04-12-2021 HRA MIN SPECIAL - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Housing and Redevelopment Minutes Page 3 April 12, 2021 At 4:37 p.m. there was a power outage and power came back on after about 30 seconds. Commissioner Ovall's connection was lost until 4:43 p.m. Commissioner Wagner asked if HLA could provide feedback on future traffic flow after the Highway 169 construction is complete. Mr. Carlton stated HLA could probably provide a professional opinion of traffic flow in the spring of 2025 but the accuracy of that opinion. It was the consensus of the HRA to move forward with a traffic study and include Lowell and Parrish as part of the study area. The HRA then turned the discussion to the downtown. They discussed the proposed dock and how that will open up river activities. They discussed expansion of the walkway east along the river and its connection to the Saxon building site and future expansion to Ramsey. It was noted the requirements from the DNR and MnDOT make this connection challenging. Commissioner Chuba explained his viewpoints on the downtown and felt it important to find out from the property owners what their future plans are, how do they see the conditions of their buildings, and are they able to find renters or tenants for their buildings, and to focus on the open spaces and preserving parking. The HRA discussed the goals of the HRA and how to focus those goals on other areas of the city that may be underutilized. They discussed the need to determine possible funding options. Ms. Eddy discussed the developer forum, where they had one developer attend. The developer focuses on daycares and private schools similar to the Goddard School. He stated he seemed interested and requested soil borings. She estimated the cost of four soil borings to be around $3,000. Commissioner Ovall asked about lining up Jackson Avenue with King Avenue or Lowell and would it help with traffic realignment. Mr. Carlton stated he can discuss this with Mr. Femrite but noted the 2001 Mississippi Connections plan outlined a grade separated realignment and wasn't sure if MnDOT would continue with that same proposal. Commissioner Wagner suggested extending whatever beautification plans are done in downtown towards Highway 169 on Main Street. Commissioner Swenson suggested the traffic study carry across how the intersections would be affected in the future such as Jackson and Railroad, and Main and Railroad. Commissioner Ovall had asked Ms. Eddy to distribute a handout of land sales comparables with area sales in the past two years. He discussed the numbers are lower than expected and felt $2 per foot seems too low. He stated he also does not feel apartments are comparable. He asked about selling the property at Main and Gates through a broker to get fair market cost.