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04/16/1996 - City Council Special 00107 MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING OF THE • EAGAN CITY COUNCIL Eagan, Minnesota April 16, 1996 A special meeting of the Eagan City Council was held on Tuesday, April 16, 1996, at 5:00 p.m. at the Eagan Municipal Center. Present were Mayor Egan, City Councilmembers Awada, Hunter, Masin and Wachter. Also present were City Administrator Tom Hedges, Director of Parks and Recreation Ken Vraa,Assistant to the City Administrator Holly Duffy and City Attorney Jim Sheldon. Also present were Mr. and Mrs. Anthony Caponi and their attorney, Dick Schieffer. Mayor Egan called the meeting to order. He asked if there were any persons in the audience who wished to speak under "Visitors to Be Heard." Bill Lindberg requested to speak. He said that he worked in the City of Eagan, although he did not live in the City. He quoted from a book regarding Minnesota. Part of the quote involved the question "Shouldn't there be a place to go to experience wilds, woods and water?" He hoped that a solution could be found to make the Caponi Art Park such a place that could benefit residents and the people who work in and visit the City of Eagan. Mayor Egan asked City Administrator Hedges to summarize the points that would be discussed at the special City Council meeting. City Administrator Hedges said that he had prepared five different concepts as directed by the City Council at the last workshop regarding this item. He, Director or of Parks and Recreation Vraa,Assistant to the City Administrator Duffy,Anthony and Cheryl Caponi and Dick • Schieffer had worked together to develop the concepts. He briefly described them as follows. Concept#1 involved going to a referendum and proposing buying 40 acres of land south of Diffley. Concept #2 involved buying 20 acres and leasing 20 acres. Concept #3 involved purchasing just 20 acres. Concept #4 involved acquiring 20 acres subject to the Caponi's raising money to purchase the remainder of the land. Concept#5 involved the type of participation the City had been involved in for the last ten years, support but no financial help. City Administrator Hedges stated that there was a discussion paragraph included with each concept which discussed the consequences. He stated that he knew that Mr.Caponi had spoken with most of the City Council members to find out their concerns. Mr. Caponi then wrote a memo addressing the Council's concerns and presented a sixth concept,that of the City purchasing 30 acres for parkland and the remaining 10 acres south of Diffley would be part of the art park itself and owned by the non-profit corporation. Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa showed the Council and audience overhead projections of various alternatives for purchasing different amounts of land in different configurations. He said that many of the concepts would provide a"three point connection"between City parkland to the north, the Caponi Art Park and the athletic fields to the east. City Councilmember Hunter asked if the City Council could assume that the parts of the acreage south of Diffley that the City did not purchase would be sold for development of single family homes. A resident, Susan Butterwick, stated her house bordered the 40 acres on the south and any decision the Council made would greatly affect her and her husband. She asked the Council to please not consider any proposal lightly as their decision would greatly affect what they would look out upon. Mayor Egan assured her that a decision would not be made lightly. • City Councilmember Hunter asked Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa, if the City were to choose land, would they prefer access to the parking lot and the tunnel. Director of Parks and ivies Special City Council Minutes April 16, 1996/Page 2 Recreation Vraa stated that he was trying to show land that would provide trails and a linkage between parklands. City Councilmember Wachter stated that it looked as though there would be passive land to the south of Diff ley. He asked if people would pay to be admitted to the land north of Diff ley but could use the south free of charge. Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa indicated there would be controlled access to the north. City Councilmember Wachter said that he would like to see a public hearing on the Caponi Art Park proposals much like the one held regarding the Carriage Hills Golf Course property. He said he thought the item should be on television so that more people could know about it. He said that people did not know how much parkland the City already had, 531 acres. City Councilmember Awada asked what the difference was regarding this proposal compared to other proposals for parkland. City Councilmember Wachter said he would like the item continued because he is concerned about adding to the taxes for taxpayers. He said he thought that the Council should not make a decision that evening because the people should know more about the item. City Councilmember Hunter stated that he thought Mr. Caponi had some things to say to the Council. Mr. Caponi said that he thought Mr. Schieffer should speak for him. However, he said he did not come to the City with big plans. He stated he had been making a park. Thousands of people had visited the park and it had been covered in the press. He stated that he had told the press he was making the park with the City but that he could not tell them exactly what the City was doing. • Mr. Schieffer stated that he thought that the concepts that would work for the Caponis included the original concept#1 which proposed buying all 40 acres and the new 30 acre concept which had been submitted by the Caponis. He stated that what he meant by saying "would work for the Caponis" meant what would be financially feasible for the Caponis. He stated that any donation made by the Caponis to the project would have to offset the taxes that Mr. Caponi would have to pay. He stated that there was a connection between the amount the Caponis received for the purchase of the property and the amount they could donate. He stated the Caponis would donate a ratio of property/cash back to the project depending upon how much land was purchased. He stated that the Caponis were asking the City to help turn raw land into cash so that the land could be developed for public purposes. Mr. Schieffer then summarized points that he had made in a memo