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Couri & Ruppe Legal Services Proposal <br />March 28, 2013 <br />Page 5 of 13 <br />• Financing and Assessments — We have extensive knowledge of municipal <br />financing including special assessments under Minn. Chap. 429, tax increment <br />financing, bonds, grants, and loans from USDA, Rural Development and DEED. <br />We have worked with many clients to determine what method of financing is most <br />appropriate and to work through the procedures for that method to ensure that the <br />client is fully protected, including the use of capital improvement plans for road <br />and municipal building projects. We do not propose to act as bond counsel but <br />routinely work in concert with bond counsel as the need arises. We have <br />extensive knowledge of the special assessment procedures from the decision to use <br />Minn. Chap. 429 through the appeal process and final court order. Mr. Couri <br />recently secured Court verdicts in two separate trials upholding the full amount of <br />the City of Albertville's special assessments for three separate parcels in the <br />amounts of $149,474.83, $137,163.71, and $170,337.15. <br />• Franchise Agreements — We have drafted a number of gas and electric franchise <br />agreements, and worked with municipalities in drafting and implementing <br />franchise fee ordinances. <br />• Foreclosures — We have extensive experience in working with our city clients to <br />ensure that their interests are protected during these turbulent economic times. We <br />have assisted municipalities in transferring the developer's obligations to the bank <br />or other fmancial institution where a foreclosure has occurred, and have worked <br />with developers and banks in an effort to complete the required work and ensure <br />that the contractors hired by the developer to work on city improvements are <br />properly paid. <br />• Letters of Credit — We have experience drawing on letters of credit when <br />developers abandoned their development project or otherwise failed to live up to <br />their contractual obligations. We have assisted our clients in drawing on over a <br />dozen letters of credit in the past few years. <br />• Joint Powers Agreements — We have exhaustive experience with Joint Powers <br />Agreements. We have drafted a number of joint powers agreements, including <br />joint powers fire protection agreements, joint planning agreements, joint sewer <br />agreements and joint road maintenance agreements. Specifically we have: <br />o Assisted Burns Township in drafting a Joint Powers Fire Protection <br />Agreement between Bums Township (Nowthen's predecessor prior to <br />incorporation in 2008) and the City of Ramsey. <br />o Advised five Townships in the establishment of a joint fire department and <br />drafted all documentation, including the joint powers agreement <br />