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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01.06.2003• • COUNCIL WORK SESSION January 6, 2003 3:30 p.m. Council Chambers Members present: Welper, Greenwood, Clark, Jordan, Getty, Hurley. Moved by Jordan, seconded by Welper that the Agenda, as proposed, be approved. Ayes: Five. Absent: Hurley. Motion carried. Don Temeyer, City Planner, and Noel Anderson, Assistant City Planner, reviewed city -owned properties for potential sale. The following property was acquired with the idea of being sold in the future. Pleasant Valley Drive properties are in the process of being sold. The land near the Powers Manufacturing site on Sycamore was purchased and agreed to sell to Powers for expansion purposes. The property located at 11th Street and 218 is in the process of being sold. Hurley now present at 3:37 p.m. The following property was acquired for road purposes and is available for sale. Shaulis Road parcels 1 through 4 were recently sold. The parcel along west 6th Street near Habitat. The properties along Dundee Avenue were recently appraised for disposal. The properties along Greenhill Road has one parcel under Development Proposal and potential others along the corridor. Other possible property sales include Van Eaton School, which may need to be demolished to gain a positive value and encourage development. The vacated right-of-way portions include many portions not very valuable except to abutting property owners, but some could make vacant or redevelopment sites much more attractive. For many areas with alleys, etc. that have not been developed or may never be developed, it may be beneficial to pursue some for vacation, sale, etc. to get them on tax rolls, even if selling price is low. Miscellaneous parcels of land. Staff will need to break city into sectors to research where and why parcels were acquired to see about possibility of sales. There are many throughout the city near drainage areas, etc. which may warrant trimming in the future. These parcels have little value. The following properties are potential development sites. The former Weisman site on University/63 and the property just to the west. However, there are some floodplain and environmental notes there. Also, industrial property is not really marketable with free land available in the public industrial parks. There are some properties along West 3rd Street near 63, but they need to be weighed with the need to access the levee and area reserved for drainage purposes. The following parcels are located near parks. The property along the southeastern portion of the cul de sac of Four Seasons Drive. Need to closer evaluate buildable status due to slopping, etc. Areas near Triangle Park have row of homes with some anomalies that look like lots in terms of rest of park. The Planning staff feels that at some point the Council, Water Works and Schools should discuss and evaluate areas where we have parks next to schools, etc., to determine the amount of open space appropriate for the area. Many of the city's negative valued or difficult to build upon properties are also donated to various organizations, such as Operation Threshold, when applicable to allow for housing, etc. for the betterment of the City. These are all parcels which have been inquired into by residents in the past, large tracts of land or parcels which were previously determined for sale. The city has approximately 1,200 parcels per the Black Hawk County Assessor's office report previously done for the city in 1998. Council Work Session January 6, 2003 Page 2 Mr. Anderson reviewed the Sale of Property Policy Statement for buildable and unbuildable parcels of land. Councilperson Getty stated that it was suggested that the city look at its property ward by ward and asked if the property were reviewed ward by ward would the city have a chance of breaking even. Mr. Anderson responded that would be hard to answer without knowing exactly what is out there, there could be an alley or right-of-way next to a residential owner. Mr. Temeyer reported that staff has a good handle on the city's property, we know it is valuable and will sell. Mr. Temeyer stated a better use of time would be to contact businesses to see how the city could acquire property close to them so they don't have to move to the edge of town. Mr. Temeyer stated it would be better to work with existing businesses, especially in the Brownfield area. Councilperson Welper reported that when the city sells property for an amount that becomes the assessed value of the property for tax purposes. For instances when the city recently sold property for $500.00 when it had an assessed value of $1,300.00, the property will be taxed on the $500.00 sale price. Mr. Temeyer responded there is a relationship on sale of property but probably not dollar for dollar. Mr. Temeyer stated the city should not sell property on speculation or discount unless the buyer is planning on building on the property. Mr. Temeyer stated he feels the city has less than 1,200 parcels of property, it is more like dozens of parcels. Councilperson Hurley stated that he would be willing to adopt the policy if we would include in the policy that an offer that is 90 percent of the assessed value, the council would look at that offer. Councilperson Jordan stated he feels the city is nickel and diming every offer when other cities around us give property away. Councilperson Getty agreed with Councilperson Jordan and would like to get these properties on the tax roll. Councilperson Clark agreed with Councilpersons Jordan and Getty. It was the consensus of the council that the city would look differently at unbuildable property. Councilperson Greenwood stated that property gets reassessed every couple of years, and when it is reassessed the value would go back up. Councilperson Greenwood suggested that Vicki Atkins be at the next meeting when we discuss this policy. With no further business before the committee, it was moved by Welper, seconded by Clark that the meeting be adjourned at 4:03 p.m. Ayes: Six. Motion carried. Nancy Eckert City Clerk