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03/21/1996 - City Council Special 00079 MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE • EAGAN CITY COUNCIL Eagan, Minnesota March 21, 1996 A special meeting of the Eagan City Council was held on Thursday, March 21, 1996, at 5:00 p.m. at the Eagan Municipal Center. Present were City Councilmembers Awada, Hunter, Masin and Wachter. (Mayor Egan arrived at 5:30 p.m.) Also present were City Administrator Tom Hedges, Director of Parks and Recreation Ken Vraa, City Attorney Jim Sheldon,and Assistant to the City Administrator Holly Duffy. Also present were members of the Land Acquisition/Development Subcommittee of the Advisory Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission and Mr.and Mrs.Anthony Caponi and their attorney, Dick Schieffer. Y/ ;% • Acting Mayor Hunter called the meeting to order. City Administrator Hedges gave a brief introduction regarding the fact that, at the request of the City Council,Anthony and Cheryl Caponi,with the aid of Mr.Schieffer,had prepared a proposal regarding the Caponi Art Park.City Administrator Hedges then introduced Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa as the staff member who has been working with the Caponis for the past ten years. He stated that Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa would give a brief history of the project, then the Caponis would present their proposal. He informed the audience that the City had received over 100 form letters regarding the Caponi Art Park, some of the letters with written additional comments. Acting Mayor Hunter noted that he had skipped past the Visitors to Be Heard agenda item i, and informed the audience the Council would take ten minutes to hear any comments from members of the audience. Reed Grimwood said that he thought that the City should buy the Caponi property as proposed in the Caponi proposal. He said that the City had spent a lot of money on athletic fields and he felt that they should even out the park system and spend money on the art park. Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa stated that a chronology of the history of the City's relationship with the Caponi Art Park had been prepared. He said only the major points had been listed and he was sure that there were other points that could have been listed. He stated that he had known Tony Caponi since he first started working with the City. The major points regarding the Caponi Art Park chronology that he reviewed included the following. In 1986, then Mayor Blomquist expressed interest in the development of the cultural gardens and sought ways to help Anthony Caponi organize the concept of a foundation. In October of 1986, the Advisory Parks and Recreation received a "planning memo" and "need to address the future," which raised the question as to the creation of a cultural arts center. On February 13 of 1987, Mr. Caponi presented his"proposal for sculpture gardens"which presented the project as a joint venture with the City and asked the Council to create a foundation to work out procedures for implementation. On February 24, 1987, the City took action to hire S & B Properties to provide research on other art parks,the viability of the Caponi Art Park, and the likely success regarding a local non-profit organization to raise funds/administer the cultural gardens. In 1987, as a part of their research, S & B Properties obtained appraisals of the Caponi property. Mr. Caponi did not agree with the appraisals. In March of 1988, S & B Properties completed their report and provided 12 recommendations to the Council regarding the project. • On May 10, 1988, then Mayor Ellison and City Councilmember Wachter met with Mr. Caponi to tell him that there was no City funding available but they encouraged him to take the lead in his 0008( Special City Council Minutes • March 21, 1996/Page 2 project and to seek funding from other agencies. Mr. Caponi requested a staff liaison to work with him. On June 28, 1988, Mayor Ellison provided a support letter for the sculpture garden. Mayor Ellison, City Administrator Hedges and the Dakota County Parks Director met to discuss the possibility of the Caponi property being included as a regional park. On May 25, 1989,the Director of Parks and Recreation wrote a letter to Mr. Caponi indicating that there was no funding available from either Dakota County or the Met Council for the project. In April of 1990, Mr.Caponi asked the City to evaluate the possible acquisition of 40 acres south of Diffley as a part of the project. On May 7, 1990, Mayor Egan, City Councilmember Wachter, City Administrator Hedges and Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa met at Mr. Caponi's request at his home to explore ways for the City to help bring about the art park. Staff was directed to prepare a report for Council consideration which was basically a vision statement for the project. On October 10, 1990, the Council reviewed the report prepared by staff which sought direction on various issues relative to the support by the City for the art park. Staff was directed to prepare a draft resolution which supported Mr. Caponi's effort to create an art park,to work with Mr. Caponi to help create a foundation, and to do design work to illustrate the art park. On November 8, 1990,the City approved a resolution supporting the creation of the sculpture garden and studio. During 1990 and 1991, the City staff unsuccessfully contacted major businesses in Eagan to solicit members for the board of directors for the Caponi foundation. Staff also provided Mr.Caponi with possible actions he should take. In late 1991, the City Council