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Staff writer

Although several sites have been eliminated, some Ramsey sites are still in the running for the proposed U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Community Based Outpatient Clinic (CBOC).

At the end of October, some developers received notices that their properties had been eliminated from consideration for the nearly 20,000 square-foot clinic.

Of the two Ramsey Town Center (RTC) sites submitted for the project, one has been eliminated, said Deputy City Administrator Heidi Nelson.

It was eliminated because it was “not located within a reasonable distance of existing amenities.” The letter did not specify what the amenities were or what is considered to be a reasonable distance, she said.

“We are very hopeful and excited to be part of the proposal and hope our site will be selected,” Nelson said.

Developer Jim Deal also had a number of his sites knocked off the board.

Deal had five sites submitted for consideration.

Three were eliminated for not being close enough to existing amenities, Deal said.

The VA form letter listed five reasons a site could be eliminated:

• It is not located within or bounding on the delineated area.

• The proposed site would not yield sufficient finished square feet to meet the minimum requirements.

• The proposed site is within 100-year flood plain.

• The proposed site would not yield sufficient reserved parking spaces to meet the minimum requirements.

• The proposed site is not located within a reasonable distance of existing amenities.

The VA also changed the boundaries of where it wanted to locate the clinic, Deal said.

The VA eliminated everything east of Ramsey Boulevard.

The new solicitation requirements, posted the evening of Nov. 10, eliminated three known Anoka and one Coon Rapids sites competing for the project.

The new requirements leave the Ramsey sites competing against sites in Elk River.

According to VA Public Affairs Officer Ralph Heussner, “The Minneapolis VA Medical Center continues to focus on its mission of providing quality health care to our nation’s veterans.  

“One of the goals of the Northwest Metro CBOC solicitation is to provide services to veterans living in rural communities not served within 30 minutes of a VA medical facility.

“A review of these goals led the contract review team to determine that the cities of Anoka and Coon Rapids are currently served by both the Minneapolis VA Medical Center and the Maplewood CBOC and therefore would be unable to support this particular goal.

“The change in the delineated area is intended to direct our search for leased space in communities that will provide the highest potential of achieving the VA’s 30 minutes goal.”

According to the VA Contracting Office, it can- not say how many properties were originally being considered because “we are prohibited from disclosing the information requested” by the Federal Procurement Integrity Act.

In a message relayed through Heussner, the contracting office “anticipates completing the procurement process shortly after Jan. 1, 2010.”

Once a site is selected, the developer would construct the building and the VA would lease it for 20 years.

According to Nelson, the city would work with a developer to construct the building.

An investor associated with the developer would own the building and lease it to the VA, she said.

Tammy Sakry is at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it