HomeMy WebLinkAbout3.1a 5-10-2022 EDA Meeting Minutes
CITY OF COTTAGE GROVE
ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
AUTHORITY ____________________________________________________________________
MINUTES
Economic Development Authority (EDA) Meeting
May 10, 2022
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a meeting of the Economic Development Authority was held on the 10th day of May, 2022, 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
Assistant Mann called the roll: EDA President Bailey-Here; EDA Vice President Dennis-Here; EDA Member Carey-Here; EDA Member Knop-
Here; EDA Member Krohn-Here; EDA Member Myers-Here; EDA Member Thiewes-Here.
Members Present: Myron Bailey, EDA President
Steve Dennis, EDA Vice President
Chris Carey, EDA Member
Kyle Knop, EDA Member
Joe Krohn, EDA Member
Dan Myers, EDA Member
Eric Thiewes, EDA Member
Members Absent: None.
Staff Present: Jennifer Levitt, City Administrator
Brenda Malinowski, Finance Director
Christine Costello, Community Development Director
Gretchen Larson, Economic Development Director
Jaime Mann, Assistant to the City Administrator
Others Present: Mark Militzer, Regional Vice President, NorthPoint Development
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
3.1 Approval of April 12, 2022, EDA Meeting Minutes
EDA Vice President Dennis made a motion to approve the April 12, 2022, EDA Meeting Minutes. Motion was seconded by EDA Member Carey.
Motion passed unanimously (7-to-0 vote).
BUSINESS ITEMS
4.1 Economic Development Update/Business Inquiry
Economic Development Director Gretchen Larson reviewed the Beige Book Report: Employment: Grew moderately, but hiring demands remain strong;
everyone is looking for workers. Labor availability: Considered poor. Wage Pressures: Continue to remain strong. Price pressures: Intensified further,
increased steeply with the war in Ukraine. Retail fuel prices increased briskly. Consumer spending: Grew moderately. Commercial construction: Grew
moderately. Residential construction: Showed signs of slowing. Commercial real estate: Improved modestly. Industrial space: Remained at low
vacancies despite considerable new construction. Residential real estate: Demand is still healthy, although overall sales of homes were slow due to low
inventory.
Chamber Community Showcase: We attended that on April 30; it was a great event and well attended. Many people were very interested in what’s
going on in the City. Mayor Bailey and Council Member Dennis were there to help showcase all of the things that we’re doing in the various
developments in our community.
Project Updates: Basic Needs: Ribbon cutting was held on May 3, with Mayor Bailey showcasing how long they’d previously been in the community
and have now returned. Cottage Grove Logistics Park: EDA Members were sent an invitation to the groundbreaking on May 26, 2022, at 3:00 p.m.;
please let staff know if you’ll be attending. Pizza Ranch: Construction has been pushed back t the fall of 2022. Cottage Grove Apartments: Site work
and retaining walls have begun, with a permit issued for footings and foundation work. The View Apartments: Footing and foundation work has begun;
building plans for the 31-unit building are still under review by the Zoning Department. LeafLine Labs: Had a conditional use permit and site plan review
for expansion of their facility to over 137,000 square-feet, in two phases, at their current location. Hemingway Industrial: Enclave has applied for a site
plan review of a proposed warehouse and distribution facility located at 97th Street and Hemingway Avenue. Proposed development will consist of two
buildings, with a combined total square footage of 240,000. Ravine Crossing: D.R. Horton has applied for a zoning amendment to rezone property on
the northwest corner of Keats Avenue and 90th Street from AG-1, Agricultural, to R-4, Low Density Residential. They’ve applied for a preliminary plat to
be called Ravine Crossing, with 80 detached single-family homes and four outlots. Preserve at Prairie Dunes: Summergate Development applied for a
Comprehensive Plan Amendment to redesignate use of land located generally south and west of the Cottage Grove Logistics Park development and
east of the Scientific Natural Area (SNA) from Industrial to Medium-Density Residential. They’re also requesting a Zoning Amendment to change the
zoning from AG-2, Agricultural, to R-4, Low-Density Residential with a Planned Unit Development (PUD). Summergate applied for a preliminary plat to
be called Preserve at Prairie Dunes that will create 161 single-family residential lots and nine outlots. Graymont Village: Lennar has applied for a
Economic Development Authority - Minutes
May 10, 2022
Page 2 of 2
zoning amendment from AG-2, Agricultural, to R-4, Low-Density Residential, for property located west of Ideal Avenue and south of the planned 105th
Street extension, with a PUD. Lennar also applied for a preliminary plat to be called Graymont Village, with 207 single-family lots and six outlots.
Commercial Remodel Projects: Permits were issued to: Ellie Family Services, Dunn Orthodontics, CompCare Urgent Care, Van Meter Electric.
Starbucks: Plans reviewed and approved for an interior remodel of the kitchen area to increase its size for storage.
