Second developer steps in the picture for Lakeview Renaissance residential zone

Another local group is interested in developing the Lakeview Renaissance Zone. Chairman of the Community Development Authority Richard Long called a special meeting of the CDA. Friday to make some decisions on that offer, plus another, from local potential developers. The first item on the agenda was a letter of understanding submitted by the Lakeview Builders, a corporation formed by James Fleis and Dan Gabara. The letter had been dealt with in a closed subcommittee meeting last Wednesday.

It was noted that Gabara and Fleis were not present, but it was not apparent whether they had been personally notified of the meeting. It had been posted legally and was mentioned in a newspaper article. Long told CDA members that the recommendation from staff was that the CDA not accept any proposal or offer to purchase the Lakeview property prior to February 3, 2003.

City Attorney Mike Vogler was present to give his opinion on the letter of understanding, saying the first part of the letter was not a legally binding agreement, but the portion that dealt with prompt action by the city is legally binding.

?IT CAN be boiled down to one simple agreement,? Vogler said. ?Do you want to take the property off the market until February 3 or not?? City Manager Rob Fairbanks told the CDA the recommendation is as written. ?We could set a deadline for proposals,? Fairbanks said, ?now I think we are getting close to accepting offers.?

A motion to table the letter of understanding from Lakeview Builders to be dealt with at a later date, was passed unanimously. The second item on the agenda was a presentation of a letter of intent from Rogers City Group, Inc., being represented by Bob Parsons. According to Parsons, the Rogers City Group, Inc. has been working on a proposal for the Lakeview development since last August. It is a corporation which can accept up to 35 investors.

?We have four people incorporated right now, who are working to get the ideas together,? Parsons said. ?We intend, over the next 60 days, to pick up anywhere from $500,000 to $700,000 to invest,? he said in a post-meeting interview. At the meeting, Parsons said it is the intention of his group to get in an offer by December 30. ?I SAW the newspaper and the other letter of understanding,? Parsons said. ?I think the concepts are good as Beckett & Raeder laid them out. To move garages out front would clutter the area. ?With garages out front it would have a ?chicken coop? effect and would ruin the looks and aesthetics of the area. ?As far as moving the trail, we think it?s better where it is. We plan to make an offer to the city according to the city?s original plans by December 30.

?We would greatly appreciate your entertaining that offer and if you want to hold off on making a decision until after the February 3 deadline, we would understand that,? Parsons added. Chairman Long wanted to know if the letter of understanding from Lakeview Builders should be signed or not. ?They offered $2,000 to be put in a refundable escrow account, but it seemed to be all in their favor and we didn?t have any latitude,? Long told the board members. Fairbanks spoke up, saying, ?We led them (Lakeview Builders) to believe this February 3 date was OK.?

BUT LONG came back and said he had mentioned three times during the closed meeting to deal with the cost and the topic was ignored. The decision was made to entertain all offers but the property would remain off the market until the February 3 date as promised. CDA member Karl Heidemann said he had a problem with the term ?taking it off the market,? as the CDA was only allowing a period of time to explore and come up with offers. ?We need to be able to ask questions like ?are you financially able to handle a project like this?? ? Heidemann said. Erik Nadolsky, another CDA member, added that nobody thus far had put in any dollar amounts. Fairbanks then said that the February 3 date would work out because all the DEQ authorizations would not be back until late in January, and he was comfortable with the February 3 date.

?I?m going to start working on what our requirements are going to be for the first meeting in January,? Fairbanks said. ?We will accept all proposals but will not act upon them (until after the February 3 date). THE LAKEVIEW Builders? letter of understanding was not signed, but the February 3 date was honored, and all proposals will still be accepted. In a post-meeting interview, Parsons said, his group?s plan was to put forth a proposal and make an offer by December 30. ?We will use this time to draft our plan and take it to our attorney to have it checked over,? Parsons said.

?Some of the changes from the Bec

kett & Raeder concept would be the floorplans for the houses,? he said, ?and the arrangement of the house and garage.? As far as the general concept, the Rogers City Group would keep the original layout design as proposed by Beckett & Raeder. ?Beckett & Raeder took some time and thought to lay that out, so the money was well spent and the cost of what we offer to the city will include the cost of that study,? Parson said. According to Parsons, the size of the houses would range from 1,100 to 1,900 square feet and there would be ranch, Cape Cod and two-story homes available. Some would have basements.

The price range would vary, depending on size and individual options, from $150,000 to $175,000. ?We?ll submit our offer and wait until the February 3 waiting date,? Parsons said. ?We?ll see how it all works out.?