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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-09-22 EDA MinutesCITY OF COTTAGE GROVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MINUTES September 22, 2009 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a regular meeting of the Economic Development Authority was held at Cottage Grove City Hall, 7516 80 St. S., Cottage Grove, Minnesota 55016 on the 22n day of September 2009. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:31 a.m. by EDA President Bailey. RnLL CALL Members Present: Myron Bailey, EDA President Tony Jurgens, EDA Member Paul Poncin, EDA Secretary /Treasurer Richard Remackel, EDA Member Members Absent: Justin Olsen, EDA Vice President Chris Reese, EDA Member Sara Westall, EDA Member Staff Present: Howard Blin, Community Development Director Joe Fischbach, Management Analyst Ryan Schroeder, EDA Executive Director Ken Smith, Management Analyst Jesse Swenson, Management Analyst Others Present: Craig Patterson, Realtor, J.H. Callahan and Associates Jim McComb, McComb Group Ltd. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made by EDA Secretary /Treasurer Poncin to approve the September 8, 2009 Economic Development Authority minutes with changes. Seconded by EDA Member Remackel, All Present in Favor. Economic Development Authority - Minutes September 22, 2009 Page 2 ICSC CONFERENCE UPDATE Management Analyst Ken Smith reviewed the materials for the ICSC Conference. Myron Bailey, Ryan Schroeder, Howard Blin and Craig Patterson will be attending the October 28 -30 conference in Chicago. Staff brought 2 banner options to the authority for final approval with the staff recommendation of the "pull up" 4 panel banner. Authority members liked the idea of the banners with the following suggestions: The retail banner should have squares instead of circles and the pictures in the circles should include Target, Menards and Kohls. The Housing and Parks banner should include more photos of houses /roof tops. The Market Demand banner has too much on it and the text is hard to read, but the message is right. Jim McComb of the McComb Group Ltd. presented the market study he conducted for the City. Items to note include: The City should push the Norris Square retail availability because the market can support businesses at that corner. Two examples of this include the large amount of gas bays at the Holiday Gas Station and the traffic counts for that side of Hwy 61 are only 5% lower than the north side of Hwy 61. The primary industry's that should be marketed to include general merchandise, super stores and discount stores, and the market does not support general warehouse facilities. Store ideas that the City should focus on include drug stores, hardware stores, and full service restaurants. Other possible ideas include independent women's stores, independent jewelry, beauty supplies, physical fitness, and automotive repair. EDA Members asked about Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Michaels or Hobby Lobby, which are all viable candidates for the market. EDA Member Remackel left the meeting at 8:06. Craig Patterson asked Jim McComb what materials should be given out to prospective companies at the event related to the market study and Jim suggested making a mix of packets based on the level of interest, and if the prospect is really interested they should receive the entire study due to the fact that it has a 2 to 3 year life span. EDA Executive Director Schroeder commented that staff has been developing a script for the event and also a script for the 3 minute commercial that will be added to the zip drives that are handed out at the event. Staff would like all of the EDA members to review the scripts and send any suggestions back to staff. Possible quotes to include: - "Cottage Grove has the largest shopping area in the southeast metro." - "Cottage Grove has a lot of nice houses and a strong economy." - "The completion of the two bridges will affect Cottage Grove's marketability." Removing lack of congestion will bring people into our area. The Hastings Bridge will bring more people into Cottage Grove than vice versa. EDA Member Poncin left the meeting at 8:55. Management Analyst Ken Smith will continually update all EDA Members on the list of attendees to the conference via email. Economic Development Authority - Minutes September 22, 2009 Page 3 EDA President Bailey suggested that in a future EDA meeting the group should discuss the Home Depot site. ADJOURN EDA Member Jurgens moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by EDA President Bailey, All Present in Favor. The meeting adjourned at 8:58 AM. Respectfully Submitted, Jesse Swenson Management Analyst