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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-03-11 EDA MinutesCITY OF COTTAGE GROVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MINUTES March 11, 2008 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 2008. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:30 a.m. by EDA President Luden. Richard Remackel was recently appointed to the EDA and this was his first meeting. Staff and EDA members did brief introductions. ROLL CALL Members Present: Tony Jurgens, EDA Member Fred Luden, EDA President Paul Poncin, EDA Member Richard Remackel, EDA Member Sandy Shiely, EDA Vice President Members Absent: Gerry Weingartner, EDA Secretary /Treasurer Sara Westall, EDA Member Staff Present: Howard Blin, Community Development Director Joe Fischbach, Management Analyst Ron Hedberg, Director of Finance & Administrative Services Ryan Schroeder, EDA Executive Director Ken Smith, Management Analyst Jesse Swenson, Management Analyst Others Present: Jon Avise, South Washington County Bulletin APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made by EDA Member Poncin to approve the February 12, 2008 Economic Development Authority minutes. Seconded by EDA Vice President Shiely, All Present in Favor. DEVELOPMENT UPDATE Economic Development Authority - Minutes March 11, 2008 Page 2 EDA Executive Director Schroeder gave the EDA a development update. The groundbreaking for the ice arena expansion was held on March 5 Council also approved several bids relating to this expansion at their March 5 th meeting. Additional bids packages are scheduled to be awarded at the March 19 and April 16 Council meetings. At their February 20 Council meeting Council awarded the bids for the 2008 pavement management project. Bids came in well under the engineer's estimate which will result in lower than expected assessments for benefiting property owners. The City and County have been jointly working on an East/West Corridor Study. That Study is nearly complete and a draft will be discussed with Council at a workshop on April 2 The Norris Square senior housing facility is substantially complete with a few residents already moved in. A ribbon cutting is expected in late May or early June once the landscaping is complete. For the first two months of the year commercial /industrial permit values and residential new construction permits have come in higher than expected. However, staff still predicts a modest year, especially in residential new construction permits. COMMERICAL / RESIDENTIAL GROWTH COMPARISONS At the February EDA meeting it was suggested that staff drill down in to commercial growth data to determine if apparent growth was due to reassessment value increase or actual growth. The net appears to be that Cottage Grove has experienced commercial market value growth comparable to the mean, or slightly above that, experienced by comparable cities. In 1997 Cottage Grove represented 0.82% of the total commercial tax capacity of the comparable group. In 2007 Cottage Grove represented 1.03% of the total commercial tax capacity of the comparable group. This equates to Cottage Grove capturing 2.86% of total commercial /industrial growth within this 10 year time period. Over this same 10 year period, using statewide comparisons, the overall property tax burden remained effectively the same but the City's portion declined significantly to 93.70% of the statewide mean. ROCK CREEK HOTEL Community Development Director Howard Blin presented preliminary plans for a four story hotel on the 1.7 acre vacant lot adjacent to Ruby Tuesday and Oakwood Park. It would be an 87 -unit Holiday Inn Express. There is a concern about the building height because of the close proximity to Oakwood Park. EDA Members were generally supportive of a flat roof design because it would reduce the building height by 12 feet. It was also mentioned that the other buildings in the area, i.e. Ruby Tuesday and Kohl's, have flat roofs. EDA members expressed an interest in seeing more brick incorporated in to the exterior of the building including the rear facade. EDA Member Poncin also stated that the Parks Commission would like to see a stairway leading to Oakwood Park. The letter of intent is close to expiring on the property. In the next few weeks the developer will have to ask for an extension or sign a purchase agreement. LANGDON NEIGHBORHOOD EDA Executive Director Schroeder presented this item. Currently the Langdon neighborhood is not supplied water through the municipal system being on private wells. Many of the wells have contaminants higher than the Health Based Values assigned by the Minnesota Department of Economic Development Authority - Minutes March 11, 2008 Page 3 Health. The Minnesota Department of Health has been working with residents to mitigate the contaminants in their drinking water. Even still the residents of the Langdon neighborhood have informally approached the City about bringing municipal utilities to the neighborhood. Around this same time a developer approached the EDA about possibly redeveloping a portion of the Langdon neighborhood. At their November 2007 meeting the EDA voted 6 -0 to discuss extending utilities to the Langdon neighborhood under a redevelopment scenario. EDA Members expressed that simply extending municipal utilities to the area without a redevelopment plan or master plan is likely not feasible because of the costs. The EDA suggested identifying funding sources to initiate a master plan for this area. Community Development Director Blin will talk with Washington County to see what resources they have available. EDA GOLF TOURNAMENT UPDATE Management Analyst Jesse Swenson reported that two foursomes have already signed up for the event. She will bring sample premiums to the April EDA meeting. S ANNUAL BUSINESS SHOWCASE Management Analyst Jesse Swenson relayed a thank you from the Cottage Grove Area Chamber of Commerce for the EDA sponsoring a booth at the 5 th Annual Business Showcase. The Showcase will be March 27 from 4:30 -7:30 PM at the Armory. CALENDAR The EDA members were reminded of upcoming meetings and events. MISCELANEOUS BUSINESS ITEMS EDA Executive Director Schroeder went over the highlights of the community survey that was recently presented to the City Council by Decision Resources, Ltd. Cottage Grove consistently scored higher than the suburban metro average in many categories and even rated within the top ten percent in a few categories. Director of Finance & Administrative Services Hedberg mentioned that there will be an item on the April EDA agenda calling for a public hearing in May for the purpose of issuing lease revenue bonds for the ice arena expansion project. ADJOURN EDA Member Poncin moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by EDA Member Jurgens, All Present in Favor. The meeting adjourned at 8:59 AM. Respectfully Submitted, Joe Fischbach Economic Development Authority - Minutes March 11, 2008 Page 4 Management Analyst