Melrose Council Approves Riverside Site Sale, TIF District, and New Ambulance

MELROSE — October 20, 2022 — Melrose City Council advanced two major housing projects and approved a $248,000 ambulance purchase at its October 20 meeting. The council unanimously approved a $275,000 purchase agreement selling city property to Riverside Development Group LLC — owned by Mike Goldman and Nancy Goldman — for a proposed three-story mixed-use building with 29 residential units and over 5,100 square feet of retail space along the river, while also passing Resolution 2022-59 calling a public hearing on a business subsidy for the project and approving a $15,000 environmental assessment worksheet through WSB. On a separate housing front, the council passed Resolution 2022-60 declaring intent to create TIF District 13-1 Railroad West and authorizing an interfund loan of up to $500,000 tied to a Granite City Builders proposal for 45 to 70 rental units at an estimated cost of $10 million to $12 million, with $2.2 million in projected TIF assistance over 15 years. A council member pressed repeatedly on whether the city was protected if the DNR objected to the Riverside project's riverfront setbacks; staff responded that both the city attorney and an environmental attorney had reviewed the legal position, with a 30-day DNR comment period expected in late December or January. The council also awarded a $54,066 bid to Craig Tishida Excavating for Sauk River Park campsite work, saving roughly $29,000 over a voided prior contract.