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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-03-11 EDA MinutesCITY OF COTTAGE GROVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MINUTES March 11, 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 11th day of March 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 Gerry Weingartner, Authority Member Glen Kleven, Authority Member Dick Pederson, Authority Member Members Absent: Others Present: Ryan Schroeder, City Administrator Michelle Wolfe, Assistant City Administrator Nancy Hanzlik, City Engineer Scott Johnson, Management Analyst APPROVAL OF MINUTES Authority Member Glen Kleven moved to approve the February 11, 2003 EDA Minutes. Gerry Weingartner seconded the motion and the Motion carried unanimously. PROJECT UPDATES The City has received one new inquiry for a warehouse /indoor storage development, but staff has received little information on this project. Staff is currently trying to clean up the active list by removing any projects that are not moving forward. The Keewaydin project is still moving a head. Site selection for this project is scheduled to take place this summer. Economic Development Authority - Minutes March 11, 2003 Page 2 The ground breaking ceremony for Schmid and Son will take place in April. GATEWAY NORTH The City is moving forward with a purchase agreement for the 1501 Partnership /Burnet Realty property. Negotiations continue on the Ruvelson property. The latest appraised value on the property is $96,000. Staff is waiting for feedback on the latest proposal. Demolition for the Kohls project will be completed by Arcon Construction. They were the lowest bidder at $38,740. Council recently approved the 1501 Partnerships land swap of 20,000 sf for 17,004 sf. Significant grading will be necessary for this project. The entrance for the building will be moved 550 feet to Hardwood Court. The landscaping for this project will be paid for by the City. The current pylon sign will be removed and replaced with a monument sign and two small directional and entry signs. The 1501 Partnership is also receiving 40 parking stalls. The total cost of the project will be $94,000. Glen Kleven asked why they were expanding to 40 parking spaces. Ryan Schroeder explained that parking is tight at peak times of the day and they may want to expand in the future. Jim Wolcott asked if the Jensen property would have a face on the monument sign. Mr. Schroeder informed Mr. Wolcott that they would not have a face on the sign, but there will be a directional sign at the corner for Burnet. The signs will have a low profile of 7 to 8 feet tall. Mr. Wolcott asked Mr. Schroeder if the Arcon bid will be helpful with time constraints because they will also be constructing the project. Ryan Schroeder said that the project will begin on or about April 1 St even if another company handled the demolition for the project. Jim Wolcott wanted to know if there would be any access issues with the project. Mr. Schroeder said they will need to close the access to Burnet Realty for three consecutive nights to get the road work completed, but the tenants of the building are open to this because of the site improvements. Glen Kleven made a motion to ratify the purchase agreement between the City and the 1501 Partnership. Dick Pederson seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. Gerry Weingartner made a motion to approve the contract with Arcon Construction for the demolition work for the Kohls project. Mike Wennen seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. Dick Pederson made a motion to approve plan A for the Grove Plaza fagade. Mayor Shiely seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. OAKWOOD COMMERCIAL SITES Ryan Schroeder received a quote from Kathy Anderson of KKE to develop a site plan drawing for the Oakwood Commercial site. He also discussed the template for the purchase agreement for this property. Jim Wolcott mentioned that he would like to have wording in the contract so all of the signs would be uniform. Glen Kleven gave the example of brass letters on brick buildings that are used in Woodbury. Mayor Shiely agreed that continuity of the signs should be the goal. Glen Kleven did not think this would be fair Economic Development Authority - Minutes March 11, 2003 Page 3 because how do you compare a larger store sign to a smaller store sign? A 2 'Foot ban d is allowed to go around the top of the building for signs. Gerry Weingartner mentioned that most signs are trademarks for companies and they rarely change their signs. Dick Pederson thought it would be impossible to decide signs on a case by case situation. Jim Wolcott disagreed because he thinks the sign asthetics should be better in the Gateway. He gave the example of McDonald's signs in each city conform to the codes. Glen Kleven wanted to know why the City started in the middle of the project. Mr. Wolcott admitted that it should have been done earlier, but it was not discussed. Mr. Weingartner wanted to know how we could require smaller signs for new businesses. Mayor Shiely brought up the example of the Home Depot in St. Louis Park. The building was all brick and in accordance with the city code. She also said that the west suburban businesses and malls have minimal signs. Mayor Shiely thought it would be a good idea to review signs individually. Ryan Schroeder agreed with Mayor Shiely that the signs could be looked at individually to keep continuity. Mr. Schroeder thought that the Gateway is the best place to start with sign regulations. Glen Kleven disagreed because many of the projects are underway. Next, the EDA addressed section 3D of the purchase agreement. This section requires building renderings and a list of the building materials that will be used in the project. Council approval needs to be gained for the renderings and materials. Approval for the project can be withheld. Ryan Schroeder explained that if the city enters into a purchase agreement, then the renderings are needed within 60 days. Council has authority to deny or withhold approval. Mayor Shiely asked about the architectural guidelines for the purchase agreement. She thought that stronger language (shall, must, or shall be) was needed to require streetscape on the project. Glen Kleven made a motion to accept the purchase agreement with the proposed changes. Gerry Weingartner seconded the motion. Mayor Shiely wanted to spend more time on the architectural guidelines and think more in depth about the purchase agreement. There is no urgency to sell the property at this moment. The EDA tabled the motion until the April meeting. Glen Kleven thought that paragraph D of the purchase agreement should be switched because some of the businesses may need to put their signs on the back side of the building because of poor frontage. Mr. Schroeder will fix the language in the purchase