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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-07-26 MINUTES SPEC/AL MEETING COTTAGE GROVE CITY COUNCIL JULY 26, 2001 CALL TO ORDER The City Council of the City of Cottage Grove, Washington County, Minnesota held a regular meeting on Thursday, July 26, 2001, at the Cottage Grove City Hall, 7516 80`h Street South. Mayor Shiely called the meeting to order at 7:15 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Sandy Shiely Council Member Pat Rice Council Member Cheryl Kohls Council Member Jim Wolcott Absent: Council Member Rod Hale Also Present: Ryan Schroeder, City Administrator Michelle Wolfe, Assistant City Administrator Ron Hedberg, Finance Director Neil Belscamper, Administrative Secretary Mayor Shiely presided over the meeting. BUSINESS ITEMS A. TIF 1-12—HOLD PUBLIC HEARING AND CONSIDER PROGRAM AND PLAN City Administrator Schroeder introduced the item. The TIF 1-12 district is part of a larger 360-acre district called the Gateway Redevelopment District. Originally, the public hearing was scheduled for August 15, but because of changes in legislation that affect Tax Increment Financing beginning August 1, the public hearing was moved up to tonight's meeting. Schroeder explained that development agreements for finro projects in the TIF 1-12 District (Grove Plaza and 80th Street) are up for consideration on this agenda. Cottage Square Mall is also covered in the district, he elaborated, but no proposals are currently in place; a project would have to take place on that parcel within five years of the establishment of the district or else the parcel would have to be removed from the district. Mayor Shiely opened the public hearing. No one spoke at the public hearing. Mayor Shiely closed the public hearing. MOTION BY WOLCOTT, SECONDED BY RICE, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 01-100, ADOPTING THE MODIFICATION TO THE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM FOR DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT NO. 1 AND ESTABLISHING TAX INCREMENT FINANCING DISTRICT 1-12 THEREIN AND ADOPTING THE TAX INCREMENT FINANCING PLAN THEREFOR. MOTION CARRIED 4-0. • ,. ' . Special Meeting—July 26, 2001 Cottage Grove City Council Page 2 B. DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENTS 1. American AGCO City Administrator Schroeder stated that several representatives of American AGCO were in attendance. He introduced Gary Duclos, the company's president. Schroeder said that the facility would be an 81,000 square-foot warehouse facility on a 6-acre parcel near Advance Corporation on 97th Street. The development is on fast-track scheduling, and construction is hoped to begin around September 4. Duclos presented some background information on American AGCO. They are a 65-year-old business presently located in South St. Paul. Their business operates primarily as a distributor in the Hobby Farm/Companion Animal trade. Some limited manufacturing of birdfeed also takes place. American AGCO's range of operations covers 9 states and they currently employ around 140 people. Sixty employees would be relocating to the Cottage Grove facility. Council Member Kohls asked if the sixty employees are all from the current facility, or if new employees would be hired from the Cottage Grove area. Duclos replied that most of the employees would be coming from their existing facility, but that most are from the south-east metro area. Kohls asked if the 6-acre parcel would be large enough for expansion of their operation if need be. Duclos felt that the parcel would be adequate for their needs well into the future. Kohls asked what the long-term goal for creation of new jobs was, and Duclos responded that they hoped five new position could be created. Schroeder added that there is a job-component requirement as a part of the funding mechanism for the project, and that a conservative requirement of three new positions had been included in the development agreement. Kohls asked if American AGCO would be an active participant in the Iocal community. American AGCO, Duclos explained, is actively involved with South St. Paul and oftentimes makes donations to organization such as the Humane Society. Council Member Wolcott inquired what type of construction would be used for the facility. Geof Benedict of Vanguard Construction said it would be constructed of exposed-aggregate panels, consistent with other facilities in the industrial park. Wolcott asked how many loading docks the facility would have. Benedict replied there would be 20. Schroeder commented that this was a good site for this type of project, with good buffering for their shipping operations. Mayor Shiely asked how many trucks would pass through per day. Duclos said that twenty would be going out and ten would be coming in on a typical day. MOTION BY RICE, SECONDED BY KOHLS, TO APPROVE THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT FOR AMERICAN AGCO. MOTION CARRIED 4-0. 2. Twin City Poultrv City Administrator Schroeder said this project was not as far along as the previous one, and that a site plan was not presently available. The project would be a refrigerated wholesale/distribution center of 50,000 square feet, expandable to 90,000 square feet. Schroeder said the development agreement would be very similar to the one for the previous project, American AGCO. Being no site plan was currently available, Mayor Shiely and Council Member Wolcott asked whether the facility would meet the City's standards for the industrial park. Schroeder replied that it would. • . . Special Meeting—July 26, 2001 Cottage Grove City Council Page 3 MOTION BY RICE, SECONDED BY WOLCOTT, TO APPROVE THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT FOR TWIN CITY POULTRY. MOTION CARRIED 4-0. 