established a Council "liaison committee" to work with the Caponis. In June of 1992, the liaison committee consisting of Councilmembers McCrea and Awada and members of the City staff met on the Caponi site to review the issues of constructing a tunnel between the north and south parcels. Mr. Caponi discussed with staff the idea of rezoning to a type of land designation indicating its use as an art park. On September 1, 1992,the City Council approved a comp guide amendment for the Caponi property from D-1 (single family)to park. They also rezoned the Caponi property from agricultural zoning to park zoning The City and the Caponis subsequently jointly funded the tunnel which was constructed under Diffley Road during its reconstruction. The reconstruction of Diffley Road interrupted the project for a time. The liaison committee did continue to meet. Then in 1995, the City was informed that it could not contribute public funds to establish a foundation for the Caponi Art Park. The Council then directed that the liaison committee study the possibility of including the Caponi Property in a parks bond referendum which was intended to be held during 1996. Acting Mayor Hunter then turned the meeting over to Dick Schieffer who introduced himself as an attorney who had worked with the Caponis during the tunnel construction period of time and who now had helped the Caponis prepare the proposal which had been presented to the City Council. He asked how the property fit into the City's park system. Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa replied that immediately north of the Caponi property was the Patrick Eagan Park of approximately 125 acres, including 20 acres which had been purchased from the Caponis. This park is eventually intended to be used as a "nature center." He stated that south of Diffley and east of the Caponi property was an athletic field complex which had just recently been constructed. Mr. Schieffer then said that he had been called in several months ago to help the Caponis. It seemed to him that there were many meetings and discussions but the actual establishment of the art park did not seem to be happening. He saw the need to put something concrete on the table for the City Council to consider. He stated that both the City and Caponis and spent an awful lot of time trying to find outside sources of revenue and were unsuccessful. He stated that if the art park is to happen,the City and the Caponis will both need to put money into the project. The Caponis are willing to do this. . Mr. Schieffer stated that the physical development of the park is a matter for decision making in the future. The development will take a lot of time and money. He thinks of it as occurring in 00081 Special City Council Minutes March 21, 1996/Page 3 three stages. First would be a decision to purchase the land. The City would need to decide where it would get the money to purchase some parkland in the area,through a bond referendum or other sources. If the City does agree to purchase the land, the details would be agreed to and laid out at that time. The third stage would be an ongoing cooperative agreement between the Caponi Corporation and the City to develop and operate the park. He assumed that different needs would occur as time went by. (Mayor Egan arrived at the meeting at this time.) Mr. Schaeffer stated that a parking lot needed to be constructed which would be accessible to the underpass. He said that the proposal would be that the Caponis and the City would each put in half of the funding for the parking lot. With that introduction, Mr. Schieffer then went through the proposal. Generally, the conditions were, first, that the Caponis were offering to sell 40 acres south of Diffley Road to the City for $1.8 million which is equivalent to$45,000 per acre. Mr. Schieffer indicated he had worked with a two year old appraisal and added a little over 10%, arbitrarily,to update the cost. If the City wants to purchase the land, then the City will need to decide how they want to finance it and a draft purchase agreement will be prepared. Regarding operating the park and use of the land, a cooperative agreement would be prepared, much like a joint powers agreement. Mr. Schaeffer indicated that the City would then own all of the land south of Diffley Road and would exercise all rights of ownership except that the City must use it for park land purchases which are compatible with the artistic plan of development of Mr. Caponi for the Caponi Art Park. The 20 acres north of Diffley would also be restricted to art park purposes by the corporation. Mr. Schieffer said that when the City purchased the 40 acres south of Diffley, the Caponis would then immediately transfer ten acres north of Diffley to the corporation. Then,within ten years,the transfer of the other ten acres to the corporation would be worked out. However, the Caponis and their descendants would have the right to live there for a period of time which would be determined. The Caponis would donate money for half of the cost of constructing the parking lot into an improvement fund so that the money could not be used for other purposes. City Councilmember Awada asked who would own the parking lot. Mr. Schieffer replied that the City would own the parking lot, but some sort of easement would have to be given to the park so that people could use it. Mayor Egan asked City Attorney Sheldon if the City could enter into such an agreement. City Attorney Sheldon replied that, as he understood the proposal,the City would acquire the south 40 acres and then enter into an agreement regarding operations. Mayor Egan asked if there could be restrictions. City