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Councilmember Elvig stated that the Town Center project is a very large project and he is not <br />qualified to determine if the plan is perfect and he gets a sense that they should be looking at this <br />differently. He questioned if it would be possible for the Planning Commission, City Council, <br />and possibly the Town Center Task Force all meet together when they are addressing Town <br />Center issues. <br /> <br />Mr. Feges stated that this has always been a collaborative effort between the developers, City <br />staff and the citizens of Ramsey. They have hired the best team they can gather in addition to <br />working with staff to make sure they are delivering the best possible product. They were very <br />upset that they missed a link in involving the Planning Commission because they have worked <br />with all aspects in the community to make sure it is a community product. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig replied that from this time forward he thinks it needs to be a team effort. <br /> <br />Mr. Engen stated that they hope to proceed with sketch plan approval and approval of the zoning <br />districts at the next Planning Commission meeting, then they would like to work fast to submit <br />their preliminary plat by the end of June. He explained that the road portion of the process is so <br />large that they have to get a preliminary plat in order to get the integrated road plan initiated. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig inquired if there were things that they could do to assist with moving <br />things forward. <br /> <br />Mr. Feges explained that they as developers and the community as planners don't want to make <br />mistakes and there are market realties that want to sign on now. When they have the preliminary <br />plat in place, they take 100 percent ownership of the property and then as each district develops <br />they would be coming back to the City for the proper approvals. He noted that they cm-rently <br />have 52 people working on the project. <br /> <br />Councilmember Zimmerman stated that he does not want to rush the project only to fail. <br /> <br />Mr. Feges replied that they don't want to make mistakes that compromise the project. He <br />explained that they have interviewed different companies for the project and have actually turned <br />people away because they don't meet the intent and characteristic of the Town Center. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig stated that an important issue will be reviewing the fiscal impact study and <br />discussing the financial impacts on the City and what contribution the City will make to the <br />project. <br /> <br />Mr. Engen replied that that is currently being done. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig stated that he wants to develop the Town Center without raising taxes so <br />the issue will be how fast the City can afford to grow this site. <br /> <br />City Administrator Norman noted that there is currently a staff member working on those issues. <br /> <br />Councilmember Kurak inquired if there has been any consideration on municipal parking as a <br />way to collect additional funds. <br /> <br />City Council Work Session/May 6, 2003 <br /> Page 6 of 11 <br /> <br /> <br />