Township holds hearing on financial agreement for Water Gremlin

White Bear Press

WHITE BEAR TOWNSHIP — The White Bear Town Board is considering adopting an amendment to a tax increment financing (TIF) agreement with the Water Gremlin Company.

The board currently has a TIF agreement in effect with the company, which was used to offset the costs of the original 72,000-square-foot facility. The company plans to expand to double the building size with another 72,000-square-foot structure that was already approved by the board.

For the new building to qualify for TIF, it was necessary to make an amendment to the original agreement. The board opened the public hearing during its regular meeting on Aug. 28.

However, at the time, the Water Gremlin representatives had not had enough time to look over the proposed amendment: the public hearing was continued to Sept. 18, when action on the TIF amendment will likely take place.

In other action at the Aug. 28 meeting, the board: 

• Authorized the installment of no parking signs on Forest Court. Residents wrote in and requested a 225-foot-long zone marked for no parking.

• Approved a contract with Simple Recycling for pickup service of soft recyclables. The five-year contract is in conjunction with current pickup service from Republic Services. Simple Recycling will use orange bags provided to residents on request. Soft recyclables include clothing, jewelry, shoes, purses, toys, mirrors, blankets, microwaves, coffee makers and more.

• Approved a three-dog license for a probationary period of six months while the owner of the dogs figures out how to manage a barking problem. The owner has four dogs, but one dog is nearly 13 years old and will likely be euthanized.

• Authorized an advertisement for bids for work on Hammond Road, which would include reconstruction and replacement of pavement and deteriorated catch basin structures as well as turf restoration. The project cost is estimated at $50,000. Funding would come from the stormwater utility fund.

• Approved a change order for $34,800 to Hydro-Klean for pipe repair and pipe sags, funded through the sanitary sewer fund.

• Awarded a contract to Morris Excavating for more than $52,000 to install underdrains, or drainage tile, beneath the second field in Polar Lakes Park to provide faster recovery from rainfall events. Funding would come from the Polar Lakes Park Fund.