The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutCouncil Information Memorandum 04-06-2023CITY OF PLYMOUTH COUNCIL INFO MEMO April 6, 2023 EVENTS / MEETINGS Official City Meeting Calendars .................................................................... Page 2 Tentative List of Agenda Items ..................................................................... Page 5 CORRESPONDENCE Amendment to Site Plan and Conditional Use Permit for 18040 Medina Road (2023010) .. Page 6 REPORTS & OTHER ARTICLES OF INTEREST USA National Hockey Tournament Hosted at Plymouth Ice Center, Sun Sailor .............. Page 8 Occupant Dies in April 1 Plymouth Apartment Fire, Sun Sailor ............................. Page 11 Sen. Klobuchar Visits Plymouth Hometown to Celebrate Future Highway 55 Improvements, Sun Sailor ............................................... Page 12 Brooklyn Center Man Pleads Guilty in Girlfriend's Beating Death at Plymouth Hotel, Star Tribune ...................................................... Page 14 Doran Cos. Buys Office Complex in Plymouth, Finance & Commerce ...................... Page 16 Plymouth’s Representative Carroll Presents Clean Energy Bill, Sun Sailor ................ Page 19 St. Paul Sales Tax Proposal Stalls as MN House Looks to Regional Tax for Affordable Housing, Pioneer Press ........................................ Page 23 Doran Cos. May Redevelop Portion of Plymouth Office Campus It Bought for $10 Million, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal ........................ Page 26 Dozens Displaced After Plymouth Apartment Fire, Star Tribune ............................ Page 29 Plymouth Drop-Off Day Set for April 28-29, Sun Sailor ....................................... Page 30 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 April 2023 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55447 763-509-5080plymouthmn.gov SUN TUES MON WED THUR FRI SAT 4:30 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING HRA Interviews Medicine Lake Room 5:00 PM CLOSED COUNCIL MEETING Labor Strategy Discussion City Hall 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers CHANGES ARE 30 5:00 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING City Center Update Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers OFFICIAL CITY CALENDAR 7:00 PM HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING Council Chambers Page 2 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 May 2023 3400 Plymouth Boulevard Plymouth, MN 55447 OFFICIAL CITY CALENDAR 763-509-5080plymouthmn.gov SUN TUES MON WED THUR FRI SAT 5:00 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Plymouth Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) Discussion Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM REGULAR COUCIL MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers 5:00 PM CLOSED COUNCIL MEETING City Manager Annual Performance Evaluation City Hall 7:00 PM REGULAR COUCIL MEETING Council Chambers 6:00 PM PARK & REC ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers MEMORIAL DAY CITY OFFICES CLOSED 7:00 PM HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE MEETING Medicine Lake Room Page 3 SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 June 2023 3400Plymouth Blvd. Plymouth, MN 55447 763-509-5080plymouthmn.gov SUN TUES MON WED THUR FRI SAT CHANGES ARE NOTED IN RED 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers 6:00 PM PARK & REC ADVISORY COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING Council Chambers 5:00 PM SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING Board and Commission Discussion and Beekeeping regulations Medicine Lake Room 7:00 PM REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING Council Chambers OFFICIAL CITY CALENDAR 7:00 PM PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING Council Chambers 7:00 PM ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY COMMITTEE MEETING Medicine Lake Room Page 4 Tentative Schedule for City Council Agenda Items April 25, Special 4:30 p.m., Medicine Lake Room •Interview HRA candidates •Labor Strategy Discussion (Closed Session) April 25, Regular, 7:00 p.m., Council Chambers •Approve a preliminary plat and variances for "Bass Lake Shores" to allow the subdivision of a 2.35-acre parcel located at 12001 County Road 10 (Bass Lake Shores, LLC - 2022072) •Accept donation from Wayzata Youth Hockey Association for Plymouth Ice Center Building and Equipment Improvements •Award contract for the Chankahda Trail Reconstruction Project - Phase 2 (ST230002) •Hennepin County Update from Commissioner Kevin Anderson •Public improvement and assessment hearing and award of contract for the 2023 Pavement Rehabilitation Project (ST239002) May 9, Special 5:00 p.m., Closed Session •City Manager Annual Performance Evaluation May 23, Special 5:00 p.m., Medicine Lake Room •Plymouth Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) discussion May 23, Regular, 7:00 p.m., Council Chambers •Public improvement and assessment hearing and award of contract for the Nathan Lane Area Pavement Rehabilitation Project (ST249005) June 