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VICTORIA OKAYS BUILDING MORATORIUM
AS THE CITY SEEKS TO "REPEAT HISTORY"
The last time Victoria councilmem-bers imposed such a moratorium, it lasted two years (1997-1998) and resulted in plans and orderly development of the East Side. That East Side of Victoria is now home to dozens of single family homes (in Allegheny Grove and Savanna Valley, for example), a new 40-acre city park, Holy Family Catholic High School, a 500,000-gallon water tower, new municipal well, a site for a public elementary school, several new streets including Co. Rd. #18.
On March 22nd, Councilmember Jim Paulsen said, "When we've had the nerve to stand up and say, 'Let's think about it,' good things happened. I'd like to repeat history, the history of the East Side. I pro-pose a moratorium, like we had before, when the mayor could take the time to go out and talk to the landowners and build a consensus."
Mayor Mary Meuwissen pointed out that, indeed, there are ordinances that require the city to respond in 60 days to requests for development in the city. "You do not legally have the time to stall out," she said.
Gary Delaney, member of the Vic-toria Planning Commission, said the Planning Commissioners have had similar discussions. "We share the same con-cerns," he said. "We think it is important to have an updated view of what the city could look like."
Jim Paulsen made the motion that the City of Victoria declare a moratorium for the approval of new single family residen-tial development that have not come before the city at this time, that develop-ments already approved be allowed to continue, and that the Central Business District of Victoria be excluded from the moratorium. The motion passed unani-mously.
WILL THIRD TIME BE A CHARM?
This is the third sketch of a Victoria Ice Arena to grace these pages in recent times. The other two plans fell apart, for different reasons. The first plan involved the "donation" of a building that had been deconstructed and needed to be put back together. The second plan will end up as an arena on the campus of the Minnetonka School District. Is the third time a charm?
On Friday morning, March 30th, Vic-toria councilmembers met with three men that explained how Victoria could get a sheet of ice. Mike Ayres and Joe Ryan are with the Oppidan Investment Com-pany as well as the Minnetonka Youth Hockey Association (MYHA). Dick Miller is with the Wells Fargo bank.
Said Mr. Miller regarding the dollars and cents of the proposed new project for Victoria, "These numbers have been washed with Wells Fargo. It's a well thought out project. It is legal and proper for a public entity to be considering it." The facility could be city owned or bank owned.
Mike and Joe had previously worked with the City of Victoria on the second plan, also, and were appreciative of the support they received at that time from Victoria coucnilmembers and the commu-nity at large. As Oppidan Investment, they are, once again, waiving considerable development fees to help bring more ice to the growing area.
Said Mike, who referred to himself as Victoria's developer of record, "We want to capitalize on the very positive commu-nity support so we spent the last two months trying to figure out the best option for Victoria. We've got new designs for you, hot off the press. They are similar to what we were talking about last fall."
The 36,000 square foot arena, as sketched above, would be constructed in the new Victoria city park near the Catholic high school. "The site would take advantage of an 8 to 10-foot drop back to the wetlands and have respect for the neighbors' concerns," said Mike. "It is still a two-level facility. We moved things around a little to save money. It's a $3.5 million facility on a single sheet of ice." The rink would be standard size rather than Olympic size, saving $200,000
He said the building could also han-dle baseball, soccer, football, track, tennis, golf, and other events. Its bleachers would accommodate 600 spectators. A large "flexible" area could be available for community functions. "It's a six-month ice facility and six-month dry land facility," said Mike. "The 26-foot ceiling works out for all sports. We started out with a baseline and not a dream position."
He said there would be a "hard con-tractual commitment for seven years of ice time before we break ground." Ice time would cost $175/hour. "There's no hiccup on that rate."
He said there's a potential of 1,900 hours of prime time ice. "We'll have 1,850 hours sold before we break ground," he said.
The biggest share of ice time would be guaranteed by the Minnetonka Youth Hockey Association (700 hours/year). Other buyers would include Holy Family Catholic High School (400 hours) and the Chaska and Waconia Youth Hockey Associations (each 300 hours). Victoria ice time (150 hours) and dry time for soccer (250 hours), as well as income from concessions, open skate admission and advertising boards, bring the annual proposed income to $525,850.
With proposed annual expenditures for operating and debt service, there is, at this time, a projected shortfall of about $50,000/year. Said Mike, "One of our challenges is to knock that number down." Other income possibilities, he said, could be Mighty Ducks, fundraisers, and Eden Prairie Hockey.
He will continue to "work on this." Signs seems positive. Construction could begin this fall.
VICTORIA ENJOYING THE MINNETONKA RELATIONSHIP
On Friday morning, March 30th, Victoria councilmembers unanimously approved a resolution giving preliminary approval to the issuance, on behalf of the City of Minnetonka, of revenue bonds to finance a facility for the Minnetonka Youth Hockey Association (MYHA). This will not be a Victoria arena, but a Minnetonka arena in Minnetonka.
The $6 million facility, which includes an Olympic size sheet of ice as well as Community Center amenities, will be built on the campus of Minnetonka School District #276. Part of Victoria lies in that school district.
Council action on this resolution is similar to what Victoria has done in the past for the large HEI expansion, the Holy Family Catholic High School, and Mount Olivet Rolling Acres. It gives the MYHA access to money at a lower interest rate.
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