Attorney Sheldon replied in the affirmative but said that they would need to know the exact provisions before he could determine whether the City would have the authority to approve them. Mr. Schieffer said that his concept was that the City would own the 40 acres, would spend public funds on that 40 acres and not on the north 20 acres. However,the corporation and the City would reach agreements regarding who pays for what. The artistic programs would be the responsibility of the corporation to develop and to pay for. This would not be the responsibility of the City unless the City decides it wants a program. Then the City must bring the proposal to the corporation and agree on a cost which would be charged by the corporation to the City. The City could use the 40 acres for its programs as long as the programs were not inappropriate for the concept of the art park. Ten acres on the north side of Diffley would be transferred immediately to the corporation and a decision made within ten years regarding the transfer of the remaining ten acres. However, all 60 acres would be immediately available for art park purposes. The land is zoned for parks so it can't be used for anything else. City Councilmember Hunter asked when the land was zoned for park purposes. Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa told him that was done in 1992. Mayor Egan then called upon City Councilmember Wachter to make the presentation which he had requested to make after the proposal was discussed. City Councilmember Wachter told Mr. Caponi 00082 Special City Council Minutes March 21, 1996/Page 4 they had first met when Mr.Caponi asked for a fence to be constructed between the park land to the north of the Caponi property and the Caponi property. He remembered that it cost$10,000. He stated that the City has spent money through the years on the art park. He told Mr. Caponi that the City had never said that it did not want an art park but the City was very concerned about the financing. He said that, in 1987, the land and buildings were appraised and that Mr. Caponi did not agree with the dollar amount of the proposals. He said that the City had always told Mr. Caponi that it did not have money in the budget for the art park but that it would help with staff time in the establishment of a foundation. He said that the City has always worked with Mr. Caponi to encourage the foundation and solicitation of funds. He said that in the early 90's, staff tried to get board members for the foundation but that the people who were contacted were not interested and the City had again encouraged Mr. Caponi to obtain financing. He said that the City had never promised City funds to the project and that is where he stood today. He repeated that he was not against the art park. He mentioned that he had taken an unofficial poll of people in the community and that almost everybody said they would like to see the art park established but they did not want to pay for it through their tax dollars. City Councilmember Wachter told Mr.Caponi that he understood that he had lost his green acre status and that the City was currently investigating green acre status as a whole in the City. However, he stated that the County had removed the green acre status and not the City. He said he represented the people of Eagan and he did not want to see the kind of money that was being asked put on the taxpayers; however, he did wish to support Mr. Caponi in his vision. He stated he did not see the art park as City owned property; it's larger than that. It should be regional and he thought the Met Council should contribute because the park would not only be for Eagan residents. He told Mr. Caponi that he will still continue to support the art park but he doesn't think the taxpayers should pay for it. Mayor Egan thanked City Councilmember Wachter and asked for input from the other Councilmembers. City Councilmember Masin stated that she had a number of questions. Her first question was whether the property would actually be donated or just the use of the property would be allowed. Mr. Schieffer replied that the property would actually be donated and controlled through the board of the corporation. City Councilmember Awada asked who controls the board. Mr. Schieffer said the Caponis did but if the City entered in, it would have a say on the non-profit board. City Councilmember Masin then asked if the property were to,be fenced,who would pay for the fence. Mr. Schieffer replied the corporation would pay for a fence on the north side of the property. Regarding the property south of Diffley, an agreement would have to be reached between the City and the board that a fence was necessary and also on how it was to be financed. Mayor Egan said that could be incorporated into a joint powers agreement. Mr. Schieffer agreed. He said that whenever one party wanted to do something new it would be negotiable. City Councilmember Masin's third question regarded who would pay for the buildings on the land south of Diffley. Mr. Schieffer said that would be a decision made between the City and the board. They would decide when the buildings would be constructed and how they would be paid for. City Councilmember Masin then asked who would pay for maintenance and for utilities to service the buildings. Mr. Schieffer said that the City would pay for the utilities. City Councilmember Awada asked why, if all the programs are run through the non-profit corporation and they receive the revenues from the programs, they should get the utilities for free. Mr. Schieffer admitted he had not thought about that. He thought providing the programming would be a substantial