13, Special 5:00 p.m., Medicine Lake Room •Board and Commission discussion •Beekeeping regulations June 27, Special 5:00 p.m., Medicine Lake Room •2024/2025 Budget goals •Accessible Dwelling Units (ADUs) June 27, Regular, 7:00 p.m., Council Chambers •Approve final closeout for 2021 Street Reconstruction Project (ST219001) •Approve final closeout for 2022 Vicksburg Lane Improvements (ST229005) •Approve final closeout for Hidden Lake and Beacon Heights 2nd Street Reconstruction Project (ST229001) •Approve final closeout for Ridgemount Avenue Rehabilitation Project (ST210002) •2022 audit report •Annual financial overview July 25, Special 5:00 p.m., Medicine Lake Room •Environmental Stewardship Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 USA National Hockey Tournament hosted at Plymouth Ice Center By: Kaitlin McCoskey March 30, 2023 For the first time in five years, and the second time ever, the Wayzata Youth Hockey Association was chosen to host the USA Hockey National Tournament at the Plymouth Ice Center. Submitted Photos The Wayzata Youth Hockey Association put on the event spanning March 23-27 For the first time in five years, and the second time ever, the Wayzata Youth Hockey Association was chosen to host the USA Hockey National Tournament at the Plymouth Ice Center. The competition occurred over the course of four days, from March 23 to March 27, and brought hockey players from all across the country to Plymouth. Page 8 Kelly Miller, who serves on the board that coordinated the event between the Wayzata Youth Hockey Association and USA Hockey, said it was an honor to host this tournament. “There’s like 10 of us who are on the National board committee that are putting on this tournament from Wayzata Youth Hockey, we’re all Wayzata Youth Hockey affiliated,” she said, adding that the board is made up entirely of volunteers. “A bunch of us have been meeting for almost nine months, getting the programs and making sure everything runs smoothly and making sure rinks were updated before [the teams] came. “We’re all in charge of a certain area. I’m in charge of all the media relations for the tournament. Someone [else] is in charge of getting hotels for all the teams, and we work closely with the city of Plymouth because this is a government building, making sure facilities are up to par, and we have cleaning crews coming in, all the logistics.” Miller explained that USA Hockey is the one who chooses where this tournament is held each year, with offers from facilities all around the country to choose from. “It depends on how many rinks you have, if you can accommodate 50 teams in the span of four days,” Miller said. “So the state of Minnesota has only had this tournament twice, and Wayzata has won the offer both times.” Winning this offer would certainly seem to make the Plymouth Ice Center a worthwhile investment in and of itself, as Miller shared how the “great facility” in Plymouth makes it able to host such an event. “This brings in millions of dollars for the city of Plymouth and the businesses around here,” she said. “Wayzata Youth Hockey gets a good cut of the money too, so it’s great for everyone.” The event is truly an honor for all parties involved, including the hockey players in attendance. Miller said “they had to win to get here” and explained, “it’s a huge honor to be a part of this tournament as a high school player.” Both boys and girls teams from all over the United States competed for a spot. “Most teams are playing three games, and then Monday it’s all the championship games, and it’s just brackets,” Miller shared. While teams from all over came to represent their home states, the host state itself was in minimal attendance. Miller explained, however, this was not due to a lack of talent, but rather an abundance of passion and cold weather. “Most other states don’t have a hockey program like Minnesota, where the high schools have a hockey team,” Miller explained. “[In] most other states, the high school team is like a club team. So this is the National Championships for the entire country for all the high school players.” Page 9 She continued to explain that some places, such as Las Vegas, only have a handful of hockey teams in all the surrounding states combined, so winning a regional championship, rather than state, was necessary to come to this event. Minnesota high school teams however, are so abundant that they’re a separate entity and “not affiliated with USA Hockey,” and therefore ineligible for this particular competition. That being said, Wayzata Youth Hockey is not a high school team specifically and is USA Hockey affiliated, and one of their teams earned a place representing Minnesota in the tournament. The winners of the High School Division 1 championship were the Springfield Jr. Thunderbirds of Massachusetts (5-1), while the High School Division 2 champ was Prep Hockey of Illinois (6- 3). The High School Prep champions were Minnesota’s own Shattuck-St. Mary’s players (8-0). Shattuck-St. Mary’s scored another win with the High School Girls championship (2-0). While not every team could win these national titles, the