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HRA 06/12/1997 - 29799�� CITY OF FRIDLEY HOIISING & RI�DEVELOPN�NT AUTHORITY NMEETING JUNE 12, 1997 CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Commers called the June 12, 1997, Housing and Redevelopment Authority meeting to order at 8:08 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Larry Commers, Virginia Schnabel, Jim McFarland, John Meyer, Duane Prairie Members Absent: None Others Present: William Burns, Executive Director Barbara Dacy, Community Development Director Jim Cas�serly, Financial Consultant Craig Ellestad, Accountant Bill Vanderwall, City View Transitional Housing Pam Bloom, City View Transitional Housing � APPROVAL OF MAY 8, 1997, HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING: MOTION by Mr. Meyer, seconded by Mr. McFarland, to approve the May 8, 1997, Housing and Redevelopment Authority minutes as written. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CEAIRPERSON CO1�RS DECI�ARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. CONSENT AGENDA: 1. CONSIDER APPROVAL OF A RESOLUTION ADOPTING A POLICY IMPLEMENTING PREVAILING WAGE REQUIREMENTS 2. ELECTION OF OFFICERS 3. REVENUE AND EXPENSES Mr. Ellestad provided copies of additional expenses to be approved a's outlined in his memo dated June 12, 1997. MOTION by Mr. Prairie, seconded by Ms. Schnabel, to approve the Consent Agenda and the additional expenses as outlined in the n June 12, 1997, memo from Mr. Ellestad. � HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MTG, JUNE 12, 1997 PAGE 2 UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON CONIl�RS DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIID UNANIMOUSI�Y. PRESENTATION: 4. PRESENTATION BY PAM BLOOM, LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES, CITY VIEW TRANSITIONAL HOUSING PROGRAM Mr. Vanderwall stated he was the Director of Housing Services for Lutheran Social Services and was at the meeting to talk about City View Transitional Housing, the development of the program and how things were going. City View Transitional Housing officially opened its doors in February, 1996. This is a four-plex off 57th Place and services four families at any one time. It grew out of an interfaith effort in the County to deal with homelessness in a way that was different from the way the County had dealt with homeless families in the past. Previous to City View's existence, homeless families were given hotel voucher referrals in an emergency situation without any kind of added services and quite often the families were not able to address the issues that led them there in the first place. The idea of City View Transitional Housing came from a staff person working with County area residents and members of area congregations. These people convened on a monthly basis to put ideas on the table and the idea � for City View was born. There was significant involvement with ACCAP. They played a key role in making this happen. They located the property, refurbished it, and the HRA took ownership which allowed everything to come together. Mr. Vanderwall stated, in their provision of services, they are very much community connected. The group of.Lutheran churches has expanded to 12 churches that have a lot of participation in this particular program and that is one of the things that makes it unique. Participation includes financial contributions and volunteers. The volunteer connection is what makes the program extremely strong. Lutheran Social Service organizes the program, maintains professional case management and social services, and helps to provide coordination for volunteers. At the same time there is a group of volunteers that coordinate the volunteer activities. Mr. Vanderwall stated the volunteer activities are incredible. When a homeless family comes to City View, there are groceries in the refrigerator, the apartment is furnished, etc. When the family shows up, they are at home. They serve families. The building has three two-bedroom units and one one-bedroom unit. Volunteers also provide transportation for people to look for work, to look for apartments, to provide assistance when moving in and moving out, clean after a family moves out, etc. The �..