BY JIMMY LAWTONNorth Country This Week

OGDENSBURG -- City council met privately to discuss responses received for the development of 17 Main Street and emerged to announce they would extend the Request for Proposal process until March 5.

The correspondences received by the city were not shared publicly, but Mayor Michael Tooley said one proposal was from Chris Frary of At the Docks, LLC. and the other was from developer Nick Wright.

Both developers have shared plans for the development of 17 Main Street and both say they would like to secure both subdivisions including parcel A and B.

Wright has plans to develop Mystic Springs, a world class miniature golf course, which he says would draw people to the city and complement the nearby restaurant, brewery, arena and Fort de La Presentation well.

Frary wants to use the land for a dock storage, which he says is vital to a bigger project involving the development of the former Ramada. He says a signed agreement existed to bring in a Wyndham Hotel.

More on that project can be seen here.

City councilors say they support both projects.

At the center of the issue is a two-year old agreement between At the Docks and the city, which never came to fruition. Tooley said that the city had failed to move forward with Frary to finalize the deal. He said the problem was a legacy issue that the new council walked into in January. Since then he says council has established a time frame to finalize the sale, which is currently set for May 31.

Meanwhile, Wright has told the city he'd like to purchase both parcels and would need to secure both, or get an agreement with the city to address potential parking issues if he can not secure the extra land.

Wright expressed frustration with the city in his letter that was submitted in lieu of a proposal.

He was critical of the city's failure to meet and work with him to help the project come to fruition.

At the meeting Laura Ashley, an Ogdensburg resident, submitted a petition with more than 700 signatures to city council in support of Wright's plan.

City resident Greg McNamara also spoke at the meeting. He was critical of the city's handling of the situation and suggested that the city might be dealing with the situation behind closed doors.

Tooley said such statements were "embarrassing" and that the city has done its best to work with both parties.

McNamara, who spoke again at the end of the meeting, was not satisfied with the response.

Deputy Mayor Dan Skamperle said the city was supportive of both developers and that the matter is complicated.

In regard to transparency regarding the situation, Tooley has reiterated the city's stance several times, which is that the purchase offer agreement with Frary is still active.

Whether the matter should have been discussed behind closed doors is up for debate.

Although such matters are usually addressed more publicly and correspondences to city council are generally read at meetings, the council cited the following reason for handling the matter privately.

"To discuss the proposed acquisition, sale or lease of real property or the proposed acquisition of securities, or sale or exchange of securities held by such a public body, but only when publicity would substantially affect the value thereof," the resolution said.

It’s unclear at this time if Wright will submit another proposal.