Alice Pickering
Wyoming Area Reporter

Itís official; there will be no Roosters BMX in the city of Wyoming. Developer Rob Murphy said Tuesday, ìWe submitted a letter today withdrawing our plans (for building) from anyplace in Wyoming.î

As of Aug. 30, Murphy, his brother Mike, and their partner Donnie Vincent pulled their business proposal.

ìEnough is enough,î Murphy said.

He said the decision to withdraw the plan was based on the public opinion and the resulting number of plan requirements by the city, plus a difficulty in working with the city.

Referring to the numerous meetings with the planning commission, EDA and city council where there were public hearings or at least opportunities for comment, Murphy said people were asking questions for which there were answers on their website or in the printed material they provided. They gave an oral presentation at the EDA meeting in August.

Some of those objecting to the project mistakenly thought the project was already under construction on the west side of Kettle River Blvd, at what is actually Sunrise Meadows West, a housing development.

About the perceived increase in traffic, Murphy said ìwhatever is going in there will bring more traffic than we would, whether homes or businesses.î

Murphy said many of the things the public was worried about and asked questions about, ìwould have been covered by the development agreement.î He believes that includes the concerns about drainage, endangered turtles and sound.

He emphasized what the trio had said at all the meetings, ìWyoming was the first site we looked at, but we didnít come in to force our way in.î

Murphy said they had not been turned down before, however they ìdidnít want a hostile environment.î Murphy said the public scared city officials.

The other deciding factor was working with the city. ìThe city made it impossible for us to go ahead with the project,î he said.

ìFour months ago, they (said we) had everything they needed,î Murphy said. But, every time we went back with information or requirements the city said ìwe need more stuff,î Murphy said.

One example, according to Murphy, was the stamp on drawings (blueprints) that was required before the city engineer would look at them. Normally, he said stamped drawings are required, but usually only after a project has been approved and is ready for a building permit. The city wanted stamped drawings before review. The $13,000 cost for the drawings was $10,000 more than it needed to be, he said.

After the last council meeting Aug. 16, the city presented requests for additional requirements that would have added another $1 million to the project cost. These were for road improvements and a sprinkler system.

ìWe submitted plans to the county and the county wanted us to include north and south turn lanes in our plans,î Murphy said.

Murphy said that according to the universal building code (UBC), the arena-type facility with minimal flammable surfaces, did not call for a complete sprinkler system in the building. However, inclusion of a complete sprinkler system in the plans was requested by the city building inspector.

Murphy said they were willing to work with the city about extending the water main, but it (the entire process) was frustrating. The water access charge and sewer access charge would have been about $167,000. Even then, the water pressure would not have been adequate.

Looping the city water system, extending a second water main across the freeway, to maintain good water pressure in the western part of the city is a needed project and is in city plans. As planned, it would cross the freeway at the north end of the planned site. The city would have had to move ahead with these plans to extend the second water main soon. In other meetings Engineer Lee Elfering estimated a city cost of $200,000.

Murphy said this is not their first business project, but one which has faced the most hurdles. He said the Roosters BMX training facility would have generated $120,000 in taxes a year. Of that about $51,000 would have been to Chisago County, which he believes could have helped finance road improvements on Kettle River Blvd.

About $32,000 would have gone to the Forest Lake school district, with no impact on class sizes in any of the schools. The balance would have gone into city coffers.

He said they estimated about $4 million for the arena and ìit would have worked out fine.î ìIt cost us $50,000 to find out we canít build there,î he said.

Referring to the slow process and what he believed were the numerous hurdles placed in their way, Murphy said, ìThe city is a long way from functioning properly; it needs to figure out what itís doing. Nobody knows what the other guy is doing.î

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Forest Lake Times
P.O. Box 218
880 SW 15 St.
Forest Lake, MN 55025
651-464-4601
Fax 651-464-4605