-.1 volunteers provide a variety of activities that make the program come alive. The interaction they have seen between those served and the volunteers is very strong. The volunteers are often asked � HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MTG, JUNE 12, 1997 PAGE 3 whether they work for the County or Lutheran Social Services. When they say they are volunteers, it seems to have a lot of impact. They begin to develop a relationship. He would like to see a stronger volunteer connection with more of a mentorship approach, but that is in the future. Mr. Vanderwall stated City View is today full. They never run short of people to serve. The referrals are all from Anoka County. There is an active collaboration between Lutheran Social Services, Anoka County Human Services, ACCAP, and the City of Fridley. They showed photos of the property. Ms. Bloom thanked the HRA for helping make City View a possibility. She does not have extremely close contact with the families but she does have some. It is wonderful to see how much this program means to the families and how it helps them in their lives. Ms. Bloom provided some demographics on the families in City View. 46� were residents of Fridley before they were homeless; 75o are female head of households; and they have also have some grandparents raising grandchildren. Case managers work with people when they come in, look at all aspects of their lives, determine barriers and the things the families need to work on. � The case managers help the families establish some goals, a plan to find permanent housing, and what they want to do in the future. The case manager will meet with the family anywhere from once per day to once per week while the family is at City View. The maximum stay is two months and they continue working with the family for six months after they have moved into permanent housing. Ms. Bloom stated they find that the families have many needs. For example, in one family the grandmother had severe medical needs and had not seen a doctor for two years. They have had families whose children had not been in school for over a year because they were living out a car. There are also financial needs, domestic abuse issues, etc., that the case managers help the families deal with in order to stabilize their lives. Ms. Bloom stated the volunteers are critical in helping families. She was impressed with the care of the property. She was concerned that families moving in would not have experience in caring for property. The volunteers take a lot of time and energy preparing the four-plex, decorating and furnishing it. The families seem to appreciate that and take care of it. Another part of the case management services is to help people learn housekeeping skills that they have not been taught to do before. � Ms. Schnabel asked the average length of stay for families. Ms. Booth stated the average stay is about six weeks. They have � HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MTG, JUNE 12, 1997 PAGE 4 had people there as short as two weeks and another family with extenuating circumstances that has been there 3.5 months. Ms. Schnabel asked what City View's relationship was with the neighbors. Ms. Booth stated, before opening, they went door to door, introduced themselves and left cards asking neighbors to call if they had concerns. They are not hearing much, and City staff state they also are not hearing anything. The neighbors next door brought flowers. One problem is that the neighborhood children play on their playground unsupervised. Other than that, she thought it was working well. She was happy with how it was going. Mr. Vanderwall stated the length of stay is short. It is more typical to have a one or two year program for transitional housing. Hennepin County has a six-month stay. This program is the shortest stay that is called transitional housing. There is a lot of work to do in two months to assess and to help families connect with community resources. In working with Anoka County, there is a lot of screening to help pick people that we can help be successful. Mr. Commers asked if all referrals come from Anoka County. ' � Mr. Vanderwall stated yes. Ms. Bloom stated another important part is that the case managers have close relationships with other case managers in service agencies throughout the County. They meet regularly, network, and help each other out with resources and referrals. Working together makes the success greater. Through this networking they have access to many different agencies and services. Mr. Commers asked if there were other similar facilities in the County. Ms. Bloom stated she knew of two transitional housing programs in the County which were two-year programs in single family homes with shared living conditions. Each house has three women each with a young child. The women must have strong education goals, must be working or in school, and can stay for two years. Those programs have been in existence for about five years. Lutheran Social Services also has youth programs. Mr. Vanderwall stated they have a youth home in Blaine for homeless youth or youth in trouble. They also have some programs to get homeless youth off the streets. They have a number of programs in Hennepin and Ramsey Counties as well. They do a lot ^ of work in Anoka County. � HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MTG, JUNE 12, 1997 PAGE 5 Mr. Meyer asked if there were other organizations in the County that were doing the same the thing. Mr. Vanderwall stated he was not aware of other similar programs. This is a unique program. There are not other transitional facilities for homeless families. There