Agenda - Council - 10/28/1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

DoaN LAW FroM, LTD, Wilbur F. Dom, Jr., Attorneys at Law 12301 Central Avenue Northeast Blaine, Minnesota 55434 Telephone: (612) 754-1500 Fax: (612) 754-1044 October 24, 1997 The Honorable Thomas Gamec, Mayor Ramsey City Council Ramsey, Minnesota RE: Refund of Parkland Dedication Fee for Townhomes of Rum River Hills Dear Tom: I recently had the opportunity to view the replay of the October 15 Council Meeting in which the above matter was discussed. I want to express my gratitude, and that of Dr. Anderson as well, for the fairness with which you dealt with this subject. The matter has never been, to us, a legal issue; it has been a moral issue. None of persons on the Council in 1995 were on the Council when our original PUD was done, and the same is tree of most of the staff. It is understandable that the Council in 1995 had no choice but to rely on Mr. Schroeder's counsel in their decision making. Mr. Schroeder, however, for reasons which I will never understand, opposed our townhome project from the start, reversing his position only when it was apparent that the majority of the Council wanted to approve the project. One point of clarification should also be made. Mr. Goodrich indicated that we did not ask for relief from the park dedication fee at the time of the townhome plat, and did not do so until several months later. As far as the written record is concerned, he is correct. However, at the time the staff informed us that we were required to pay the park fee, I did in fact object vigorously. We had just spent two years gaining approval on a project that, but for Mr. Schroeder's opposition, should have taken two months. Bringing the park fee issue before the Council meant a likely delay of many more months, and Mr. Schroeder made me acutely aware of this fact. I told him that we would accept the City's condition that we pay the park fee, but that we would be asking the City to refund the money at a later date. I did in fact make the request in writing later, asking Mr. Schroeder to bring the matter to the attention of the Council, but as far as I know, the Council never did receive our request until renewed this year. Hopefully, government is an institution in which we may all place our trust, whether we are doing so as taxpayers, land developers or voters. Thank you all for ratifying that statement. V.er~ru_ly Yours, Wilbur F. Dom, Jr.