Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council urges caution on Diamond property; manager seeks legal sign-off before marketing
Summary
Councilors and the city manager debated how to proceed with the long-stalled Diamond property: the manager said staff is pursuing outside legal opinions and updating an RFP before marketing; councilors urged transparency and quicker movement but agreed the manager should be the point of contact.
Councilors and city staff discussed a long-running effort to redevelop the city's Diamond property. Several council members urged faster action and insisted the city should consider serious outside proposals; the city manager said legal and infrastructure issues require careful handling before marketing the site.
The city manager told the council the administration is pursuing a dual track: obtaining additional legal opinions about the property's legal constraints and updating the 2021 request-for-proposals (RFP) so the city can move quickly if legal obstacles are cleared. "We're seeking that legal opinion, but at the same time, we're going to take the current RFP from 2021 and get that updated so that that's ready to go," he said. He added that the city attorney had provided a preliminary opinion indicating the city "probably can't do this" without further review.
Councilors expressed frustration with past delays, noted the city's reputation with developers and asked for regular updates on developer inquiries. Several council members said they want the manager to be the central point of contact for developers but requested periodic heads-up when meaningful proposals arrive. One councilor urged the manager to press outside counsel for a "ballpark" legal opinion so the city can determine whether to proceed with an RFQ or RFP.
Discussion versus action: the council did not adopt new policy at the meeting; the manager asked for time to secure opinions and finalize procurement documents. Councilors reiterated the preference for an RFP/RFQ process rather than piecemeal negotiations and emphasized weighing infrastructure constraints and long-term fiscal impacts before any sale or lease.
