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

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Motion by Member Johnson, seconded by Member Stewart, to recommend to City Council to approve of Purchase Agreement and Right of Re-Entry Agreement as presented, subject to City Attorney review. Further discussion: Member Howell stated that she does have hesitation about bringing more apartments into The COR but does really like the product and therefore will be supporting this proj ect. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Chairperson Wiyninger, Members Johnson, Stewart, Howell, Lindahl, and Riley. Voting No: None. Absent: Member MacLennan. 4.02: Consider Provision of Business Assistance for Soderholm and Associates Economic Development Manager Sullivan presented the staff report. Brian Soderholm, COO of Soderholm and Associates, commented that their company started in 1959 and they are a local Ramsey business. He noted that in the past few years they have created the SA Group as the umbrella for their different businesses in Ramsey and provided details on those three brands. He stated that they are very excited to have the new hotel coming to Ramsey as their visitors have been using hotels in Maple Grove. He stated that they have outgrown the current building space in Ramsey and are renting multiple spaces throughout Ramsey. He provided details on their employees, noting that they are high paid, skilled jobs. He stated that the proposed addition would allow them to bring their staff in-house under one roof. He stated that they anticipate breaking ground at the end of the month and recognize that this request is coming later in the game than typical. He stated that this project will go ahead regardless, but noted the increased costs that they did not anticipate related to construction costs and water and sewer connection. He stated that they currently pay about$3 0,000 annually in property taxes and would anticipate that to quadruple along with the building size. He anticipated about 33 new staff additions and noted that they do hire within the area and employ many Ramsey residents. He stated that they hope to explore any financial assistance options the City could offer. He stated that the company is 100 percent employee owned, noting that each employee owns shares in the company which grow in value and benefit the employee in retirement. Chairperson Wiyninger asked for input from Ehlers. Jason Aarsvold, Ehlers, commented that they did review this project recognizing that this is a bit different than the typical review that is done for projects with a return on investment. He stated that in this review they attempted to provide assurance that this assistance would not unduly enrich the project and provided details on how that review was done. He stated that if the City chose to provide the proposed assistance it would not unduly enrich the project. Member Riley asked for more explanation on the different calculations that were done. Mr. Aarsvold provided more explanation on the tax abatement process. Member Stewart asked if one method of financing would be better compared to the other. Economic Development Authority/August 10, 2023 Page 3 of 5