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From YouTube: Council Minute December 14
Description
In this week’s Council Minute Mayor Tim Busse discusses development proposals at 700 American Boulevard West, consideration amending the spending plan for tax increments from the Mall of America TIF Districts and THC sales and regulation.
A
Hello,
Bloomington
I'm
mayor
Tim
Bussey,
and
this
is
the
council
minute
for
the
week
of
December
12th
back
on
December
5th,
the
city
council
discussed
in
closed
session
development
proposals
submitted
for
the
potential
sale
of
700
American
Boulevard
West.
The
city
owns
the
property,
which
is
just
under
two
acres
and
is
located
at
the
northwest
corner
of
Lindale
Avenue
and
American
Boulevard,
it's
next
door
to
REI
and
the
Bauer
hockey
store
in
early
September.
The
city
had
released
a
request
for
proposals
to
sell
and
develop
the
property.
A
It's
in
a
great
location
and
honestly,
it's
been
vacant
for
way
too
long
and
given
the
prominent
location,
the
city
specifically
requested
proposals
that
would
highlight
this
corner
as
a
gateway
to
the
city.
Three
developers
submitted
proposals
and
ultimately
the
council
directed
staff
to
begin
negotiations
with
Schaefer
Richardson
Schaefer
Richardson
brings
more
than
27
years
of
experience
in
development
working
on
residential,
commercial
and
mixed-use
projects.
A
Unfortunately,
under
state
law,
that's
about
all
I
can
say
right
now.
Details
aren't
public
yet,
but
the
development
proposal
will
go
through
all
of
the
Normal
public
hearings
and
notification
processes.
Once
a
development
application
is
submitted.
It's
exciting
because
this
is
the
third
project
that
we've
talked
about
in
recent
weeks.
That
would
redevelop
a
notable
area
in
Bloomington.
A
Last
week
we
talked
about
the
europolis
expansion
that
would
be
a
long
needed
Redevelopment
at
the
intersection
of
90th
and
Penn,
and
back
in
November,
the
council
approved
the
oxboro
Heights
Apartment
Complex
that
will
provide
125
units
of
affordable,
independent
senior
living
units.
It's
located
on
93rd
Street,
just
to
the
east
of
Lindale
Bloomington
is
pretty
much
a
developed
City,
unlike
Lakeville
or
Woodbury.
We
don't
have
vast
tracks
of
wide
open
undeveloped
land
where
homes
or
businesses
can
locate.
A
So
our
challenge
is
to
find
opportunities
for
redevelopment
of
existing
areas
or
what's
called
infill
development,
that's
development
between
or
alongside
existing
properties,
and
that
can
be
a
challenge
for
a
lot
of
reasons.
Many
times
an
area
that
would
be
perfect
for
redevelopment
is
owned
by
a
number
of
different
Property
Owners,
which
makes
it
tough
to
assemble
the
needed
land.
Sometimes,
environmental
contamination
is
a
concern
a
lot
of
times.
It
simply
comes
down
to
money.
A
These
projects
will
refresh
and
renew
our
community
they'll
bring
in
new
businesses
and
residence
and
will
make
Bloomington
a
place
where
people
want
to
be
I'm.
Looking
forward
to
sharing
even
more
of
these
examples
with
you
in
2023
and
speaking
of
development.
Last
week,
the
city
council
and
the
Port
Authority
met
in
a
concurrent
meeting.
The
main
agenda
item
was
to
consider
amending
the
spending
plan
for
tax
increments
from
the
Mall
of
America
tax,
increment
financing
districts.
A
The
meeting
got
a
lot
of
attention
in
the
media
and
on
social
media
and
frankly,
there
was
a
lot
of
confusion
about
what
we
did
and
why
I
want
to
take
a
minute
to
try
and
clarify
things
for
you
today.
First
some
quick
background
back
in
2021,
the
state
legislature
passed
a
law
that
gave
cities
and
Port
Authorities
new
flexibility
for
using
tax,
increment
financing
or
Tiff
through
a
specific
spending
plan.
A
A
Looking
back
at
that
approval
staff
concedes
now
that
they
may
have
been
too
focused
on
the
water
park
and
the
agreement
that
passed
in
March
actually
limited
our
flexibility
and
possible
uses
of
the
available
tax
increment
funding.