contribution. City Councilmember Awada asked if all these items were negotiable before the City came to any agreement about purchasing the land. Mr.Schieffer said they could be, but a lot of work would be needed if there was to be a referendum in August. City Councilmember Masin then asked who would have the responsibility to schedule the use for the land on the south side of Diffley. Mr. Schieffer replied that the non-profit corporation would schedule the land to the north of Diffley. They would also schedule programming on the south. They were presenting the programs, but both parties would have to agree because it is public property. City Councilmember Masin's last question regarded who would have the liability for accidents occurring on the land and in the buildings. Mr. Schieffer replied that 00083 Special City Council Minutes • March 21, 1996/Page 5 question would be difficult to answer. Probably both entities would be sued. If a person were injured during programming, probably the art park would be responsible. If a person were injured because of City maintenance,the City would probably be responsible. It would depend upon who had the responsibility for whatever caused the injury. Mayor Egan said that the proposed purchase price did not include any improvements and asked Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa if he had any idea what those would be. Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa said that it would be impossible to even come close to estimating those at this time. City Councilmember Hunter remarked that it was interesting that his history in serving the City of Eagan involved the same time span as the proposal for an art park. He stated that the value of the land was key to making a decision. He asked who had performed the appraisal and how the inflation figure was decided upon. Mr. Schieffer said that Dick Parranto did the original appraisal. City Councilmember Hunter said that he had staff investigate the cost of raw land and that we were talking about raw land when talking about the Caponi property. He said that the cost varied, $30 thousand, $33 thousand, $31.5 thousand, $36 thousand, $28 thousand per acre. The average seemed to be in the low 30's for buildable land and we were talking about steep slopes on the Caponi property. He asked how the price had come about. Mr. Schieffer said that Dick Parranto had done the original appraisal. In his opinion, the 40 acres were worth $40,000 two years ago. Mr. Schieffer said he arbitrarily added about 10% to that figure. He said, that in reality, all land values are based on opinions. He said, that in terms of development, his opinion was that he could not think of land more desirable for real estate development than the 40 acre parcel. He said the only way to get a price set between two parties was to have the two parties sit down • and deal until both sides were satisfied. City Councilmember Hunter said he also had polled people in the City regarding the art park. It appeared to him that everybody wanted the park but no one wanted to pay for it. This has been the number one problem through the years that the concept of an art park has been discussed. All councils have been enthusiastic about the art park and wanted it. However,the City never intended that the financer of the art park would be the City. This is clear from all correspondence regarding the art park. Nevertheless, he said that it was up to this City Council to decide if they wanted to change that. He stated that one thing that has not been emphasized is how much time and effort and money, especially if you count staff time, the City has already contributed to the art park. The Caponis have also contributed much time and effort and money to the project. City Councilmember Hunter said that the proposal before them was not what he had hoped for. He thought the value of the land was overpriced. He expected a package of broad funding sources, one of which would be the City, to be presented. The existing proposal has the City as the main funding source. He said he also was expecting pro formes for operational costs. The proposal now is asking over 2 million dollars from the City and the City could spend much more money in the future in development and operational costs. He also objected to the part of the proposal that stipulated that the City could buy the land and the corporation would say what the City could or could not do on it. He did not think this would be prudent when using taxpayer money. City Councilmember Hunter said that if the City were to consider buying the land, the question should be put to the voters in a bond referendum. The people of Eagan specifically needed to know what they were voting for and this proposal should not just be part of a general park bond referendum; it has to be on its own. He concluded that, because of all these reasons, he could not support the proposal as it was. He said he was willing to listen to any proposal that was more reasonable regarding money and other issues. 