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foot in order to cover the bonds that were sold for that area. <br />Nelson asked what the terms are for Block D. Black replied that it is a five-year option, on which they <br />will begin paying after three years, and the expansion building would be constructed of high-quality <br />materials. Kaufhold asked whether they would own or lease the building from Ryan. Black replied that <br />Transoma would be leasing the building from Ryan Companies. Kaufhold asked why the City could not <br />make Ryan pay for the option even if Transoma decided not to expand. Fernelius replied Ryan would be <br />paying on the option in the fourth year to cover the loss of tax increment during that time. Kaufhold <br />asked if there is an exclusive agreement with Transoma to develop the option, or if the expansion does not <br />go through it could be developed for another tenant. Fernelius replied that the property is being held <br />exclusively for Transoma. <br />Lesher asked if Transoma has employees are from the area and if the jobs are well paying. Fernelius <br />replied that their employees are mostly local, which was part of the reason for them to select this site. <br />Black added that the average salary is approximately $75,000, excluding officers. <br />Stang asked whether staff is comfortable with the option agreement. Fernelius replied that they are. <br />Benke added that if the parcel was not under the option, it could take that long for it to be developed. <br />Kaufhold expressed frustration that at the end of three years Transoma could walk away from the option <br />and not pay any increment on the land. Fernelius stated if the company does walk away from the option, <br />the City would be able to market the site. He added that if they decided after the third year not to expand, <br />the City would be able to keep any money that was paid for the option and then market the site. Stang <br />• suggested that there is a lot of land to develop and having this one parcel tied up will not be a loss to the <br />development as a whole, Fernelius noted that Ryan had used that argument as a rationale to not pay <br />anything for the option. <br />Black reported that TOLD recently appeared at a Council work session to discuss their ideas for Blocks A <br />and F, Sculthorp inquired why they have not included Block E. Black replied that Block E is not suitable <br />for residential because of the dump material that on the site. He added that the City has been approached <br />by a hotel company for Block A, and they are also interested in Block B. However, those discussions are <br />very preliminary. Stang asked why they would be interested in the site, since it is difficult to access. <br />Benke suggested that there are three different interchanges that feed to the site, which would be attractive <br />to them. Stang stated he is concerned that a six-to-seven-story building on the corner would not be <br />attractive in a residential area. Black replied that staff doesn't view height as an issue since the site was <br />originally planned for a five-to-six-story building. <br />Stang stated that he does not recall hearing of rental units on the east side before, and asked if this was <br />new. Black replied that there had been discussions about rental units on the east side of the development. <br />Flahave asked if there would be retail on the first floor. Black replied that there would be retail on the <br />ground floor with higher-end rental units above it. Ile added that the units would be bigger than those at <br />Main Street Village; renters would pay roughly $1.00 per square foot or $1200 per month for a 1200- <br />square-foot apartment. Nelson inquired how Council reacted to the plan. Fernelius replied that Council is <br />not excited about the TOLD plan. Stang added his conversations with other residents has indicated that <br />no one would be happy with additional rental units, a number of people believe there are too many in the <br />a City already. Fernelius stated that staff asked for direction from the Council, and they directed staff to <br />pursue the hotel. Benke replied that an argument could be made that there is a need for higher-end rentals <br />for seniors. <br />Page 2 of 4