Minutes - Council - 02/24/2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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renovation district. With regard to this specific property, there have been substantial discussions with the Fire Marshal that visited the site. He reports that the subject property is a fire hazard and there are life safety concerns on the property because of lack of egress windows, smoke detectors, and fire alarm systems. City Attorney Goodrich advised should the Council pass this resolution, it would direct the City Administrator to negotiate with the property owner. Staff has only had preliminary negotiations and hopefully that would proceed further. Councilmember Cook questioned if there are any concerns that under the circumstances the property may be contaminated and the City would have to do some kind of clean up effort there. City Attorney Goodrich replied staff is not aware of that, but in any condemnation proceedings environmental standards will have to be met. Councihnember Strommen indicated the EDA has projects on two other parcels in this vicinity and this makes sense to do. Councihnember Elvig asked if the City's concerns have been addressed with the landowner. Gary Hanson, President of Bakestar Inc., stated his father is the business owner. He is 84 years old and has had this business for over 20 years, and is a taxpayer in the City of Ramsey. The first time they heard about this being discussed is when they saw it on the agenda. The Council seems to have failed in notifying individuals, as in the case of the seal coating and the road that was torn up less than one month later. These types of things strike him as not negotiating in totally good faith. In regards to the type of building they have, it is a metal steel building on very nice concrete. The building is in excellent maintenance, as a starter building it has a lot of desirability to small businesses that are looking to get into their own property. Not everyone can afford large construction, and as many people know small businesses contribute most of the job growth in the county. This is an existing building that does not require TIF financing for the businesses that have expressed an interest in it. He stated the sale of the property has only been posted on a sign in front of the property, and they have received numerous inquiries and a number are in a much higher level than what the City has expressed. Mr. Hanson stated as far as the property's blighted condition, they as the business owners had invited the Fire Marshal into the building to do an inspection as part of the fire inspection procedures for businesses and homeowners that wanted to make improvements to their property. The first time the Fire Marshal came through he gave them a list of corrections in relation to fire alarms and material around their furnace room. Those things they corrected and he has a letter to that extent. A few months back the Fire Marshal, his supervisor, and another individual came to the building. If this has been in the process for a while it strikes him as not being entirely in good faith for them to use that for the excuse to photograph the building and then not have cited them for any of these supposed blighted conditions. They were unaware until tonight that there were any problems with their property. He installed smoke detectors in a number of areas and a number of battery backed emergency lighting so if the power fails there would be light to find your way out of the building. This was not required because only he and his father work in the building. They still did the improvements because they make good sense. They have listed the City Council/February 24, 2004 Page 19 of 31