Commission approves land swap, parking lease

The Commission unanimously approved a parkland swap Tuesday night.

The action will allow NorthWestern Energy to build a new substation on the southern corner of Clara park and once that’s complete, the old substation will be dismantled and that property will go back to the city and be incorporated into the park.

The park is located at 4110 Ella Drive.

Since the existing substation will stay operational during construction, there should be little to no disruption in service to NorthWestern customers, company officials said Tuesday.

The company plans to start construction this fall and complete it in spring 2017. Once the old substation is dismantled, NorthWestern will clean up that piece of land and also provide landscaping around the new facility.

City Planning Director Craig Raymond said that if the parcel NorthWestern returns to the city is smaller than the parcel they plan to build on, then the company will give the city cash for the difference.

The company will also pay to relocate city utilities, Raymond said.

“It’s a pretty significant investment on their end to make it happen,” he said.

The Park and Recreation Advisory Board and Neighborhood Council 4 have already approved the swap. No one spoke in opposition Tuesday.

Commissioners also approved a 20-year lease with the Rescue Mission for the city parking lot across the street from the mission. The mission will pay $500 per year and cover costs for maintenance, including mowing, weeding, snow plowing and general pick-up of trash and debris, as well as renovating much of the existing landscaping.

Commissioner Fred Burow said it seemed like the city was losing money on the lease, but Raymond said the lease saves the parking fund from some major maintenance and repair costs in the near future.

No one spoke in opposition, but Ron Gessaman asked if the city had considered selling the lot since it’s underutilized. Raymond said the city would consider it when the mission is in a position to purchase the land.

Only six paid spaces are leased monthly in the lot.