Agenda - Council - 01/10/2023 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilmember Musgrove stated she understands the request for the release of the land development was not for the landfill itself but for the land around it. She asked if the Connexus project would go onto the land that they are asking to be released. City Administrator Hagen said that Connexus is looking at the flat ground below the landfill and the City would be seeking land outside of what Connexus is needing. Councilmember Musgrove asked if this is land that the City or the State owns. She stated she is not in favor of having a solar panel area here and she would rather see other development. City Administrator Hagen stated that there would be local approvals that would be required. He added that Connexus started these discussions last legislative session, unbeknownst to the City. He said they would still need approval from the City and things will start to come forward soon. He asked Council if they wanted to have a discussion to give feedback to Connexus. Mayor Kuzma shared that he does not have a problem with the solar panel farm. Councilmember Howell stated she thinks it would be aesthetic pollution and asked what the suggested alternative uses would be for the property. Economic Development Manager Sullivan reiterated that the idea of having a solar farm on landfills is either a State driven or MPCA driven initiative and this is something that they would like to happen on a lot of their sites. He said this was heavily discussed at the meeting with the MPCA. Councilmember Riley said that they all agree that they would like to get the EDA land from the landfill. He suggested keeping this the way that it is and suggested a discussion at another time concerning the solar panels. Councilmember Specht agreed and shared he would not be a big fan of the solar panels. City Administrator Hagen called attention to the Northstar Commuter Rail. He stated that the riders and number of trips are down since COVID. He said there is an advisor group working with the Met Council in regard to the future of the rail and the options are that it remains as a train or goes to a bus route. He and Staff want to start discussing this and getting feedback for the State. He stated that Anoka County wants to see the cost formula. He stated that Ramsey has a very successful station along the railway. Councilmember Musgrove stated it would be nice to have some of the metric so they can frame their thought process around the numbers. She knows that they are asking for medical metro mobility which is bussing and how this could work into that. She shared that she knows that the County has some of the metrics. Councilmember Riley asked what they are asking for here. City Council Work Session / December 13, 2022 Page 6 of 9