COKATO, MN - Two land offers were on the table for the proposed public safety building – east 7th Street for $247,500 for 82,000 square feet and the corner of west 1st Street and Century Avenue for $192,500 for 50,000 square feet. The council voted for the latter with Council Member Wayne Murphy against it.
With a July 10 deadline for the project to be considered for the FEMA grant, the council decided there wasn’t much time to check out any other properties that Murphy had brought forth at the meeting.
Fire Chief Mike Holmquist told the council that the department recommended the Keskey property located just south of Highway 12 near the new water tower (1st and Century).
The council also voted that it would contribute 25 percent of the expected $1.8 million project because it enhances the grant request if there is some community participation as noted by Dean Perry, Cokato EDA. Murphy abstained from the vote.
It was noted that the purchase agreement for the land would be contingent on receiving the grant money so the city wouldn’t be stuck with undeveloped land if the grant money was not received. Notification of the grant could be as early as September 2009 or as late as September 2010, according to Perry.
It was also voted that RJ Marco would be the design and construction management firm in a future public safety project.
The staff was also directed to contact the city attorney Kennedy and Graven for the drafting of the land purchase agreement. In the meantime, JoAnn Faust will begin writing the grant application with the help of city employees.
0 Responses to “Cokato City Council chooses land for public safety building”
Leave a Reply