The De La Salle deal has many unanswered questions. Including:
1) At the last Board meeting, one of the speakers said that De La Salle is offering the general public use of the facility for 500 hours per year: 350 hours for soccer and 150 for gym time. Is this true? And when, in the year, would those public hours be available?
2) How will the public access this facility? Will it be a satellite park to Logan (as Beltrami is a satellite to Northeast)? Who will we call to reserve the De La Salle facilities?
3) How will MPRB existing programs include the "new" De La Salle facility? How will children, especially in Northeast and Southeast, be transported to the De La Salle site? Are they supposed to walk or bike to the facility? How will they be supervised so they won't be near the freight trains or down near the river's edge? What are plans for MPRB staffing?
4) Will there be fees for using the De La Salle facility? If so, who collects the fees?
5) Will De La Salle be allowed to rent out the new soccer and football fields and keep the revenues? Or will the MPRB prohibit this? Will the De La Salle fields compete with MPRB rentals - especially at the new soccer fields planned for Parade and the Neiman Center?
6) De La Salle is an MPRB customer renting fields designated as Enterprise operations. For example, some De La Salle soccer teams use the newly-built $14 million Neiman Athletic Complex as their home field for home games. Is it ethical for the MPRB to take an action that will cost the MPRB the fees De La Salle currently pays?
7) In order for the MPRB to give the land to De for 75 years, it needs a waiver from the Met Council. To get the waiver, the MPRB (not De La Salle) must provide the Met Council Open Space program with parkland that provides a similar experience and is similar in value. So, what land will the MPRB be trading for the De La Salle deal? And what will 'metro open space' designation mean for that space?
8) De La Salle promises to relocate the three tennis courts that were built at De's request. Where will these go?
9) Will De La Salle be required to post performance and payment bonds - not only for the construction period but guaranteeing it's performance for the 75 years of the proposed agreement? De La Salle has agreed to pay insurance on MPRB parkland - how will this be structured and will performance be bonded? 10) What about unforeseen bills? Ten years ago, a development contract would not have included who would pay storm water runoff fees because such fees did not exist then. But they do today. The De La Salle deal is for 75 years - we can only imagine what future governments may charge in fees and taxes. Is De La Salle willing to pick up all future unforeseen costs that may arise for the MPRB portion of the property? If not, will the deal be automatically terminated?
11) Lobbying costs. De La Salle has pledged to lobby all other government entities at no cost to the MPRB in order to make this deal happen. This includes the City Planning Commission, the City Heritage Commission, the City Council, the Metropolitan Council and others. At some point, in making these deals, the interests of the MPRB and De La Salle may diverge - the two interests may no longer be in agreement. Shouldn't the MPRB have it's own lobbyist representing the MPRB during these processes? If the deal really is in the best interests of the public, shouldn't the MPRB be willing to get the other necessary approvals?
Shawne FitzGerald Powderhorn Sean Ryan wrote:
Where exactly would a field on Boom Island go? Aren't they planting a huge demonstration garden and moving the Pioneer statue over there? Just asking.
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