DRAFT – These minutes are not official until approved at the next regular City Council meeting.

City of Bigfork

Special Meeting January 29th, 2004

Except for Motions made by the Council this is not a verbatim record of every statement made during the Council meeting. Discussions have been paraphrased to give general direction and understanding.

Members Present: Mayor Lonnie Kacon, Bob Zimmer, Jean Lexvold, and Amy Tendrup

Absent: none

Also Present: Rick Utech – ARDC, Tarry Edington - ICHRA, Dick Salmi, Ron Bailey – Fine Arts Center, Andy Shaw – City Attorney, Julie Kennedy & Dick Grabko – SEH Engineering, Mark Maki – Public Works Superintendnet, Jeff Ortman – NIEC, Tim Johnson – Edge of the Wilderness Community Coordinator, Dan Odegaard & Bill Loosbrock – Bigfork Valley Hospital, Catherine McLynn – Itasca County Commissioner District 2, Steve Gilbertson – Legacy Development arrived at 6:30 p.m.

The purpose of the Special Meeting was to discuss housing issues, the American Legion, the city truck, and to pass a resolution declaring a Council vacancy.

Mayor Kacon called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

Resolution 1-29-2004: Declaring Council Vacancy: Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Tendrup to pass the following resolution. Motion carried unanimously (MCU).

WHEREAS, City Council Member Lawrence D. Yerger has submitted his written resignation on the City Council effective January 13, 2004;

WHEREAS, Mr. Yerger’s resignation constitutes a vacancy on the Bigfork City Council;

WHEREAS, the Bigfork City Council, in accordance with Minnesota Statute 412.02, shall fill this vacancy by appointment until the next general election is held;

BE IT RESOLVED, the Bigfork City Council has received and accepted Council Member Lawrence D. Yerger’s resignation and hereby declares that a vacancy to fill the remainder of Mr. Yerger’s term exists on the Bigfork City Council as of January 29, 2004.

Housing Issues:

Julie Kennedy from SEH Engineering passed around information and maps relating to the various projects that are being planned.

Ron Bailey offered a summary of the Fine Arts Center project. Groundbreaking is set for May 2004 with a projected finish date of December 2004. The building contract has been let to Hammerlund Construction. This project will require the relocation of a City water main. The water main should be relocated in such a way that it can provide water to the proposed site of the WilderNest housing development.

Tarry Edington was the next to speak. He explained that the WilderNest housing project would be collaborating with the Fine Arts Center group to obtain access to water. A sewer line already exists close to the property. The ICHRA will be applying for funding from a variety sources for this project starting in February of 2004.

Edington touched on the update of the housing study that is being done. This study has identified a need for 20-24 units of housing at this time. Other recommendations of the study include providing lots for building homes on, the use of manufactured homes as opposed to stick built, and recommendations on mobile homes.

Edington’s last item for discussion was the Woodland Terrace trailer park. Edington, Kacon, and Maki have met with the new owners of the park who have expressed an interest in upgrading the quality and condition of the park. There has been discussion about rehabilitating and/or replacing the older units, working on water pressure and usage issues, and possibly expanding the park by 10-12 units. Edington stated that this ties in well with one of the recommendations of the housing study which is to work on the quality of housing in the community. The timeframe for this project would include applying for funding in 2004 if the City decides to work with the park owners on this project. The timeframe for any possible expansions to the park is entirely up to the owners. Kennedy mentioned that the rehabilitation/replacement of units would help with the City’s capacity issues due to the fact that newer homes would have less water leak problems and more water efficient fixtures, etc.

Steve Gilbertson of Legacy Development was next on the agenda. He is proposing building a 30-unit housing project geared toward “active” senior citizens, however it would not be age or otherwise restrictive. The proposed location is on the south side of Golf Course Lane (Co Rd #77) and Gilbertson informed the Council that he has closed on that property recently. Legacy Development works closely with SEH Engineering and they have determined that a pay-as-you-go Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District would be the best way to finance the infrastructure needed for this project. This method of financing involves the developer carrying all of the up front costs for infrastructure. Any new taxes that are generated by the development of the land would be returned to the developer with interest for a set number of years as determined by the City and the developer. Gilbertson would like to start getting any needed infrastructure, including water, sewer, storm sewers, streets, and sidewalks, in place in the summer of 2004 and begin building the housing units in the fall of 2004.

