Cal Davidson said they were proposing to develop this parcel into row houses consisting of about seven apartments with attached garages and a central laundry. Each apartment would have about 650 square feet and include one bedroom with a smaller den/ bedroom.
Davidson asked the council to forego the $30,000 special assessments against the property from a court ordered cleanup. They would not start construction for another year, when work was completed on a new apartment complex on South Street.
A council member asked if the row houses would be subsidized low income units. “No” Davidson replied in response to the question, but they will be geared to the low income, focusing on singles or senior citizens.
Harlan Beek, council member, said it doesn’t do the city any good to sit on the property. He felt the council should forgive the assessments to get something built on the property.
The concern about setting a precedent was voiced and Dennis Wilde, city administrator, said he didn’t see there was such a danger.
At a recent EDAP meeting, they had suggested keeping the assessments on the books until the project was completed.
Davidson informed the council all the materials and labor will be kept with local contractors and businessmen.
The council told Davidson to proceed with the project. A final agreement will be brought back before the council at their next meeting, May 13, at 6 p.m.
Street project
City engineer Pete Carlson was unable to attend the meeting, but conveyed the message that the 1998 street improvement project was going very well. “Everything is on schedule, the utility work is done on Main, and they will be working on the south block of Washburne over the next two weeks,” Wilde reported.