Minutes - Council - 05/13/2003 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Councilmember Zimmerman stated that the present staff could take care of development as it is and the new employees could focus on the Town Center project. He suggested that time spent on the Town Center project be tracked so that the escrow amount goes to pay for those salaries. City Administrator Nom~an replied that the existing staff working on the Town Center project would continue working on the project. Councilmember Kurak noted that staff already bills their time to the developer. Councihnember Elvig questioned the method as to which City staff time is billed to the developer. Finance Officer Lund explained that with every payroll staff submits their time they work on a project and then at the end of each month it is invoiced to the developer. Councilmember Kurak suggested that the City request a cash deposit from Ramsey Town Center LLC not a letter of credit. City Administrator Norman noted that he would provide the Council with a signed copy of the Memorandum of Understanding. Councilmember Elvig stated that he was comfortable with the current payment set-up as long as the bills are being paid in 10 days. Councihnember Zimmerman inquired if there was currently a running total. Finance Officer Lund replied that as of today they had not collected anything for the project, but the first bill went out. Motion by Councilmember Elvig, seconded by Councilmember Kurak, to authorize staff to begin the recruitment process of a Civil Engineer II position and an Associate Planner position, contingent upon the Memorandum of Understanding and the Town Center developer funding the newly created positions. Further discussions: Councilmember Zimmerman inquired if the City treats other developers the same. City Attorney Goodrich replied in theory yes. City Administrator Norman stated that it is difficult to compare the Town Center project to other developments in the City because it is such an enormous project. Councilmember Zimmerman stated that his concern is that he does not want Ramsey Town Center, LLC to complain that they are being treated differently than other developers in the City. Councilmember Kurak suggested that staff get some language from the developer to address those concerns. City Administrator Norman stated that he did not believe that the Town Center developers could say that they are being treated differently because it is different than any other project the City has done City Attorney Goodrich stated that to address Councihnember Zimmerman's concern they could have language that would state not withstanding past practice because of the size of the project. City Council/May 13, 2003 Page 24 of 29