are some transitional housing opportunities for single people and people with chemical dependency issues. Their target group is the homeless. Ms. Bloom stated they also work with RISE. Mr. Meyer asked if they were able to handle the demand. Mr. Vanderwall stated, in their discussions with the County, they have heard we could have three City Views to handle those who could use the program. There probably is some other demand for this type of service. Mr. Burns asked if they knew the percentage of homeless who were not served in Anoka County. Mr. Vanderwall stated they did not have that information. They work strictly with families. � Ms. Bloom stated she did not have that information. She did know that there are a number of families that are still being housed in motels. Mr. Vanderwall stated the volunteer connection is very strong. When you get people dealing with people, they make a connection and learn from each other. It is a unique approach. He has not seen any other initiative like this with an inter-faith group where you have a community group to solve a community need. Mr. Meyer asked if this was funded through the Lutheran church. Mr. Vanderwall stated they have very creative funding. They are funded through area congregations. They received a grant for two- years from Anoka County. As families come through, they pay rent. That is a skill they need to learn if they are going to stay in permanent housing. They also receive some other donations. There are specific churches that are contributing to the program. They also get some United Way dollars and use any other foundation support or grants they can get. Ms. Bloom stated Anoka County pays a per diem for those families who have no means of support. The volunteers also do some active fund raising. � ACTION ITEMS• � HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MTG, JUNE 12, 1997 PAGE 6 5. CONSIDER REQUEST FOR TIF ASSISTANCE, GERALD PASCHKE; 7989 MAIN STREET N.E. Ms. Dacy stated she reviewed their recommendation with Mrs. Paschke over the telephone on Friday afternoon. Mrs. Paschke stated she would discuss it with Mr. Paschke. If they did not contact staff, that meant they agreed with staff's approach; and if they did not attend the meeting, they were cooperative with that approach. The fact that they are not attending the meeting is intended to be viewed as agreement with the recommendation. Mr. Commers stated the proposal was included in the agenda packet. The HRA has made similar types of assistance on other projects. Mr. Prairie asked if the addition was being put onto an existing building. Ms. Dacy stated yes. Mr. Commers stated they were aware that soil conditions.were poor in that area. Ms. Schnabel asked if construction had begun. /'"'� Ms. Dacy stated yes. A permit was issued, and the soil has been removed and replaced. MOTION by Mr. Meyer, seconded by Mr. McFarland, to authorize staff to prepare a development contract providing $62,232 of tax increment assistance via a Limited Revenue Note and subject to the developer completing the 12,000 square foot addition. LTPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CEAIRPERSON CONIl�RS DECT.pRFfl THE MOTION CARRIED U1�iNIMOUSLY. 6. CONSIDER AUTHORIZATION OF FUNDING FOR HIGHWAY 65 STREET LIGHTS Mr. Commers stated he was told by staff that this matter could be put over by the HRA pending further work by staff. Ms. Dacy stated the City Council discussed this item on Monday evening. They would like staff to conduct a neighborhood meeting the second week of July. A letter will go out this week to alert residents living along the east side of Central Avenue and the west side of Moore Lake about the street light options that are being evaluated and the re-designed intersection tihat ends at East Moore Lake Commons area. The City Council would like to receive input from the residents that live along the lake and would like ,...� additional time to evaluate it. A decision does not need to be made by the HRA at this time. �...� HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MTG, JUNE 12, 1997 PAGE 7 Mr. Commers stated the proposal is to install the lights. There has not been a recommendation on the style. He asked how many lights would be installed and what would be the spacing. Ms. Dacy stated 25 lights would be installed at a space of 150 feet. The lights would be staggered with one on the east and the next on the west, etc. The lighting consultant at SEH has reviewed those standards with NSP and apparently this is okay. Staff has suggested a proposed design of a"shepherd's hook" design. Mr. Commers asked about the intensity of illumination or brightness, Is it the same as that on Rice Creek Road? Is there anything comparable? Ms. Dacy stated the parking lot lights at the Moore Lake health club site are probably in the same range in terms of wattage. She did not have the illumination in terms of wattage, but she could get that comparison. Mr. Meyer stated