entire competition seems to be a win for Wayzata Youth Hockey in terms of getting to host such an event of national significance. “Hopefully we get it again,” Miller said, “And we just want the community to know that this is a huge honor.” Miller explained Wayzata Youth Hockey is comprised of kids ages 6 through high school who are interested in playing hockey and attend Wayzata schools. For more information about the organization and this championship, visit www.wayzatahockey.org. Follow the Sun Sailor on Facebook at facebook.com/mnsunsailor. Page 10 Occupant dies in April 1 Plymouth apartment fire April 3, 2023 The Plymouth Fire Department responded to a report of smoke at an apartment complex at approximately 2:24 a.m. Saturday, April 1 at the 3600 block of Lancaster Lane N. Upon arrival, firefighters found a fully-engulfed apartment unit. One occupant was declared deceased as a result of the incident. As of press time, the entire apartment building remained evacuated while firefighters ensured the fire had been fully extinguished. Water was shut off to the apartment building. The department reported that the American Red Cross had been called in to assist with displaced residents. Assistance was received from mutual aid partners and the Plymouth Police Department. The Plymouth Fire Department will continue to investigate the cause of the fire. Page 11 Sen. Klobuchar visits Plymouth hometown to celebrate future Highway 55 improvements Work on southeastern intersection won’t begin until at least 2025. By: Anja Wuolu April 3, 2023 City Manager Dave Callister, Mayor Jeffry Wosje and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar discuss Plymouth’s roads April 1. Submitted photo Snow blanketed the trees, streets and cars. Some people were stuck in their driveways. Others joined Senator Amy Klobuchar and the Plymouth City Council April 1 to talk about road development in the southeast corner of the city. The U.S. Department of Transportation issues several Rebuilding America Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity projects each year. In 2022, Plymouth applied for a RAISE grant to improve the intersection of Highway 55 and County Road 73 and was approved, thanks to Klobuchar’s efforts. Page 12 Klobuchar said securing this $15 million grant was about demonstrating the need and achievability for this goal. “The argument I made is it’s seen as completely doable in a suburb that is thriving and growing in an intersection that’s dangerous,“ Klobuchar said. The official project description, from RAISE’s website includes that Plymouth plans to “reconstruct a segment of Highway 55 by adding two new in-line bus platforms, constructing one mile of new multi-use path, adding a new at-grade trail railroad crossing, a new pedestrian refuge on Highway 55, and a new roundabout at South Shore Drive and 10th Avenue North. “It will also realign County Road 73, construct a bicycle station and e-bike/e-scooter charging area at Station 73, and make stormwater improvements.” Benefits include increased safety for all types of transit as well as greater accessibility. Klobuchar helped the city secure $15 million from the RAISE grant. Klobuchar, who was born in Plymouth and graduated from Wayzata High School, has a special relationship with the area. “I rode the shoulder of 55 all the time when I was growing up,” Klobuchar said. “My best friend and I rode to Elk River to her cabin on Big Lake (because) there were some middle school boys who had water skis.” Plymouth currently has a population of more than 84,000. When middle-school aged Klobuchar was biking on Highway 55, the population was closer to 20,000. Work will not begin for some time. Plymouth City Manager Dave Callister told the Sun Sailor Plymouth is “working to get all the paperwork done,” finalizing the plan and acquiring a few parcels of land. Callister expects construction will start no sooner than 2025. Known as the Station 73 Transit and Regional Improvement Program, the project will cost an estimated $26.3 million. Presently, the project is working with a budget of $15 million from RAISE, $2.7 million from Minnesota Department of Transportation funds and $8.6 million in local funds such as the City of Plymouth, Hennepin County, Three Rivers Park District and the Metropolitan Council. More information can be found at bit.ly/3M8f3qb. Page 13 WEST METRO 600264518 Brooklyn Center man pleads guilty in girlfriend's beating death at Plymouth hotel Plea deal results in 19 year sentence. By Kim Hyatt Star Tribune APRIL 4, 2023 — 3:03PM A Brooklyn Center man pleaded guilty Tuesday to killing his girlfriend last February in a Plymouth hotel room that they shared with their three children and will be sentenced to 19 years this month. Alex Garfield Keaton, 39, entered the plea agreement Monday in Hennepin County District Court. He admitted to unintentional murder in exchange for dismissing the additional charge of intentional murder, according to court documents. Assistant County Attorney Dan Allard had wanted to exceed sentencing guidelines in the case, and Keaton agreed to the 19-year sentence as part of a plea deal. Keaton's public defenders Andrew Reiland and Gabriel Bozian declined to comment. Charges accuse Keaton of beating 41-year-old Lisa Kathleen Petersen, of Buffalo, to death on Feb. 7 at a Red Roof Inn. The nonprofit Violence Free Minnesota said Petersen was the third of the state's 24 victims of intimate partner homicide in 2022. Petersen's father and sister could not be reached for comment. