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would be something Ramsey could attempt to attract. He noted that certain retailers will look to <br />backfill the vacancies in the larger retail nodes. <br />Councilmember LeTourneau stated that it seems that it is not so much the idea of retail that the <br />Councilmembers may have been thinking but that it will be driven by the market. He stated that <br />although certain things are trending now, they may not be trending in another five years. He <br />noted that the Council should be prepared to react to the requests that arise from the market. <br />Mayor Strommen stated that this is where the vision, land use plan and ultimate decision come <br />together. She stated that the City has the benefit of not having large retailers that have become <br />vacant in this changing time for retail and has the ability to be flexible. She noted that it is not <br />always the individual element but what that would bring to the community. <br />Councilmember LeTourneau stated that this is a really good community with great pieces in <br />place, but he was unsure if people were aware of those elements. <br />Mr. Pankratz stated that the comments usually revolve around not being directly on Highway 10. <br />He reviewed some of the projects that are underway in Ramsey and stated that people are often <br />surprised to hear all of the activity. He noted that the process is baby steps in reintroducing the <br />City to developers but noted that increase in households and businesses will help to attract more <br />developers. <br />Councilmember LeTourneau stated that he does appreciate the suggestions included in the <br />Council packet and noted that he appreciates the relationships that Mr. Pankratz builds with <br />developers to keep them updated on Ramsey. <br />2.04: Review 2016 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) Management Report <br />and Special Purpose Audit Reports <br />Finance Director Lund reviewed the staff report. She noted that Aaron Nielsen is present to <br />review the audit, report and findings. She noted that a brief presentation will be given at the <br />regular Council meeting tonight as well with adoption included on the consent agenda. <br />Aaron Nielsen reviewed a summary of the audit noting that the City received an unmodified, or <br />clean, opinion. He stated that there were no instances of non-compliance but there was one <br />finding related to internal controls and provided additional details. He stated that there were no <br />findings related to the Minnesota state legal compliance. He stated that in the testing this year <br />related to the finding from the previous year, there were no additional issues as the City <br />responded to the finding. He provided additional details related to changes in property tax <br />values, tax capacity and comparison information for other metro and state-wide averages. He <br />highlighted the governmental funds the City has and provided additional details on the general <br />fund, other operating funds, and enterprise funds. <br />Finance Director Lund provided additional information on an item mentioned that was a large <br />change from the previous year noting that resulted from the developer of the Residence of The <br />COR. <br />City Council Work Session / June 13, 2017 <br />Page 4 of 5 <br />