The Brainerd City Council Monday night decided to offer a parcel in the Brainerd Industrial Park for sale via public auction.
The Brainerd Snodeos, a local snowmobile club, currently owns property at 1002 Madison St. in the Brainerd Industrial Park, which serves as the club's headquarters. The group is requesting the city sell them the adjacent vacant lot on Lot 1, Block 1 of the industrial park, most of which is in a wetlands area. They have offered to pay $6,800 for the parcel.
Instead of selling the property directly to the club, the council adopted a resolution to sell the parcel via public bids, with sealed bids due by April 22. The minimum bid is $6,800, based on the offer made by the Brainerd Snodeos. With bids being opened April 22, action on the sale would most likely be taken by the council at the May 2 meeting.
"We want to be certain that we are fair and impartial," council member Mary Koep said. "And everyone who would be interested would have an opportunity to come in and bid on this."
The current assessed estimated land value for the parcel is $36,700, according to Crow Wing County's parcel information. In information provided to the council, City Administrator Jim Thoreen had reported Crow Wing County's current assessed value on the property is $12,200. The council instructed Thoreen and Finance Director Connie Hillman to determine the correct figure.
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Council President Gary Scheeler said he spoke with the neighboring property owner, Range Inc. The company indicated it would be interested in the property if its operation were to expand, he said.
"Range was giving me indications the reason they didn't purchase it is they were talking more of the $36,000 range," Scheeler said. "Now it's down to ($6,800)."
A letter from the Snodeos indicates they would use the purchased land for snowmobile safety training for youths and young adults. The club puts on two classes per year in the winter.
Information provided by Thoreen noted the property has little development value due to the amount of wetlands, and the city has no practical use for it and there's little chance the buildable portion could attract buyers.
In other business, the council:
Approved a contractor's license for D.S. Trudeau Construction Inc., St. Paul.
Approved a secondhand goods license for Golden Eagle Rare Coins and Collectibles, LLC, 415 East Washington St. This license is contingent upon successful completion of a background check and fire inspection.
Received a written report from Fire Chief Tim Holmes on the department's activity for the month of March. The department responded to 24 calls for service during the month, with two of those calls canceled enroute. Of those 24 calls, 17 were within the city of Brainerd.
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Approved a lawful gambling application for exempt permit submitted by the Brainerd Jaycees for an Aug. 6 raffle at Kiwanis Park.
Approved a lawful gambling application to conduct off-site gambling submitted by Brainerd Elks Lodge 615 to conduct raffle and pull-tab activity at the Brainerd National Guard Armory.
Approved a lawful gambling application to conduct off-site gambling submitted by Brainerd Eagles Club for off-site gambling April 23 at Memorial Park.
Approved a temporary 3.2 percent malt beverage on-sale license application submitted by Brainerd Eagles Club for an April 23 event at Memorial Park. This license is contingent upon successful completion of a background check and fire inspection.
Approved contracting with Braun Intertec for testing services for the Southeast 13th Street and 2016 chip-sealing projects, in the amounts of $8,354 and $1,155, respectively.
Approved contracting with Braun Intertec for testing services for the Brainerd Lakes Regional Airport Utility Extension project in the amount of $29,940. The majority of the testing will consist of density testing on backfill, but will also include concrete sampling and testing on the water booster station and sampling and testing of base and pavement materials.
Approved seeking quotes for crack sealing about 41,000 feet of cracks and to order 11,250 pounds of crack-sealing material at a cost of 61.3 cents per pound from the state of Minnesota. Total contract cost should be around $25,000, with cracks being sealed near Buffalo Hills Lane, South Seventh, Willow and Front streets.
Accepted with regret the resignation of Jeff Czeczok from the city's Walkable Bikeable Committee.
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Called for citizen applicants to the Cable TV Advisory Committee, Library Board, Rental Dwelling Board of Appeals and Walkable Bikeable Committee.
Extended the contract agreement with City Prosecutor Matt Mallie of Mallie Law Office P.A. to Dec. 31, 2019. This follows the past practice of renewing the contract with Mallie at its midpoint. Mallie told the council Monday night he has been the city's prosecutor for about 15 years.
Approved a request from Holmes to establish a paid on-call firefighter hiring list and hire three paid on-call firefighters. Holmes said the council authorized hiring seven paid on-call firefighters in 2015 and the department was only able to hire one. The department will advertise for the position and conduct pre-employment testing, with a hiring list presented to the council on June 6.
Approved a resolution to apply for a credit enhancement for the bonds the city will issue for the airport utility project. The program, through the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, would increase the city's credit rating on the bonds from AA- to AA+. The estimated interest savings due to the rating enhancement would be $88,000 over the life of the bond. The application fee is $500.
SPENSER BICKETT may be reached at 218-855-5859 or spenser.bickett@brainerddispatch.com . Follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/spenserbickett .