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office said Petersen died of multiple blunt force injuries inside Room 212 at the inn. Plymouth police went to the inn after Petersen's eldest daughter, 16, called 911 in the early morning hours, according to the charges. The charges further state: Keaton told police he was in bed when he heard a loud thud and saw a 10-pound dumbbell next to Petersen on the floor. Page 14 He said the dumbbell fell on her, causing her death. The eldest daughter also said this. But the autopsy determined her death was caused by "complex homicidal violence." Petersen's left kidney was torn and there was significant blood in her chest cavity, the medical examiner reported. She had bruises on her arms, chest, legs, face and neck. "Dropping a 10 pound weight on herself could not cause these injuries and a person could not self-inflict these injuries," the medical examiner stated in charging documents. The other two children, ages 11 and 5, were interviewed by detectives, but the youngest said she was sleeping and didn't see anything. She also told detectives that she couldn't answer questions without a lawyer, charges say, per advice she got from Keaton's mother. "The 16-year-old has a physical disability, making [Keaton] the only person able to deliver such damage to [Petersen] who was in the hotel room at the time she must have suffered her injuries," according to the charges. Keaton's internet search history and Google account showed that he researched Minnesota sentencing guidelines, defense attorneys and even murder for hire. District Judge Paul Scoggin will sentence him April 24. Kim Hyatt reports on Hennepin County Courts. She previously covered the western and northern metro suburbs of the Twin Cities. kim.hyatt@startribune.com 612-673-4751 kimvhyatt Page 15 Doran Cos. Has paid $9.5 million for this office complex in Plymouth (Submitted photo: Doran) Doran Cos. buys office complex in Plymouth Brian Johnson//April 4, 2023 Doran Cos. is the new owner of a three-building office complex near Highway 55 and Interstate 494 in Plymouth. Fernbrook Office Owner LLC, a Doran Cos. entity, recently closed on a $9.5 million deal to acquire the complex, known as the Plymouth Office Center, according to a newly published certificate of real estate value. Real estate records list the seller as CEC Tonka LLC, a Hastings entity. The asset includes buildings at 3131 Fernbrook Lane, 3030 Harbor Lane and 3140 Harbor Lane. Page 16 The sale price works out to about $104 per square foot. By comparison, the 100,000-square-foot Riverpoint Office Center at 1715 Yankee Doodle Road in Eagan recently traded for $12.4 million, or $124 per square foot. Traci Tomas, president of asset management for Bloomington-based Doran, said Doran’s new Plymouth property has 91,292 rentable square feet of space and is home to 46 tenants. Doran’s property management arm, Whitecap Management, will operate the buildings. The average tenure for occupants in the three buildings is 9.5 years, Tomas said. Redevelopment might be an option at some point. “If and when market conditions change, it might make sense to redevelop a portion of it, but I think office buildings will always remain there,” Tomas said, adding that any potential redevelopment would probably be a few years down the road. Scott Pollock of Cushman & Wakefield’s Capital Markets Group represented the seller in the transaction. The buyer was not represented by a broker, Tomas said. Built in the early 1970s, the Class C Plymouth Office Center has a tenant roll that includes Blue-Gear Inc., Cady Business Technologies and Innovations in Software Inc., among others, according to Catylist. Tomas said the buildings are 93% occupied. Plymouth Office Center is in Catylist’s West/Northwest Twin Cities submarket. As of January, the submarket’s average vacancy rate was 18.3%, which was 3.5 percentage points lower than the metro average, according to Catylist. A Catylist report says the complex is one of 35 1970s-era properties in the submarket. Those buildings represent 21.6% of the submarket’s total office Page 17 inventory. Since 2000, the submarket has added 25 other office buildings with a combined 2.5 million square feet of space, Catylist said. Tomas said the location has much to offer. “We’ve done a lot of business in Plymouth, and I think that location is great,” she said. “The occupancy … relative to other office buildings throughout the market speaks to the strong location and strong upside.” Page 18 Plymouth’s Representative Carroll presents clean energy bill By: Kaitlin McCoskey April 4, 2023 District 42A Rep. Ned Carroll (DFL-Plymouth) presents bill HF 2627 at the Minnesota Legislature. Video