Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-01-12 Approved Minutes CITY OF COTTAGE GROVE E CONOMIC D EVELOPMENT A UTHORITY MINUTES January 12, 2016 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a regular meeting of the Economic Development Authority was held at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Parkway, Cottage Grove, Minnesota 55016 on the 12th day of January, 2015. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7:30 a.m. by EDA President Bailey. ROLL CALL Members Present: Myron Bailey, EDA President Jeff Carter, EDA Member James Celkis, EDA Member Trent Cole, EDA Member Steve Dennis, EDA Vice President Tony Jurgens, EDA Member Members Absent: Ramona Westerberg, EDA Treasurer (Unexcused) Staff Present: Charlene Stevens, EDA Executive Director Jennifer Levitt, Community Development Director/City Engineer Robin Roland, Finance Director Alicia McMonigal, Economic Development Assistant Others Present: Danielle Killey, South Washington County Bulletin Hally Turner, Washington County, Transit Planner Lyssa Leitner, Washington County, Senior Planner APPROVAL OF MINUTES 3.1EDA VP Dennis motioned to approve the December 8, 2015 EDA Meeting Minutes. EDA Member Carter seconded (6-to-0 vote). BUSINESS ITEMS 4.1 Development Update / BR&E Update Community Development Director/City Engineer Levitt discussed the development update items that were presented in the packet. Community Development Director/City Engineer Levitt discussed three additional items that were not included in the update.  SunShare LLC, applied for a zoning amendment with an expansion of 430 acres th of land located south of 100 Street between Hadley Ave and Jamaica Ave. The Economic Development Authority - Minutes January 12, 2016 Page 2 Planning Commission unanimously (8-to-0 vote) denied the application. Staff did not recommend the application because of its close proximity to the Business Park. A solar expansion has a 25 year life and staff did not want to encumber future expansion. SunShare Solar eventually withdrew their application. th Ecoplexes, Inc made application in old Cottage Grove just south of 70 street and th north of 77 street. Their application is in compliance with the ordinance and was approved before the Planning Commission. Minnesota Solar Connection will be before the Planning Commission very soon.  th Pavement Management for 2016 will be will be District F3 and F5 just south of 80 Street with pavement preservation with spot curb replacement and new asphalt. th The area near Hadley and 95 will be getting a full reconstruction including full curb and gutter, conduit and street lights. th Construction will be on 80 Street near Ideal and Jamaica Ave. EDA Member Jurgens stated he would prefer future development layout to resemble a modified grid system. He would like to see more thoroughfares in new developments to lessen traffic on Hadley in the future. 4.2 Red Rock Southeast Corridor Presentation – EDA to Provide Feedback Hally Turner, Transit Planner and Lyssa Leitner, Senior Planner both from Washington County reviewed the Red Rock Corridor materials that were presented in the packet. EDA VP Dennis asked what mechanism was used to determine ridership. Lyssa Leitner stated the region has a ridership model where data is extracted from various statically sound surveys. EDA Member Jurgens asked if there would be one or two local station locations. Lyssa Leitner th responded Alternative 1 would only have the Langdon Village station. Alternative 2a offers 80 St thth to Jamaica Ave to Hwy 61 to Hastings or Alternative 2b offers 80 Street to 95 Street to Hwy 61 to Hastings. Currently, there is not a good street connection between Langdon Village and the Business Park. Further, there isn’t a good way to get back on to Hwy 61 from Langdon Village but as this area develops this may cease to be an issue because of the develop of that ramp network. Some of those development plans are in the works. And as Langdon builds out with street network improvements buses could run and Langdon could become a stop. Stations have to be a mile to a half mile apart. Eventually there may be three stops in Cottage Grove but the infrastructure and development would have to be there for that to happen. EDA Member Jurgens asked if there were two or three different stations, would the same bus line make three stops or would they have three direct lines. Lyssa stated the buses would make every stop. EDA Member Jurgens stated businesses in the Business Park need employees to be able to get to the city but once they are at the station, they are close, but not close enough to their final destination. Would there be shuttles that would bring employees to their employer? Community Development Director/City Engineer Levitt stated 10 minutes is the walking distance Economic Development Authority - Minutes January 12, 2016 Page 3 th time frame in the Business Park so the station may need to be closer to 95 Street and Jamaica th Ave to provide more walkability to 97 Street but 3M would obviously have to run a shuttle service. She also discussed what side of Jamaica Ave the eventual station will be built. Do you put it in the Business Park or in the commercial/retail center where you have proximity to retail but a higher housing population? We are looking to the EDA for feedback regarding which side of the freeway the station should be on. Community Development Director/City Engineer Levitt stated her th approval for adding 80 Street as a stop because of the growth as the result of the Presbyterian Homes site and the higher density housing which is walkable to a station. Staff did indicate to the county we are not excited about sending 132 buses per day down Hadley Street. Staff is looking th for alternatives to navigate from 80 Street to Jamaica Ave in the most efficient way. Community Development Director/City Engineer Levitt asked for feedback from the EDA. EDA Member Jurgens opined that from an economic standpoint to the City, the station should be close to the retail center but alert the businesses in the Business Park of the need to shuttle employees. If employees are going to be shuttled anyways, the station should be located closer to retail and alert businesses of the need to shuttle employees a little further. Further, I agree that there would be too much traffic on Hadley. EDA Member Carter asked if the minimum distance between a business and a stop is ten minutes for it to be effective. Lyssa Leitner stated ten minutes is the average time, a quarter mile to a half mile, a person is willing to walk to and from a transit station. EDA Member Cole asked if infrastructure would be added for expressways or if