Meeting tonight to discuss fate of ammunition plant

Fourth District Congresswoman Betty McCollum is holding a public hearing tonight on the fate of hundreds of acres of vacant land on the site of the old Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant.

The plant is inactive, and the federal government has decided to dispose of about 600 acres of the site, some of which has been contaminated by decades of weapons production.

The city of Arden Hills was planning to purchase 585 acres of the site and redevelop it, including some housing. But that plan fell through last month.

Now the Army is considering auctioning off the land.

McCollum says she hopes neighbors can still have a say in its eventual use.

"All options should be on the table, all options. Whether it's residential, whether it's commercial, whether it's industrial, whether it's open space," she said. "That should be a community decision because this is one of the last remaining large tracts of land remaining in Ramsey County for development."

The meeting is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. at the Ramsey County Public Works facility near Hamline Avenue and Highway 96.