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Councilmember Woestehoff noted that this comes down to the ultimate priorities. He stated that <br />the waterfront is a completely worthwhile investment for this entire area and will spur more <br />development. He stated that perhaps the fill could be moved to a site so that it is available for the <br />developer to use in the future. <br />Economic Development Manager Sullivan commented that dirt piles can be stored but then there <br />will be questions from residents if it is left for long periods of time. He stated that fill is needed <br />in the entire area, not just the holes to bring it up to grade. He stated that there has been <br />development interest that does not move forward because of the unknowns with the cost for fill <br />and potential wetland impacts. He stated that the Council needs to determine how much it is <br />willing to spend, and when that should occur in order to spur development. <br />Parks & Assistant Public Works Director Riverblood stated that in terms of priorities, he would <br />think the Council would want to move all the soil that needs to be moved right away, even if they <br />do not move forward with the infrastructure improvements because of the cost of mobilization and <br />dewatering. <br />Councilmember Woestehoff agreed. He stated that if they can make investments and <br />improvements that benefit future development, perhaps the developer is willing to invest more. <br />He stated that he would like to see a path where the developer takes on more costs as well. He <br />stated that if the hotel, Aldis, and the waterfront improvements are completed, that will most likely <br />spur more development. He believed that parcel 46 will be a problem for a long time and therefore <br />the question is whether that is left for the future. <br />Councilmember Musgrove referenced the scenario that the City completes the dirt work and makes <br />parcel 46 into a development ready site, keeping wetland two, and asked if the City would be <br />reimbursed through higher sale purchase of that property. She stated that she would support that <br />scenario. <br />Economic Development Manager Sullivan commented that the road has been shifted south and <br />therefore that creates more space for housing than previously discussed in the concept of mixed <br />use. He stated that if the wetlands are not able to be filled that would reduce the number of housing <br />units that could be created. He stated that there will need to be discussion as to how many housing <br />units would be needed to make a residential development feasible. <br />Councilmember Woestehoff noted that it would then seem that in order to keep the wetlands in <br />what they would assume would be residential development, it would need to be an apartment to <br />be feasible. <br />Economic Development Manager Sullivan replied that it would not need to be an apartment and <br />could be attached or detached townhomes, depending how the roads are laid out. He noted that a <br />portion of the site could be an apartment in order to reach the number to make a project feasible. <br />Chairperson Riley commented that they have been waiting for the wetland delineation in order to <br />make these decisions. <br />Public Works Committee / February 21, 2023 <br />Page 3 of 12 <br />