2024-05-15 CC Meeting Minutes WorkshopMOUND CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL WORKSHOP MINUTES
May 15, 2024
The City Council of the City of Mound, Hennepin County, Minnesota, met in a special workshop
meeting session on Wednesday May 15, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers in the
Centennial Building.
Members present: Mayor Jason Holt, Council Members, Sherrie Pugh, Paula Larson, Kathy
McEnaney and Kevin Castellano.
Members absent: None
Others present: City Manager Jesse Dickson, City Attorney Scott Landsman, and Deputy City
Manager Maggie Reisdorf.
The Special Workshop Meeting was called at 6:00 pm.
Future Use of City Property
Mayor Holt introduced this item for discussion. He stated that about a year ago, there was
interest in having staff putting together a list of city owned properties and reviewing the future of
those properties. Holt mentioned the Centennial Building, which served as the old City Hall and
Police Department. He informed that the building is currently being leased for office space, is
the official City Council chambers location, is an election precinct and serves as overflow
storage space. Holt said that he asked staff for the budget to run the building and whether the
City Council should consider repurposing or selling the building.
Dickson provided the City Council with an aerial site map of the property. He informed that the
current City Hall and Fire Department building are located on the same parcel as the Centennial
Building. Dickson provided a document that showed the annual budget for operating and
maintaining the Centennial building. He also provided some information on a couple of the
leasing contracts in place.
Mayor Holt said that the process would likely include rezoning the property away from its current
public use status.
Dickson stated that the property would also need to be subdivided to separate the current City
Hall and Fire Department land from the Centennial building land. He informed that the rezoning
process would also include an amendment to the city's comprehensive plan which could take
around 9 months to do. He explained that the current leasing contracts would also have to be
reviewed and managed. Dickson stated that the Hennepin County library reached out recently
to inquire about being able to store books at the Centennial building during the library's
reconstruction.
Mayor Holt said that if the City Council decides to sell the building, there would have to be
discussions on where the City Council chambers would be relocated to. He also said that
storage would have be discussed and the moving of the election precinct. Holt recommended
that the City Council chambers be move to the upstairs of City Hall, where the Fire Department
meetings are held. He also stated that the local Westonka Schools P.A.C. site could work as
well.
CM McEnaney said she didn't like the idea of having City Council meetings at a location outside
of city limits. She asked if there is a market for a building like the Centennial building.
Mayor Holt stated that in the past, a staff estimate of the value of the property was about
$350,000.
Dickson informed that the property would have to be appraised.
CM McEnaney stated that the benefits have to outweigh the costs.
CM Castellano asked if it was possible to figure of if there is a market for the building and if it
would be possible to figure out possible best uses for the land.
CM Pugh asked if staff is currently fitting into the current space at City Hall.
Dickson stated that when City Hall was located within the Centennial building, there was more
staff. He said when City Hall moved to the current location, staff size was reduced. He said it is
currently a little tight for space, but that staff is figuring out how to make the current space work.
Mayor Holt stated that there is plenty of room on the Fire Department side of the building.
CM Castellano asked what the next steps were.
Mayor Holt suggested starting with the process to rezone the property and then get an
appraisal.
CM Pugh stated that the City Council needs to be careful about selling the building and be
mindful of future needs of the city before making the decision. She asked for ideas of what the
site could be used for and that the City Council needs to be mindful of what makes sense for the
location.
Mayor Holt mentioned that there is current discussion about the creation of a Fire District. He
stated that he would prefer a development that includes townhomes/row homes.
CM McEnaney said it is hard to think about making a decision without an appraisal.
Landsman said that an appraisal would tell you what the building is worth for the use that it
currently is. He stated that if the City Council doesn't know what to market for, it can be hard to
appraise it for what it could be.
CM Pugh asked if the Centennial building property was the number one priority of all city land to
review at this time.
Mayor Holt confirmed that the Centennial building was the main property that the city should
look at for future opportunity and then later look at other vacant city property and their future
potential.
Dickson informed that the City Engineer cautioned against selling some land in case it is
needed in the future for engineering projects.
Mayor Holt recommended sending letters to property owners next to vacant city land to see if
they are interested in purchasing it.
Reisdorf provided an example of a past city that she would for. She explained that the city had
built a new fire station and therefore looked at selling the old fire station. She stated it was
difficult to appraise the building as is because there weren't many regional comparable
properties. Reisdorf said that eventually the city put out a request for proposals on the property
that invited developers to submit sealed projects for the City Council to consider. She said that
with this process the developer recommends a selling price.
Mayor Holt said that selling the property would increase tax revenue for the city, create revenue
from the sale, and save on operation and maintenance costs. He said that he doesn't see the
need for long-term office needs. He asked the City Council how they feel about moving forward
with looking into selling the building.
CM Pugh asked what the market needs are at the moment. She expressed concern about
whether the market would support this type of building and its use.
Mayor Holt said he liked the idea of potentially doing a request for proposals from developers.
CM Castellano agreed.
Landsman recommended that the City Council start with a title review of the property before
making any other decisions. He said that a review needs to be done on how the city initially
obtained the property to determine if selling the land is even feasible.
Mayor Holt agreed.
There was discussion on reaching out to three commercial real estate organizations to gauge
the value and market of the property.
CM Pugh referenced a past redevelopment plan that created problems when infrastructure was
invested in before development occurred. She stressed that the City Council needs to know the
market first.
CM Castellano asked if the Planning Commission should review the other vacant properties
throughout the city and help decide what to do with those lots. He said that the City Engineer
could review the lots ahead of time to determine which properties should not be considered for
sale and kept for future city projects.
Mayor Holt agreed and said any remaining properties should be considered for sale and should
be offered to neighboring property owners for sale.
CM McEnaney asked if it was appropriate for the Planning Commission to review this and
provide a recommendation to City Council. She recommended that staff do it instead.
Mayor Holt agreed.
CM Castellano also agreed.
The City Council agreed that staff should review the properties along with the City Engineer to
determine which properties would come back to the City Council for consideration to sell.
Landsman stated that the City Council should take into consider whether the land "no longer
serves a public purpose" during their review. He agreed that the City Engineer should review the
parcels for future needs and recommended not selling if the land could be needed in the future.
Mayor Holt provided a recap that the City Attorney would research the title on the Centennial
property lot and if all is well, staff would reach out to commercial real estate organizations to
learn more about the market for the building and land.
Ad'ourn
Motion by CM Castellano to adjourn the meeting at 6:52 pm. Seconded by CM McEnaney. All
voted in favor. Motion carried.
A
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Mayor Jaso R. Holt