Search for Wyoming police chief on hold

Posted: 9/20/06

Search for Wyoming police chief on hold

Alice Pickering
Wyoming Area Reporter

The search for a new police chief for the city of Wyoming is on hold until a decision is made on the merger.

Area resident Jean Will raised questions about the issue again at the meeting Tuesday, Sept. 5.

She maintained that the special meeting called for the purpose of advertising for a new police chief was improperly called and therefore illegal.

The basis for her comments was that the request for the meeting was not in writing and she was unable to get a copy of it. Her contention was that a lot of things were wrong with how the meeting had been called.

Attorney Tom Miller said that while it turned out that at least one council member did not know about the meeting, there is every indication there was a good faith effort to notify all members of the council.

Administrator Craig Mattson said the search was put on hold at the last meeting. A check with individual members showed they all support a hold on the search until merger issues are resolved.

Bids rejected

Council members unanimously agreed to reject two bids received for the Railroad Ave. lift station generator and associated work to prepare the site.

Engineer Mark Erichson recommended the action after receiving only two bids for the project, the lowest of which was more than $7500 more than his estimate for the work.

Council member Tom LaBarre asked if requests for proposal could result in acceptable bids. Erichson said that was unlikely. Miller recommended publishing specifications and seeking new bids and also seeking quotes.

Quotes are acceptable if the amount is for less than $50,000. Erichson said with the minimum three-week publication, awarding the bid, then completion of the work, all would take about six weeks.

Golf course land

Council accepted, in concept, a planned unit development in the northwest corner of the city. The area is north of Viking Blvd. and west of I-35 on 206 acres.

Much of the land in the proposed development area was a golf course.

Kent Roessler, of AR Financial, made the presentation. His sketches show 40 acres of commercial development, 30 acres with apartments/condominiums and about 50 acres with single-family homes.

Descriptions suggest a variety of commercial businesses, two- to twelve-unit buildings in the town home/condominium concept, and a variety of options for single family homes.

According to Roessler, the potential developed value of the commercial development is $70 million. Currently the tax benefit of the area is $40,000 annually, but potentially could be $1.4 million annually.

Land for the town homes or condominiums would contribute a potential $400,000 in taxes, up from $5,000 for the current tax contribution. The single-family homes potentially would increase the tax benefit to the city to about $460,000, up from the $6000 current benefit.

Only 40 acres of the area are now in the city. In order to proceed, the rest of the land would need to be annexed to the city. The portion which might be annexed is not part of the contested area related to the merger.

The city would need to stand in support of the master plan, rezone the area for PUD, and water and sewer services would have to be extended across I-35. An intersection with Viking Blvd, with traffic signals would need to be installed.

Council member Blake Tiedeman said he needed more time to study the proposal and the changes in the plan from the EDA presentation. He observed no access for an intersection next to the Village Inn restaurant.

LaBarre liked the plan, but was cautious about the high density of the housing and thought duplexes might be better.

Council member Ted Phillips said the conceptual plan is fine, but was cautious, indicating a lot of hurdles remain. Council member Joe Zerwas had questions about the intersection.

Mayor Sheldon Anderson observed that any decision would have to wait until the merger action is resolved.

Erichson said there would be substantial costs to the city for a development of this size, noting that the intersection and signals alone would be about $250,000. The developer might be involved in part of this and possibly, Chisago County. There are also the estimated costs for the sewer and water extension, about $300,000. All this remains to be worked out.

Mattson said the city could not commit to costs for land not in the city. In addition, the city would have to take a look at the big picture.

The entire city budget is only about $2.4 million. This is not a project that will begin soon.

It is clear that while council members support the concept, many details will need to be worked out before any city money is on the line.

Miller said a letter of intent is the next step in the process. There would also need to be an analysis of proposed area charges before any commitment to the project. The study would be ongoing.