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GAINING HEADWAY WITH DORAN

FOR CITY OF VICTORIA’S 13.5 ACRES

Jim LaVelle, representing Doran Companies, watched the Victoria City Councilmembers vote unanimously on June 12th to authorize the execution of the Contract for Private Development between Doran and the City of Victoria for the 13.5 acres adjacent to downtown Victoria. The city is anticipating new retail development and senior housing options. The acreage doubles the size of the current Central Business District of Victoria.

There are deadlines and options still looming, however, including a market study for senior housing and a letter of intent with Walker Methodist for senior housing.

The purchase price from the City of Victoria is $2,630,700. Earnest money is $50,000. The City of Victoria has an option to retain approximately two acres for a future City Hall/Library site. The developer is responsible for construction of all streets, sidewalks, and utilities within the development property plus any improvements needed for County Road 11 (Victoria Drive) or Trunk Highway 5 at that location. The City of Victoria is responsible for providing utilities from the City Bridge west to the site and reconstruction of Stieger Lake Lane.

Stated Mr. LaVelle, “We are very excited. Thank you very much.”

LOTS OF MAPS FOR DOWNTOWN VICTORIA

HOPING TO MOVE DIRT TO IMPLEMENT THEM

Council voted June 12th to enter into a contract with HKGi for the development of a Downtown Master Plan for the City of Victoria. The company is otherwise known as Hoisington Koegler Group Inc. and has offices in Minneapolis. Cost of the Plan, according to the low bid, will be $14,500.

The project will be coordinated with the 13.5 acres next to downtown Victoria and the Three Rivers Park District as well as the Hennepin Rail Authority and Carver Park Reserve. “I get a little nervous about the timing of this, with the C.H. Carpenter Building in question and the three city-owned properties coming down,” said Councilmember Kim Roden.

Said Councilmember Tim Amundsen, “You have to remember the property in this study goes from the Polaris building all the way to the 13.5 acres. It encompasses broader borders than one city-block area.”

There were two other bidders for the Master Plan. Said City Administrator Don Uram about the low bidder, “I’m personally familiar with this group and am impressed with them. I personally like to use different companies for city work.”

Regarding a Master Plan and past plans for downtown Victoria, Councilmember Amundsen said, “We’ve had a lot of maps on the walls around here without a shovel of dirt being moved to implement them.”

WATER RATES FOR VICTORIA TOWNHOMES

FOUND IN SIMPLE MATH CALCULATION

Councilmembers voted to allow home-owner associations with multi-family units using central irrigation systems for their lawns to adopt the multi-unit water rate structure. This new rate structure results in a more fair and equitable water bill for owners and residents of townhomes in Victoria.

Stated Finance Director Jylan Johnson, “This will be restricted to townhome associations that use centralized irrigation systems. It will not include condominiums, apartment buildings, monuments, undeveloped outlots, and parklands.”

“It’s a very simple calculation,” continued Jylan. “They will see an 11% increase in their water bill over last year, but lower than it was under the new schedule we recently adopted.”

Remarked Councilmember Richard Tieden, “This is so simple. What took so long? We spend all this time talking about size of pipes.”

Replied Councilmember Kim Roden, “We were trying to make the cash flow with our water treatment plant. We were listening to a consultant. There were implementation and fairness concerns. This has been a tough one for Jylan. We’ve had the mayor’s persistence on this.”

Added Councilmember Tim Amundsen, “It was a water rate structure across the board and we’ve become smarter.”

ANOTHER LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT

MAKING MOVES WITHOUT VICTORIA

Councilmember Richard Tieden said June 26th that he was surprised to learn the Carver County Elected Leaders Group, to which he belongs as a representative of Victoria, and to which he has given his regular attendance, has begun an RFP process toward fiber optics with construction anticipated to begin in the summer of 2009.

“I’m just amazed by this,” he said. “When I read that, I thought, Wow! I must have missed nine meetings! I’m kind of disappointed they haven’t called me. I hope they remember I’m on the committee.”

Said Councilmember Tim Amundsen, “If I had my way, I’d disband that group. It’s another layer of government. They’re approving things without the knowledge of our city representative. I understand the interest in fiber optics but this isn’t acceptable behavior.”

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