Still Bill HF 2627 would work to put solar panels on otherwise unusable closed landfills With arguably one of the busiest years in recent history, the 93rd Minnesota Legislature’s elected officials of all political beliefs and backgrounds are trying to effect change as they see best fit. House District 42A Re. Ned Carroll (DFL-Plymouth) is no exception, and among the other actions he’s taking, an opportunity to resurrect a unique bill presented itself. House bill HF 2627 section 1.a. reads “$5,000,000 in fiscal year 2024 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner of management and budget to retire general obligation bonds associated with closed landfills to locate solar projects at closed landfill facilities.” According to a press release, this bill has the potential to “transform over 4,500 acres of otherwise unusable land into 950 megawatts of solar, or enough to power 100,000 Minnesota homes.” Page 19 The bill is not solely being presented by Carroll, as Rep. Patty Acomb (DFL-Minnetonka) of District 45B, Rep. Robert Bierman (DFL-Apple Valley) of District 56A, Rep. Larry Kraft (DFL-St. Louis Park) of District 46A, and Rep. Cheryl Youakim (DFL-Hopkins) of District 46B are also credited authors, according to the Minnesota House’s website. At the bill presentation, Executive Director of the Minnesota Solar Energy Industry Association Logan O’Grady said, “Solar like this strengthens our grid and makes it more efficient, lowering distribution needs and reducing transmission loss, more resilient, to extreme weather events, and more secure, reducing reliance on singular, localized power plants. And it will help meet our clean energy needs.” O’Grady added, “You’re not doing anything economically with this land as it already exists. So the opportunity here is to raise the economic use of otherwise unusable land.” Carroll elaborated on exactly what this will entail and why he chose to resurrect this bill. “I think it just makes a lot of sense. These landfills are closed,” Carroll said. “They’re not being productive. And so, we might as well take advantage of the space and put solar panels on them. It’s that simple. “It gets complicated in that, oftentimes, these landfills are financed by bonds, including the closing process, and so these bonds will have restrictions on them in terms of [development]. I suspect that’s for safety reasons, they don’t want development on landfills because soils are not stable enough to support development on them. But, you know, solar panels are not heavy development, so [landfills] can accommodate it.” Carroll explained the origin of the bill, saying, “There was a Legislative Commission study a couple years back recommending this. So that’s what the bill is about, following up on that recommendation.” The previous attempt to pass this bill, according to Carroll, was not completed in the required two-year period, resulting in the bill “dying.” “This is a resurrected bill from before, and I was asked by the chair if I would carry it, and I was more than happy to,” Carroll said. The bill was not wholeheartedly embraced upon presentation, however. Rep. Chris Swedzinski (R-Ghent) of District 15A asked several questions about the logistics of executing this bill. “Will there be any recuperation of the funds, essentially the profits, that are gathered by developing [solar farms] over the top of [landfills]?” he asked. Page 20 O’Grady clarified, “As we know, a great portion of the Community Solar Garden Program is that [the funding] is credited to the people that sign up for the solar garden in that specific area. So those people will be receiving a bill credit for that.” Swedzinski also asked about the cost of the proposed project, questioning if the funds listed in the bill would even cover the cost of building the solar farms, but instead just paying off the bonds on closed landfill sites. “There are two purposes to this bill. The first is to pay off outstanding general obligation bonds that’s precluding development like this on this land because you cannot put revenue generating systems on public land encumbered by G.O. bonds,” O’Grady responded. “The other purpose of the bill would be to provide up-front grant money for solar installations. As we know, the price of solar has dropped over the last decade, but the initial capital costs often is a challenge, especially to local units of government.” Finally, Swedzinski asked if the author or testifiers of the bill would consider “the disallowance of layering different programs” of funding towards this solar project, naming the Community Solar Program’s already proposed expansion along with grants, in an effort towards “responsibility to ratepayers and taxpayers.” Carroll responded to this, saying “You raise a point, I’d be happy to have continued discussions with you,” for which Swedzinski thanked him. After the presentation, the bill was voted to proceed to the Capital Investment Committee for re-referral. Carroll clarified that if bill HF 2627 doesn’t ultimately pass this time around, he will “continue pushing for it next year.” “Climate change is real and happening, and