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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-12-14 EDA MinutesCITY OF COTTAGE GROVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MINUTES December 14, 2004 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 December 2004. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:30 a.m. by EDA President Wolcott. Rni i r-n i i Members Present: Jim Wolcott, EDA President Gerry Weingartner, EDA Secretary /Treasurer Sandy Shiely, EDA Vice President Glen Kleven, EDA Member Mike Wennen, EDA Member Al Boche, EDA Member Members Absent: Dick Pederson, EDA Member Others Present: Ryan Schroeder, EDA Executive Director Kim Anderson, South Washington County Bulletin Howard Blin, Community Development Director Monica Percic, Management Analyst Scott Johnson, Management Analyst APPROVAL OF MINUTES Glen Kleven moved to approve the November 10, 2004 Economic Development Authority Minutes. EDA Member Weingartner seconded and the motion carried unanimously. Economic Development Authority - Minutes December 14, 2004 Page 2 DEVELOPMENT UPDATE Ryan Schroeder updated the EDA on development projects in the City. Presbyterian Homes (PHM) recently closed on the Cottage Square Mall property. Notices to current tenants will be sent out in the near future by PHM. The Ruby Tuesday grand opening took place on December 2 nd Oak Park Commons currently has one bay open for lease. A sign has been erected to pre - lease the second building. Las Margaritas has applied for a liquor license for their new restaurant at the Shoppes at Gateway North. The Marketplace project will have a ribbon cutting in January. ICC and PRI are both under construction in the Industrial Park. PRI was granted an early start and will close in the near future. American AGCO will close on their expansion project the 1 St or 2 nd week of January. The City is waiting for approval from MNDOT before closing on the Hamlet Park ponding property. Mr. Schroeder also provided information through October 2004 on commercial and residential construction for the City to the EDA. RIVER OAKS UPDATE Ron Hedberg informed the EDA that revenues for the golf course are down 8.7% and expenses are up 4.3% for 2004. Many of the expenses are one time items that needed to be replaced. Mr. Hedberg also mentioned that some of the costs may have been allocated out of the wrong fund. The Finance Department will look into this further. They also found out that the golf course has a provider for long distance phone service and a different provider for local phone service. Jim Wolcott suggested that the golf course use pre -paid phone cards for long distance phone service. Ron Hedberg also mentioned that the number of rounds are down for 2004 and the golf course will increase the cost for a weekend round of golf to over $30.00 in 2005. Mr. Wolcott mentioned that most local golf courses are charging over this amount. Mr. Wolcott also asked if the leasing of golf carts has been a good investment. Ron Hedberg said that River Oaks is in the fourth year of a five year lease agreement. Even with the increases in the rental fees the golf course is still ahead by leasing the golf carts. Jim Wolcott and other EDA members mentioned that the road construction on Highway 61 and the Wakota Bridge has caused problems for the golf course. The price increases are projected to generate about $75,000. Mike Wennen questioned how the golf course could expect to sell more rounds with the higher prices and the road construction. Ryan Schroeder mentioned that the golf course will try some new novelty promotions such as having an event with the St. Paul Saints to generate more revenue in 2005. Ron Hedberg informed the EDA that staff may ask Council to reevaluate their policy on having Police Officers at every River Oaks event that serves liquor. Jim Wolcott mentioned that a few events have gotten out of control, but the majority do not need a Police presence. Ryan Schroeder said that Chief Mickelson also thinks it is overkill for most events. By not requiring Police Officers at the event this will free up some more wiggle room on the cost to make River Oaks more competitive with other local venues for events. Al Boche thought creating a policy to give cost breaks to non - profits would be a good idea. Ryan Schroeder said the direction from Council has been not to give discounts because once it is offered to one group, then other groups will also want the discount. Jim Wolcott mentioned that people have complained that staff at River Oaks has been rushing Economic Development Authority - Minutes December 14, 2004 Page 3 people out of the building because they are concerned about cleaning up. He also mentioned that the golf course is charging a premium price and sometimes the quality is not there. Mayor Shiely commented that the facility was not made to accommodate a restaurant. The City may want to explore the idea of adding a full kitchen. Al Boche said that service is the reason people return to golf courses and one bad taste will keep a person from returning. EAST RAVINE Howard Blin informed the EDA members about the open house for the East Ravine Project. Approximately 130 people attended the meeting. A handful of people at the meeting were concerned about the Military Road realignment. Mr. Blin thought that this could cause problems in the future. The City would like to realign this intersection for safety and future development reasons. People also did not like the idea of turning military road into a trail. Jim Wolcott mentioned that Military Road has been realigned in the past and it is not the true historical alignment of the road. The City is currently working on the AUAR and other engineering aspects. The design will go to Council in January. State agencies will comment on the plan in February and March. The advisory committee and Council will tackle the staging issue in the upcoming weeks. Mike Wennen asked when the gas station would be built at Almar Village. Mr. Blin said they are planning to start construction in the spring and they have already renewed their building permit once. Jim Wolcott mentioned that the gas station was scheduled to be constructed over a year ago. Howard Blin also mentioned that a sit -down restaurant will be leasing space at Almar Village. INFORMATION KIOSK Ryan Schroder asked the EDA if they would be interested in purchasing kiosk signs to help direct people to local parks. Glen Kleven did not think the signs would be appropriate. Gerry Weingartner asked how many signs would be purchased. Mr. Schroeder thought 3 to 6 signs would be needed for parks and perhaps a similar number for business signage. Mayor Shiely mentioned that the concept of organizing business directional signage had been tried in the past and it did not go over well with residents and business owners. Ryan Schroeder said the intent would be to consolidate the signs. Mayor Shiely mentioned that temporary signs have been left up permanently. Mr. Schroeder said that Public Works and Community Development can be contacted to take down these signs. Glen Kleven thought it would be a good idea to figure out what problem the City is trying to solve before moving forward with a sign project. Jim Wolcott mentioned just enforcing the current sign ordinance would help with this problem. Al Boche mentioned that the Parks Commission is currently working on the issue of park signage. TAX FORFEITURE Howard Blin explained that the EDA has the opportunity to buy a tax forfeiture property off of 70 St. from Washington County for $100,000. There are currently $85,000 worth of tax liens on the property. The City would then turn around and sell the parcel to Pulte Homes for $150,000. Pulte Homes would then be able to turn around and turn an existing park parcel into Economic Development Authority - Minutes December 14, 2004 Page 4 a single family residential lot for sale. The tax forfeiture property will remain passive area with a park trail. The Parks Commission would determine if a playground would be built on the site. Ryan Schroeder mentioned that there may be further clean up costs on the parcel. Mayor Shiely asked what would happen if other EPA clean up was necessary. Howard Blin said the City will back out of the agreement. Mayor Shiely asked staff to include this caveat in the agreement. Mike Wennen agreed with Mayor Shiely. Glen Kleven asked if asbestos was found in the home. Mr. Blin said that only asbestos tiles were found. Al Boche asked if a future roadway could be built to the parcel. Howard Blin said the parcel is currently land locked, but a small path or roadway could be possible. Glen Kleven made a motion to authorize the purchase of the property at 7000 — 70 St. Mayor Shiely seconded the motion and the motion passed unanimously. GATEWAY FENCING Monica Percic informed the EDA that the City Attorney is currently reviewing the agreements for this project. MISC A panel of local political leaders will give a legislative update at the January 24 Business Breakfast. Mayor Shiely thanked Jim Wolcott for his years of service to the City. Myron Bailey will be added to the Commission to take Mr. Wolcott's place. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 8:30 a.m. Respectively Submitted Scott Johnson Management Analyst