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power rates, and /or the Minnesota Investment Fund (MIF) and provided examples of similar <br />projects in Chaska and Duluth. He then introduced Mr. Jim Gromberg from the State of <br />Minnesota DEED office. <br />Mr. Gromberg explained that the Shovel Ready program is a DEED program that certifies a site <br />as "shovel ready" and certifies that the site has clear title, correct zoning, and is ready for sale <br />and construction of a building. <br />Management Analyst Brama stated that the Fire Station on the site will need to be addressed; in <br />addition, the City will need to locate relevant historical documents regarding the site in order to <br />become a shovel ready site. He advised that the City's future plans include moving the Fire <br />Station to a new location but the timeline for relocating the Fire Station is not yet known. He <br />stated the Fire Chief has indicated that the Fire Station could move to a temporary location if <br />necessary. He stated the shovel ready certification requires historical surveys, documents, and <br />maps so that when a developer steps forward they know the site is shovel ready. He indicated <br />that Hakanson Anderson did a lot of the work on this site in the past and staff is working with <br />them to locate these historical documents but if the documents cannot be located, some work will <br />need to be redone and will take some time to complete. He advised that the cost estimate for the <br />shovel ready certification is $20,000. <br />Member McGlone expressed support for pursuing a data center on the site and felt this would fit <br />well with the City's plan to handle its excess land inventory. <br />Member Wise stated if a proposal for residential development comes in, he does not want to hold <br />the site for a data center. He added it will be important to figure out the impact of a data center <br />to the surrounding neighbors and to consider the costs of demolition and building a new fire <br />station. He asked if a data center would always be a stand -alone building or if it could be <br />attached to other users. <br />Mr. Gromberg explained that a couple of data centers in St. Paul are co- located noting that this <br />can result in security issues for the data centers themselves. He stated the City may wish to <br />consider leaving the Fire Station on the site for now and build a data center on the triangular <br />piece of property at the southern corner. He described how the MIF fund could be used to help a <br />company develop the site and indicated the State has created certain criteria for data centers to <br />meet that allows data centers to receive exemption from sales tax for the next 20 years and they <br />can also apply for a rebate of sales tax on energy costs. <br />Member Skaff expressed support for pursuing a data center on the site and asked if there were <br />any zoning issues with the property. <br />Development Services Manager Gladhill stated the City will likely have to use some <br />employment type zoning and requested that staff be allowed to formulate a zoning plan for the <br />site and work with the neighborhood so there are no surprises. <br />Motion by Member Skaff, seconded by Member LeTourneau, to recommend that the City <br />Council move forward with the Shovel Ready certification of the old City Hall site. <br />Economic Development Authority /October 11, 2012 <br />Page 3 of 6 <br />