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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-01-12 EDA MinutesCITY OF COTTAGE GROVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MINUTES January 14, 2003 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a regular meeting of the Economic Development Authority was held at City Hall, 7516 80th Street South, Cottage Grove, Minnesota on the 14th day of January 2003. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:30 a.m. by EDA President Wolcott. Members Present: Jim Wolcott, EDA President Sandy Shiely, EDA Vice - President Mike Wennen, Authority Member Dick Pederson, Authority Member Gerry Weingartner, Authority Member Members Absent: Fred Luden, Authority Member Glen Kleven, Authority Member Others Present: Ryan Schroeder, City Administrator Michelle Wolfe, Assistant City Administrator Nancy Hanzlik, City Engineer Scott Johnson, Management Analyst APPROVAL OF MINUTES Authority Member Wennen moved to approve the December 10, 2002 EDA Minutes. EDA Vice - President Shiely seconded. Motion carried unanimously. PROJECT UPDATES Applebee's — Restaurant opened in December. It has been very busy and a number of citizens have commented to commission members about the customer service. 3.82 Acres next to Kohl's — The City has received a couple of offers on this parcel. The City will Economic Development Authority - Minutes January 14, 2003 Page 2 counter offer on one of the offers in the near future. RFP from MEDP — City staff will put together a proposal for a recent request for proposal from Metro Economic Development Partnership for a project. METRO EAST DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP UPDATE Ryan Schroeder gave the EDA an update on the Metro East Development Partnership. In 2002 MEDP experienced some financial difficulties. They tried to merge with the St. Paul Chamber of Commerce. This did not work and many businesses cut ties with MEDP. MEDP currently only has one staff member left. They have now become affiliated with the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce. They hope to become a regional development organization. Mr. Schroeder thinks this move will help with regional economic development matters because of the higher probability of spin -off projects from other businesses in the metro area. Eventually, the organization may have separate divisions for the east and west metro. They have offered a seat on the board of directors to DTED. Arnie Wetterlin is the interim Executive Director for the organization. ELECTION & APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS Dick Pederson nominated Jim Wolcott for the EDA President position. Mayor Shiely seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. Dick Pederson nominated Mayor Shiely for the EDA Vice President position. Mike Wennen seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. Mayor Shiely nominated Gerry Weingartner for the EDA Treasurer position. Mike Wennen seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. GATEWAY REDEVELOPMENT Acquisition of property for the Kohls project continues. City staff is working on a land swap with US Bank and will have possession of property from MNDOT in February. Staff needs the EDA to approve the land swap and the demolition of existing buildings on the Kohls site. The City is currently trying to negotiate for the Ruvelson property and an easement from CB Burnett. If a settlement cannot be reached, both properties will be going through condemnation hearings at the end of January or the beginning of February. The land swap with US Bank will consist of the City receiving 23,000 sf for the Hardwood Court project and US Bank receiving 17,400 sf on the north side of CB Burnett. Neither parcels are developable property. The current CB Burnett access will be eliminated and moved to Hardwood Court. It is impossible to construct a safe access at or near the bank's current access. The current road does not allow for future development in the area. There will be six lanes of traffic on the new Hardwood Court. Kohls will have a joint access with US Bank. The Pet Clinic and Victory Church area will be used during road construction for Economic Development Authority - Minutes January 14, 2003 Page 3 access to the bank, Tutor Time, and the office condos. Jim Wolcott ecpressed some concerns about the safety of the access. Nancy Hanzlik, the City Engineer, will look into the possible options for this intersection. The time -line for the project is difficult to determine without control of all the property for the project. The tenants in the existing buildings will need time to locate space in Cottage Grove and move. Dick Pederson made a motion to accept and approve the land swap agreement between US Bank and the City. Mike Wennen seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. Mayor Shiely made a motion to accept and approve a purchase agreement for the Victory Church. Gerry Weingartner seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. Gerry Weingartner made a motion to accept and approve the demolition of commercial buildings for the Kohls project. Mike Wennen seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. INDUSTRIAL PARK SSP Properties LLC has signed a purchase agreement with the City and Wag Farms for a prepared ste in the Industrial Park. Schmid and Sons Packaging will locate in this new facility. WAG Farms has put together a purchase agreement that can be used for future purchase agreements in the Industrial Park. Ryan Schroeder said the agreement is pretty much the same for every purchase agreement, but the legal descriptions and other language is added when needed. A letter of intent and business subsidies will be discussed at the next EDA meeting, which will include a public hearing on the business subsidies. Jim Wolcott wanted to know how much land was left at the current price in the Industrial Park. Ryan Schroeder said there is 150 developable acres in the Industrial Park. The City currently has an option on 22 acres adjacent to the Renewal site. WAG Farms is currently doing a market study on other metro area Industrial Parks to find out how much they charge per square foot. Mr. Schroeder thought it would be a mistake to increase the cost of the land because of the current economic situation. Dick Pederson wanted to know how many people the business would employ. Michelle Wolfe said the business will employ 20 to 40 employees depending on the time of year. Gerry Weingartner made a motion to authorize staff to enter into a purchase agreement with WAG Farms. Dick Pederson seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. 2003 MARKETING AND ADVERTISING Michelle Wolfe proposed that the EDA increase their direct mail campaign from four post cards to six and maintain the advertising in the MN Real Estate Journal and the Business Journal. Staff will continue to upgrade the mailing list for the post cards. Mike Wennen Economic Development Authority - Minutes January 14, 2003 Page 4 made a motion to accept the 2003 Marketing and Advertising Plan. Gerry Weingartner seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. 2003 BUSINESS BREAKFAST Fed Luden has agreed to do the welcome for the Business Breakfast. Michelle Wolfe reminded the EDA that it is important to RSVP for the Business Breakfast or else they will not be allowed in due to security reasons at 3M. EDA VACANCY EDA members will think about replacements for the vacant seat. An_ini iRN The EDA adjourned at 8:35 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Scott Johnson Management Analyst