In the Jan. 24 Prior Lake American, our mayor issued his position on the SMSC trust land agreement. He raised several logical comments, but in the end I still don’t see how this will benefit Prior Lake.
I agree that the city has no authority to prohibit property transactions. It also seems logical that the SMSC won’t sell any property they purchase and that they won’t develop any land until it is placed into trust.
Regarding the Menden property, which they have already purchased, they have indicated that they intend to develop this as residential property after it is placed into trust. However, after it is placed into trust, there is nothing that can be done if they change their mind regarding their use of this property, because they are a sovereign nation. If they chose to develop businesses on their property, it would be difficult to attract other similar businesses to Prior Lake that would be required to pay the burden of our local and state taxes. Please read more from the Prior Lake American