00084 Special City Council Minutes March 21, 1996/Page 6 City Councilmember Wachter suggested that Mr. Caponi should sell the property on the south side of Diff ley to help finance the project. He stated that he had discussed that with Mr. Caponi but had never gotten an answer. Mr. Caponi asked that he be allowed to speak. He said he understood what Councilmember Wachter was saying regarding the City putting up money. However, he said, he had been encouraged by the City to go ahead with the project and he had done that in good faith through the years. Regarding the cost of the land, he told the Council that the City would be getting 60 acres and not 40. He told the Council that the City must own 40 acres in order to be partners with him in the art park. The corporation would own 20 acres so they also could be partners. He said that, although the price was put on 40 acres, the City was really getting 60 acres that would be immediately usable by residents of Eagan and others. He said that the Caponis were adding to the City's park land service without any cost for the 20 acres. Councilmember Hunter inquired why the proposal had not said 60 acres. Mr.Schaeffer said that if you think of the park land in the terms of users, the actual acreage is 60. Councilmember Hunter said the City would only own 40 acres. Mr. Schaeffer said that land ownership is a modern concept. None of the citizens will know who owns the park land because it is involved in a single use. In addition, there will be an unbroken chain of land that is usable by citizens. He stated that it is necessary to maintain the separate ownerships because of responsibility for improvements, whether they were to be a sole responsibility or a shared responsibility. City Councilmember Awada stated that she agreed with several of the comments made by other Councilmembers. The City Council never had the intention to purchase the land. She asked if the City were to decide to buy this land(and the City is looking at buying land for parks and just bought a farm), what is the difference between purchasing land here and land somewhere else.City Councilmember Hunter stated that he had just thoroughly read the parks plan. He said the big difference is where land needs to be bought. There are special areas lacking neighborhood parks. He said it isn't just that the City needs 40 acres and not a matter of where to buy it. Mr. Caponi stated that he sympathized with City Councilmember Wachter's protection of taxpayer money. However, he said that he thought he was the one who was giving. He said the City came to me and said that you have the right land. He said the City said they wanted the land, but did not know how to pay for it, but did want it. He said he'd been working ever since to make the land usable for the purpose of an art park. He said he was not asking; he thought he was giving. If money had been his main concern, he said, he would have sold his land, but we are working to make an art park. We just don't know how to pay for it. He said he did try to solicit money for the art park but was always asked how much the City was putting in. So far the City's contribution has been in kind and also in cash for the construction of the underpass. In reality,the underpass connects two parts of a single park. Mr. Caponi said he was told a long time ago that his land was park land. He was told by people he approached for donations that the City had to show its hand. He said if the City Council sees fit to review what the proposal is all about, once this is all done, money will be easier to raise. He said that he was always told that local government has to show an interest. The money will not come in from outside unless the City makes a commitment. Mr. Caponi asked the Council not to forget how we got here. City Councilmember Awada said that she agreed the price for the land was too high. She said the concept of the art park was different than that of a neighborhood park. It was more like a special use such as the farm, civic arena, etc. She said when elementary schools are constructed the City tries to have park land adjacent to the school land. She thought the art park might be able to be treated in the same way. The question was how much land south of Diffley should be bought and how it should be paid 00085 Special City Council Minutes • March 21, 1996/Page 7 for. This has not been decided. She stated that the best way to find out if the project was feasible would be to put it to a vote of the people. If they don't want it, the project would be dead. City Councilmember Hunter said that the Council should look at purchasing less land than the 40 acres. The 40 acre proposal would surely be voted down. He stated the scope of the project needed to be reduced. City Councilmember Awada said the way to proceed would be to start negotiating. Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa would need to consider what the City needs as park land to augment the 20 acres of the art park on the north side of Diffley. Mayor Egan said that he had heard excellent comments from all the City Council members, including new concerns that had been raised that he had not thought about. He told the Caponis that the Council had been agonizing for at least a decade regarding how the Caponi Art Park could be established. He told the Caponis that it had never been the intent of the City Council to pay for the park entirely, but that the City did want to participate. He said that he thought and hoped that the Caponis' proposal would provide the City Council with the tools to participate. He said that when he had met with the Caponis in February, he had indicated that financial tools needed to be provided in the proposal and they are not there. The City does not have the means to pay for an art park now. He was disappointed that the proposal was so open ended and the price was so high. He thought the price was too high. He indicated that the public needed to know if they would be paying for 40 acres or for 60 acres. He also thought that the City would be paying for too much land as indicated in the proposal. He stated that there were no financial pro formas. He was concerned about this as he would be concerned about any program the City would sponsor where they would not know where the money was coming