1. Head Start building recommendation

Head Start April 3, 2008 4 time to tour the property to insure his plan would work. Mr. Moe stated he had. Mr. Burdick asked if he would be willing to sign an agreement stating the property would be completed as projected. Mr. Moe agreed. 6) Donald Kounovsky, bid-$25,555.55, no contingencies, proposed use-remodel for residential housing. Mr. Kounovsky stated he has lived in the neighborhood for 36 years and has completed other neighborhood projects. He plans to leave the third floor apartments, place two apartments on the main floor and one apartment garden level. He also plans to build garages. Mr. Burdick asked who would own the property. Mr. Kounovsky stated he would. Mr. Burdick asked if he had sufficient time to tour the building and make plans for his project. He stated yes. Mr. Burdick asked if he would be willing to sign an agreement with the county stating his project will be completed as proposed. He said he would. 7) Kevin Bartram, Sterling Companies, Inc., bid-$25,000, contingencies-90 days to re-zone property and negotiate city/county tax abatements, proposed use- remodel for residential housing; sell southern two lots to build a home on. Mr. Bartram has worked on the development of several downtown Fargo projects and has experience in historical restoration. His goal is to preserve the existing building inside and out. He stated his plan is to re-develop the building as a multi-family housing with residential condos on the first and second floors and rental housing on the lower level. Initially the lower level apartments would be utilized to meet the requirements of the HOME Grant Restrictive Use Covenant. He proposes to remove a large portion of the existing asphalt and replace with grass. The remaining asphalt will provide off-street parking and access to free-standing garages. He is also planning to sell the two south lots for a single family dwelling. He is proposing to retain as much of the existing building structure as possible and maintain its historical status. He is proposing balconies on the first and second level condos. Sterling Companies, Inc. would fund the project through cash and bank loans. Plans are to set up Sterling, LLC. Mr. Bartram stated he has had sufficient time to tour the building and would be willing to sign an agreement with the county stating it will be completed as proposed. Dr. Strom is concerned with retaining the historical look by installing balconies. She asked if this could be reconsidered. Mr. Bartram replied he could reconsider the balconies. Given the comments by Mr. Montplaisir regarding property taxes, Mr. Wagner asked if Mr. Bartram had any objections to removing the tax abatement contingency. Mr. Bartram indicated he did not. 4. PUBLIC COMMENT AND QUESTIONS Mr, Wagner stated that a letter from the Fargo-Moorhead Heritage Society had been included in the information packets comrnittee members received. Linda Graff representing the society was present and stated they support a non-profit organization refurbishing the building. Mr. Sampson replied that they have rental space for a reasonable cost available in the Black Building for local artists. Ann Thorndahl stated she accompanied Mr. Strand to look at the Head Start building and is excited at the idea that a non-profit organization is looking at options for keeping young artists in North Dakota. Rick Roggensack spoke in support of the bid submitted by Kevin Bartram and said he is interested in purchasing one of the town homes.