Dan Odegaard gave a brief summary of the expansion plans at Bigfork Valley Hospital. They are planning to break ground by June 1, 2004 on a 30,000 square foot expansion on the north side of the current building, as well as a 4,000 square foot assisted living facility. In 2005, remodeling of certain areas of the current building would begin. Bill Loosbrock discussed water and sewer issues associated with this expansion and remodeling. He estimates that usage would decrease for approximately five years after completion of the projects due to the use of more efficient plumbing fixtures. After that time, usage would hopefully increase due to increased staff and business.

Edington brought forth one last possible project. The Condor Apartments is a two-story senior housing unit with no elevator. Dick Salmi indicated that he had spoken with the owners of the building and they may be willing to pay for half of an elevator. Dick Grabko suggested that there would be a possibility of obtaining grant funds to pay for the other half of the costs.

Kennedy explained that the City sewer ponds are close to capacity. Each of these projects would add to sewer and water usage. Grabko stated that we do not want our lack of infrastructure and capacity to hinder any of these valuable projects. It was the recommendation of SEH to perform a study of the capacities of the City water and sewer system as well as an assessment of the current infrastructure and projections on what may be required in the future, both for these projects and future development. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Lexvold to allow SEH to move forward on these studies and assessments, MCU.

Grabko listed some of the possible sources of funding including, tax credits, HOME funds, SCDP funds, Federal Home Loan Bank Funds, and TIF Districts. He made the Council aware that his job at SEH is to assist with applications for these types of grants.

Grabko provided a quick wrap-up of each different entity’s needs, wants and goals. He pointed out that there are many different funding options and collaborations that could take place to achieve everyone’s goals. Edington stated that the timeframe is key. Missing a grant or other deadline could set a project back by 12 to 18 months.

Gilbertson questioned whether or not funds were available for commercial development and renovation as well as residential. Grabko stated that those types of funds are available, however housing issues are more of a priority for the City of Bigfork at this time.

City Truck: Public Works Superintendent Mark Maki informed the Council that there have been many problems with the City’s two public works trucks. The costs of repairing the 1986 truck are much more than the truck is worth. Maki presented a quote from Powell Auto Sales on the type of truck that he is interested in purchasing for the City. Shaw explained that the Municipal Contracting Law requires that for any purchase between $10,000 and $35,000, the City must obtain quotes. He recommended contacting dealerships to ask for quotes on the type of vehicle that is needed. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Tendrup to request quotes on a 1999 or newer 1-ton truck with a dump box and a plow, MCU.

American Legion: Kacon stated that the American Legion is interested in hosting a youth fishing contest on Busti Lake and they have asked to use the City beach as an access. Storlie is looking into insurance issues and will have more information for the February 10, 2004 Council meeting. Kacon also stated that in 1994, the City agreed to act as fiscal agent for the American Legion when their organization disbanded. The organization is now coming back together and Kacon asked if the Council would be agreeable to turning the remaining money in the American Legion fund back over to that group. This item was tabled until the February 10th meeting.

Catherine McLynn provided information on a few items that the County Board is looking at, the first of which is an Emergency Medical Service taxing district. This type of taxing district would benefit Bigfork directly by helping to recruit more volunteers for the ambulance service by helping to provide more and better benefits to the volunteers. The other issue is working on eliminating blight conditions throughout Itasca County. In particular, Bigfork Township has expressed an interested in developing a policy on this issue.

Edington expressed that he would like to have a public presentation of the results of the updated housing study in conjunction with the next Council meeting. Motion by Zimmer, seconded by Tendrup to change the time of the February 10, 2004 regular meeting to 6:00 p.m. to allow time for a public presentation of the updated housing study results, MCU.

Rick Utech congratulated the Council on successfully obtaining 17.4 acres of Job Opportunity Building Zone designation. He stated that meetings are taking place that Storlie and Tim Johnson will be attending. The next step is to attract businesses.

There being no further business, Kacon adjourned the meeting at 8:23 p.m.

Angie Storlie

City Clerk

These minutes are available on the City website at www.cityofbigfork.com.

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DRAFT – These minutes are not official until approved at the next regular City Council meeting