Ramsey Council LOSES $191,000.00 on real estate deal.

STUPID. Unbelievably, ridiculously, brain-dead stupid is the only possible way to characterize the decision by the Ramsey City Council to pay 361,000.00 for a failed, decrepit, soon to be seized for tax forfeiture, XXX bookstore and land. This has been proven true, because they sold it for 170,000.00, which is what the property was worth in the first place.

Meeting link: http://www.qctv.org/videoplayer/stream.php?id=2582

I’m not saying that selling for 170k is stupid. Paying 361,000.00 for it was. The council members who defended the original decision and price must be remembered and held accountable at every opportunity. John LeTourneau spoke out in defense of the deal and is the worst of the current majority, because of his total denial of any semblance of sound business practice. No one counter offered or negotiated with the seller, and they paid at least 100% more than the property was worth. Both LeTourneau and Backous said that the business will pay taxes to the city, and bring in 23 full time jobs. A number of 26k was mentioned. That figure is an estimate of ALL taxes paid to city, county and state, NOT what will come back to Ramsey. Ramsey will collect approx. 7,000.00 per year. At that rate, it will take over 20 years to recover the 191k. Wow, that sounds like a good return, doesn’t it? Are the council members spouting the job numbers expecting all those people who are working there now are going to pack up and move to Ramsey from where they live now? Of course not.

Later on in the meeting, Letourneau tries to claim that what the previous council did, buying land for Town Center, was land speculation. What he and the current council did with the XXX bookstore was exactly the same thing; pure land speculation, so shut your hypocritical mouth, Johnny.

Now, guess who the real estate broker was for the deal, selling the land to the city? Yes, the same guy who sold the XXX store and land to the city before. The only person who really benefited from the land sale (2 times) was the real estate broker.

Where did the 361k purchase money come from? It came from Anoka County, which collects it from Ramsey residents in their Anoka County tax levy, then stashes it away, to give back to the city at some point in the future. Why? Absolutely no good reason. It’s a very sneaky way to give the big spenders in Ramsey another source of money to waste on things which they think will make themselves look good. Council member Not one of these hypocrites would do a real estate deal like this if it were their money, but they are more than willing to do a deal like this with your money.

I wonder if that kid who is “Economic Development Manager” and ringmaster at the HRA meetings,  knows how truly foolish he looks when he’s shoveling the BS propaganda during the presentations?

Why is the “Citizens for Responsible Government” PAC trying to stuff Ramsey City Council candidates down our throats?

Employees of Developer Jim Deal’s company PSD, LLC. have been seen putting up signs for this PAC. Jim Deal owns a large piece of the COR.  Why would Jim Deal want to influence the City of Ramsey elections? To stuff enough compliant council members on the council to vote to sell the COR to someone for  less than it’s worth, now that the current council majority has cleaned up the mess? What could Dan Erhart and Bill Erhart have to do with this? Read on, curious reader, and you decide.

From Pioneer Press Article: 2007

Potential buyer for Town Center emerges

Auction of troubled project delayed again, but insurance exec is reportedly interested

BY DAVE ORRICK and NICOLE GARRISON-SPRENGER

Pioneer Press

TwinCities.com-Pioneer Press

The auction of the troubled Ramsey Town Center is at least another month away, but there could be a “Deal” afoot. The Pioneer Press has learned that insurance executive Jim Deal has emerged as the front-runner – and favorite of senior county officials – to buy the 322-acre project […]. Deal, who has played down any hunger to take on such an ambitious affair, has never denied his desire to see the Town Center move forward. … the 73-year-old already holds several key assets in the Town Center, including the only private commercial buildings yet constructed. He also controls exclusive banking rights to the entire area. Ramsey Community Development Director Patrick Trudgeon denied Thursday that the city is getting in the way. The city says its original plans protect taxpayers and ensure whatever is built will benefit the entire community. Last year, state regulators shut down a title company formed by Nedegaard and several of his financiers – executives of Community National Bank of North Branch. The title company, called Powerhouse, handled many of the Town Center transactions. Last month, investigators with the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Postal Service executed a search warrant on the bank, which has denied any wrongdoing.While the Town Center has languished, Deal has been waiting for the more than 20 banks that hold a piece of the mortgage to agree on a lower price, said Anoka County Commissioner Dan Erhart. “Jim Deal’s got a price in mind that he’d pay for the whole thing,” Erhart, who has a background in real estate, said Thursday. “I don’t know all the details. … I do think the price will need to get down substantially. “Deal got his start in the agricultural insurance business as a federal government administrator of crop insurance policy in the 1950s, he told the Pioneer Press this year. In the early 1980s, he founded the NAU Group in Ramsey. By 2003, it was the seventh-largest crop insurer in America. Today, NAU has its headquarters in Ramsey Town Center on about 26 acres Deal bought through his commercial development company, PSD LLC, which has erected two office buildings there. Deal has also said he plans to start a bank there, under the name Ideal.

He’s the only one who can.

In December 2005, PSD paid Community National $200,000 plus other considerations to buy exclusive banking rights to the entire Town Center. In 2003, when Community National initially financed Nedegaard, the bank secured those rights without city officials knowing. That angered city leaders who envisioned a downtown with several banks. Deal doesn’t appear to have been a part of those early Town Center arrangements, but Curt Martinson was. Martinson was a loan executive with Community National in 2003, when Community National initially lent Nedegaard $35 million to start the Town Center. He also had an 8.34 percent ownership in Powerhouse Title, the company shut down by the Minnesota Department of Commerce because it was operating without a license…. Martinson, who notarized the transfer of the banking rights from the bank to PSD, left Community National and went to work for Deal.

Martinson has declined requests for interviews.

Commissioner Erhart said a Deal purchase of the Town Center could be the best outcome.       [I’m SO surprised he would say that! NOT]

Dave Orrick can be reached at dorrick@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-2171. Nicole Garrison-Sprenger can be reached at ngarrisonsprenger@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5580.
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JIM DEAL Age: 73 Business: Crop insurance pioneer; founded the NAU Group in Ramsey, one of America’s biggest such insurers. Politics: $175,250 in donations since 1998, mostly to DFL causes; founded Minnesotans for Change last year. Ramsey Town Center: Owns about 26 acres, two office buildings and exclusive banking rights.
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Update: Jim Deal no longer has exclusive rights to own a bank in the Ramsey COR because he lost in court. He did try though, he really did. Too bad. You know, you’d think those who claim they’re “progressive” and want to help the little guys would have Jim Deal in their sights, but as long as he and other 1% ers donate to leftist candidates and causes, they’re heroes to the left. SUCH HYPOCRITES.