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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3.1 April 9, 2019 EDA Minutes CITY OF COTTAGE GROVE E CONOMIC D EVELOPMENT A UTHORITY MINUTES EDA Meeting April 9, 2019 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a special meeting of the Economic Development Authority was th held at Cottage Grove City Hall, 12800 Ravine Parkway, Cottage Grove, Minnesota 55016 on the 9 day of April 2019 at 7:30 a.m 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 Chris Carey, EDA Member Steve Dennis, EDA Vice President Dan Myers, EDA Member Eric Thiewes, EDA Member Ramona Westerberg, EDA Member Members Absent: Chris Carey, EDA Member Staff Present: Jennifer Levitt, City Administrator Robin Roland, Finance Director Christine Costello, Acting Community & Economic Development Director Matt Wolf, Economic Development Specialist Zac Dockter, Park and Recreation Director Others Present: APPROVAL OF MINUTES th 3.1 Approval of the March 12, 2019 EDA Minutes th EDA Member Thiewes motioned to approve the March 12, 2019 EDA Meeting Minutes. EDA Member Westerberg seconded. Motion passed unanimously (5-to-0 vote) BUSINESS ITEMS 4.1 Economic Development Update/Business Inquiry Economic Development Authority – Minutes th April 9, 2019 Page 2 of 3 Economic Development Specialist Wolf gave an update on the new business and projects occurring in Cottage Grove. 4.2 Façade Improvement Program Applications Economic Development Specialist Wolf presented the applications to the Façade Improvement Program. EDA Member Thiewes asked if this Façade Improvement Program would be an annual program. Economic Development Specialist Wolf stated that would be something the EDA and City Council would have to review moving forward. EDA Member Thiewes asked if the applications not being selected were going to have priority in subsequent years. Economic Development Specialist Wolf stated any projects not selected this year would be judged in totality of the applications submitted next year but would have priority over the winner of these years program. EDA President Bailey asked how we would be reaching out to the businesses that did apply and are not being selected. Economic Development Specialist Wolf stated that those businesses would be notified through emails and phone calls of the decision and that those applications would be considered if resubmitted in following years of the program. EDA President Bailey asked if there were any funds that we could use from the Washington County CDA to use to expand the façade program. Acting Community and Economic Development Director Costello stated there is predevelopment funds through the CDA but those cannot be used for façade improvements. Director Costello stated that starting a façade program through the CDA is something staff can bring up to the Washington County Economic Development work group. EDA Vice President motioned to award Oasis Chiropractic and authorize staff to submit an award letter to Oasis Chiropractic for $25,000 as part of the Façade Improvement Grant Program. EDA Member Westerberg seconded. Motion passed unanimously (5-to- 0) 4.3 Economic Analysis of Athletics Events in Cottage Grove Parks Director Dockter gave a presentation on the Economic Analysis of Athletics in Cottage Grove that was conducted by HKGI. EDA Vice President asked if the report was saying that we were losing 70% of hotel room potential or leakage to other communities. Parks Direct Director Dockter stated that was correct. EDA President Bailey stated that many of our events our lost to Woodbury hotels due to lack of space or inventory in the community. EDA Member Thiewes asked what the economic impact of sports domes and what the potential was to use that data when marketing a potential community center. Parks Director Dockter stated there is some good data on sports domes and that was something he could gather for use in promoting the community center. EDA Vice President Dennis inquired about the region and define what the region means in terms of economic impact on Cottage Grove. Parks Director Dockter stated the areas outside of the Cottage Grove are the secondary market such as the south half of Woodbury, Newport, St. Paul Park, north Hastings and other surrounding areas. EDA Member Westerberg asked what goes in a sports dome. Parks Director Dockter stated that it is the size of a full-size soccer field so it can be used by a variety of sports such as soccer, football, lacrosse and others. 4.4 Request to Submit Letter of Intent (LOI) for 7470 East Point Douglas Road Economic Development Authority – Minutes th April 9, 2019 Page 3 of 3 Acting Community and Economic Director Costello presented on the desire by the City of Cottage Grove to submit a letter of intent to purchase the property at 7470 East Point Douglas Road. EDA President Bailey stated he liked the idea and the opportunity to control what goes in to the property. EDA Vice President responded that the use of the money from the EDA Trust to cover the purchase is a good use of those funds, specifically to see property in Cottage Grove redeveloped. EDA Member Myers motioned to authorize the EDA Executive Director to submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) to Remax Results Commercial Group for the negotiation and purchase of 7470 East Point Douglas Road and begin additional environmental investigation work. EDA Member Thiewes seconded. Motion passed unanimously (5-to-0) PUBLIC HEARINGS 5.1 None OTHER BUSINESS 6.1 Calendar EDA President Bailey stated that later in the evening they had the volunteer banquet honoring those who were volunteering in the community. 6.2 EDA Comments 6.3 Response to Previous EDA Comments WORKSHOP None AJOURN EDA Vice President Dennis made a motion to adjourn. EDA Member Myers seconded. The meeting adjourned at 8:13 a.m. (5-to-0 vote) Respectfully Submitted, Matt Wolf Economic Development Specialist