to clarify the original Caponi proposal. He suggested that three appraisers be used to determine the value of the property. One would be picked by the Caponis and one would be picked by the City. The two appraisers would then pick a third appraiser. The City and Caponis could decide to leave the decision to them or leave the decision open for appeal. He stated that once the Caponis donated the land to a non-profit corporation they could not get it back. Regarding maintenance, maintenance for programs would be paid for by the art park. The City would maintain its portion of the open space land as well as the parking lot. The City would also be responsible for some type of sanitary facility such as satellites. He stated that the 1996 budget for the Caponi Art Park had been forwarded to the Council for their information. Mr. Schieffer said that the concept regarding leasing 20 acres and buying 20 acres would also work for the Caponis when considering their tax obligation. He said that Mr. and Mrs. Caponi had held on to the land past its normal development stage. However,they have now lost their green acres status and have assessments levied against the property. They are offering to sell the land for open space purposes which would give the Caponis cash so that they could donate land and then develop the art park. Mr. Schieffer said that he thought the 30/30 acre proposal would make the most sense. He stated the Caponis would make a 40% return to the City. He stated that the 20 acre concepts would not work for the Caponis because they could not maintain the 40% gift ratio. • City Councilmember Wachter asked if concept three would work if the amount of acres were 30 instead of 20. Mr. Schaeffer indicated he thought that would work. OC 109 Special City Council Minutes • April 16, 1996/Page 3 City Councilmember Hunter stated he thought that the City Council had reached a consensus on concept#3 at the last meeting. He said that the only thing yet to be determined was the number of acres. He said that Mr. Schieffer thought that 30 would work. City Councilmember Wachter said that the Caponis say they need cash. He said that the Council had suggested to Mr. Caponi that he sell the 40 acres south of Diffley in order to finance the 20 acre art park north of Diff ley. City Councilmember Wachter said that Mr. Caponi had lost nothing to date because the land had increased in value. Also, because of the green acres status, the taxpayers had helped to pay Mr. Caponi's taxes. He stated that it was now pay back time. He stated that Mr. Caponi wanted the City to absorb the cost of the assessments because there will be an additional cost for sewer and water. City Councilmember Awada asked what donation the Caponis would make if the City purchased 30 acres. Mr. Schieffer stated they would donate 40%of the value they received. Mr. Schaeffer indicated that there now would be a difference in the purchase price from what was originally proposed. He stated that he did not know what the amount would be so he could not tell how much would be donated. Mayor Egan indicated he was concerned about the open ended proposal. He did not feel comfortable agreeing to something when he did not know the exact figures. Mr. Schieffer indicated that he was not able to give exact figures until the amount of land, the location of the land and the purchase price for that land was established. He admitted that there was a risk factor but he thought that the concept of giving back 40% of whatever the amount was was fair. He stated that the land would be purchased at • fair market price value. He said the City should not purchase the land for open space and park if it was not worth the purchase price to the City when that purchase price was established. He said the City would purchase the land and then would get an additional 40% return on their purchase. An Eagan resident, Don Christensen,asked if the lake on the property would be part of the purchase price. Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa said that the appraisal would take into consideration the amount of water on the property. Mayor Egan indicated that the City had talked to a realtor and that the developable part of the land would be considered when establishing a selling price. Michael Vincent, a member of the land acquisition subcommittee of the Advisory Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission, said that it was his understanding that a non-profit corporation could sell its assets. He asked what would stop the Caponi non-profit corporation from selling its assets. Mr. Schieffer replied that the Caponis would agree to donate the land for art park purposes. He stated that the land was already zoned for the art park. He said that the Caponis or a purchaser would have to get the City to rezone the land before it could be used for other purposes. City Councilmember Wachter asked where the stubs were for connecting the property to sewer and water. Mr. Caponi said that Diffley Road did not contain sewer and water because it was thought that the property would be used for an art park. Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa said he thought that the utilities would be stubbed in from Carlson Lake Lane. City Councilmember Masin stated that she wanted the art park. She said she thought it would be a marvelous facility and something for adults as well as children. She said it would do something for the community that nothing else would do. She said the process for developing the park had stopped at the appraisal step in the past. She said she was having trouble considering the City donating a large amount of money. She indicated that the Council was considering including the proposal in a referendum . and she was concerned that the large amount of money needed to purchase this property would take a large part of the referendum amount. She said she thought that the referendum should contain two OC Special City Council Minutes • April 16, 1996/Page 4 questions, one of which would be the Caponi Art Park proposal. She said that the Carriage Hills Golf Course issue had demonstrated that the people of Eagan do want open space. City Councilmember Hunter stated that he agreed with a lot of what City Councilmember Masin had said. He stated what he did not want would be a lot of strings attached to any proposal. He said that the Council was talking about the City buying land for open space. He said that if the City bought the Caponi land for parkland that there should not be a problem because the land was already zoned for park. He stated that the 30 acre proposal sounded like the preferred proposal. However, he said that that should be put on the bond referendum as a separate question as the people need to decide whether the land should be purchased. He said that the City would present a figure that it would be willing to spend to the Caponis. Negotiations could continue from that point. He stated that he did not want the purchase price decided by a binding decision from three appraisers. City Councilmember Hunter said there were four points that needed to be addressed, these included: 1. What land will be purchased? 