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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-02-14 MINUTES CITY OF COTTAGE GROVE E CONOMIC D EVELOPMENT A UTHORITY MINUTES February 14, 2012 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a regular meeting of the Economic Development th Authority was held at Cottage Grove City Hall, 7516 80 St. S., Cottage Grove, Minnesota 55016 on the 14th day of February, 2012. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:30 a.m. by EDA President, Myron Bailey. ROLL CALL Members Present: Myron Bailey, EDA President Justin Olsen, EDA Vice President Tony Jurgens, EDA Member Craig Patterson, EDA Member Paul Poncin, EDA Secretary/Treasurer Members Absent: Staff Present: Robin Roland, Finance Director Ryan Schroeder, EDA Executive Director Danette Parr, Economic Development Director Laura Bolstad, Economic Development Specialist Others Present: Keith Franke, St. Paul Park Mayor APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made by EDA VP Olsen to approve the January 10, 2012 EDA minutes. The motion was seconded by EDA Member Poncin, all present were in favor. DEVELOPMENT UPDATE / BR&E UPDATE EDA Executive Director Schroeder provided the development update. The appraisal of the current City Hall building was ordered a few weeks ago. The appraisal will provide a valuation based on the following cases: 1) Current market value if the property were to be sold on the private market right now and 2) The value if the building were used as a Business Accelerator, based on the proposed operating statement. The City anticipates receiving the appraisal in approximately 3-4 weeks. Economic Development Authority - Minutes February 14, 2012 Page 2 Four new home permits were pulled in January. The unusually high permit value ($12,130,808) for commercial/institutional permits in January was due to Public Safety City Hall permits. EDA ED Schroeder explained that our current Code Enforcement Officer, Ben Pierson, accepted a job with Apple Valley. Prior to hiring Ben Pierson, the City had utilized multiple interns to do the code enforcement. The City is considering two options: 1) Advertise a Code Enforcement Officer position to replace Ben, or 2) Borrow time from other Building Department staff and hire itinerant workers (CSOs/ interns) to fill in until more subdivision work begins. Having a full time Code Enforcement Officer has had a positive impact on the aesthetic of the community, and the City would not want to see a reversal of that progress. EDA Member Jurgens said that the Code Enforcement Officer is also a very important position because of its visibility in the community. EDA President Bailey stated that Rep. Kriesel is offering a bill to provide funding for our proposed business accelerator. He is reaching out to Senator Sieben and Rep. McNamara as well to see if they would like to co-author the bill. ED Director Parr stated that there was a delay in the submission of the land use application to the City for 7180 E Point Douglas Rd S. The City anticipates an April closing. EDA MEMBER UPDATE Economic Development Director Parr reported that eight candidates had been interviewed, with th the last interviews completed on Thursday the 9. EDA President Bailey and EDA VP Olsen will be recommending two candidates for Council approval tomorrow: 1) Ramona Westerberg, who brings experience as a successful small business owner and long-time member of the community. She also has a background in real estate. 2) Laura Maciejewski, who works for 3M in marketing, strategy, and business development. She has an MBA and has also worked at General Mills. Having worked for two Fortune 500 companies, she has insight into how Cottage Grove can attract bigger companies. She moved into the community 3.5 years ago and has a young family. ED Director Parr explained that the City will be sending the other candidates a letter notifying them of the decision on the EDA positions and encouraging them to apply for other available commission openings. Home Depot Update EDA President Bailey stated that the private parties involved have scheduled a meeting, so we hope to hear more soon. EDA President Bailey stated that he and EDA Director Schroeder met with the private parties involved and explained to them that the TIF funding cannot be used if they do not come to an agreement soon. State statute allows the City to provide some pooled funds to be used, but construction must begin by 6/30/2012 and must be completed by 12/31/2012 or the funding will no longer be available. ICSC Update ED Director Parr asked the EDA members to examine the list of exhibitors and provide feedback via email or phone about which exhibitors they know they would like to target for appointments and those they would like more information on. ED VP Olsen asked if the EDA Economic Development Authority - Minutes February 14, 2012 Page 3 should target developers that have relationships with companies we would like to locate here or the specific companies themselves. EDA Director Schroeder stated that brokers would be more important than developers (with the exception of local developers such as K.A. and McGough). Mayor Bailey stated we should target Christianson and Company as well as Sims Group. We should target Midwest brokers. EDA Member Poncin said that developers are looking for entertainment complexes to anchor other retailers. EDA President Bailey stated that there are some new theaters like Cobb Theaters, LLC that we could target. EDA Member Poncin stated that local movie theaters expanded too quickly and now lenders are not lending them any money. Danette reviewed the new municipal exhibitor options available at ICSC this year: 1) Cities of the World Showcase – a graphic display and area for literature in the Grand lobby for $450 and 2) Cities of the World Pavillion with ready-made booths in the Leasing Mall area for $1,100. These two options are expensive. ICSC will also be offering the opportunity to present 30 minute showcases, which City staff will learn more about on the 16th. EDA Member Poncin asked about our supply of flash drives. ED Director Parr replied that our supply is almost out. We will need to update the content on the drives. EDA Member Poncin requested that pictures of all of the available sites, etc. be be loaded onto the flash drives. ED Director Parr agreed and responded that we are designing the new website to include an ICSC dropdown toolbar that will feature the marketing pieces for all of our properties. EDA VP Olsen asked if we will have enough back