City Will Lease, Not Sell, Land for Oak Marsh Hotel

The City of Oakdale will pursue a long-term lease agreement for city land at , the Oakdale City Council decided in a closed meeting Tuesday, according to the city administrator.

The council had an extensive discussion on the ramifications of selling the property to developers, but chose the lease option instead, said City Administrator Craig Waldron.

“We’ll negotiate a lease that will basically have the same elements of a land purchase, but will just be a long-term lease,” Waldron said.

The council also gave the city staff some general guidelines for negotiations, which Waldron said can’t be shared until the city has an agreement.

The council was able to legally close the meeting because they were discussing negotiation of a contract.

Negotiations over the land could occur at any time now, Waldron said.

In addition to working on a lease agreement, the development plans for the site must also go through the land use planning process, which will include going before the Oakdale Planning Commission, Waldron said.