Laserfiche WebLink
3400 CITY CENTER <br />33 SOUTH SIXTH STREET <br />MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55402-3796 <br /> <br />612 343-2800 <br />F^x: 612 333-0066 <br />WEB SITE: www. gpmlaw, com <br /> <br />CONSULTING OFFICE, BEltiNG CHINA <br /> <br />August 28, 2000 <br /> <br />Dear Mr. Yantos: <br /> <br /> The City of Elk River recently received its copy of the NorthStar Corridor <br />Development Authority ("Authority") Advanced Corridor Study. The development plans <br />provided in the study for the Elk River Maintenance Facility are incomplete. No <br />elevations or landscaping plans are provided, and the scale of the plan is not accurate. <br />Elk River is being asked to approve a Facility without knowing what it will look like, <br />how it will be accessed or how many acres it will require. The City would like to see <br />plans for the Maintenance Facility that are at the same scale and level of detail as the <br />Station Plans. <br /> <br /> More importantly, the City is very concerned with the proposed location of the <br />Maintenance Facility, which is on land owned by Cargill, Incorporated. Cargill has been <br />a landowner and good corporate citizen of the City of Elk River for over 40 years. <br />Cargill has expressed to the City its desire to continue agricultural operations on all of its <br />property located within the City limits into the indefinite future. In response to this <br />desire, and after several years of very difficult negotiations, the City has entered into an <br />Agreement with Cargill which will remove all Cargill property from the City's Urban <br />Services Area and prohibit the City from assessing Cargill for sanitary sewer and water <br />for a period of 20 years. Condemnation of Cargill property for use as a Maintenance <br />Facility is not consistent with the City's agreement with Cargill, and would be contrary to <br />the best interests of both Cargill and the City. <br /> <br /> For this reason and others, the City encourages the Authority to find another <br />location for the Maintenance Facility. There are at least two additional sites within the <br />City which appear to meet your site criteria and which have not been addressed in the <br />Advanced Corridor Study. These sites include City owned land located just southeast of <br />the Cargill Property, along the east side of the railroad tracks; and a privately owned <br />parcel located just across the railroad tracks from the City property. Attached is a map <br />indicating the location of these two parcels of property. <br /> <br /> If the City property is the more desirable of these two sites, the City will make it <br />available to the Authority at a reasonable cost and without any delay. If the privately <br />owned parcel is deemed the more desirable, the City will commit to assisting the <br /> <br />GRAY, PLANT~ MOOTY~ MOOTY & BENNETT, P.A. ,4. TTORNEY$ AT LAW <br /> <br /> <br />