Posted: 6/25/03

Ebenezer plan wins council OK

Alice Pickering
Wyoming Area Reporter

Wyoming City Council approved the final plat of Fairview Lakes No. 3 and the development agreement for Ebenezer Lakes assisted living facility, Meadows on Fairview, at a special meeting Monday afternoon.

Councilís vote was unanimous. Action had been tabled on June 19, because some of the information was not available.

City Attorney Tom Miller said there were three contingencies to approval: an updated legal description, its renaming so not to be confused with a Mortenson/Fairview plat already approved, and Fairviewís consent to the development agreement.

The legal description must be re-written to reflect that Ebenezer is buying a portion of an out lot from Fairview. Fairview has to approve the development agreement because part of the work on the facility, related to construction of a swale for drainage, is on hospital property.

Jim Bermel, asset manager at Fairview attended the meeting as did Russ Klebe, Vice-President of Housing and Development for Ebenezer Society. Ebenezer Lakes Assisted Living is a Minnesota non-profit. When completed, the facility is to have 59 units, six of which will be two-bedroom units.

Council member Martin English asked about the amount of water the facility would use. Sandy Standridge questioned the demand of the food preparation facilities and laundry for the building. Both were concerned about the impact of the cityís sewer capacity.

Most residents will have meals together. Klebe said part of the philosophy of the facility is to keep residents engaged in normal activities, including doing some laundry.

Administrator Dennis Coryell said there is no direct comparison with other housing types within the city, but that it would approximate some of the senior apartments in Wyoming. It is estimated the impact of each unit on sewer capacity is about three-quarters that of a single family home.

Ebenezer is to pay costs of $216,825 for water and sewer hook-up charges. The cash payment is due when the organization applies for a building permit.

Coryell said building inspector Jack Kramer has finished final review of the plans. Klebe said the total amount of financing is $7.3 million, with $5.6 million related to construction.

June 16 updates

At the meeting June 16th, council unanimously approved a rezoning request from R-1 to R-2 for Linda Kinney. Action is contingent on approval of the planned unit development, preliminary plat and comments from the engineer.

The planning commission separated the two properties, Kinney and the Schilling-Dressel properties, located nearby, were not considered together. Schilling and Dressel are under a separate covenant. Costs to develop the road into the area are to be split.

Kinney explained her plan to build four townhouses, Gables on Sunrise, in the development. The units are one level aimed at the ìempty nesterî market.

Miller said the out lot on Kinneyís plat is south of the Sunrise River. There is no access to the lot and perhaps the best plan is to vacate that portion of her land to the owners adjacent to it.

Kinney is also seeking a variance on the front set backs, 10 feet less than ordinances allow, and a variance for the length of a cul-de-sac to gain access to the lots. Land suitable for building is interspersed with wetlands. Miller explained that the design and variances associated with this planned unit development will not affect density.

One concern is the old St. Peterís Catholic Cemetery, located near the southwest corner of Kinneyís land. Utilities will be placed on side of the road away from the cemetery. Any contingencies will be settled before approval is given for the final plat.

Chris Eng, Chisago County HRA, and Steve Reedy, General Safety told council the General Safety, custom builder of fire trucks, wants to expand its facility to begin assembling the chassis for the trucks it builds.

General Safety currently employs about 60 workers. An expansion would create between 10-12 new jobs in the range of $15-$17 an hour.

To encourage General Safety staying in Wyoming and Chisago County, Eng is proposing tax abatement program over a ten-year period that will help make this a reality. Eng will also make the proposal to Chisago County commissioners on June 25th.

He proposes $4000 a year for the city and $6000 for the county over a 10-year period. The maximum time allowed by the state for a tax abatement program is 15 years.

The planned expansion is 10,000 square feet, with a building value of $50,000. The existing building is about 40,000 square feet and has an estimated value of $1.2 million.

Current annual tax revenue is about $33,000, with the cityís share about 23 percent. The $10,000 tax break each of 10 years would help the business with construction and provide higher tax revenue for many years into the future.

This is the first phase of an even bigger expansion. Eng has spoken to Commissioner Ben Montzka about the proposal and plans to make the same presentation to the county.

Council approved $3020 from the gambling fund to purchase two radar units for the cityís two squad cars. The purchase is to be made by June 30 to take advantage of a special promotion. The older units would have needed replacement soon anyway, so the proposed purchase is timely.

Based on a fire department recommendation, council approved Jeremy Hastings as a member of the Wyoming Fire Department. He is a third generation firefighter.

Other business

In other business, council:

ïApproved an excavation permit for Fred Sieber to enable him to build a garage behind his house.

ïApproved a mutual aid agreement for structure fires.

ïLearned from Lynn Koalska of union mediation scheduled for June 25.

ïThanked the Girl Scouts for their clean-up and planting in the cityís parks.

ïApproved $1055 from the gambling fund to pay for the cityís share of the summer parks program.

ïLearned that transportation for summer parks programs has been arranged.

ïPostponed purchase of watches for the fire department retirees, until funds have been replenished in gambling fund.

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