Anything less would be offensive to all reasonable sensibilities. It should be union labor, but the GOP's in the town saddle now, so we wait and see.
DETAIL: There are several images online within the planning review agenda, but no rendering, with this being a landscaping plan:
The image and other supplemental materials are linked from the city's planning agenda, here, stating:
In addition to the final design plans submitted by Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., the City's most current development plan for The COR, dated May 19, 2011, includes an additional platform to accommodate longer trains, a potential site for relocating the old town hall, and indicates future bike lockers and racks. As these options are identified within the current development plan for The COR. Should any or all of these potential additional amenities be implemented, they would not be subject to future site plan review.
Other agencies, such as the Metropolitan Council, MnDOT and BNSF have reviewed the preliminary design plans (90% design) and their comments have been incorporated into the final plans.
Funding Source:
As noted above, there are multiple partners providing funding for this project. The overall cost of the project is estimated to be $14,350,000. The following are the funding partners and their respective contributions:
State bonding: $4,000,000
Counties Transit Investment Board: $3,000,000
Metropolitan Council: $1,300,000
Anoka County Regional Rail Authority: $3,000,000
City of Ramsey: $3,050,000
Staff Recommendation:
Staff recommends forwarding the site plan to City Council for review and approval contingent upon compliance with the Staff Review Letter dated July 29, 2011.
ANALYSIS, OPINION AND CONJECTURE: So everybody eats a little but Uncle Sugar. With Tinklenberg out of the picture and his yoda Oberstar out of the picture, that taxpayer pocket cannot be picked for Ramsey's wants, vs. other true needs.
Ramsey ponying up cash for this is far less galling than the Flaherty-&-Collins thing, subsidizing local commuters being less distasteful than banking mega-nationwide landlords in thier meanderings hither and yon. Nationwide mega-landlords, simply put, can fend for themselves, and if from Indiana there is that pocket for them to reach into.
Also since the entire bad exercise was premised from the start on a Northstar stop, one held hostage for years, it seems the Met Council should pay for its wants, vs. true needs.
Others may see it differently.
Providing infrastructure, which is what this is, happens to be an honest long-standing government function.
Bankrolling high-roller landlords from out of town in playing profit-seeking landlord games while handing over a slew of free taxpayer-purchased parking slots as a premium better than giving green stamps, is, in comparison, somebody's nightmare bad dream of government run amok and dabbling into banking despite alleged "conservative" grounding of some rhetorical form; and such banking play has not been a local town government function, historically.
Giving money to landlords is what tenants have to do. Towns should avoid it.