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RTC deal gets 30-day extension
Published 06:54 p.m., June 29, 2009
The Fergus Falls City Council has postponed a vote that would have revised the timeline for the purchase of Regional Treatment Center properties.
Council members were scheduled to vote Monday on several amendments to real estate agreements between the city and Campus Development Group (CDG). Those amendments would give CDG until July 1, 2010, to complete the purchase of three major RTC properties. One provision assured the city financial assistance from CDG in the case developers needed until Jan. 1, 2011, to complete the transaction.
That vote did not happen Monday due to ongoing discussions with the state’s Department of Human Services, which is providing $7.2 million in grant funds for abatement, demolition and infrastructure work at the campus.
On the recommendation of Kent Mattson, the city’s attorney for RTC redevelopment, the city council voted to extend purchase agreements with CDG for 30 days. Prior to Monday’s meeting, the agreements had stipulated CDG close on the real estate transaction by Tuesday.
The 30-day extension, Mattson said, will give city officials time to complete communication with state contacts, some of whom have been unavailable since the council met with developers June 15.
The issue: how much money will be available for infrastructure improvements at the campus if any of the seven Kirkbride wings need to be demolished. As an incentive to preserve the Kirkbride buildings, the state currently dictates that any money spent on Kirkbride demolition gets deducted from the amount available for infrastructure improvements.
Developers currently anticipate using the main Kirkbride building and a wing on either side, said City Administrator Mark Sievert. The city would like to amend the agreement with the state so that non-use of the four remaining wings would not decrease the availability of infrastructure funds.
It is that continuing discussion with the state that postponed the vote on the larger CDG timeline, Sievert said, not delays on the part of developers.
The council is expected to revisit CDG’s extension proposal in mid-July.
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