Council rescinds April resolution on bus facility transfer at state request

The Hibbing City Council on July 16 approved a resolution rescinding an April resolution that transferred a bus facility to the Hibbing Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) and provided for an immediate repurchase.

Finance Director Mary Molnar told the council the April action had been taken to comply with state requirements tied to general obligation bond financing used in part for the facility's construction. The state later indicated the city should rescind the April resolution because the city's stated intent to buy the property back immediately created a procedural conflict with state direction, Molnar said. "They they didn't say that we couldn't buy it back," Molnar said, "...Now they're saying that since they knew the intention was to buy it back, they didn't like that and that we were following the rules. So now they want us to rescind this, and go a different path."

Molnar said staff will update the council on next steps after continued discussions with the state. The council approved the rescission by voice vote.

Ending: City staff will continue discussions with the state to determine the appropriate next steps for the property transaction and report back to the council.