Events: ICSC: May 22 through May 24, 2022; meeting requests from Council have been completed, now we have to follow up to have them commit in
the next two weeks. Analytical companies all want to talk to us again; River Caddis, a development company out of Michigan, have been checking out
Cottage Grove and say they’re interested in what we’re doing and how the City is growing so a meeting with them has been confirmed. DARTS: We met
with DARTS; they submitted their annual report to the City. They served almost 1,800 people, had 6,700 volunteer hours from 643 volunteers, and 554
onsite services were provided to single-family homes. They’re operating efficiently and effectively; their revenues exceeded their expenses. We’ll check
back with them in a few months. All-Commission Meeting: Will be held on June 2, 2022, at the Royal Oaks Golf Course; please RSVP by May 25.
There will be roundtable discussions so commissioners can advocate for the community, keep your eyes and ears open for what’s going on, and help
each other.
4.2 Amended and Restated TIF Agreement with NorthPoint Development
Director Costello stated NorthPoint is before the EDA again because we approved a TIF Agreement for TIF District #1-20, at the end of December 2021;
she gave some background on NorthPoint for those who might be watching: It’s a master-planned Business Park, south of 100th Street. Phase I is two
buildings of approximately 775,000 square-feet. As part of the TIF Agreement, the EDA is required to give a blessing that NorthPoint has, in fact,
submitted Phase I per the time requirements in the TIF Agreement, and NorthPoint did that in March 2022. In April 2022, the City Council approved
Phase I, and displayed the two buildings they’re going to begin building. The reason the TIF Agreement is again before the EDA is as part of the project,
NorthPoint will be constructing some public improvements: 100th Street, Ideal Avenue, and 105th Street, which is the roundabout to Ideal Avenue.
Initially, when the TIF Agreement was done preliminary estimates were $9.93 million; however, costs have increased so when they received bids in
March 2022, the bids were $4.5 million over the preliminary estimates. We had Ehlers review and evaluate all of the documentation from NorthPoint for
the increase in road, engineering, and building costs; Ehlers determined that an increase in TIF to $12 million, over eight years (previously $8.311 million
over six years) would be appropriate based on the public improvement infrastructure costs. This still meets the State Statute requirements and an
economic TIF District is a maximum of nine years, after the first year of increment.
Provisions of Agreement have slightly changed:
• Construction and phasing have been modified to include an additional phase (Phase 1a). So, they will need to submit and get through the
EDA, Planning Commission, and City Council before August 30, 2022.
• Job and wage goals remain the same; they’re still required to create a total of 1,870 fulltime jobs.
• Agreement is still a Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) TIF Note, which means the developer takes on all of the responsibility of paying for and building
the road and infrastructure, and the TIF is what helps pay back some of those costs.
Director Costello stated she and the applicant would take any questions.
EDA President Bailey welcomed Mark Militzer of NorthPoint Development. Mr. Militzer stated with the rising construction costs and inflationary
pressures, your consideration for this amendment is greatly appreciated. As Director Costello had mentioned, with this we can start with Building 3, as
the TIF will cover the improvements, so then we can focus on developing more of the development. He thanked the City staff, who have been an
absolute pleasure to work with, for all of their assistance.
Recommendation: By motion, approve the Amended and Restated Contract for Private Development by and between the Cottage Grove Economic
Development Authority and NP BGO Cottage Grove Logistics Park, LLC.
EDA Member Myers made a motion to approve the Amended and Restated Contract for Private Development by and between the Cottage
Grove Economic Development Authority and NP BGO Cottage Grove Logistics Park, LLC. EDA Member Krohn seconded the motion. Motion
passed unanimously (7-to-0 vote).
5 PUBLIC HEARINGS - None.
OTHER BUSINESS
6.1 EDA Calendar
EDA President Bailey reminded everyone to RSVP for the All-Commission Meeting; we’re going to ask for good information from you, and we’d love to
have full participation by all members.
6.2 EDA Comments – EDA Vice President Dennis stated we’re going to have a Facebook Live event tonight with the community to talk about the
state of economic development in the community, some of the great things that are going on, some of the projects that are in front of us. We’re going to
talk about our trip to Las Vegas, ICSC, to promote the City. We’ll also maybe speak about Discover Cottage Grove.
EDA President Bailey noted it’s also going to be on cable access, so if you have questions, let us know. We just want to keep the public informed and
hopefully help them understand why sometimes things take longer than expected.
6.3 Response to Previous EDA Comments - None.
7 WORKSHOP - None.
8 ADJOURNMENT
EDA Member Thiewes made a motion to adjourn. Motion was seconded by EDA Member Carey. The meeting adjourned at 7:46 a.m. (7-to-0
vote).
Respectfully submitted,
Jaime Mann
Assistant to the City Administrator
/jag