Minutes - Council - 02/26/2002 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Motion by Councilmember Hendriksen, seconded by Councilmember Anderson, to ratify the recommendations of the Personnel Committee. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Mayor Gamec, Councilmembers Hendriksen, Anderson, Kurak, m~d Zimmerman. Voting No: None. Case #16: MPCA Acquisition Item was handled as part of Case #8. Case #17: Alloy Recovery Environmental Issues City Attorney Goodrich presented the Council with a summary of the environmental issues on the Alloy Recovery property and reviewed the three options for Council consideration. The first option was for the City to purchase the property outright, address the environmental issues, and then sell it to a willing buyer who was willing to accept it "as is" and continue to use it for commercial/industrial purposes. The cleanup costs would be $20,000 to $25,000. The second option would be for the City to purchase the site with the intention of cleaning it up for some future, limited commercial/industrial use. The City could enroll it into the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's (MPCA) Voluntary Investigation and Cleanup (VIC) program, and ask to obtain a "No Association Determination Letter" for the contaminants identified on-site. The "No Association Determination Letter" could then be extended to future buyers. The site activities would include further delineation of the metals impacts and some limited cleanup. The cost would be approximately $75,000. Should the City decide to purchase the property with the intention of cleaning it up for unrestricted use (i.e. to residential cleanup standards), the City could enroll VIC, and request a "No Association Determination Letter" and a "Certificate of Completion" for the site cleanup activities. This would involve at least two years of monitoring at the site and the complete cleanup of the smelter slag located on the site. The cleanup would involve the removal of soil to a depth of one foot across the entire site. The estimate for that type of cleanup ranges fi'om $150,000 to $175,000, and assumes the City would be applying for a clean-up grant from the Department of Trade and Economic Development. Mr. Goodrich noted that staff was still in the position to move forward with the purchase of the property and Alloy Recovery did agree to drop the sales price $25,000. The City does have two potential users that would not require the extensive cleanup and both would be willing to do the cleanup themselves. Councilmember Hendriksen inquired as to what kind of legal liabilities the City would be incurring. City Attorney Goodrich replied that the City would absorb any issues the property has. Councilmember Hendriksen inquired if there was a compelling reason it needed to be addressed at this time. City Council/February 26, 2002 Page 33 of 35