from. He told the Caponis that the City had to know something about how the operation would be run and financed. His greatest disappointment was that there were no financial tools in the proposal. Mayor Egan said that he thought the City could commit to something or allow the taxpayers to commit to something, but he would like to cut back on the amount of acreage and have the price reflect what the land is worth. Then, he said,the City Council could try to come up with some creative restrictions on the rest of the land for a reasonable period of time and have the flexibility to go forward with the project. He suggested perhaps carving off ten acres with a reasonable price and putting restrictions on the rest of the land; it would remain zoned as park. He said then the corporation would have the opportunity to go out and get support for the project and he thinks the corporation can do this. He told the Caponis it would be better to think smaller and go from there because he thought the public would be much more likely to support the project in this way. He repeated that the Caponis had said they believed that the support in the City of Eagan for this type of project was higher than in other places. Mr.Caponi said he was confused because the Council was saying the plan was not specific enough and yet should be more flexible. He asked them to understand he was doing his best to be specific enough to get the picture and yet flexible enough to be able to work together with the City. He wanted to be clear about what he had to offer and wanted to work it out with the City. he stated that they were flexible. They had been specific about things that were clear to them. He said he knew the City Council and staff desired to have the project. He told the Council that if they said let's work it out, we would go ahead. City Councilmember Awada asked what the best way would be to go about proceeding. Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa indicated that the discussion which was occurring was the best way and that staff would like specific direction from the City Council as to what they would like. City Councilmember Hunter thought that the Council had said very clearly that they may be interested in less than 40 acres, a lower price per acre, a spreadsheet of pro formas for the operation 00086 Special City Council Minutes • March 21, 1996/Page 8 of the park and the ability for the City to participate in decision making regarding the development and operation of the art park. City Councilmember Awada suggested that Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa and Mr. Schieffer meet and bring back proposals to the City Council at another special City Council meeting. Mayor Egan said that he realized that Acting Mayor Hunter had indicated that visitors would be heard at the beginning of the session. However, he noted that former mayor Bea Blomquist had arrived after that announcement and would like to make a few comments. Former Mayor Blomquist indicated she was in attendance because both Caponis and two City Councilmembers had wanted her to be there. She indicated that to her knowledge,the City had not pursued grants and asked if grants had ever been looked at to finance the park. She stated that she was afraid that if the Caponi Art Park proposal were to be presented in a bond referendum,it would be defeated and she did not want to lose the park. Mayor Egan indicated that he had proposed that the bond referendum ballot indicate that the City would buy a limited amount of land and then pursue other funding sources for the rest of the land. Former Mayor Blomquist asked if the City had ever tried to get grants for the park. Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa indicated the City had. However, he said, LAWCON funding has dried up. There are public grants for preservation of open space. The maximum for these grants is$100,000. It was not guaranteed that the City will be able to get them because they would be competing against 800 other fracommunities for grants. Former Mayor Blomquist said that it was not just an Eagan project; it was regional and somebody had to hear the need. Mayor Egan said that Mr. Caponi had told the Council that the community had to commit first before others had come forward. City Councilmember Wachter said that maybe a group of interested residents of Eagan could gather together and see what money they could raise. Land Acquisition Subcommittee member Michael Vincent stated that he works for a company that writes grants. He asked if it would be possible for the City to write a grant to the Caponi corporation so that they would be able to say that the City of Eagan was putting money in the project and then go attempt to raise funding from other entities. Then, he said, the City could look at purchasing the land down the line. They would do this prior to buying the land because the Council had to be responsible to the community. He said he believed that a vote on the issue would defeat it. He suggested the City could say they had reviewed the project and would write a grant into the City budget. Then the Caponis' corporation could go out and raise funding. Mayor Egan asked City Attorney Sheldon if the City was able to do this. City Attorney Sheldon said that the City had the authority to approve funding for artistic programs. He said the City probably could figure out a way to do it. It could not be a grant but a support for artistic activities. However, he said,the funding would need to be approved for more specific purposes. Mayor Egan stated that the City could not dual or triple track the project at this time because, if it were to be