office support for the new website. Finance Director Roland replied that we will have the support: the new website will be easier to maintain and more than one individual will be trained to work on it. TRAIL GRANT – LETTER OF SUPPORT The City of Cottage Grove Parks Dept. is applying for a $48,000 grant from the MN DNR’s Local Trail Connections Grant Program to assist in funding the Pine Tree Pond Park Trailway. In the past the City’s grant application was denied because the DNR wants grant applications to demonstrate that the trail connection will have greater reaching implications in the community. City staff believe that economic development aspects come into play because the trails system will ultimately link our residential and commercial uses beyond just traditional vehicular roadways and by increasing the desirability of our residential neighborhoods with a quality trail system. For that reason, we are asking you to review a draft letter in support from the EDA that reinforces that there are economic development benefits to the trailway connection. EDA Member mentioned that there are some citizen concerns that still need to be addressed with the trail design. The trail comes close to one house, where the trail is currently designed to th connect to the service road to 80 Street. If the trail does not connect completely to the service road then it would not be ADA compliant. A number of alternatives were discussed. EDA Member Poncin motioned to approve the letter of support. The motion was seconded by EDA VP Olsen, all present were in favor. CONTINUATION OF MARKETING DISCUSSION ED Director Parr stated that at the December EDA meeting, the EDA indicated that it would be helpful to have some specific examples in relation to what the possible marketing messages would be if we were to pursue using Comcast or other similar media outlets. Three examples were introduced: Economic Development Authority - Minutes February 14, 2012 Page 4 1) City of Salisbury example (Vimeo) was not able to be reviewed during the meeting due to technical difficulties. 2) “This is my city” example script. 3) I heart Cottage Grove example script. All present liked both the “This is my city” and “I heart Cottage Grove” example scripts, but the majority preferred the “This is my city” script. ED Director Parr will invite Comcast to the March EDA meeting to discuss the details of what would be involved. Ann with the cable commission could produce the video for free, and local residents could be in the commercial. CALENDAR ED Director Parr asked the EDA if they would like to sponsor a booth at the Annual Business Showcase. There are 2 levels: $200 Sponsor or $350 Premier Sponsor. In the past the booth that comes with the sponsorship has been used by River Oaks. EDA Member Jurgens moved to approve a Premier Sponsorship and offer the booth to River Oaks Golf Course at the 2012 Business Showcase. The motion was seconded by EDA Member Patterson, all present were in favor. EDA Member Poncin requested that the booth have a sign advertising that Cottage Grove residents receive free membership to River Oaks. MISCELLANEOUS BUSINESS ITEMS EDA Director Schroeder stated that soil borings at Cottage View are in progress, and the City is waiting for a site plan. We expect that renderings will likely be available in April or May. The target would be for the theater to finish the 2012 season and then start construction immediately after. EDA Member Jurgens asked if it would be feasible for a drive-in theater to co-exist next to the development. EDA President Bailey and EDA Director Schroeder replied that would not be feasible. EDA VP Olsen reported that Councilmember Peterson is looking into affordable rental housing opportunities. EDA Member Poncin asked if Councilmember Peterson has any particular sites in mind. EDA VP Olsen responded that she has not targeted specific sites at this point. EDA President Bailey asked any members to let City staff know if they hear of anyone interested in developing rental properties in Cottage Grove, even if they are looking at developing market rate housing (rather than “affordable” housing specifically). EDA VP Olsen asked about the status of the pool site. EDA Director Schroeder said the focus right now is on the indoor playground plan. Cost testing is currently underway. The next step of the conversation is to look at all of the options for recreational improvements and provide a cost comparison (e.g. finish off Hamlet Park, water facility next to PSCH, purchase land next to Lamar Fields for more adult softball fields, etc.). Then there would be a referendum to show the voters what they would get and at what cost, and then see which items they want. EDA VP Olsen asked about putting out an RFP on the City’s property on Hardwood Ave S. EDA President Bailey stated that the original intent was to sell it and use the proceeds of the sale toward Hamlet Park. EDA Member Patterson said that right now we have many vacant properties, so he recommended holding off on marketing the property until we have fewer vacancies available. EDA Member Bailey indicated concern that currently there is no sign so no one would know that the property is available unless they talk to the City. EDA Member Patterson replied that we should put up a sign and price the property based on what we would be looking for after that 12-18 month period. It would not cost anything to put the property on Economic Development Authority - Minutes February 14, 2012 Page 5 MNCAR, etc. One of his fellow realtors could work up some comps on the property. EDA Member Jurgens requested an update on what is happening with the Charter process. EDA Director Schroeder reported that the county has vetted names on the petition based on who is listed as a registered voter. The City Council will accept the petition as valid and will make recommendations to the judge for candidates for the commission. The judge will appoint 7-15 commissioners. EDA President Bailey said that the Charter Commission could meet for 1- 5 years developing the charter, or they could meet and simply conclude that there is no need for a charter. If they decide not to pursue a Charter, no charter petitions can be submitted for one year. Some people are coming forward and telling the judge about how they were misled when they signed the petition. ADJOURN EDA VP Olsen moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by EDA Member Poncin, all present were in favor. The meeting adjourned at 9:25 a.m. Respectfully Submitted, Laura Bolstad Economic Development Specialist