I don’t think there’s any debate about that. We’ve got to do everything we can, whether it’s small or big,” Carroll said. Carroll noted his frustration with the former Plymouth City Council’s vote against the GreenStep Cities program in a 4-3 vote when he was a member, and shared his gratitude to have a chance to affect more widespread change in the Minnesota Legislature. “It’s an honor and a pleasure to be able to serve at the state level. I was more than happy to run for reelection on the [Plymouth] City Council, but redistricting created this opportunity for the legislative seat,” he said. “I wanted to do more about the environment and climate than I was able to do on the City Council. However, there’s plenty that can be done at the local level,” he continued. “I wanted to carry my passion for [environmental protection] to the Legislature, that’s why I requested specifically to be on the Climate and Energy Finance and Policy Committee.” Carroll shared his desire to serve his constituents, regardless of political orientation. Page 21 “I’m not agenda-driven,” he concluded. “I just want to serve. It might sound corny, but that’s what motivates me. “I love this stuff, I love policy. The politics is a necessary end to it, and I’m not a big fan of that. I just want to contribute to our city, our country, our state, I want to make it better.” Follow the Sun Sailor on Facebook at facebook.com/mnsunsailor. Page 22 St. Paul sales tax proposal stalls as MN House looks to regional tax for affordable housing City Council Members Mitra Jalali and Nelsie Yang signed a letter backing the regional tax. By: FREDERICK MELO | fmelo@pioneerpress.com | Pioneer Press PUBLISHED: April 4, 2023 at 3:55 p.m. | UPDATED: April 5, 2023 at 6:01 p.m. St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter’s pitch to voters to support increasing the city’s local sales tax for parks and road repair might not make it to ballot this November, given competing bills at the Legislature. When the state Senate Committee on Taxes convened last week, the St. Paul mayor testified alongside counterparts from 18 other cities and counties pitching individual proposals to increase their local sales taxes to raise funds for roads, parks, public safety facilities or other favored projects. Don’t expect a similar showcase in the Minnesota House, at least not anytime soon. The House Committee on Taxes, chaired by state Rep. Aisha Gomez, DFL- Minneapolis, has declined to hear the same flurry of legislative bills, given somewhat clashing proposals for metro-wide sales taxes for housing and transportation. “The local option sales taxes … in a sense they are competing,” acknowledged state Rep. Mike Howard, DFL-Richfield, a lead author of the proposal to install a new quarter-cent metro-wide sales tax for affordable housing. Metro-wide sales tax Rather than a piecemeal approach that would allow St. Paul and other cities to make their own case to voters for particular types of sales tax spending, Gomez recently told the Minnesota Reformer that “the quality of somebody’s life … (shouldn’t) depend on the accident of where they were born.” A metro-wide sales tax would spread the burden across the entire region, she said, and could raise funds for two priority challenges — transportation and housing — that cross municipal boundaries. Gomez, through a spokesperson, declined comment on Tuesday, but some still see a flicker of hope for the individual municipal proposals, which could resurface in the reconciliation process once the House and Senate roll out omnibus tax bills. Page 23 “If she decides not to hear it, it just remains to be seen, depending upon what either body does with their tax bill,” said Patricia Nauman, executive director of Metro Cities, the association that advocates for cities before the Legislature, the governor and Metropolitan Council. “They would have to be reconciled.” Quarter-cent tax for affordable housing Howard and state Sen. Lindsey Port, DFL-Burnsville, have proposed a quarter-cent sales tax throughout the seven-county metro to raise some $200 million annually for affordable housing. The majority of the funds would be split between the seven counties and metro cities, with a fourth of the revenue supporting a state rental assistance program. Howard estimated the regional sales tax would create 1,000 new affordable rental units per year and 1,000 single-family homes per year. In addition, it would fund roughly 3,000 vouchers for low-income families throughout the metro. “Right now, only one-in-four Minnesotans who qualify for a (federal) Section 8 housing voucher get one,” he said. “You have people who qualify who will sit on waiting lists for years, or decades.” On Monday, 22 local elected officials signed a letter of support for his bill that was forwarded to the governor’s office and key state lawmakers. Among the signatories were St. Paul City Council Members Mitra Jalali and Nelsie Yang, as well as Brooklyn Center Mayor April Graves and Irene Fernando, chair of the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners. Three members of the Minneapolis City Council