included in the bond referendum, the staff would need to get to work on one proposal. Mr. Schieffer asked if the City was interested enough in the project to participate in a process to reach an agreement on the value of the land. Mayor Egan said yes. City Councilmember Awada said yes. City Councilmember Wachter said he saw the need for more playgrounds for children. He said the APRNRC wanted to purchase land that they saw as fulfilling those needs. He said the City should look at what would be necessary for those needs. He said he was worried about what the taxpayers 00087 Special City Council Minutes March 21, 1996/Page 9 would think if the art park were put on the tax bill and then they had to pay admission in addition to taxes. He did say that discussion of the project would be a moot point if there were a property tax freeze. City Councilmember Hunter described the many immediate capital improvement needs of the parks system. He stated that if you added up the cost for all of them, the total would be about $24 million. He said that the City had to put a priority on the various properties. He, himself, had received lots of calls supporting various different projects and he feels that the residents at Eagan are unaware of the total cost of all the projects. City Councilmember Wachter said that Mr. and Mrs. Caponi had a nice piece of property and had put a lot of work into it. He said that the City, also, had contributed staff time. He said that he could not see that there was money out there to support the project. City Administrator Hedges suggested that he and the Director of Parks and Recreation meet to prepare proposals from one end of the spectrum to the other and bring them back to the Council for consideration by mid-April, so that if the Council wished to put a proposal on the bond referendum there would be time. He suggested that the Caponis and Mr. Schieffer could work with them. City Councilmember Hunter said that could be done,but he added that City Councilmember Wachter and he were not in favor of supporting the Caponi Art Park operations. He said that he may possibly support buying some land, but not supporting the operations. He added that City Councilmember Wachter might not even support that. He suggested that the proposals that City Administrator Hedges and Parks and Recreation Director Vraa would prepare should be on the conservative side of the spectrum • rather than covering the whole spectrum. City Councilmember Wachter said that people have told him that they are being taxed out of Eagan. He stated that, if the item were put on the bond referendum, that would be alright with him because the people could vote on the proposal. He stated that he did not believe the voters would approve $1,800,000. City Councilmember Awada said that she agreed. She inquired about setting a cost for the land. Mayor Egan said that was part of the consideration and the Council should figure out which of the Caponi parcels to consider acquiring. City Councilmember Wachter said the Council should not be involved in the operation cost of the art park. He said he did not think many people knew much about the proposal for the art park because many of them do not even read the local newspapers. He said they should know about it so they could vote on whether they would approve it or not. Councilmember Wachter repeated that he was not opposed to the art park; he just did not want to put the burden on the taxpayers. City Councilmember Hunter stated that the City should decide which piece of the Caponi land it was interested in purchasing and then get the approval of the voters. Mayor Egan asked City Administrator Hedges if he had sufficient enough direction. City Administrator Hedges replied yes. The City Council set the date of April 16, 1996 at 5:00 p.m., for a special City Council meeting to which the proposals would be brought back to them for consideration. • 00088 Special City Council Minutes • March 21, 1996/Page 10 Mr. Caponi said he understood that they would all be working together. He asked if he could phone City Councilmembers to make suggestions. Mayor Egan replied that he could always call. Subcommittee member David Szott asked that,if the land is currently zoned park, should the City consider the cost for land as developable land? He also stated that the relationship between the public entity and the private corporation would need to be defined very clearly. City Councilmember Hunter agreed and stated that is the reason the City should not be involved in operations. City Councilmember Masin addressed the Caponis and said that she had suggested that the Caponis approach major corporations for funding. Mrs.Caponi replied that they had made contacts but were not seen as a credible project. She stated they needed to establish credibility because they were competing against all other organizations. She stated that, if the City was participating,the Caponis could show organizations that they are not just a self-serving entity. ,f;': �'.iii. . "'r' i5 Mayor Egan stated that it would be appropriate at that time to appoint residents to the bond referendum task force. City Administrator Hedges said that nine applicants had submitted letters of interest to participate on the bond referendum task force. He distributed a list of the applicants names and copies of their letters of interest. Hunter moved, Egan seconded a motion to appoint all nine applicants whose names are Lynn Lewis,John Ward,Steve Patnode,Jerry Thompson,Lee Bergstrom,Peggy Carlson,Muria! Johnson, John VonDeLinde, and Michael Proebstele. Aye: 5 Nay: 0 The meeting adjourned at 7:33 p.m. March 21, 1996 1 1 e Date City Clerk 111