So
last
week,
staff
brought
to
the
council
and
to
the
port
a
modified
spending
plan.
That's
what
we
discussed
at
the
meeting
and
here's
what
that
plan
does
and
what
it
doesn't
do.
A
First
of
all,
the
new
plan
eliminates
the
spending
plan
approved
in
March
and
increases
the
amount
in
the
spending
plan
from
the
original
55
million
to
92.5
million.
Why
that
amount?
The
law
says
that
a
spending
plan
can
include
any
amount
of
tax
increment
received
by
December
31st.
We
expect
the
Port
Authority
will
have
92.5
million
dollars
in
this
specific
account
by
the
end
of
the
year
and
including
that
entire
amount
provides
the
most
flexibility.
A
Second,
the
revised
spending
plan
includes
some
specific
project
ideas,
including
an
indoor
water
park,
a
sports
complex
and
an
event
or
entertainment
facility.
Those
were
included
in
the
plan
because
the
state
auditor
requested
that
all
cities
include
some
of
their
ideas
in
their
plans.
Those
are
all
projects
that
have
been
discussed
at
one
time
or
another
around
here,
but
Simply
Having
them
listed
doesn't
make
them
a
requirement.
Now
put
a
pin
in
this
I'll
come
back
to
this
in
just
a
minute.
A
Third,
the
revised
plan
provides
a
lot
more
flexibility
for
both
the
council
and
the
port.
The
law
says
that,
if
we're
going
to
use
the
tax
increment
in
the
spending
plan,
we
need
to
do
so
by
December
31st
2025..
Finally,
the
plan
Keeps
Us
on
par
with
other
cities,
we're
not
doing
anything
out
of
the
ordinary
here.
Other
cities
are
also
revising
their
plans
to
maximize
flexibility,
but
their
project
lists
don't
include
the
potential
high
profile
projects
we've
discussed.
A
So
that's
what
the
plan
does?
Here's,
what
the
plan
doesn't
do
first
other
than
the
water
park.
There
is
not
a
specific
project
being
proposed
as
part
of
this
amendment,
as
I
mentioned,
the
auditor
wanted
projects
listed
in
the
plan,
but
that
language
doesn't
obligate
the
city
and
the
port
to
pursue
those
projects,
and
it
doesn't
prevent
the
city
and
Port
from
seeking
other
ideas.
A
A
Finally,
the
revised
plan
doesn't
commit
the
port
to
spending
the
entirety
of
the
92.5
million
dollar
tip
the
spending
is
authorized,
but
it's
not
required
I
hope
that
helps
clear
things
up
a
bit.
This
can
be
very
confusing
to
everybody,
and
you
can
see
that
in
the
discussions
we
had
at
the
council
and
Port
meeting
last
week
and
I'll
admit,
we
dropped
the
ball
on
this
in
terms
of
communications,
we
should
have
anticipated
the
public
interest
plan
for
the
questions
we
knew
would
be
asked
and
gotten
ahead
of
the
confusion
as
much
as
possible.
A
That's
our
bad
as
always,
we'll
try
to
learn
from
this
and
be
better
next
time.
The
next
steps
are
now
to
try
and
find
suitable
projects
for
this
spending
plan,
projects
that
will
create
jobs,
support
our
local
economy
and
continue
to
make
Bloomington
an
international
destination
and
before
any
action
is
taken
on
any
project.
Public
meetings
will
be
held
by
both
the
city
council
and
the
Port
Authority.
Finally,
today
you
know
that
back
in
July,
edible
products
with
THC
were
legalized
in
Minnesota.
Thc
is
a
cannabis
ingredient
that
is
extracted
from
hemp.
A
A
Earlier
this
month,
the
city
council
approved
an
ordinance
that
regulates
sales
of
THC
products
in
Bloomington.
The
regulations
are
similar
to
those
we
currently
have
for
tobacco.
For
example,
any
business
that
wants
to
sell
THC
needs
to
get
an
annual
license
and
pay
a
175
dollar
license.
Fee
licenses
will
only
be
issued
to
a
fixed
place
of
business.
There's
no
Mobile
sales
of
any
kind
allowed
like
tobacco.
Self-Service
sales
are
prohibited.