3. 1 st Industrial City Administrator Schroeder explained that this project was for a multi-tenant building of approximately 120,000 square feet near the CCE facility. Approximately 50,000 square feet of the facility would have to be pre-leased before construction could begin. Mayor Shiely asked whether similar projects had been completed in other areas of the Twin Cities. Schroeder responded that they had, and that leasing the spaces had not been a problem in the other facilities which he had been involved in. Shiely asked what types of business typically lease such spaces. Schroeder replied that small manufacturing operations, such as tool and die businesses, typically locate in these types of facilities. Other types of operations might even border on retail businesses, he added, such as dance studios. MOTION BY WOLCOTT, SECONDED BY KOHLS, TO APPROVE THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT FOR 1 ST INDUSTRIAL. MOTION CARRIED 4-0. 4. Grove Plaza City Administrator Schroeder described the project, which is included in the TIF 1-12 District, as an expansion and remodeling of the existing Grove Plaza that would include a Home Depot. Several conditions would have to be met before this project could take place, including the relocation of the existing Walgreens. The City would dedicate TIF revenues for site improvements, and the owners of Grove Plaza would deed the old Burger King facility to the City for storm water ponding. Council Member Wolcott stated that the architect's plan had been a compromise and questioned whether there would be an option for approval of the final version by the City. City Administrator Schroeder stated that a condition to that effect could be attached to a motion. MOTION BY KOHLS, SECONDED BY RICE, TO APPROVE THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT FOR GROVE PLAZA, CONDITIONED UPON FINAL APPROVAL OF THE DESIGN PLAN BY THE CITY COUNCIL. MOTION CARRIED 4-0. 5. 80th Street City Administrator Schroeder outlined the project for the area north of 80th Street, between U.S. Bank and TutorTime, which would involve the buyout of four residential and five commercial properties. This area is included in the TIF 1-12 District. As a part of this development agreement, acquisition of all the properties in question would have to take place by June of 2002; the City would be required to use eminent domain proceedings for any properties not acquired by that time. The City Council had already authorized appraisals of the properties. Council Member Wolcott asked whether the City was comfortable with the estimates for acquisition of the commercial property. Schroeder said the estimates should be accurate, in that they have taken into account relocation and other costs. He added that the development agreement allows for an out should there be substantial cost increases in the acquisition of the properties. Mayor Shiely asked when the name of the retailer could be released. Schroeder said that they could release the name once the development agreement had been approved by all parties. . • Special Meeting—July 26, 2001 Cottage Grove City Council Page 4 MOTION BY WOLCOTT, SECONDED BY RICE, TO APPROVE THE DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT FOR THE 80TH STREET PROJECT. Schroeder reminded everyone that the development agreement contained a commitment to go forward with eminent domain proceedings if all the properties could not be acquired by any other means. Kohls stated that she was uncomfortable making a commitment to use eminent domain proceedings to acquire property for a retail business. In response, Schroeder commented that there should be plenty of time to acquire the properties without having to resort to using eminent domain proceedings. Kohls felt that the retailer should be willing to commit more money to the acquisition of properties. Mayor Shiely said the project would be a benefit and help spur the growth of other retail businesses in the community. Kohls concurred that she would like to see the business in the community, but was still uncomfortable supporting the commitment to use eminent domain proceedings to acquire the properties. UPON VOTE BEING TAKEN, MOTION CARRIED. 3-1. (KOHLS NAY) C. CONSIDER ORDERING A FEASIBILITY STUDY AND PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE EXTENSION OF 97TH STREET City Administrator Schroeder explained that the road project is needed as a result of the American AGCO and Twin City Poultry projects in the Industrial Park. MOTION BY WOLCOTT, SECONDED BY RICE, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 01-101, ORDERING A FEASIBILITY STUDY FOR THE EXTENSION OF 97TH STREET. MOTION CARRIED 4-0. MOTION BY WOLCOTT, SECONDED BY RICE, TO ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 01-102, ORDERING PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE EXTENSION OF 97TH STREET. MOTION CARRIED 4-0. ADJOURNMENT MOTION BY WOLCOTT, SECONDED BY KOHLS, TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 8:30 P.M. MOTION CARRIED. 4-0. Respectfully submitted, eil Be scam dministrat" e Secr ary