Kanabec County Times
Although both fine details and exact time lines are still being hammered out, it appears near certain that the city of Mora will build a new municipal liquor store.
Plans call for the new building to be located just east of the stoplights where Hwy. 23 and Hwy. 65 intersect on property currently owned by Donald and Janice Parker.
The Parkers and the city signed a development agreement earlier this month, and a purchase agreement was signed last Wednesday, according to city officials.
The city, as part of the purchase agreement, will be required to plat the 112-acre Parker property and construct at least some roads - one of which is tentatively being called Dala Lane. At least some of the new plots, including one immediately south of the proposed new liquor store, will be designed for commercial and/or residential development.
The city would recoup its plat and road construction expenses through special assessments to the property taxes of both the Parkers and one other affected property owner, although exactly how much those assessments will be and a specific timetable for repayment are not yet known.
Cost of a new liquor store is estimated to hover around $1.8 million. The city will, contingent on satisfactory soil boring results, spend an additional $126,000 to acquire the 2.25 acres of land on which the new facility will stand.
Purchase price of the Parker property will come out of the city's liquor store fund.
Exactly how the new liquor store's $1.8 million price tag will be funded has not been officially decided, but city council members have explored in depth the possibility of borrowing the money from the city's electric fund, which is administered by Mora's Public Utilities Commission.
City officials have been working for more than a year on plans to build a new liquor store.
Anticipated to have an "up North" exterior, the new liquor store will, at 10,000 square-feet, be twice the size of the city's current building and feature both a modern-feeling interior and 21st century infrastructure.
Temperatures of the proposed new liquor store will be regulated by efficient geothermal heating and cooling, while a fine wine bar and accompanying retail section, as well as a beer cave with a capacity to hold 1,400 cases, are additionally in the plans.
As for the city's current municipal liquor store, it and its contents would likely be put up for sale on the open market. City Administrator Joel Dhein told city council members last week that at least one party has expressed interest in purchasing the building.
To date, Mora's municipal liquor store has generated more than $1.3 million in year-to-date sales, up approximately $70,000 over 2008.