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HRA 04/01/2004 - 29529CITY OF FRIDLEY HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY APRIL 1, 2004 CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Commers called the April 1, 2004 Housing and Redevelopment Authority meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. ROLL CALL MEMBERS PRESENT: John Meyer, Larry Commers, Pat Gabel and Bill Holm. MEMBERS ABSENT: Virginia Schnabel OTHERS PRESENT: Grant Fernelius, Assistant H�RA Director Scott Hickok, Community Development Director Paul Eisenmenger, HRA Accountant Richard Pribyl, Finance Director Rebecca Brazys, Recording Secretary APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION by Ms. Gabel, seconded by Mr. Meyer to approve the March 4, 2004 minutes as submitted. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON COMMERS DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. CONSENT AGENDA Consider pledge agreement regarding sale of tax increment refunding bonds. Consider Medtronic appraisal invoice. Consider Claims and Expense (distributed at meeting). Chairperson Commers asked to have the Medtronic invoice removed from the agenda for discussion. MOTION by Mr. Holm, seconded by Ms. Gabel to approve the consent agenda with the Medtronic matter removed for discussion. HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING APRIL 1 2004 PAGE 2 UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON COMMERS DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. ACTION Consider acceptance of City owned property and authorize marketing of site. Mr. Hickok explained that in December 2003, the City Council authorized a lot split and land swap to create a pair of new residential lots on the comer of Ely Street and Ashton Avenue. One of these lots is owned by the City and the other by a private party. It was determined that the HRA would be the best resource for the sale of this property. The HRA's Housing Replacement program would provide the HRA with the tax increment benefit while the sale proceeds, less HRA expenses, would go back to the City's general fund. An appraisal of this property was completed by Lake State Realty Services in January 2004 and they placed the property value at $57,500. The City's parcel is 107 feet wide by 120 feet deep for a total of 12,840 square feet. On March 29, the Council passed an ordinance to declare the property as excess and authorized the transfer of title to the HRA to market the property on behalf of the City. The HRA would accept bids for the property and would likely authorize the sale of the property in June. The HRA would have any of the costs associated with the disposal of this property reimbursed through the City's proceeds. Staff recommends that the HRA accept transfer of title from the City and authorize marketing of this property for sale in accordance with the terms defined in this presentation and within Item #4 of this evening's packet. Mr. Hickok further explained that initially there were four very long, skinny parcels that faced south, with each parcel having a 30-foot lot width. The City Council went through a process about a year and a half ago to do an overlay of a zoning district that would bring lots plaited prior to a date in 1959 into conformance so they would no longer have a non-conforming status. The City combined their two 30 foot parcels but the private land owner had not. What that meant was that the overlay would allow the City to build on its 60-foot wide lot by the total depth. But because the private property owner had not done that, they had parcels they couldn't use for development. Through a land swap, the City took the four long skinny parcels and reconfigured into finro adequate size parcels; one facing East along the eastem edge on Ashton and the other could face East or South on Ely. This created a very good situation for the property owner and the City as we now have two usable lots where two nice houses can be built in the future. Through this process, we made certain that the buildable area on both lots is identical. MOTION by Mr. Meyer, seconded by Ms. Gabel, to accept the conveyance from the City and to approve placing the land up for sale. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON COMMERS DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING APRIL 1 2004 PAGE 3 Consider Medtronic appraisal invoice. Chairperson Commers questioned what is the purpose of this appraisal. Mr. Pribyl responded the appraisal is to support the valuation the City has on the property. Chairperson Commers stated, there is a tax protest being filed now on this property and that is against the County. Mr. Pribyl stated it is against the City because the City actually places the value on it. The County represents the City as far as providing legal services. Chairperson Commers questioned if the County has their own appraisal that they do on behalf of the City. He thought the County appraised commercial and multiple properties. Mr. Pribyl explained the County decided four to five years ago that they would no longer do appraisals for multiple properties, but the City has always done the commercial, industrial and residential appraisals. Paul Bakken's company will be performing this appraisal. MOTION by Mr. Holm, seconded by Mr. Meyer, to approve the Medtronic appraisal invoice in the amount of $11,237. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, CHAIRPERSON COMMERS DECLARED THE MOTION CARRIED UNAIdIMOUSLY. INFORMATION ITEMS Gateway West Update Mr. Fernelius explained that the purpose of this presentation is to update the HRA and the public on what has happened with the Gateway West project since last fall. The most significant thing that has happened is we acquired three single-family homes in the 5900 block of Third Street. We closed on the sale of those properties last fall. One of those owners is still in the property but will be out by June 30. There are two additional sites, a single family home and a four unit apartment building. The owners of those two properties were not interested in selling to the city last fall. We are proposing to make one last effort this month to see if they have changed their mind and would be open to negotiations. We will then report to the HRA at their May meeting as to the outcome. Those sites would add finro lots to this development. We will contact those owners. The options are straightforward. They can either move ahead with the development as is, pursue those additional sites, or wait until some point in the future when those owners HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING APRIL 1 2004 PAGE 4 might be willing to talk to the City. For the next meeting, we will outline timelines for each of the options so the HRA can get a sense of what would �e involved. We see the next meeting in May as a key date when the HRA will want to make a decision on this issue. Chairperson Commers asked if the four-plex is vacant. Mr. Fernelius stated there is one vehicle on the property and there appears to be one tenant. He explained he has placed a phone call to the fourplex owner and has sent two or three letters with no response. Ms. Gabel offered to speak to the neighbors in the area and see if they can provide any information. Chaiperson Commers questioned the status of the taxes on the property and the current appraised value. Mr. Fernelius stated he would check into both of those matters. Mr. Meyer commented that the addition of the finro parcels in no way jeopardizes the development, it just makes it more desirable. He also asked if there is an alley and whether or not it is required to provide access to either of the lots on the north end. Mr. Fernelius responded that there is an unimproved alley that provides access to one parcel the City has already acquired and there is no additional access needed beyond that. The properties to the north have access to Third Street. Chairperson Commers stated it would be nice to get all the units into the project at one time and asked the staff to do the best they can. Follow up regarding Oreel condemnation (tabled at March 4th meeting). Mr. Hickok stated the memo presented this evening is the same that was presented at the last meeting. Mr. Knaak's memo explains the judge's order. In the summary, it describes the $40,600 awarded to Mr. Oreel for land costs. Our appraiser and his appraiser had set the land cost at $10.00 per square foot. We offered to pay $40,600. The $600 was for a temporary easement we used during the con�truction. What has happened since then, the attorney for Mr. Oreel submitted a motion requesting additional reimbursement of $16,913. Of those fees, the judge stated the amount they are entitled to be $1,359. The judge did not agree with the appraisal fee requested in the amount of $15,554.60. There was a new motion made by Mr. Oreel, the staff appeared in court this week, and Mr. Oreel is asking the judge to overtum the jury's verdict to award the $300,000 they think they are entitled to. So the case continues. The judge is deliberating and will rule on it in the very near future. HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING APRIL 1 2004 PAGE 5 Follow Up regarding Housing Loan Program Discussion (taU�led at March 4tn meeting). Mr. Fernelius stated this is merely and update and no action is required. Mr. Meyer stated he is puzzled by the figures that state from 1999 to 2003 the average income in Fridley has jumped about 20%. Considering the recession of the last few years, such an increase seems out of line. Mr. Fernelius stated this is related to the economy and the fact t�at people's incomes have increased. Chairperson Comm�ers agreed that this is a pretty good jump in the period of time. Ms. Gabel questioned that perhaps the increase in housing sales plays a role in this figure. City Council and Commission Conference Session Mr. Fernelius stated the City Manager asked him to encourage the HRA members to attend this session scheduled for Monday, May 17, as there will be some significant issues discussed, including the fencing along University Avenue. Mr. Hickok added that redevelopment strategies question would be addressed. We will also discuss workshops for housing determinations in the city as far as what is appropriate for the community. Ms. Gabel stated the redevelopment strategies were done in conjunction with the Met Council and were to be in place for a period of time. She questioned if we're "changing course midstream". Mr. Hickok replied we did respond to Met Council's timeline and vve adopted our comprehensive plan in March of 2001. The next comprehensive plan amendment will be due in 2008. What is important to focus on, when folks becoPne interested in the comprehensive plan and it becomes more than Just a document on a shelf, it's a good thing. We're going to have folks participate in a series of workshops to understand what the plans says and how decisions are made in the housing area. Monthly Housing Report Mr. Fernelius stated included is a report on the loan origination activity for 2003. So far we have 5 loans for a combined value of $103,000 through our various programs. We did not get the information in time to include the Loan Servicing Report details. Chairperson Commers asked if there have been any inquiries resulting from the Home and Garden Fair. HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING APRIL 1 2004 PAGE 6 Mr. Fernelius stated there was a lot of traffic the day of the fair. In the City newsletter, there is a nice article about the fair. There has been a lot of interest as a result of the show. ADJOURNMENT MOTION by Ms. Gable, seconded by Mr. Holm, to adjoum. UPON A VOICE VOTE, ALL VOTING AYE, THE MOTION CAI�RIED UNANIMOUSLY AND THE MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:25 PM. RespectFully Submitted, ,� l ��C�����- � Rebecca Brazys Recording Secretary CITY OF FRIDLEY SIGN-IN SHEET HOUSING & REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING ��� � � a ��� Name and Address Agenda Item of Interest