also signed. “My first priority remains our St. Paul-specific sales tax for necessary infrastructure funding that modernizes our streets and parks,” said Jalali on Tuesday. Howard’s proposal has been met with opposition from Metro Cities, which has raised concern about burdening municipalities that have other local needs. “Housing is an issue that is of statewide concern, and should be funded with state revenues,” Nauman said. Metro Cities has not taken a stance on any individual city’s sales tax proposal, other than to advocate that cities should not have to get legislative approval at all in order to implement them. State Sen. Sandy Pappas, lead author of St. Paul’s local sales tax proposal in the Senate, said she was supportive of the general goal but she called the metro-wide proposals late to the table in lining up votes. “To do a metro-wide tax takes a lot of consensus from a lot of people,” Pappas said. “I don’t know that we have the support to get there. In the meantime, we have some immediate needs — things like potholes.” Page 24 Yet another proposal originating from within the House Transportation and Finance Committee would impose a three-quarter cent sales tax to support regional transit spending. A coalition of child care and early childhood education advocates have proposed asking St. Paul voters to raise funds for those priorities through the city’s property tax levy, another initiative that would have to go to ballot to be approved. Thirty-six cities, counties seek local sales tax Given the visibly deteriorated status of the city’s roads, Carter has proposed tripling St. Paul’s local sales tax to 1.5%, which would be the highest in the state tying with Duluth. The new tax would raise nearly $1 billion over 20 years, most of it going to arterial street reconstruction. Roughly $246 million would support capital improvements within the city’s Parks and Recreation facilities. The proposal has met with opposition from the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce, which polled its members and found nearly three-quarters opposed. “I think this year they are opposing any and all tax increases, likely due to the budget surplus which is largely onetime (spending),” Pappas noted. A growing number of Minnesota cities in recent years have successfully sought to implement local sales taxes, which help capture revenue from tourists and other visitors. Minnesota taxes purchases at bars and restaurants, but not most clothing and groceries, so local residents are still shielded from paying increased costs on essentials. “We don’t tax food, clothing or things like rent,” Pappas said. “And low-income people do pay less in sales taxes because they buy less expensive things, and most of the things they really rely on are not taxed.” This legislative session, some 36 cities and counties have proposed creating or increasing their local sales tax, many of them with parks spending in mind. If approved by the Legislature, their proposals would then go before voters during the November elections. Woodbury is seeking a half-cent sales tax to fund a new public safety campus. Cottage Grove wants a half-cent tax to fund improvements to Hamlet Park, the River Oaks Golf Course and the Mississippi Dunes Park project. Rice County is seeking a 0.375% tax to back a public safety facility. City officials have noted that local government aid from the state has not kept up with inflation, population growth or general needs, leaving cities that are large enough to qualify for LGA scrambling to find other funding sources for capital improvements. “It’s really about trying to manage infrastructure and other needs that are more regional in nature, without totally relying on the property tax,” Nauman said. Page 25 Commercial Real Estate Doran Cos. may redevelop portion of Plymouth office campus it bought for $10 million Doran Cos. is the new owner of a 1970s office campus in Plymouth, located at at 3030 and 3140 Harbor Lane N and 3131 Fernbrook Lane N. GOOGLE By Kelly Busche - Senior Reporter/Broadcaster, Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal Apr 5, 2023 Doran Cos. paid $9.5 million for a 1960s office campus in Plymouth that it might redevelop, but the firm hasn't finalize any plans to do so. The three-building campus is located at 3030 and 3140 Harbor Lane N and 3131 Fernbrook Lane N. The campus is 93% occupied with around 46 tenants, such as a financial adviser, insurance agency, law office, naturopathic center, software company and more. Page 26 "If and when market conditions warrant, we, probably, may look at redeveloping a portion of it," said Traci Tomas, chief operation officer with Doran. Still, she added that "it speaks volumes that these office buildings have remained at this occupancy (level) for as long as they have." It's no secret that older, lower-class office properties are faring worse than their upper-tier counterparts, though that doesn't seem to be the case here. A new report from Cushman & Wakefield found at least 16 million square feet of Twin Cities office space is at risk of becoming obsolete by 2030 due to pandemic- sparked changes in work habits, which has lowered the amount of space tenants need. A Doran affiliate bought the properties late last month from Steamboat Springs, Colo.