there is a discussion in there about the intensity of lights and a comparison. When reading it, he was reassured that they would not be creating a big city glare. /� Ms. Dacy stated the height of the standard also affects it. You can have a higher wattage and a greater area illuminated with a higher standard. If the standards are shorter, the lights can be less intense but more poles are needed. The 40-foot standard is the recommended approach. This is designed to shed light on the highway. Ms. Schnabel stated the HRA discussed this at the last meeting. Councilmember Schneider requested an accident history. Was this information obtained? Ms. Dacy stated that information has not yet been obtained. SEH is trying to obtain that from MnDOT. Staff will have that available by the time of the neighborhood meeting. Mr. Prairie stated, whenever they talk about improving the looks of Fridley, he thinks of the median along University which looks very bad. That is a main artery and that needs big improvement. This area along Central does not look bad. That median on University does. Mr. Burns stated the mowing in that area is the responsibility of MnDOT. Mr. Prairie stated it is still Fridley's look. He thought they ^ had talked about planting wild flowers or something else there to improve the appearance. � HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MTG, JUNE 12, 1997 PAGE 8 Mr. Commers asked what other cities do. Mr. Burns stated MnDOT cuts the median twice a year. Mr. Prairie stated it makes our image look scruffy. There must be some solution. He thought pavement would look better. Mr. Burns stated the City was mowing the median on the City contract until 1996 when they cut back on a number of programs. Ms. Schnabel stated she thought that last year they went to the State representatives and asked if they could apply pressure to get this mowed. Mr. Meyer stated he thought MnDOTmalso needed to fix the fences along University. Mr. Commers asked who they could talk to see if there is some type of accommodation we could make with them. Mr. Prairie stated the City goes to businesses and, if their grass is not mowed, the City will cut it and charge it back to the business. �, Ms. Dacy stated the guard rail across Highway 65 is in very poor shape and in need of maintenance. That is not a good appearance for the community. Mr. Meyer stated, after the last meeting, someone called him and had heard the discussion about the lights. She stated she and others who have to work late do not enjoy coming on Highway 65 across the Moore Lake because there are no lights. He asked if those lights are shut off at night? The Shorewood lights are off at that time and this is a black area. He thought her observation was correct. Ms. Dacy stated there are no MnDOT lights along the causeway at this time. Mr. Commers asked in which areas of the City do we have these lights now. There are lights in the area near city hall and on Rice Creek Road. He asked if there were lights up by Osborne Road. Ms. Dacy stated that there were decorative lights along the frontage road that runs parallel to Highway 65, just south of Osborne Road. That area, East Moore Lake Drive and Mississippi Street were the first areas to have these lights. Because of the height that is required along the highway, staff is suggesting the ,� shepherd's hook which imitates the existing standards. The casing � for the bulb emulates that to a certain degree also. �..1 HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MTG, JUNE 12, 1997 PAGE 9 n MOTION by Ms. Schnabel, seconded by Mr. Prairie, to table this matter indefinitely. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CEAIRPERSON CONIl�RS DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANII�IOUSLY. 7. NOAH'S ARK Ms. Dacy stated the HRA has before them a copy of a resolution pertaining to the Noah's Ark development contract. The original development contract had a deadline of July 1, 1997, to accomplish the bond financing. The public hearing has been set for July 14. This resolution is to amend the development contract to extend the deadline to September 1, 1997. Staff recommends approval of the resolution. MOTION by Ms. Schnabel, seconded by Mr. McFarland, to approve a Resolution Authorizing an Extension of Time for the Execution and Delivery of a Contract for Private Redevelopment By and Between the Housing and Redevelopment Authority In and For the City of Fridley and Noah's Ark of Minnesota, Inc. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON CONIl�RS DECLARED T8E MOTION CARRIED UN1�iNIMOUSLY. INFORN�iTION ITEMS : 8. LINN REDEVELOPMENT PROJECT UPDATE Mr. Commers asked why the second part had been extended. Mr. Casserly stated that as the project was designed, it was to be completed this year - both the service center and the retail center. The remodeling of the service center is going forward. They will be closing on the other lots in the next several weeks. They have been working to get a lease for the retail center. This is taking longer than what they thought. They called and indicated it would go into next year because there is no demand, but they are working on it. They want to have until July 1, 1998. At that point, he thought they might as well take it until the end of the year. So, they broke it into two parts. Mr. Commers stated it is now extended even further. Mr. Casserly stated they thought, if they started in the fall of 1998, they may be into 1999. Mr. Casserly asked what happens then to the value and the taxes between the time they complete the service center and the time n they complete the retail center. Mr. Casserly stated they are paying taxes on the real estate. ^ HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MTG, JUNE 12, 1997 PAGE 10 There is going to be little tax increment generated until they build the new facility. There is not much increase in valuation. The development agreement is designed so that the HRA does not give them a certificate of completion until both are done and they do not get delivery of the note until both are done. Because there is a maturity note on the revenue note, delays impact their ability to get the full impact of the revenue note. 8. UPDATE ON HOUSING REPLACEMENT PROGRAM Ms. Dacy stated staff has been doing research based on a similar program done in the City of Richfield. Richfield was one of the first communities to have a scattered site housing replacement program and placed an emphasis on housing and initiated rehab loan programs. Staff thought it would be worthwhile for the HRA to review what they do. A copy of their brochures for their rehab programs and scattered site and housing replacement programs were provided. Ms. Dacy stated staff would like to emulate and perhaps implement them in Fridley. They only permit an owner/builder team to construct on the lot rather than putting out an RFP on a number of lots and convey the lots to a developer to build homes on speculation. They also establish a minimum value on the lot and a n minimum lot price. Fridley's approach has been to receive the highest bid. That process has produced some mixed results. She thought they could do better on the revenue side for land sales. Of the 11 lots sold to date, there was a builder/buyer team that offered a price that was consistent with the expectations for that lot. Staff thinks there are merits to this approach. Ms. Dacy stated Richfield has more stringent design guidelines for their replacement housing. They don't have some of the stipulations that we do as a result of the legislation passed on the minimum value. Ms. Dacy showed a picture of a house designed with a similar look to the existing homes. Richfield also permits detached garages. Staff would like to look at what is typical for Fridley and build on that. They would like to see if we could diversify the appearance. Newer homes constructed are dominated by a two to three car garage. She would like to see if there is a creative way to deal with a garage. Ms. Dacy stated staff would like to come back at the July meeting with more specific proposals for a recommendation and implement the recommendations this fall. In the next round of lot sales, they hope to increase revenues and to see house designs that are different and that will add to the neighborhoods in which they are to be located. ^ Mr. Prairie asked how old Richfield's program was. Ms. Dacy stated the scattered site program has been in place for ^ HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MTG, JUNE 12, 1997 PAGE 11 about 10 years. They initiated it in the latter part of the 1980's. � Mr. Prairie asked if there was any comparison of the age of the homes in Richfield compared to the homes in Fridley. Ms. Dacy stated the demographics are almost the same. The age of the housing, the median income, the age of the population, etc. are very similar. The one difference is that the cape cod style house is a little older style. Richfield may have more housing in the 1940 to 1950 category. For the most part, Richfield is similar to Fridley. In view of the proximity of Richfield to the airport, Fridley lots should be more valuable then those in Richfield. Richfield, however, is selling their lots for $30,000 to $40,000, considerably more than we are getting for our scattered sites. Both cities have good school systems. Staff would like to implement some of their ideas which could be to our advantage. Mr. Meyer stated he thought Richfield and Bloomington grew up 5+ years faster than Fridley. Ms. Dacy stated the brochure from Richfield has a self-guided tour which she went on. The values of the replacement homes are higher �"� than the values of the existing homes. What they see happening is that people are beginning to add on or remodel to increase their home's value closer to that of the newly constructed home. There are occasions where they have taken two