Minutes - Council - 08/11/2014 - Laserfiche WebLink

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The Council thanked staff for its work towards accomplishing the Council's established goals and acknowledged the City's Mission Statement. Councilmember Tossey expressed concern relating to growth of government that resulted in increased taxes. 3. CITIZEN INPUT Wayne Buchholz, 14621 Neon Street, asked questions about the PSD, LLC, agreement that was considered during a Closed Session. He expressed concern that the purchase was based on $3.12 /square foot while a recent sale to Casey's was at $10 /square foot and the McDonald's site was at $8.17 /square foot. Mr. Buchholz asked about installation of utilities and questioned whether this HRA should be the one to agree or disagree on this transaction as all but two members had accepted campaign money from Jim Deal, the owner of this company, which does not `look good' in the eyes of the taxpayers. Mayor Strommen explained that each transaction is considered separately and the HRA has a pricing strategy reflecting the value of each parcel of land. She noted that the transaction mentioned by Mr. Buchholz was on the higher end of that pricing strategy range. Councilmember Tossey stated he did not accept campaign money from that property owner . but did support the sale because it was based on the market. He noted the other two sales mentioned were located on arterial roadways and the City had agreed six months ago to take care of Center Street. He felt it was preposterous to make a big deal of this sale. Economic Development Manager LaFrance presented the factors considered when establishing pricing, noting this property has been on the market since 2003. He clarified that utilities are located at the boundary of this property. Councilmember Backous suggested candidates `knock on doors' rather than attempt to create political issues where none exist. He stated he also had not accepted campaign money from this property owner and clarified that this Council has determined to not manipulate the free market and instead to get out of the HRA business. Councilmember Backous noted that with the transaction mentioned, the City received just under $1.9 million, 20% of the City's operating budget. He questioned how much staff time has been wasted responding to the baseless inquiries of Mr. Buchholz. Mayor Strommen declared this issue to be closed and not open to debate as the Council and staff have responded to points raised by Mr. Buchholz. 4. CONSENT AGENDA Motion by Councilmember Riley, seconded by Councilmember LeTourneau, to approve the following items on the Consent Agenda: 4.01: Receive Cash and Investments for period Ending July 31, 2014 City Council / August 11, 2014 Page 3of13