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Said Councilmember Paulsen, “I would go along with a credit/collateral combination ... Grocery is a difficult business. There are many grocers on the ropes or going down ... And this is an entrepreneur here. We’ve also got to make character decisions ... My problem is not granting the TIF. My problem is the physical asset. Will it have continued advantage if a competitor moves in closer? And I’m very concerned about the site plan. It’s something we definitely want, but will it work in a competitive market?”

Added Councilmember Amundsen, “There are a lot of downtowns that are dark and not just with closed grocery stores ... We’ve got solid reputations here with a vested interest. This merits some consideration. We don’t donate anything until the ball starts rolling.”

Replied developer Dale Riley, “I respect the question on the site plan, but I don’t understand it. This is a good site plan. We can compete with Wal Mart. We’re a neighborhood grocery store. I have no concerns about the parking. I wouldn’t put my children at risk. I wouldn’t put other people’s children at risk. It’s a great site plan from a grocer’s perspective. We have a Cub, a Byerly’s, Lund’s, and Kowalski’s within a two-mile radius of our other location.”

Stated Councilmember Richard Tieden, “This has been a small community and it takes a while to get used to change. There are 30 people here tonight, and there was no place for me to park except at Floyd’s. It was a slow night there so it worked. Right now, today, we have to look for a parking spot ... Don’t get me wrong. I like your plan.”

Said Mr. Riley, “At peak times there’ll be issues no matter what size the parking lot is. Don Byerly always said, ‘Never close a grocery store.’ This won’t go dark. All the studies we’ve looked at -- including Coburn’s -- are very positive for a grocery store here.”

Stated Councilmember Roden, “I’m comfortable with this request mostly because of the desire in the community. This is a sequential decision [to create TIF district] in order to get to the next step.” Councilmember Amundsen pointed out that the developers have called it a convenient store, not a convenience store. And he advised, “Once this gets done, the people are going to have to shop there!”

From July 24th

Scheduling the Public Hearing

Council set the public hearing for the establishment of a TIF District for Thursday, September 25th. The District consists of the proposed grocery store project as well as all of the other undeveloped parcels in the other three TIF Districts.

Said Planner Holly Kreft, “The delay to September 25th is because the properties need to be inspected and the the school district and county need to be notified.”

In addition, Council authorized staff to apply for a Redevelopment Grant from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. Staff anticipates a grant request of approximately $200,000.

Also on July 24th Council approved the possibility of entering into a contract with SRF Consulting for a traffic analysis in downtown Victoria on behalf of the proposed Fresh Seasons Market and Drug Store.

OLD TOWN VICTORIA LIONS PARK AREA

SLATED FOR STREET IMPROVEMENTS IN 2009

Continuing with the City of Victoria’s comprehensive street improvement plan that addresses all streets and neighborhoods in the city, Council adopted a resolution on July 10th that orders a feasibility report on street, drainage, and utility improvements for the Lions Park area of Victoria.

As City Engineer Cara Geheren said, “We are now talking about improvements for 2009. The Lions Park area is located in the central older part of town. The budget is set for $3 million.”

Continued the city engineer, “This project will be quite a bit more complicated than the projects in past years. There is a possibility of needing easements, for example.”

“We want an early spring bid date of March 2009 so we’d want to start the feasibility report immediately,” she said. “We would be designing over the winter. It would be $37,400 to complete the feasibility report.”

Council voted 4-0 (Mayor Mary Thun was absent) to approve the expenditure and order the report. Streets in the Lions Park area of the city include 81st Street (from 82nd Street to Co. Rd. 11), 81 1/2 Street (from Co. Rd. 11 to Quamoclit), 82nd Street (from 81st Street to Co. Rd. 11), Orchid Street (from 82nd Street to 81st Street), Petunia Street (from 82nd Street through the cul de sac), and Quamoclit Street (from 82nd Street to Hwy 5).

Benefitting properties will be assessed for a portion of the cost of the improvements according to the city’s special assessment policies. The city picks up 50% of the cost of street reconstruction.

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