Minutes - Council - 11/27/2007 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilmember Dehen stated that he is still not convinced that the property is not more valuable without the old structure and scale that the City disposed of. He stated that Ace approached the prior owner and was willing to pay $350,000. He stated that the City has taken care of cleaning up the property and removing the structure and the scale and now the offer is only $286,000, which he doesn't understand. Mayor Gamec stated that the City is really not losing money because the clean up costs were covered by grant money. Councilmember Dehen stated that the City paid $315,000 and is being offered $286,000, which to him means the City is losing money. Councilmember Jeffrey stated that the property was appraised, according to the October 13,2007 minutes, at $205,000. He stated that he understands that the City paid $315,000 and the buyer is offering $286,000, but feels if the City put the property on the open market with an appraised value of $205,000, it could possibly sell the property at a much larger loss. He stated that, in his opinion, Ace is a great company that is already in the community. He stated that he sees this property, if sold at $286,000, as being sold over the appraised value. Councilmember Elvig stated that he serves on the EDA and this debate has been gone over before. He stated that he is troubled that the City Council seems to be pointing fingers at staff and if there are actual charges against the staff those should be handled appropriately. He stated that he also has concerns that the applicant has seen the discussion among the City Council at this meeting and the earlier meeting and from the discussion could tell that he had enough City Councilmembers willing to accept his offer of $286,000. He stated that the EDA discussed the cost per square foot for this property and the price of $286,000 is actually a very high price per square foot. He stated that if this property were put on the open market, the City would have to spend both time and money marketing the property and, in this case, the City already has an existing company that is interested in the property. He stated that if the City held onto the property, there would be carry over costs associated with that, which he does not think is a good option. Motion by Councilmember Elvig, seconded by Councilmember Jeffrey, to execute the purchase agreement to sell Lot 4, Block 1, Gateway North Industrial Park Plat 2, to Ace Solid Waste. Motion carried. V oting Yes: Mayor Gamec, Councilmembers Elvig, Jeffrey, Olson, and Strommen. Voting No: Councilmembers Dehen and Look. Case #9: LMC-IT Waiver Form-Consider Not Waiving the Statutory Tort Limits Assistant City Administrator Nelson stated that this case is in reference to the annual insurance policy and whether the City chooses to waive its tort limits. The legislature has increased the liability limits for 2008 to $400,000/$1,200,00 and $500,000/$1,500,000 for 2009. Councilmember Dehen stated that he is in favor of waiving the tort limits, which is not what staff is recommending. He stated that $400,000 does not go very far in cases of personal injury. He City Council / November 27, 2007 Page 15 of 18