2. How much land will be purchased? 3. What will be the price for that land? 4. Should the proposal be put on the bond referendum ballot and, if so, as a one question referendum or as a two question referendum? City Councilmember Awada stated that she agreed with the 30 acre concept because actual • development would take place on the art park property owned by the non-profit corporation. She said she thought it was preliminary to talk about one question or two until the Council knew the purchase price for the 30 acres. She stated she supported City Councilmember Hunter's suggestions. City Councilmember Wachter stated that he was not opposed to the art park. He reminded the Caponis that he was on the first liaison committee regarding the project. He stated that he told Mr. Caponi at that time that the only reason he did not want the art park was that he would not want to burden the taxpayers of the City of Eagan and that that was still his position. He said that the public needed to know about the proposal before the City Council made a decision. Mayor Egan then summarized what he had heard as follows. The Council had generally stated they were willing to commit to purchase up to 30 acres of land if a solid price could be arrived at before the question would be placed on the referendum. An appraisal would be ascertained and then the question would be put on the referendum ballot. There would be public meetings regarding the item and the people would vote on it. He mentioned that the City had had recent successes with recreational facilities. The Civic Arena had opened and the Council was already considering a second sheet of ice. The Carriage Hills Golf Course issue had been settled successfully and the public had indicated that they do want open spaces in the City of Eagan. He said he would like to see the Caponi Art Park preserved as a unique piece of open space. City Councilmember Masin stated that including a large parcel of land in the bond referendum question could be risky. City Councilmember Awada said that open space is very important. If the purchase price was a large amount, she suggested considering the Caponi Art Park parcel as a second question on the bond referendum. However,she said that this should be decided after the amount was decided upon. • City Councilmember Masin asked if there was another way that the City could make a commitment to the art park rather than through the bond referendum. o)'. i Special City Council Minutes • April 16, 1996/Page 5 Mayor Egan stated that he supported two questions because he believed that both would be successful. Land acquisition subcommittee member Vincent said that he was concerned with the two question proposition. He believed that residents want open space in the City of Eagan and he said he thought that the Council should look at the Caponi parcel as it would look at any other parcel. City Councilmember Awada stated that there was not time to debate that point because it was almost time for the regular City Council meeting. Don Christensen said that he thought the Caponi Art Park should be on the referendum as a separate question in order to find out what the people want. He said that, although 4,000 people had signed petitions to preserve the Carriage Hills area,4,000 people could not be considered the will of Eagan as a whole. Mayor Egan asked City Attorney Sheldon what rights the City would have if it did not state specifically what the bond referendum money was for. City Attorney Sheldon said that you could ask the voters to approve money for acquisition or for betterment of parks. So far, he said he had heard only acquisition discussed. Mayor Egan asked if the bond referendum question must be site specific. City Attorney Sheldon said that the City could either identify specific parcels or ask for money to acquire land in the general sense. Land acquisition member Lee Bergstrom said he thought that if the Caponi parcels were added to the bond referendum,the bond referendum would fail. He did not think people would support the purchase of land for the Caponi Art Park. He thought it would make more sense to have a single issue • referendum. He said he believed that people were either in favor of parks or not. He said that the City of Eagan is in a unique position now because there was precious little open space left. City Councilmember Awada said that she hoped that the Advisory Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Committee would have a recommendation for the City Council regarding the bond referendum within the next month. Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa asked the Council if their direction was that he was to go out and get an appraisal on the 30 acre parcel. City Councilmember Hunter said yes. Director of Parks and Recreation Vraa told the Council he would get the appraisal and bring it back to the City Council. It was his understanding that the Council would then offer to purchase the land from Mr. Caponi for that amount before the item could be considered for the bond referendum and that a price would have to be agreed upon. He said it was his understanding that the Council wished to avoid as many entanglements as to what the City would do with its land should it eventually own it. As he saw it, the Council was proposing acquiring the land for open space and the only entanglement would be the construction of a parking lot. City Councilmember Hunter said the Council should not designate what it is purchasing land for at this point. He said the intent of the Council at this time was to purchase it for open space; however, he said there were no strings attached at this time. The Council agreed with the above consensus. The meeting was adjourned at approximately 6:31 p.m. 0 JEH April 16, 1996 ♦ � 0 L* . Date City Clerk