Victoria MN Newspaper

FREE ADVICE LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

WORKING WITH THE URBAN LAND INSTITUTE

City Manager Laurie Hokkanen reported December 8th on the possibility of a workshop for councilmembers sponsored by the Urban Land Institute (ULI). She said such a workshop would show a relationship between pre-2008 days and today. The year 2008 marked the beginning of the recession. The recession affected the way cities see and do things.

On December 22nd Council voted 5-0 to participate in a workshop of the Urban Land Institute entitled, "Navigating Our Competitive Future." Said Laurie, "I think it would be a nice way for us to get a lot of feedback, and it would be a worthwhile exercise, but we can get those things in other ways."

December 8th

Accompanying material stated, "The underlying purpose of these workshops is to foster a meaningful dialogue between public and private sector leaders with respect to the challenges and opportunities of development and redevelopment created by today's economic realities."

"The only cost to the city is our time," said Laurie. "It's a gut check, related to development." It's also sponsored by the Family Housing Fund, Minnesota Housing, and the Metropolitan Council.

Said Councilmember Tom Strigel, "Frequently we are the odd duck. We seem to go against the grain of the Metropolitan Council."

Said Councilmember Lani Basa, "We have a lot of land issues with a need for multiple units and senior housing. We have single family homes but also a lot of other obligations."

Reported the city manager, "All the cities I've talked to have found the workshops helpful. They are not trying to push an agenda."

Said Mayor Tom O'Connor, "It would give us a third party professional opinion." He added that if they, the ULI, think Victoria's vacant city-owned 13.5 acres is destined for big box stores, "Well, we know we have a different opinion."

Councilmember Joe Pavelko pointed out that two sponsors of the ULI are affordable housing groups and the third sponsor is the Metropolitan Council. In regard to approving time with them, he said, "I'd say, no. I want to keep Victoria what it is. They will push us into something we don't want to be."

Countered Mayor O'Connor, "They are a smart group and their advice is free."

Replied Councilmember Basa, "They started this program in 2011. My guess is that they've learned a lot since then. I think this is an opportunity to get a picture and see what the industry thinks of us. We had a lot of questions with the 13.5 acres. This would be free information."

Advised Councilmember Tom Strigel, "I think it's important to know the philosophy of the participants."

Manager Hokkanen was directed to get additional information on the Urban Land Institute and who is on their panel.

December 22nd

Laurie included a list of panelists who were involved in a ULI workshop for the City of Plymouth. Mayor O'Connor said he recognized several of the names and thought highly of them.

Said Councilmember Crowley, "There are some organizations on the panel I might not trust. I want to make sure the workshop is particular to Victoria."

Agreed the city manager, "That would be my expectation as well. I'll communicate to them that we're not looking for information on light rail," for example.

Mayor O'Connor agreed that Council would set the ground rules.

About the Urban Land Institute, Councilmember Basa stated, "This looks like an organization that can do this for us. They can make recommendations. I think it'd be helpful and good information for us."

Laurie was directed to proceed with a workshop, schedule it, "take it to the next level," and inform Council of who the panelists for Victoria would be.

VICTORIA USING LESS WATER

RELATED TO A NUMBER OF FACTORS

City Engineer Cara Geheren presented a water use update to councilmembers on December 22nd. "This item is on the agenda," she said, "because of past discussion. The particular situation is that we are seeing a decrease in water use. There's no definite reason this. There was more rain and milder temperatures. We take data from back to 1993 to help us with projections going forward."

"The historical ten-year average doesn't decrease all that much," she said. "It's gone from 116 gallons per capita per day to 115 gallons per capita per day. I'm recommending shifting Well #5 from 2015 to 2016. Whether we recommend construction in 2016 is another question. We have to find a site available for purchase and available with water. We'll continue to look for sites in 2015 to find adequate water. We'll also continue to look at existing wells."

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