots in Oakwood Industrial Park and a question regarding the creation of a new position of zoning Administrator/Planner. City Administrator Eidem explained in summary form the offer made to the City by the members of the Oakwood Industrial Park Partnership. Eidem noted that the Partnership wished to deed to the City;Lots 9 and 10 in Block 2, and Lot 4 in Block 3, of Oakwood Industrial Park for no charge. However, the delinquent assessments, taxes, and associated charges, as well as the balance of assessments still levied against the property would have to be forgiven and/or paid by the City. Eidem explained that the net effective cost of this transaction to the City would be $108,275.39, of which approximately $10,000 to $12,000 would be taxes that would need to be payable to the County. The balance of the sum, Eidem noted, amounted to special assessments for public improvements made in the area and would need to be recaptured through the eventual sale of the lots to other parties. Eidem went on to say that, according to his discussion with members of the Partnership, the Partnership's plan was to refinance the remaining lots so that all delinquencies could be paid to the County, thereby bringing all lots current. Acting Mayor Fair raised a question about the City entering real estate competition with private developers. Mr. Gene Walters and Mr. George Phillips, representing the Oakwood Partnership, indicated that they were unconcerned about being in competition with the City in the same industrial park. They noted that they understood that the City could convey its land at a lesser price than they could convey their land, but felt any sale activity by either party would be beneficial to the other party. Mr. Walters indicated that there was a time limitation involved with the offer since a significant tax benefit could be realized by the Partnership if the transaction would occur before the end of the year. Councilmember Bill Fair raised a concern about the natural gas line easement that bisects Lots # and 4. Mr. Phillips informed the Council 10 Special Council Minutes - 12/26/86 that the easement was 50 feet wide and that the gas line was already in place. He indicated that he knew of no special restrictions unique to this easement that would limit the use of the property any more than any other easement. Ms. Koropchak, responding to Council inquiry, indicated that the City's economic development efforts could benefit from taking ownership of some available land. She noted that discussions of speculative buildings had occurred over the years among members of the Industrial Development Committee and the Housing and Redevelopment Authority. She noted that she was aware of unofficial, general type plans to facilitate a relocation of bulk petroleum products and/or trucking industry related business into the industrial park from the Central Business District. She noted that she occasionally receives requests and inquiries about industries looking to rent or lease space rather than buy land and construct their own buildings. She noted that it could be profitable for the City to develop a site which could then be leased to private industry. Administrator Eidem asked Mr. Phillips and Mr. Walters if the City would bear any associated cost with this transaction such as taxes, legal fees, and title search expense. Walters and Phillips indicated that the Partnership would take care of all associated expense. Discussion then was held primarily among the Council members with the prevailing sentiment being that the acceptance of this land would not be inconsistent with earlier industrial development efforts. Blonigen agreed that this proposal was substantially different than the proposal submitted to the Council in the earlier part of the fall to accept all 80 acres in the industrial park. Jack Maxwell felt that the net effective cost of $6,435 per acre was reasonable in comparison to the official appraisal's $8,533 per acre. He felt the $2,100 difference adequately reflected the presence of the easement. A general concern was expressed about the propriety of the City getting into the real estate business, and would this create a negative image of city government. Eidem commented that two significant factors should be evaluated in this decision. First, the City has the potential to realize significant investment profit by accepting the land and getting it resold within five years. He stressed that anything that can make the City a good profit, thereby lessening the reliance on tax levy, was beneficial for the general public. Second, Eidem indicated that the ability for the City to package an industrial siting proposal was significantly increased and could have direct benefit to the overall tax base and to the employment conditions in the city. Motion by Jack Maxwell, second by Dan Blonigen, and carried unanimously to accept the transfer of Lots 9 and 10, Block 2, and Lot 4, Block 3, in Oakwood Industrial Park, for no fee, understanding that the City shall be responsible for the delinquent taxes and assessments and the balance of assessments due, contingent upon the Oakwood Industrial -2- Special Council Minutes - 12/26/86 Park Partnership full and complete payment to Wright County for the delinquent amounts on all other lots that will remain in the Partnership's ownership. Acting Mayor Fair turned the discussion to the topic of the proposed job description for Zoning Administrator/Planner. Eidem indicated that Mayor Grimsmo had requested that this topic be discussed at greater length before approving the job description and authorizing a placement of an advertisement. General consensus was that more information should be gathered before the formal adoption of the position. Councilmember Bill Fair asked if the Council could receive an estimate of the savings the City would feel by using consultant services less. Councilmember Blonigen expressed his concern that the overall cost of administration was rising. Acting Mayor Fair responded that the growth and expansion of the city necessitated the rising personnel costs and felt the significant question was whether or not the job was getting done to the degree desired. Blonigen felt that planning was not all that reliable and questioned the merit of having a staff planner. Bill Fair and Councilmember elect Warren Smith asked Eidem to prepare a comparison study of the expansion of staff versus the expansion of the City. Fran Fair indicated that her opinion of the process must take into account an evaluation of the need not the evaluation of the number of current staff. Blonigen said he had concern that the City's chain of command could get so long that no one in the City would accept responsibility. It was Blonigen's opinion that currently there were too many occurrences where no one would accept responsibility and were dodging issues. Administrator Eidem commented that he was unsure to whom Blonigen was referring, but felt that he had adequately demonstrated his willingness to be accountable, as the City Administrator, for all activities in the city. Eidem indicated that he knew of very few, if any, instances where City staff had been in error, and refused to acknowledge and accept responsibility for those errors. Acting Mayor Fair said the question that needed to be answered was whether or not the City should pursue the investigation on creating the new position. She indicated that she was in favor of pursuing the position in order to fill the planning gap. Council members Bill Fair, Dan Blonigen, and Jack Maxwell said they found merit in pursuing the investigation to assemble more information from which a decision could be based. Councilmember elect Smith concurred that the City should investigate the position further, and requested from Eidem that he receive summaries of current job descriptions and salaries. Eidem was also directed to prepare an organizational chart in order to address the issue of accountability. Prior to adjournment, Councilmember Blonigen requested to comment on the last special meeting that was held in joint session with the Planning Commission. Blonigen stated he felt that the City Council did not provide the direction needed and as was requested by the Planning Commission. Acting Mayor Fair countered saying that she -3- Special Council Minutes - 12/26/86 felt the Council did respond by providing training options that would allow the Planning Commission the freedom of independent decision making. The discussion ended without resolution of the issue, but with a general agreement that the Planning Commission needs to respond in an independent way to the general trends of the city and the Council. There being no further business, Acting Mayor Fair adjourned the meeting. i r Thom -Ys A. Eidem City Administrator -4-