lots and combined them for a larger house. � �"'� 9. HOUSING REPLACEMENT PROGRAM ACQUISITION POLICY Ms. Dacy stated staff is proposing what was the outcome of the discussions about the program over the last few months. Staff have identified some criteria to evaluate when they would use the hazardous building abatement statute and when they would use the housing replacement program. She thought the criteria are consistent with the objectives the City and the HRA would like to reach. No action is required. Staff will continued as outlined in the memo. � Mr. Meyer asked, in a hazardous house which is vacant or abandoned, where do the acquisition costs come in. If we take a hazardous house and tear it down, would there by any cost to us? Ms. Dacy stated there would be costs. If we determined that a building was hazardous and proceeded with a court order, the statutes do provide that the demolition could be ordered and the cost assessed to the property owner. There could be no acquisition cost for the HRA. The City may absorb the costs to initiate the order. It would then be up to the HRA to decide n HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MTG, JUNE 12, 1997 PAGE 12 whether to purchase the lot. For the HRA's purpose, staff has identified how they would do that. Mr. Meyer referred to the screening process. Somewhere in there is where we have had the discussions about where we arrive at the value of the house. We basically depend on the assessment. If we go inside the house because the owner has applied for the scattered site acquisition program and we notice many defects, it is awkward to use the knowledge gained in that fashion to renegotiate the cost of the house downward. This screening process does not seem to address this. What if we had the policy that when we are interested in acquiring a property that we inform the owner that we are the HRA and would like to evaluate the property and tell the owner beforehand that whatever we do find may reduce or change the assessed value of the house. We would state beforehand why we are there and, if they choose to let us in, they are forewarned. We can then gain knowledge about the property. We would then be in a better position to offer a value that is more in line with the true value of the property. Mr. Commers stated the assessor can go in at any time. Mr. Meyer stated his concern is from previous discussions. He does not know that the assessor really examines the inside of the n house. In some of the houses we have been talking about, he thought we had to look askance at the assessed valuation of the property. If the assessor comes in and gives a certain price, it is up to us to gain the same kind of checklist as we did for the last house considered. He thought they were reluctant to use that information to bring the cost of the house down because it was gained under a process where the owner was not aware that the information obtained may serve to lower the price. Let us say that from now on we enter the home without any notion in mind but to warn the owner that this is our intent. They know who we are and what we are about, and he thought that in the process they would arrive at a fair price for the acquisition. Ms. Dacy stated staff would be happy to evaluate that. She thought the difference Mr. Meyer was talking about was under the housing replacement program. This is a voluntary acquisition. The purpose of the appraiser is to determine the value of the house. The difference is between code enforcement and a voluntary acquisiti.on. In order to address the concerns about the appraised values that come back, we will be hiring on a case-by-case basis a review appraiser to take a look at the appraisals and to provide an independent check. As long as the acquisition is voluntary for the housing replacement program, she thought they would need to evaluate carefully how the appraisal is done. It is a negotiation type of process. For the most part for the properties that we n have acquired, the land value has been almost 1/2 of the acquisition price. She did not think the acquisition costs have been extremely out of line, but they will look at it. The n HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MTG, JUNE 12, 1997 PAGE 13 appraiser goes inside the house in order to document issues and make comparables. Mr. Burns stated this is not a windshield survey. Ms. Dacy stated a windshield survey is done as a means to identify a starting list. They will develop more specific criteria on that. The program is voluntary. If an owner wishes to negotiate, then staff will work with another owner. Mr. Meyer stated he is concerned that if an appraiser for any reason stays on the outside of a house and does not go in to consider the inside conditions, then we are right back to having no check on what will be asked for the house. Ms. Dacy stated that is not the case. Mr. Meyer stated the house that they talked about was an appalling