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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003.07.08 EDA MINUTES • CITY OF COTTAGE GROVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MINUTES July 8, 2003 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 10th day of June 2003. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:30 a.m. by EDA President Wolcott. ROLL CALL . Members Present: Jim Wolcott, EDA President Sandy Shiely, EDA Vice-President Gerry Weingartner, Authority Member Dick Pederson, Authority Member Mike Wennen, Authority Member Al Boche, Authority Member Members Absent: Glen Kleven, Authority Member Others Present: Ryan Schroeder, City Administrator Michelle Wolfe, Assistant City Administrator Steve Barrett, Management Analyst Scott Johnson, Management Analyst Colby Johnson, South Washington County Bulletin APPROVAL OF MINUTES Authority Member Sandy Shiely moved to approve the June 10, 2003 EDA Minutes. Mike Wennen seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. Authority Member Mike Wennen moved to approve the June 24, 2003 EDA Minutes. Dick Pederson seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. Economic Development Authority- Minutes 4111 July 8, 2003 Page 2 BUSINESS SUBSIDIES PUBLIC HEARING EDA President Jim Wolcott opened the Public Hearing at 7:35 AM. Hearing no comments, the hearing was closed at 7:36 AM. Michelle Wolfe explained to the EDA that the original Business Subsidies criteria were adopted by the EDA in early 2000. The deadline for the new criteria was May 1, 2003. Staff waited for other changes in the state statute before moving forward with the hearing. No changes were made during the 2003 legislative session. The City Attorney drafted the updated language. EDA members were comfortable with the $11.00 per hour standard for wages and the updated language for business subsidies. Dick Pederson made a motion to approve the business subsidies agreement. Al Boche seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. PROJECT UPDATES Michelle Wolfe informed the EDA that the city received two new inquiries for restaurants. They will tour the city in the near future. GATEWAY • Ryan Schroeder informed the EDA that the city closed on the US Bank and 1501 Partnership properties. The closing on the Kohl's property is scheduled for July 10th Some ponding and temporary access need to be maintained completed as part of the closing. The city will have the right to use temporary ponding on the site until January 1, 2004. The Kohl's Store is scheduled to open in August of 2004. The curbs for the new streets will be completed by August 15t. The blacktop will be completed in late August. Also, the 80th Street intersection will be reconstructed this fall. 80th Street will remain open during construction and traffic will be routed to one side of the street during the construction. The Oak Park Commons developer recently passed away. It is unclear when this project will be moving forward. GROVE PLAZA A new facade will be constructed for the small tenant space in the near future. Also, a new 4,200 sf building will be constructed near Hollywood Video. HWY 61 DRAINAGE Steve Barrett informed the EDA that appraisals had been received for the Eller Media and Joe-Bob properties. The total of the two properties is $213,000. Staff wanted to know how much the EDA was comfortable with spending on the project. Mr. Schroeder informed the EDA that the appraiser took the approach that the Joe-Bob land is developable. In a 1997 Storm Water Study the city did plan to use this site for future storm water ponding. Storm water from future development from the Hwy. 61 . corridor would run to this site. Jim Wolcott mentioned that the ponding area is needed for future development. Mr. Schroeder also mentioned that the ponding that is being ) • Economic Development Authority- Minutes July 8, 2003 Page 3 discussed would need DNR approval because of its proximity to wetlands. Mayor Shiely asked if a second appraisal would be necessary. Mr. Schroeder did not think one would be necessary. Staff is comfortable that a reasonable outcome can be negotiated at least on the larger parcel. Gerry Weingartner asked if the city should speak to the DNR about the property first. Mr. Schroeder said the investment will be reasonable if even a few acres can be used for ponding. It is expected that the property would add 5 to 6 acres of ponding outside the wetland area. Mr. Weingartner asked if the project was feasible without the Joe-Bob property. Mr. Schroeder informed the EDA that it was needed to complete the ponding plan without use of the MNDOT right of way. Mr. Wolcott asked if the property owners were aware of the plans. Mr. Schroeder explained to the EDA that all of the parties were informed about the plans two to three years ago. Staff asked the EDA for permission to purchase the Eller property and negotiate with Joe-Bob Properties to buy their parcel. Dick Pederson asked if the city had researched the property. Ryan Schroeder informed the EDA that tests for ponding had been conducted by the city. Mayor Shiely made a motion to authorize staff to purchase the Ellers property and negotiate on the Joe-Bob Properties parcel. Dick Pederson seconded the motion and the motion carried unanimously. 2002 ANNUAL REPORT Staff has completed and mailed the 2002 Annual Report. A similar format will be • followed in 2003. Ryan Schroeder has received positive comments on the bullet points and the format. 2003 EDA GOLF OUTING There are a total of 11 sponsors and 72 golfers to date for the 2003 Golf Outing. EDA WEB SITE EDA members asked if local businesses could be listed on the web site. Steve Barrett informed the EDA that the Technology Task Force looked at listing city businesses, but decided to focus on city services and added a link to the Chamber of Commerce site for listings of area businesses. Michelle Wolfe also commented that it was an all or nothing type of policy. All businesses from the city would need to be included if the city offered this to local businesses. EDAM AWARD The city received their second EDAM award in a row and now has a total of three awards. This year the city received the award for their postcard ad campaign. Next year, staff might submit the annual report or the Gateway Redevelopment project. A press release about the award was sent to the media. • Economic Development Authority- Minutes • July 8, 2003 Page 4 PROMOTIONAL FILM Ryan Schroeder was recently contacted by a media company to create a promotional video about Cottage Grove. He asked the EDA if they would be interested. Al Boche suggested burning a promotional video on a CD that could be included with the marketing folders. Jim Wolcott thought it would be a good option to look at absent the current budget cuts. Mr. Schroeder also informed the EDA that under the proposal, CNBC would also put the city on a program this fall and the city would also receive the rights to reproduce the 7 minute video. EDA members thought that a promotional video could be done more cost effective locally. Mayor Shiely mentioned that Hastings is • currently running ads on cable TV. Dick Pederson thought this would be a good opportunity for a local company to produce the segment on the city. Mayor Shiely asked staff to contact Hastings to find out how much the ads cost. Al Boche will drop off the marketing materials that his company uses with staff. ADJOURN The EDA adjourned at 8:15 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Scott Johnson Management Analyst