bus lines would be added to the existing roadways. Lyssa Leitner stated BRT can be flexible but they would be running on the shoulders during congestion on Hwy 61. On local streets they would be running in mixed traffic but where the rapid comes in is the level boarding and paying before passengers board. There would also be an opportunity to trigger lights so buses could move through signals faster. EDA Jurgens asked how long a station would be usable before the station was replaced or relocated. Lyssa Leitner stated she did not know the actual lifespan of the physical structure but it would no different than a typical roadway or sidewalk. She further stated it’s a very permanent structure and is a 50 to 60 year investment. A temporary structure may be erected, but that does not attract long term development and permanency. There is an option to put what the City thought was the most important station in and then phase in the other stations. The Region would not want to move stations. EDA Member Jurgens discussed future development of Langdon and it needing a station in future years but not today. He asked the cost to move a station. Lyssa Leitner stated it isn’t about the cost of moving the station it is about the perception of moving the station. The intent is the make the lines permanent. If as a region decided to move stations, it can be a really big deal and a big hit for those that made the original investment. Metro Transit wouldn’t be very happy if a city wanted to move an entire station. Shorter term decisions can be made but keep the longer term decisions in mind for station planning. A station near Jamaica Ave can be planned, as well as a station near Langdon Village, as long as they are a half amile apart and the development supports two stations. EDA President Bailey asked the location of the tentative station in St Paul Park. Lyssa Leitner stated between the freight rail tracks and Hwy 61. It is a couple blocks out of what would be Economic Development Authority - Minutes January 12, 2016 Page 4 considered the core of downtown. This site was chosen because of the inconsistency of the trains on the freight rail tracks it would make the travel time inconsistent for the bus line. EDA President Bailey asked if there would be any changes to the current location of the Park & Ride. Lyssa Leitner stated it would likely change the location of the current Park & Ride. One of these anticipated stations would be a Park & Ride. The systems would be meshed together so riders are able to get to work and get home at various times throughout the day and evening. The current Park & Ride is almost at capacity. EDA President Bailey stated that having buses riding on Hadley would be very difficult because of the narrow roadway and there would be a lot of resistance from the residents. Lyssa Leitner stated the footprint for the future Park & Ride would be slightly larger than exists today. The reason that we want to tie the stationary planning at Langdon is to assume there will be new street infrastructure in the future ensuring a new street coming from the frontage road down into the Business Park. It would be a more direct route than running buses down Hadley. There are other funding opportunities. The Regional Solicitation Grants offers 10% of points by connecting to transit. There are possibilities to make regional solicitation grants more competitive because of the potential to connect to transit projects. We can get creative with some of the local improvements because they have local connections. th EDA President Bailey stated his desire for a stop on 80 Street coming up from St Paul Park. I’ve envisioned a walkway up and over to get people over the tracks to the Business Park with a potential sidewalk connection. The Park & Ride could be located on the Business Park side and as development happens in Langdon you go the other way with housing. EDA Member Jurgens stated the Langdon site provides future potential of commuter rail or light rail because of its close proximity to the rail. 4.3 Approve Interfund Loan on TIF-1-16 (Gardenworld) Finance Director Roland reviewed the Interfund Loan on TIF 1-16 (Gardenworld) materials that were included in the EDA packet. EDA Vice President Dennis made the motion to adopt the Interfund Loan for TIF District 1- 16. EDA Member Celkis seconded. Motion passed unanimously (6-to-0 vote). 4.4 Consider Resolution authorizing terminate of lease and ground lease and calling 2008B prior bonds Finance Director Roland discussed authorizing the termination of lease and ground lease and calling 2008B prior bonds that were included in the EDA packet. EDA Member Jurgens motioned to approve the resolution to terminate the lease and ground lease and calling prior 2008B bonds. EDA Member Carter seconded. Motion passed unanimously (6-to-0 vote). PUBLIC HEARING None Economic Development Authority - Minutes January 12, 2016 Page 5 OTHER BUSINESS 6.1 Calendar EDA Members viewed the various upcoming events listed on the calendar. 6.2 EDA Comments EDA President Bailey discussed how the strong financial stability of the City saved $1.2 million in interest when we went out to bid on bonds. The City was reaffirmed at AA+ bond rating and the City will continue to strive for the AAA rating. Bonds are rated on financial management, strength of reserves and the growth of the tax base. EDA Member Jurgens asked how we could get to a AAA rating. Finance Director Roland stated it comes from continued growth in the Business Park, commercial properties, residential properties, expansion of the tax base, and continuing to grow the City’s base while maintaining financial stability. EDA Member Jurgens asked how we compared to the other 34 cities. Finance Director Roland stated the only other cities that have the AAA rating are very large cities like Minneapolis and St Paul. EDA Member Jurgens inquired as to when a BEC update will be provided. Community Development Director/City Engineer Levitt stated the EDA agenda for February was very full and anticipates that it will take place in a workshop session in March. EDA President Bailey stated the BEC will be discussed at the yearly workshop with Council and feedback will be requested from the EDA. EDA Member Celkis quoted Benjamin Franklin ‘The longer I live, the more convincing proofs I see of this truth-that God governs in the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without his notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?’ AJOURN 7.1 EDA VP Dennis made a motion to adjourn. EDA Member Celkis seconded. The meeting adjourned at 8:35 a.m. (6-to-0 vote). Respectfully Submitted, Alicia McMonigal Economic Development Assistant