Hospital will pay for infrastructure needed for addition

Hudson Hospital & Clinics would pay for the infrastructure needed for its medical office addition under the terms of a proposed annexation and development agreement between the hospital and the city of Hudson.

While the total amount the hospital will pay hasn’t been agreed upon, a draft of the development agreement presented to City Council members on July 9 indicate that it could be somewhere in the neighborhood of $440,000.

The city has asked the hospital and its parent organization, HealthPartners, to provide a $260,000 letter of credit for the estimated costs of adding traffic lanes and storm sewer to Stageline Road.

The hospital is planning to move the driveway entrance to the health campus 450 feet to the east on Stageline Road. City officials say that will require extending the four-lane section of the road east to the new entrance, plus filling in the ditch and replacing it with a storm-water main.

Other potential costs for the hospital include:

--A deferred assessment of $8,763, plus interest, for the Carmichael Road/I-94 interchange;

--A deferred assessment of $52,626 for previous Stageline Road improvements;

--Water utility impacts fees of $112,303;

--A sewer connection fee of $1,450 per residential equivalent unit (the agreement doesn’t state the number of REUs the hospital addition will have);

--Reimbursement of lost property taxes to the town of Hudson for five years, a total of $1,740.

When the Carmichael Road interchange was built in 1991, it was decided that properties that would benefit from it in the future would pay a portion of the cost when they were developed.

The proposed development agreement also requires the hospital to pay all the city costs and professional fees involved in reviewing the hospital’s petition to annex 20 acres into the city.

The property includes 2.5 acres where 2.5 acres where George and Mary Hoel had their home, plus the former 17.5-acre homestead of Einar and Rita Horne.

For the project to move forward, the City Council most agree to annex the property and change its zoning classification.

A vote on the annexation agreement is expected at the council’s July 23 meeting.

A public hearing on the hospital’s request to rezone the property from one-family residential use (R-1) to general business district (B-2) is set for 6:55 p.m. Monday, Aug. 6. The City Council is expected to act on the request in its meeting that will follow the public hearing.

At the July 9 meeting, Community Development Director Dennis Darnold encouraged council members to approve final development plans for the medical office addition contingent upon the site being annexed and rezoned.

The approval was needed to keep the project moving forward as quickly as possible, Darnold said. The council complied with the request on a 5-0 vote. Alderperson John Hoggatt was absent.

Also, hospital officials had not yet signed the development agreement proposed by the city, Darnold said. He said discussions were under way with hospital officials about the needed infrastructure improvements and the fees the hospital will pay.

Other action

In other business, the council:

--Approved final development plans for a 6,344-square-foot office building in St. Croix Business Park East that will be the future home of Procentive, a web-based software development company that serves mental and behavioral health organizations. The company is currently located in leased space on O’Neil Road in St. Croix Business Park.

--Approved spending $18,717 on rebuilding guardrails at Sixth and Walnut streets, the East City Garage, North Street, Proehl’s Trail, and Oak and 12th streets. New guardrail for Bridge and Second streets was removed from the project list. Mattison Contractors submitted the lowest of two bids and was awarded the project.

--Designated four additional spaces in the parking lot behind the Public Safety Building for vehicles of emergency responders only. Fire Chief Jim Frye and St. Croix EMS Interim Chief Kim Eby said firefighters and ambulance workers sometimes can’t find a spot to park next to the Public Safety Building when responding to emergencies.

--Went into closed session to discuss Police Lt. Eric Atkinson’s salary and benefits. No action was taken when the council returned to open session.

--Approved a temporary license for The Phipps Center for the Arts to sell wine at the Seriously Fun Art Auction Gala on Aug. 16.

--Heard a request from Marlys Anderson, 901 Dominion Drive, for the city to correct what she said is a safety issue on Second Street sidewalks. Anderson said she was badly injured when she tripped over the opening for a tree planted in the sidewalk.

Tags: business, health, hudson