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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-03-27 - Council Minutess CITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING March 27, 2007 CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL The Corcoran City Council met on March 27, 2007, at city hall in Corcoran, Minnesota. Present were Mayor Guenthner, Councilor Grabowski, Councilor Call to Order Jacobs, Councilor Hudok, and Councilor Thomas. Also present were City Engineer Vander Top, Planner Lindahl, Interim Attorney Langel, Joanne Foust with Roll Call Municipal Development Group, Paul Donna with Northland Securities, Steve Bubul with Kennedy and Graven, and Administrator Vergin. Mayor Guenthner called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Purpose of Workshop Mayor Guenthner stated that the purpose of the workshop is to review the proposed Corcoran Business Park project and that he would dispense with the formalities for this workshop and would allow it to be more informal with questions and answers. AGENDA APPROVAL Agenda Approval It was agreed that the agenda should be broken into three areas of the project, #1 – Physical, #2 Finance, and #3 Specific Documents. It was noted that no decisions would be made at this meeting. MOTION by Thomas, seconded by Grabowski, to approve the agenda. Voting Aye: Guenthner, Grabowski, Jacobs, Hudok, and Thomas. (Motion carried 5:0) PHYSICAL LAYOUT Physical Layout Planner Lindahl provided an overview on the Corcoran Business Park (CBP) project. Phase I consist of three lots, buildings 4, 5, and 6 and all dedication of public right of way. Phase II is the retail portion of the project, which is scheduled for 2008, and Phase III is the remaining two north lots projected for development in 2009. The City Council will consider approval of the final PUD plan, final plat, and development contract at the April 12 meeting. Engineer Vander Top informed the council that once the plat is approved, he would request approval of the plans and specifications for the backage road, proceed with bids in May with construction to follow in the summer. Easement acquisition is still going to need to take place, as does the completion of the utility agreement with the City of Medina. A traffic signal will be required with Phase II and all infrastructure would be completed with Phase III. Discussion continued as to the necessity and timing of the backage road extension outside of the CBP plat and the risk to the City. After some discussion it was agreed that the city would spend energy on minimizing the risk rather then debating it and deliver a good project to the City. Staffs review of parking for compliance was clarified. That as tenants change parking requirements will need to be calculated to be sure that enough spaces are being provided. If they cannot meet the requirements they would need to ask for an amendment to the PUD plan. Noted that there may be a challenge to meet the parking requirements in Phase II, but will address it with shared and spill over parking. It was also noted that there is no parking allowed on the streets. Addressed the architectural changes to the building. The amount of glass has been reduced on buildings 4 and 6. Katter informed the council that they are willing to reinvest back into those buildings if the cost of the infrastructure is less then expected. No objections to the reduced glass were raised by the Council. Landscaping was addressed. Conditions from the preliminary approval have been Page -1- CITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING March 27, 2007 met. It was noted that the DC does address the warranty of the vegetation for one growing season after planting. The question was raised as to who assures that the vegetation continues to meet the conditions 5 plus years down the road. Staff will look at language to address that. Lighting will be downcast with 90 degree cut off. Noted that lighting is not included in the street plan. There will be a chain link fence, retaining wall, 10 – 12 foot evergreen trees, as well as smaller shrubbery, plus some Linders to reduce impacts of this development to Wagon Wheel properties. The gazebo is privately owned, but will be available for public use. Clarified that the snow storage area is within the trail easement, no snow will be stored on the trails. Addressed the backage road. If the city cannot acquire the right of way, they can seek to condemn the property for the right of way, or build the street only in the UP portion, which can lead to other transportation issues. If the City does not pursue the extension to Rolling Hills Road the city will loose the $594,000 from MnDot. Engineer Vander Top indicated that Phase I could go with a cul-de-sac, but Phase II with the traffic signal may require the extension of that road and Phase III would be the most likely to require the extension. Appraisals are in the process of being completed and more information regarding this matter will be available at the April 12 meeting. Financing FINANCING Reviewed the financing of the project. It is proposed that the city would bond for $3,275,000 over a ten-year term with assessments against the benefiting properties. The projected cost for the project, which includes sewer and water, the backage road and the traffic signal is at $6,540,328. This does not include any direct costs to UP within the CBP plat. Revenue sources include tax increment funds, area charges and funding from MnDot. The financial analysis shows that the City would have a positive cash flow of $150,000 at the end of the term. It was noted that the numbers in the development contract need to tie to the numbers in the financial analysis, as it appeared that some might be off. Addressed the proposed amendment to the Tax Increment Plan. The only change that is being made is the extension of the district where the city can expend TIF dollars. This will allow the city to utilize current TIF funds for this project. This will not have any impact to the residents located within this new boundary. DOCUMENTS Documents Addressed the business subsidy agreement. This agreement can be tied to building construction time lines and can have multiple completion dates if the council wishes. This agreement will require that a certain number of jobs be created with a wage requirement. If these are not met, then UP is required to return a portion of the business subsidy based on the percentage of noncompliance. There will be reporting requirements to assure compliance by the developer. Staff will work with UP to further define the requirements of the agreement. Some typographical errors in the development contract were identified. Staff will take all comments from this meeting and revise the agreements for council to consider on April 12. Page -2- CITY OF CORCORAN CITY COUNCIL WORKSHOP MEETING March 27, 2007 ADJOURNMENT Adjournment MOTION by Thomas, seconded by Grabowski to adjourn, 10:00 p.m. Voting Aye: Guenthner, Grabowski, Jacobs, Hudok, and Thomas. (Motion carried 5:0) ______________________________ Sue Vergin, Acting City Clerk Page -3-