Agenda - Council - 12/11/2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mayor Gamec stated that he has been in contact with John Letourneau who has communicated the difficulty they have had with pre-sells on this property. He stated that he has spoken with some seniors and they have told him that although the facilities look like they will be nice, the rates were higher than they had expected. He stated that he feels this would fill a need in the community and has been surprised that they have not filled up. Ms. Barnes stated that because they are anon-profit agency, the costs charged are directly related to the costs of the project. She stated that due to home sales being stagnant, they need to re- evaluate their involvement, but urged the City to continue with their dream for the RTC. Councilmember Elvig stated that presale in this market must be very difficult. He stated that he would be interested in knowing if the presales are the biggest part of the problem, or that town homes are so inexpensive now, or the stagnant home sales. He stated that he would like to know what their analysis of the situation is and whether there is anything the City can do to help. Ms. Barnes stated that the problems are not directly related to any one thing, but many things. She stated that entry fee pre-sales are very difficult right now because of the drop in home sales. She stated that it is also more difficult to do pre-sales when there isn't anything else around the proposed project site, so people do not know what will be there eventually. She stated that there are also costs related to the building requirements in the development agreement. She reiterated that she did not want this to cloud the dream of the RTC concept, but since it is not here yet, Crestview needs to re-evaluate things. Mayor Gamec stated that the slow down in development surrounding the RTC has frustrated the City also. He asked whether the Crestview project could be staged and built in phases. Ms. Barnes stated that this will be one thing they will consider while they are re-evaluating the project. Councilmember Jeffrey asked if 3 months to re-evaluate was enough time for a decision to be made about the future. Ms. Barnes stated that she plans to stay in open communication with the City and that in 3 months time, she does not know what message she will give to the City other than the fact that whatever decision is made they want it to be the right thing for the City of Ramsey seniors. She stated that she feels this is not the end of a dream, but the dream may be a different one. Councilmember Elvig suggested that some members of staff such as Sean Sullivan could work with Crestview to see what kind of creative financial solutions the two sides can come up with. City Administrator Ulrich stated that he is hopeful that the City can work with Crestview on the realm of possibilities open for this project. He suggested that there could be an ad hoc group of some sort formed to help guide this project. Ms. Barnes stated that their financing consultant and investment banker could be part of a meeting with the City. City Council Work Session /December 3, 2007 Page 2 of 9