situation where the assessed valuation had nothing to do with the value of that home. If our assessor and appraiser saw the same things listed, he cannot understand how they arrived at the value that was given. He hopes to avoid that type of thing. Mr. Commers stated the assessor is required to put on a value that n is within approximately 90% of the fair market value. It seems to him if there is a discrepancy, for example, the Linn property is assessed at $250,000 and he is paying $400,000. That is a significant difference. How can we be that far off? If the assessor is so high, why haven't people not made an effort to have their taxes adjusted? The assessor must be within 93a or 95a of the market value. Mr. Meyer stated the house discussed, as far as he is concerned, is unsalable at any price. Somewhere along the line he is bothered by the fact that someone is not reading the defects. He is suggesting that we go in and let the owner know what we are about, and then we have additional tools for discussion with the assessor. Mr. Commers stated that opens another set of problems of who will we hire, who will put a value on it, etc. What we are really doing is second guessing our assessor and we need some expertise in order to do that. Mr. Meyer stated it certainly is not as clean, but there is a great deal of money involved also. Mr. Commers stated staff is working on making suggestions. ^ OTHER BUSINESS• 11. CHRISTENSON CROSSING � HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MTG, JUNE 12, 1997 PAGE 14 Mr. Meyer asked how the sales were coming along at Christenson Crossing. Ms. Dacy stated the gable townhomes are selling well. She thought they had sold over 20. The one-story homes are still holding at 10. About half of the units are under construction. The majority are the three-story townhomes. Ms. Dacy stated they now have under construction the pillars for the perimeter fencing. The ornamental fencing that will face the University Avenue side will be installed beginning next week. The landscaping along Mississippi Street will have to be re-arranged to place the arbor vitae between the pillars. They will also begin construction on the plaza. The bikeway/walkway has been re- aligned to connect into the bus stop. There was some conflict with the bikeway/walkway being too close to the grade and too close to the townhome just to the west of it. There will still be an opening onto Mississippi Street. The pillars were originally going to have a stone exterior, and this has been changed to brick. There will be about a 3.5 foot wall built with Kasota Stone and laid in an oval pattern near the intersection. In addition to the perimeter wall, the developer is also working on the plaza area at the corner of the project. � Mr. Commers asked if Rottlund had talked about changing the mix. Ms. Dacy stated no. Ms. Dacy also pointed out that she has talked to the developer about putting a City of Fridley sign on the decorative wall that lets passersby know they are in the center of town. 12. BROCHURES Ms. Schnabel thought the brochures were very well done and were very impressive. Mr. Commers asked if the brochures were completed. Ms. Dacy stated yes. The inserts are also completed. Mr. Commers asked if there would also be a demographics packet. Mr. Dacy stated there is a community profile that the state puts together for us. If they get a specific request, they can put something together. They have a template for the insert ready to go, and they could order additional inserts. � 13. LP�KE POINTE i"1 �1 �� HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MTG, JUNE 12, 1997 PAGE 15 Mr. Prairie asked if there was any more information regarding Lake Pointe. Ms. Dacy stated staff has scheduled a meeting with MEPC the latter part of this month. T�ey have a number of contacts with potential users. Unfortunately, those have not panned out. Our contract with MEPC expires on August 1. MEPC has some suggestions on alternatives for the site. Staff will review those with MEPC at the end of the month. On the horizon is a possible joint meeting with 'the City Council and HRA to discuss that issue. Mr. Prairie stated there is a new hotel in Brooklyn Park and in Maple Grove. Some of those locations don't seem as�accessible. Have we missed the hotel market? Mr. Commers stated he spoke with a hotel company and they are not interested in coming across the river. Ms. Dacy stated some hotels have seriously evaluated the site. They have indicated that if offices were developed on that site they would be interested. ADJOUR'NMENT : MOTION by Ms. Schnabel, seconded by Mr. Prairie, to adjourn the meeting. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CIIAIRPERSON CO1�Il�RS DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED AND TSE JIJNE 12, 1997, HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING ADJOIIRNED AT 9:28 P.M. Res ectfully submitted, �lGC- � Lavonn Cooper Recording Secretar