Excelsior accepts $5,000 payment from developer

March 18, 2009 at 2:10AM

The Excelsior City Council has agreed to accept $5,000 from developer Jon Monson as his contribution toward the nearly $24,000 the city spent reviewing his waterfront pavilion proposal last year.

In taking the action Monday, the council also adopted a statement outlining the events surrounding the proposal starting in September 2007, when Monson approached the city with a plan to re-create a commercial pavilion with shops and restaurants on city-owned parkland overlooking Lake Minnetonka.

Some council members and Monson had different understandings of who would pay for the review, and city staff concluded that both points of view were justified. But because Monson never got to the point of submitting a formal application for the project, never signed a written agreement to pay costs, and never put down an escrow deposit, "Mr. Monson and his team are not obligated to make any payments," the statement says.

In the statement, the council thanked Monson for making a voluntary payment and said it "looks forward to working with Mr. Monson again in the future as we all continue our efforts to make Excelsior the best possible community it can be."

LAURIE BLAKE

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