[Mpls] Re: Chemart pollution clean-up update

[stack at mninter.net]

On Sept 29 the Star Tribune did an article on the 
Chemical Marketing property pollution clean-up :

http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/5008107.html 

One interesting twist is that Scrap Metal 
Processors (SMP) through a savvy deal will buy the 
property for $37,000 after the clean-up is 
finished. As I understand it, SMP signed a 20 year 
lease for the property in 1996, with a first right 
to purchase clause. The purchase price was set in 
the contract at $60,000. SMP has knocked the cost 
down to $37,000 due to $23,000 of improvements 
(which I would guess have been demolished recently 
with the rest of the buildings). 

Around 1996 I had heard that Chemart was for sale. 
However, everyone I talked to in the neighborhood 
was afraid of legal entanglements with the soil 
pollution and state superfund status. Nobody I 
knew thought of the smart idea of simply leasing 
with an option to buy, instead of purchasing the 
property outright at that time. 

The PRP group is kicking in $200,000 towards the 
clean-up. Minnesota taxpayers are forking over $1.3 
million of the $1.5 million total cost. MPCA will 
capture the $37,000, but it still seems to me that 
the State should be able to place a lien to also 
gain actual ownership of the property (that will 
undoubtedly be worth a lot more than $37,000 after 
the clean-up). 

MPCA says they will not pursue ownership due to 
various reasons- such as - they do not like to 
own property, and do like having private 
property tax paying ownership. In addition, they do 
not want to expend the legal costs of fighting 
SMP's contract, and are not sure they would prevail 
in the courts.

Dave Stack
Harrison (where the SMP piles of scrap metal have 
been removed in preparation for Van White
Blvd)

---------------------------------------------
This message was sent using Endymion MailMan.
http://www.endymion.com/products/mailman/