Page Title

Just West of Waconia on Hwy 5

952-442-5000

Sebenaler Chiropractic Center

Chaska * 952-448-9908

CORNERSTONE Insurance Agency

David Barsness * 952-448-5028

8661 Deer Run Dr. * Victoria

952-443-2351

MACKENTHUN’S MEAT & DELI

St. Bonifacius * 952-446-1234

Highway 5 in Victoria

952-443-2491

At this point in the evening, after the staff information was presented, residents and business people in the audience were invited to speak.

Said Andrew Schultz with State Farm Insurance, “On behalf of the Victoria Chamber of Commerce and my business, I encourage Council to approve the plan as presented. This is a prime opportunity to bring a store to downtown Victoria and bring traffic to our businesses.”

Said resident Lynn Gabriel, “I have

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experience with Fresh Seasons. They are coporate sponsors of the Celiac Walk here in Victoria. They support us. It’s important for me as a resident to have businesses that support the community. They have a beautiful immaculate store [in Glen Lake]. I’ve seen them hold barbecues and donate food. I used to work in a salon at their location. I have warm feelings toward them.”

Said Brandon Wallis, owner of School of the Wise in Victoria, “I need to see this store come in. The School of the Wise needs more traffic, more bodies. I see Victoria as the next Chanhassen. It takes daily trips to get the traffic. Chanhassen exploded when Byerly’s came in. We need it here. I think this is an opportunity. I think we need to focus on the downtown that is already here.”

Said Mary Meuwissen, owner of the Victoria Creamery property and partner in Counselor Realty, “I am a property owner and business owner in Victoria. We have several large developers come in and one of them said the most important thing to have here is a grocery store, and post office, and a city hall. We need live bodies. Regarding the TIF district, taxes will not be held constant for 26 years. They go up every year. There will be more taxes that come in to the city than what’s stated ... Fresh Seasons is exactly what Victoria has needed and wanted. It’s authentic. It’s charming. Now is the time. It will energize the downtown. It will help the businesses that are here. It will help our Creamery project. I hope you vote in favor of it.”

Said Terry Hartman, Victoria businessman and developer, “We are a downtown business owner. We own a piece of property right next to the grocery store site so there is self interest for us and for our tenants. About the site for the grocery store, it’s a rundown piece of property, an impossible piece of property without TIF money. It’s great that you’ve established that precedence for creating TIF. This project will energize the downtown.”

***

Councilmembers asked questions of staff and developers. Regarding the stacking issue discussed on July 10th, City Engineer Cara Geheren replied, “Tonight is not the final decision or design on the project.”

Councilmember Jim Paulsen said that none of the Target and Cub stores he’s familiar with have “head-in parking” and that he’s concerned for mothers with children. “Cities have a tendency to require too much parking but we’re making a 50-year decision here,” he said, “and I’ve never seen this done.”

Said Cara, “We’ll be looking at that in another level of the process.”

Developer Tom Wartman replied, “We feel the parking we’ve proposed is adequate. We have an eight-foot sidewalk in front of our store that helps ... When you have the freedom to lay out a large parking lot, there is not head-in parking, but I’ve seen this done. Our peak times will be 4 to 6 p.m. We’ve got 110 parking spaces at Glen Lake, but they service other businesses. Our layout [here in Victoria] will work well for customers in the winter.”

Responding to other questions, Mr. Wartman said, “We’re projecting 10,000 trips per week, maybe 1,000 trips per day, more on weekends and after church ... We want to create an ambience that will draw people into downtown Victoria.”

About the questions Councilmember Kim Roden said, “Maybe they will be answered sequentially as the process and project continues.”

Stated Councilmember Tim Amundsen, “This is $405,000 of the people’s money. What if building stops? What if building permits stop? For the Mary Meuwissen [Creamery] TIF project, she owns the property. Here the city owns the property, $400,000 worth, and that’s the first thing they’re asking for. We’re the property owners here and we’ve got to act like it. Getting $400,000 out of a bank is not easy today.”

Replied Mr. Sweeney, the city’s financial consultant, “You reimburse yourself for unpaid costs through TIF increments during the 26 years, relying on an increase in market value, of course, and downtown redevelopment.”

Said Councilmember Amundsen, “The last thing we should do is hamstring these people with a parking issue. We can’t capture money if it goes dark.”

Regarding financial condition of the developers, City Administrator Don Uram replied that what he’s received so far is considered private data. “I’m receiving tax statements and preliminary pro forma data. More information requests are pending.”

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