-based 3030 MLS LLC and 3030 PHR LLC, which is located in Minneapolis, according to a public filing with the Minnesota Department of Revenue. The Bloomington-based commercial real estate developer and owner will have its property management arm, Whitecap Properties, take over management of the campus. Doran is the seventh-largest developer in the Twin Cities, according to Business Journal research Page 27 Exactly what a potential redevelopment would entail is uncertain. Redevelopment conversations would start with the Doran team considering if there's anything missing from the surrounding area or determining whether the city of Plymouth has a need for a specific type of project, Tomas said. Timing for a potential redevelopment project is more than two years out, she said. Some redevelopment has taken place in the surrounding area already, including a senior living facility at 3025 Harbor Lane N. And several miles north of the office campus, a massive redevelopment project for Plymouth is in the works, with Roers Cos. and Scannell Properties planning an overhaul of the former Prudential office campus. Doran is in the early stages of redeveloping an office property south of the Plymouth office campus. It's considering replacing a decades-old Minnetonka office property with nearly 200 units of apartments, according to Business Journal reporting on initial project plans submitted to the city. Page 28 Dozens displaced after Plymouth apartment fire Residents of the Lancaster Village apartments have found temporary housing since the Saturday fire. By: Josie Albertson-Grove, Star Tribune APRIL 5, 2023 — 5:37PM Dozens of people displaced after a Saturday fire at a Plymouth apartment complex have found housing — at least temporarily. The fire killed one person, who authorities have not yet named, and damaged or destroyed 34 apartments at the complex on Lancaster Lane, putting 58 people out of their homes as snow fell early in the morning. The State Fire Marshal office is investigating how the fire started at the Lancaster Village apartments, a 160-unit complex owned by Minneapolis-based property management group CSM Corp The company also owns several Twin Cities hotels, and the property owners provided rooms for 29 people who could not find friends or family to take them in the first few nights after the blaze, according to the Red Cross. The Red Cross opened a shelter Tuesday in the basement of a Robbinsdale church for anyone who needed a place to stay, but no residents have required the emergency shelter. Renters' insurance is covering the cost of temporary housing in hotels for some displaced residents, said Red Cross spokeswoman Lynette Nyman, though others have struggled to figure out how they will pay for temporary housing before their renters' insurance reimburses them. Red Cross caseworkers are offering help navigating insurance and Section 8 for fire victims. Of the 34 apartments damaged, Nyman said, some only had minor damage so residents may be able to return soon. The same apartment complex was the site of another fire in 1996. A gas leak caused an explosion in the boiler room, but no one was hurt. In 2011, a 9-year-old girl and a 26-year-old man drowned in a swimming pool at the complex. Josie Albertson-Grove covers the western Twin Cities suburbs for the Star Tribune. josie.grove@startribune.com josie_strib Page 29 Plymouth Drop-Off Day set for April 28-29 April 5, 2023 Plymouth is set to hold the 2023 Drop-Off Day event April 28-29 at the Plymouth Maintenance Facility, 14900 23rd Ave. N. Drop-Off Day provides an opportunity for residents to declutter and get rid of unwanted items. To offer more efficient service and reduce wait times, the event will be held on two days with the following schedule: • 3-7 p.m. Friday, April 28. Free items only, which include bicycles and bicycle parts, textiles and home goods, paper to shred, used oil, unused winter deicing salt, light bulbs and household batteries. • 7:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday, April 29. Free and pay items, which include tires, scrap metal, mattresses and box springs, vehicle batteries, electronics, appliances (non-commercial), bulky items, remodeling material and construction debris. The event is for Plymouth residents only – identification for proof of residency is required. Discounts are available for residents who prepay online. Residents may pay at the event via credit card or cash (exact cash preferred), or prepay online at plymouthmn.gov/dropoff. Discounted prepay rate is available until 11:59 p.m. Friday, April 28. To access the site, vehicles should turn onto Fernbrook Lane from Highway 55 and follow traffic signage to be routed to the site. The site will close to all vehicles not in line by 7 p.m. Friday, April 28 or 12:30 p.m. Saturday, April 29. Vehicles will not be able to turn onto Fernbrook Lane from County Road 6. To view a traffic flow map for the event, visit plymouthmn.gov/dropoff. Page 30