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within the Business Park that the City does not own is a parcel of approximately five acres that is owned by Leonard Spohn. Originally, Business Park 95 was to be funded largely by $500,000 that had been included in the Capital Improvements Program in 1991, for the improvement of McKinley Street. However, the City used tax increment funding to purchase the Anoka 67 Industrial Partnership and S.J. Groves acquisitions, as these purchased properties were logated within a Tax Increment Financing District. The District provided a funding source that could be used for the acquisition of the land. After the original land purchase, the City was able to reimburse these funds from tax increment revenue. Tax increment revenue was generated by the development of several parcels of the Business Park 95 property for companies such as Trend Scientific, Command Corporation and Carbon Products, to name a few. Fully Developed Industrial Park. The development of Business Park 95 has progressed rapidly. City staff have received contacts and proposals of interest in the remaining sites available in Business Park 95. It is anticipated that, by winter 1998, all phases of the first industrial park will be completed. The City is now faced with the choice of simply completing the first phase of the Industrial Park or consider moving to the second and possibly a third stage of industrial park projects. THE MARKET FOR INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT While industrial development appears to be an important component of the City of Ramsey's Comprehensive Plan, the ability for industry to expand within the city appears to be decreasing. This is largely due to the limited availability of industrial land serviced by utilities. For industrial development to occur, utilities must be in place to support industry. Many cities, such as Ramsey, are impacted by the Metropolitan Council's decisions regarding the expansion of the Metropolitan Urban Service Area (MUSA). Within this area, development can be serviced by sewer and water. Outside of the area, development is limited to rural, free-standing systems. A limited number of cities have their own waste treatment systems which can support growth regardless of decisions made by the Metropolitan Council. Generally, these cities are located outside of what is typically considered to be the Seven-County Metropolitan Area. The availability of industrial sites is also limited by the number of developers involved in industrial development. With the exception of utility companies, there are few private industrial park developers in Minnesota. This is largely due to the sizable holding costs associated with the development of a privately owned industrial park and the need to be well capitalized. Property taxes are a significant contributor to holding costs. Minnesota has some of the highest property taxes in the nation for commercial and industrial property. To put the issue into perspective, taxes on industrial and commercial property in Minnesota are approximately four times the amount of property taxes paid on residential property of similar value. Furthermore, as property becomes more scarce due to urbanization, the cost of property required for an industrial park continues to rise. The market potential for industrial development in the City of Ramsey has never been better. Ramsey is located in the path of progress commonly referred to as the "Highway 10/Upper -2-