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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-10-12 EDA MinutesCITY OF COTTAGE GROVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MINUTES October 12, 2010 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 12th day of October 2010. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:32 AM by EDA President Bailey. R()I I CAI I Members Present: Myron Bailey, EDA President Tony Jurgens, EDA Member Justin Olsen, EDA Vice President Craig Patterson, EDA Member Paul Poncin, EDA Secretary /Treasurer Chris Reese, EDA Member Richard Remackel, EDA Member Members Absent: Staff Present: Howard Blin, Community Development Director Robin Roland, Finance Director Ryan Schroeder, EDA Executive Director Ken Smith, Communications Coordinator Jesse Swenson, Economic Development Coordinator Others Present: None APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made by EDA Secretary /Treasurer Poncin to approve the September 14, 2010 Economic Development Authority minutes. Seconded by EDA Member Remackel, all present in favor. Economic Development Authority - Minutes October 12, 2010 Page 2 DEVELOPMENT UPDATE / BR &E UPDATE / BUSINESS LEADS EDA Executive Director Schroeder gave the EDA a development update. Home remodeling continues to have a lot of permit activity. To date the City has issued 2,473 permits totaling $16,542,278. Historically Cottage Grove has seen an influx of remodeling permits after a nation -wide recession. Tax appeals as of October 1, 2010 were included in the packet. In Cottage Grove only one property received an adjustment and a few of the parcels have minimum assessment agreements. The Public Safety /City Hall project has several tours scheduled and also an open house /community meeting on Thursday, October 28 starting at 6:30 p.m. At the open house /community meeting interested persons will be afforded the opportunity to provide recommendations on important site and structure amenities and facilities. The 3M ambient air monitoring station is now operational and the first sample should be prior to October 15. The City Council authorized repairs to the Grey Cloud Bridge, which is still slated to begin in the fall of 2010. Community Development Director Blin gave an update on the Las Vegas RECON leads. After attending the conference and meeting with prospective businesses letters were mailed and follow -up phone calls were made to each business lead. One of the leads is currently working on infrastructure ideas for the Cottage View site with currently one big box interested. EDA Member Jurgens asked what the current asking price is for the Cottage View site. EDA Executive Director Schroeder noted that the price is somewhere between $18 and $20 million. Staff has also been continually contacting a pharmacy lead that might be interested in the Home Depot site. EDA Vice President Olsen asked what the current status is of the Home Depot site. Community Development Director Blin noted that the site has a new broker and staff has spoken with this broker several times. At this point there is no serious interest in the site, although staff met with a junior box at RECON that might be interested (once it has opened two or three other stores in the Twin Cities) and staff has sent that information to the broker. EDA Vice President Olsen asked what the current status is of the Hollywood Video site. EDA Executive Director Schroeder noted that the owner of the building wants to wait and see what happens to the Home Depot site before selling or leasing their space. EDA President Bailey asked staff to look into the possible new Federal stimulus money for infrastructure to help fund the Hwy 19 interchange. EDA Secretary /Treasurer Poncin recommended that staff reach out to a junior box that has recently moved into the metro area. EDA Vice President Olsen asked about the status of Norris Square. EDA Executive Director Schroeder noted that staff would be conducting an internal market analysis to determine what kind of retail market demand there will be in the future for this site. EDA Vice President Olsen noted that the reader boards at the Coldwell Banker and US Bank sites do not look good blank and asked staff to look into what Economic Development Authority - Minutes October 12, 2010 Page 3 they can do to get something on the boards or turn the lights off. EAST METRO RAIL CAPACITY STUDY Community Development Director Blin presented a study of passenger rail through east Saint Paul. BNSF and CPR currently pass through Cottage Grove with 65 trains per day. The Ramsey County Rail Authority is in the process of determining how commuter rail can be phased into the current infrastructure while maintaining the performance of freight trains. The capacity study is set to be completed by October 2011. MD &M CONFERENCE Economic Development Coordinator Swenson noted that staff and a few EDA members would be attending the October 13 -14 MD &M conference in Minneapolis. SHOP QA UPDATE In March the EDA launched "Shop Cottage Grove" on the City's web site. To date 30% of Cottage Grove businesses have registered on the site. The site has recently enabled several new enhancements to the site. In the coming weeks staff will continue to advertise the site to local businesses and to residents to use the site. HOLIDAY BANNERS UPDATE The City has received over $1,000 in donations for the holiday lighting displays that will be on display starting this winter. Staff continues to advertise the opportunity to donate and encourages EDA members to donate to the initiative. RAILROAD CROSSING IMPROVEMENTS The Belden Blvd. railroad crossing quiet zone was approved by MNDOT at the beginning of October. TCCCF The Twin Cities Community Capital Fund ( TCCCF) Board of Directors met at the end of September and decided to immediately cease Fund operations. The City can either receive repayment of its $100,000 deposit by October 31 or transfer the funds into the MCCCF. A motion was made by EDA Vice President Olsen to take the repayment option. Seconded by EDA Member Patterson, all present in favor. COTTAGE GROVE TAXING /SPENDING HISTORY Economic Development Authority - Minutes October 12, 2010 Page 4 EDA Executive Director Schroeder presented a report on the history of spending and taxing in Cottage Grove. The City has been very diligent about keeping its portion of the tax bill small. The average home owner pays $5 less in 2011 on their taxes than they did in 2005. The City's tax rate has been at or near the mean of those cities to which we most closely compare. CALENDAR The EDA was provided a calendar of upcoming events. EDA President Bailey noted that the Holiday Train date has changed to December 11 t" MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS ITEMS Ichor mailed a notice to the City at the end of September that their business has closed. The Voluntary Mortgage Foreclosure Sale will be October 19 ADJOURN EDA Vice President Olsen moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by EDA Member Patterson, all present in favor. The meeting adjourned at 9:09 AM. Respectfully Submitted, Jesse Swenson Economic Development Coordinator