agreement. Next, the EDA discussed the site plan for the Oakwood Park site. Mr. Schroeder informed the EDA members that the property is not configured for one single 35,000 sf or larger user. Property depth is a concern for any project on this site. The property could accommodate for example, a strip mall with a restaurant /bank anchor tenant. Ryan Schroeder thought it would be an underutilization of the space to have only one sit down restaurant or store on the site. More tenants on the site would help create synergy in the Gateway district. A buyer needs to understand that a larger sit down restaurant needs to be a part of the project. Mayor Shiely commented that Applebee's is always full and the City could use another sit down restaurant. Jim Wolcott wanted to know if the parcel down Economic Development Authority - Minutes March 11, 2003 Page 4 the road from the Oakwood Park parcel could hold a restaurant. Mr. Schroeder said the parcel is 2.5 acres and it could accommodate a restaurant. He further explained that a strip mall would be able to accommodate the other users the EDA would like to attract. Mayor Shiely thought the City was trying to attract this type of development with previous strip malls that were built. The strip malls did not attract the businesses the EDA wanted. Mayor Shiely wants to attract a large sit down restaurant with a liquor license, but does not think it will happen if the City gives control to a developer. Mike Wennen suggested developing the site ourselves. Jim Wolcott thought the EDA needs to look at the whole area and not just the Oakwood Park sites. Glen Kleven thought Grove Plaza would be a good area to attract a sit down restaurant with a liquor license. He thought the City should write letters to attract restaurants. Ryan Schroeder thought the EDA should put a provision in the purchase agreement that states the EDA and Council need to approve the initial tenants for the Oakwood Park development. He also said this will make the buyer nervous and they will need to follow the guidelines to complete the purchase agreement. Mike Wennen also thought the City should work with a developer to get what we want. Jim Wolcott thought staff should include in the purchase agreement what the City does want. Mr. Wolcott asked if there would be any interest for this type of project with the current economic situation. Ryan Schroeder said that retail is still strong. Mayor Shiely commented that the city needs to bring in desired users for this project. She used the example of bringing Target to Cottage Grove. Dick Pederson mentioned that 23,000 residents wrote letters to Target to get a store in Cottage Grove. He thought a similar campaign would work for a sit down restaurant. Ryan Schroeder said that the purchase agreement with a developer would accomplish the same task because they would do their own campaign. Mayor Shiely mentioned that a letter writing campaign would cause no harm. Michelle Wolfe mentioned that having a developer do the work would save the City resources and a developer would know who is expanding. Mayor Shiely thought that a developer would not know and understand Cottage Grove and the letters should be written by citizens. Jim Wolcott thought a presentation from the three developers who are currently interested in the site would be the best place to start. Mr. Wolcott also mentioned that EDA members all have different wants and concerns about the Oakwood Park site. He mentioned that his biggest concerns were good asthetics and creating tax base through the project. Also, he mentioned that a developer would have expertise on what type of project could make it at that site. Ryan Schroeder mentioned that a list of desirable restaurants would help a developer. Mike Wennen thought it would be a good idea to meet with a developer and find out if the site will work for the development the City wants. He also said the City should hold on to the property if we cannot find a developer who will build what is needed in the community. Mr. Schroeder thought it would be a good idea to amend the purchase agreement to include an appendix of wanted restaurants for the anchor. He also asked the EDA if they would like to proceed with the drawing from KKE. Glen Kleven did not think it was needed because the developers will submit what they want on the site. Jim Wolcott asked what benefit the EDA would receive by having a drawing of the site. Ryan Schroeder said the City would be able b tell developers what they like and want on the site. Mr. Kleven thought this would be a waste of money because the developer should pay for the site drawing. Mr. Schroeder thought this would be a good idea because it would give the developer direction on the project. Mike Wennen wanted to know if the EDA could give the developers direction without the sketch. He would like to see the different ideas from the Economic Development Authority - Minutes March 11, 2003 Page 5 developers. Jim Wolcott said that it would be a mistake to have the City react to the developer's ideas. The City needs to be proactive and bring the developers in for presentations. Mayor Shiely and Mr. Wolcott thought the concept drawing would give developers a start. Ryan Schroeder said the first developer's project will not work on the site and the second developer does not understand the market. He proposed that the EDA listen to a presentation from the third developer. Mr. Schroeder will try to bring the developer in for a presentation at the April meeting. EDA ENABLING RESOLUTION Michelle Wolfe explained to the EDA that the current membership is for seven members (2 members must be Council Members). There is nothing included on the residency requirements or owner /operator requirements. Glen Kleven thought that there should be language that states "shall be owner /operator /employed by or be a resident." Michelle Wolfe asked if they should include employees of companies that conduct business in Cottage Grove. Jim Wolcott thought the language was too broad. Mike Wennen and other EDA members agreed that Mr. Kleven's proposed language would be sufficient. Michelle Wolfe will make the corrections to the EDA Enabling Resolution for the April meeting. MISC Glen Kleven thought it would be a good idea to recognize Fred Luden for his years of service on the EDA. Staff will put together a certificate of appreciation for Mr. Luden. EDA VACANCY/ CHAMBER INFORMATION Mike Wennen will put information on the EDA vacancy in the Chamber Newsletter. Applicants will need to submit a resume and application to the EDA. Applicants must live or work in Cottage Grove. The Chamber Business luncheon for March has been cancelled. Mike Veeck, former owner of the St. Paul Saints, will be the featured speaker at the spring meeting. Awnl1RN The EDA adjourned at 9:45 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Scott Johnson Management Analyst