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Councilmember Haas Steffen responded that it has been the City's past practice in condemnation <br />procedures to negotiate up to the last minute. <br /> <br />Mr. Hardin asked if the owners could fight the condemnation process, in that, does the public <br />purpose have to be proven to the court. Has asked if we had any firm commitments from the <br />technical college or other businesses that would prove that public purpose. <br /> <br />Mr. Norman stated that staff believes that they could get those commitments, but not until they <br />have a reasonable chance of gaining control of the property. <br /> <br />Mr. Hardin asked if there is a risk of the City being sued. <br /> <br />Mr. Norman responded that it is possible if those commitments could not be made with the other <br />businesses. <br /> <br />Councilmember Haas Steffen asked if condenmation has been used in the past for industrial <br />property. <br /> <br />Mr. Norman reiterated that it was used in the sites for the seniors' apartment building and the <br />wetlands site in the AEC Industrial Park. <br /> <br />Councilmember Haas Steffen inquired if the City Attorney had been consulted in this matter. <br /> <br />Mr. Norman said yes and that the examples he had given were cited by the City Attorney Bill <br />Goodrich. <br /> <br />Councilmember Haas Steffen asked if the EDA members didn't think that the condemnation <br />process was fair. <br /> <br />Mr. Kent summarized for the members that the condemnation process was not necessarily a <br />concern, only that they were not sure that the City's dealings with the owners in negotiating was <br />truly at a standstill, because it seemed early in the process as the members are new and the issue <br />is new to them. <br /> <br />Glen Hardin echoed this concern, he wanted to make sure that ample meetings for negotiations <br />had been conducted and his recommendation was that the staff and members of the EDA have <br />one last face to face meeting with the ownership group before authorizing condemnation <br />proceedings. Then, at that meeting, show the City's intention to begin condemnation. <br /> <br />Mr. Norman said that the EDC has been involved since June, when the City first came to them <br />for their recommendation regarding the City pursuing the purchase of more industrial park <br />property. <br /> <br />Councilmember Haas Steffen said that the City Council could not afford $22,000 per acre and as <br />a member of the City Council, she would not support spending that. The City went into <br />negotiations willing to pay the original asking price for the property of $1,500,000, but since <br />then, it has doubled in price. She was not willing to spend $22,000 on any property even if it did <br /> <br />Economic Development Authority/January 12, 1999 <br /> Page 5 of 11 <br /> <br /> <br />