HomeMy WebLinkAbout4.c. Presentation by White Funeral Home (Gary Verkinnes - Miller Construction) CITY OF ROSEMOUNT
EXECUTIVE SUI�iARY FOR ACTION
PORT AUTHORITY MEETING DATE: APRIL 19, 1994
AGENDA ITEM: PRESENTATION BY WHITE FUNERAL AGENDA SECTION:
HOME OLD BUSINESS
PREPARED BY: JOHN MILLER, AGENDA NO.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR 4 . C.
ATTACHMENTS: NONE APPROVED BY:
Gary Verkinnes, an architect working for Miller Construction, was
originally scheduled to visit with the Rosemount Port Authority on April 5
regarding the proposal from White Funeral Home to redevelop the Repairs,
Inc. site. Unfortunately, Mr. Verkinnes spent the afternoon and evening of
April 5 in the emergency room of the St. Cloud Hospital, a family member
had become seriously ill .
Mr. Verkinnes called me on April 6 and asked if he could present the White
Funeral Home proposal to the board on April 19 . I believe Mr. Verkinnes
will review the material found in your April 5 agenda packet and then
answer questions about the project.
RECONIlKENDED ACTION: None. Discussion item.
PORT AUTHORITY ACTION:
April 19, 1994
Members of the Rosemount
City Council&Port Authority
Re: Conflict of Interest Concerns
Dear Dennis Wipperman:
At the Rosemount Port Authority meeting on Tuesday,Apri15, 1994,you raised concerns regarding a
possible conflict of interest if I participated in Port Authority discussions about White Funeral Home
developing the Repairs,Inc. site.your concerns arose after reading a memo you requested from John
Miller,Economic Development Coordinator,in regards to wanting to know the nature of all contacts the
City has had with respect to White locating in Rosemount.As I said when these concerns were raised,I
am aware of no potential conflict of interest by me or a financial interest by any member of my family
which would necessitate my abstention from discussing and voting on the Repairs,Inc. site.
Nevertheless,I take issues reladng to potendal conflicts of interest very seriously,and have great respect
for the public entities in Rosemount on which I serve as Mayor of the City. Consequently, in this letter, I
want to fully address potential concerns and advise you of the courses of action I plan to take. In doing so,
I will discuss three distinct subjects:
1. The specifics on why I do not have any conflict of interest on the Repairs,Inc. site;
2. My recommendations for how I and other City officials can work with you,Rosemount
ciry staff and the cidzens of Rosemount on future conflict of interest concerns;and
3. My firm intentions to continue to steadfasdy fiilfill my responsibilities as Mayor.
THE REASON THAT NO CONFLICT EXISTS ON THE REPAIltS,ING/WHITE FUNERAL
HOME MATTER
My entire involvement with the Repairs,Inc. site regarding any conceivable conflict of interest
issues has been limited to:(1)the fact that Daicota Central Offices,a company in which I have a financial
interest,submitted a proposal to the Rosemount Port Authority when solicited to do so in 1992,for
possible expansion onto the Repairs,Inc. site;(2)participating approximately one year later in discussions
and decision making regarding the request of Kerry and Ron Johnson to materially alter the proposal they
had originally submitted to the Port Authority in January of 1993 and, (3)wishing to discuss the further
development of a Repairs,Inc. site now that it is"on the market"again.
With respect to Dakota Central Office's submission of a proposal to the Port Authority in 1992, I
immediately recognized that I could neither participate in the discussions,nor vote on the issue of
proposal selection. Consequendy,I advised the Port Authority I would not be so participating and, in fact,
even left the City Council chambers when deliberations on the Dakota Central and Johnson proposals
Rosemount City Council&
Port Authority
Page 2
were taking place.Thus,I recognized and eliminated the possibility of a conflict of interest by choosing
not to participate in any way.
Many months after the Johnson proposal was acc:epted by the Port Authority,I became concerned
that their project was making no headway and that it would not come to pass. Accordingly,I suggested
that Port Authority staff start thinking about other possible uses of this property. As Mayor,I was
particularly worried about the likelihood of this project's completioq since the City had already invested
significant funds in clearing the site. As I feared,and notwithstanding Kerry Johnson's repeated assertions
that his project was procceding well,in early January of 1994,Mr.Ron Johnson appeared before the
Rosemount Port Authority with the request to significandy change the original Johnson project to place
much more risk on the City's shoulders. Specifically,Mr.Johnson was seeking all of the tax increment
financing benefits up front,thereby increasing the City's risk by approximately$140,000 beyond that
contained in the Johnson proposal accepted by the Port Authority in January Of 1993.
Since Dakota Central Offices,had absolutelv no intentions of seeking the Repairs,Inc. site for
any purpose,and no member of my family had any financial interest in any other potential proposal,there
was no basis for me not to participate in this important discussion.Further,as Rosemount's Mayor,I have
a dury to the citizens to state my views. When someone who has submitted a proposal to the Port
Authoriry now comes back one year later and wishes to greafly alter that proposal and thereby potentially
cost the City$140,000,to do otherwise,would be to abdicate my responsibility to our citizens.
Finally,with respect to the consideradon of White Funeral Home as a prospective purchaser of
the Repairs,Inc. site,neither any member of my family nor me,has any financial interest in the White
Funeral Home.
ADMINISTERING FUTURE CONFLICT OF INTEREST CONCERNS.
We should administer the Code of Ethics in such a way that possible conflicts of interest are
swiftly identified and communicated to the person who may have a conflict,so that such person is able to
properly respond to the concern and make the right judgment as to what to do. Therefore,as of the date of
this letter,I am adopting a policy for the Mayor's Office to deal with the important subject of conflict as
follows:
1. When any person,whether it be one of my colleagues serving on the various governing
and advisory boazds of the City's,a Rosemount city staff member or consultant or any resident of
Rosemount is concerned that I may have potential conflict of interest on a City matter, I want and
strongly encourage such person to come to me directly and share that concern.
2. Immediately upon learning of such a concern,I will take whatever action is necessary,
including the seeking of professional advice,to make a detemunation as to whether my
participation in a City decision constitutes a violadon of our Code of Ethics.
3. If it is deternuned that my participation,as Mayor,in such a decision,constitutes a
conflict of interest,I,of course,will not participate either in the discussion or any votes on that
decision.
y
Rosemount City Council
&Port Authority
Page 3
4. Even if it is decided that my participation in a public decision is not any form of conflict
of interest,I will report the concern that has been raised to the appropriate City body(i.e., City
Council,Port Authority,etc.),along with the reasons that no conflict exists.
I strongly believe that this approach will provide a swift and effective way to deal with conflict
issues. I would urge all other members of Rosemount's public bodies to consider resolving conflict of
interest concerns in a similar manner.
FULFILLING THE MAYOR'S RESPONSIBILII'IES '
As I have pledged in this letter,I will continue to be sensitive to potential conflicts of interest and
to follow the procedures that I have outlined above in the most thorough fashion.However, I will not take
the easy path of not participating in tough public decisions,simply because someone is alleging a conflict
of interest which clearly does not exist.
I do not believe the people of Rosemount have elected me Mayor on two occasions in order for
me to duck many of the challenging decisions the City of Rosemount will be facing. I have always tried to
be particulazly mindful of the need to speak out strongly in favor of protecdng the City's financial
resources and to promote the development of Rosemount. I shall continue to discharge my duties as Mayor
to the best of my ability.
Thank you for taking the time to read this letter and I would welcome your comments.
Sincerely,
�- �, �i/L�. ,�/1.���.,.
E.B. McMenomy,Jr.
Mayor,City of Rosemount
EBM:rd