Victoria MN Newspaper

TOM GREGORY SPEAKS TO COUNCIL

ABOUT VICTORIA’S 13.5 ACRES

Resident Tom Gregory spoke at the August 11th city council meeting about the city-owned 13.5 acres located on the west edge of Victoria' central business district.

"As reported in the Gazette, Victoria did not formally acquire that property until 2008," he stated. "We then had three different developers in a matter of months. Then the economy came to a halt."

"Ever since we've had that land, I've thought that it would be a wonderful addition to the downtown," he continued. "Our existing downtown is crowding. The 13.5 acres should stay zoned Central Business District. Some day it'll be a wonderful addition to the downtown . . .

"I've read that you thought about selling it for $900,000. You've got $2.5 million invested in that property! I think you can find ten acres somewhere else for townhomes. Taxpayer dollars are too hard to come by. You can't ask taxpayers to take a $1.6 million hit on that property."

Said Councilmember Tom Strigel, "The general consensus of this council has not been to sell it just to get rid of it. We've thought that property would have higher density than townhomes. I think the sentiments you've expressed are in line with sentiments of the council."

Stated Councilmember Jim Crowley, "In addition to a willing seller, we need a willing buyer." He asked Mr. Gregory, "Do you own property around that acreage? You stand to gain or lose money based on the value of that land and its sale."

"Yes, I do," replied Mr. Gregory. "But I've been an advocate for a long time. I thought the new City Hall should have been built on the 13.5 acres. We are overcrowded downtown, ever since we put the Shared Parking Ordinance in place. That ordinance was a bad idea. If you have to walk three blocks to a coffee shop, it can get cold in the winter time."

Said Mayor Tom O'Connor, "This conversation points out that there are a variety of [potential] uses for that property. Whatever we build there will be there for a long, long time. We've got to do more work. But when somebody comes along with an offer, we have to take a look at it."

Councilmember Crowley spoke to the $2.5 million that the City of Victoria has into the 13.5 acres. "That is an unrealistic asking price to begin with," he said. "I don't believe the city should be in land speculation. We have an obligation to the taxpayers. It may be the case that we lose some money."

FOUR CANDIDATES FILE IN VICTORIA

FOR TWO CITY COUNCIL SEATS UP FOR ELECTION

Four Victoria residents stepped forward to run for two Victoria City Council positions up for election this fall, including the two who currently hold the four-year seats. Both Councilmember Tom Strigel and Councilmember Jim Crowley were new candidates in the fall of 2010, each of them running unopposed at that time. Vying for their positions in 2014 are Lawrence Gubbe, a resident on Bavaria Road, and Tom Gregory, a resident on Stieger Lake Lane.

Election Tuesday is November 4th. Victoria has three precincts and three polling places. More information will be forthcoming.

GOOD FEEDBACK ON TWO NEW PLATS

KREY NORTH AND HAWKES POINT IN VICTORIA

Council heard about plans for two new neighborhoods in Victoria. "Krey North" is a temporary descriptive name for 13 single family lots located southeast of Carl Krey Lake and north of Ambergate. Hawkes Pointe will be a neighborhood of 14 single family lots located north of Hwy 7 on Lake Minnetonka between Bayview and Thornberry.

Council gave good feedback to developers of both projects. Hartman Communities, Victoria, submitted the sketch plat for Krey North. Charles Cudd DeNovo, a Minneapolis homebuilder, presented the sketch plat for Hawkes Point.

Interim City Planner Ben Gozola reported that the Planning Commission reviewed both sketch plats. About Krey North he said, "The Planning Commission was in full support. They thought this was a good use of the land. They recommended cash in lieu of parkland. The plat includes two private drives."

About Hawkes Pointe he said, "It's a landlocked parcel. They need a long cul de sac. It's a long connection to city water; they're weighing the option of private wells. The creek along the west boundary line is the connection from Schutz Lake to Lake Minnetonka so it's protected." Protected means there is a large buffer zone on each side that developers should not touch.

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