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HomeMy WebLinkAboutDraft April 19, 2010 Meeting Minutes 4646 Dakota Street SE Prior Lake, MN 55372 DRAFT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING MINUTES April 19, 2010 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by President Myser at 9:03 p.m. Present were Commissioners Erickson, Hedberg, Keeney and Millar, Executive Director Boyles, legal Counsel Pace, Assistant Treasurer Erickson and Secretary Green. APPROVAL OF AGENDA City Manager Boyles requested the addition of approval of the March 19, 2007 meeting minutes. MOTION BY MillAR, SECONDED BY KEENEY TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS MODIFIED. VOTE: Ayes by Erickson, Hedberg, Keeney, Millar and Myser. The motion carried. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION BY HEDBERG, SECONDED BY ERICKSON TO APPROVE THE MARCH 19,2007, MEETING MINUTES AS PRESENTED. VOTE: Ayes by Erickson, Hedberg and Millar. Keeney and Myser abstained from voting as they were not members of the EDA at the time of the meeting. The motion carried. MOTION BY MillAR, SECONDED BY KEENEY TO APPROVE THE FEBRUARY 16, 2010 MEETING MINUTES AS PRESENTED. VOTE: Ayes by Hedberg, Keeney, Millar and Myser. Erickson abstained due to his absence from the meeting. The motion carried. CONSENT AGENDA No consent agenda was presented. PRESENTATION No presentation was made. PUBLIC HEARING No public hearing was presented. OLD BUSINESS No old business was presented. NEW BUSINESS Consider Approval of a Resolution Authorizing the Expenditure of Funds: 1. To Provide a Cost Estimate and Design Information Regarding the Third Alignment Alternate for CR 21, and Phone 952.447.9800 / Fax 952.447.4245/ www.cityofpriorlake.com 2. For Completion of a Market Study by McComb with Respect to the CR 21 Alignment Alternatives. City Manager Boyles described the two alignments previously discussed for intersections along CR 21 in the downtown area and identified a proposed third alignment that has not been studied. Action would authorize design drawings and cost estimate of the proposal for the third alignment by Bolton Menk and a cost benefit analysis of all three alignments by McComb Group LTD. Comments: Pace: Indicated that standardized professional agreements describing the scope of services should be entered into with both Bolton and Menk and McComb Group L TD if the Council chooses to approve the action. Albrecht: Noted that Bolton and Menk is already under a professional services agreement for the intersection study so a modification of the scope of services could be made. Hedberg: Queried about the meaning of roadway notations on the display of the proposed third alignment. Albrecht: Described the roadways that might not be needed for access if this alignment were chosen. Hedberg: Recalled the McComb study of 2003 thoroughly analyzed the retail and service potential. The commercial, industrial and business park section of the report was less robust. Supports using McComb to complete this downtown feasibility study. Supports updating the overall report, but does not believe we have good data and projections supporting other economic development for bringing employers into town. Parr: Responded that she has met with McComb to talk about what a new study should include. If more data specific to an area is desired, it can be requested. Hedberg: Stated that the Prior Lake Vision and Strategic Plan calls for creating more jobs for people living in Prior Lake, which, according to demographics of current population, would indicate more technology and office space rather than industrial and warehouse. If that is the case, it would change proposed land uses and what the EDA chooses to do. Wants to evaluate whether McComb is the right party to conduct the evaluation. Will support a market study because this is the biggest and most important decision to be made. Expressed concern that making the wrong decision could lead to the decay of downtown and make it undevelopable. Millar: Asked how the third alternative of rerouting CR 21 could save money on the Arcadia intersection noting that the design must be completed by end of this year. Albrecht: Concurred that the City would want to move forward on a decision as early as October. Commented that savings on the Arcadia intersection would come from setting up temporary traffic lights, not doing streetscaping, etc. rather than building permanent items that would remain for 50 years or so. Millar: Stated it is necessary to look at all of the options. Erickson: Agreed this decision will determine whether or not the City has a sustainable downtown at the current location. Will support. Keeney: Expressed concern about asking for both studies at once stating that road design monies could be spent only to learn that it is not the right answer to make downtown work; or a good downtown plan might be devised that needs a different road design. Would rather learn what is needed to make downtown succeed. Believes the City should be specific about what the consultants should be doing. Stated the 2003 McComb Study concentrated on housing, but that is not what is sought at this time. Would support a focused study by McComb on specifically downtown economic development and employment opportunities. Believes the third CR 21 / intersection option will be expensive adding that the exact cost for that alignment would not be needed to make the decision on whether or not it should be done. Albrecht: Responded that there is a need to know whether the third alternative can even be done as there will be environmental issues and the City would need to learn whether more acreage would become available for downtown redevelopment by realigning CR 21 to this southern route. Commented that the M\EDA\2010\04 19 10 meeting\04 19 10 EDA minutes.doc 2 proposed cost is not high for a study of this scope and would provide the detail to make an informed decision. Myser: Supports the Bolton and Menk study to understand the potential impact of that option. Needs to be done before having a consultant come in. Agreed the market study proposal should have a specific scope, but believes further examination should be done to determine whether this is the correct consultant for this study. Suggested delaying decision on the market study consultant until the scope of the study is determined to allow evaluation on choosing the right consultant. Boyles: Agreed the alignment data could be obtained first and then a decision could be made about the scope of a market study and staff can research whether there are alternatives about who the consultant should be. Hedberg: Commented he has performed due diligence on the McComb Group and believes they are a wise choice to conduct the study. Downtown will be oriented around retail, entertainment and services. Queried where we can get similar level of detail around how to attract employers which is a significant missing piece. Supports having staff search for that expertise or confirming that McComb can do that. Erickson: Queried the timeframe for receiving results from Bolton and Menk. Albrecht: Replied it should be 4-6 weeks. Erickson: Suggested waiting for results from Bolton and Menk before determining who the market study consultant should be. Myser: Concurred. MOTION BY HEDBERG, SECONDED BY MILLAR TO APPROVE RESOLUTION EDA10.03 AUTHORIZING PROFESSIONAL SERVICES WITH RESPECT TO THE COUNTY ROAD 21 ALIGNMENT THROUGH THE DOWNTOWN AREA. VOTE: Ayes by Erickson, Hedberg, Keeney, Millar and Myser. The motion carried. Hedberg: Asked if the timing of these actions will interfere with completing Arcadia design before the end of the year. Albrecht: Not at this time. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Erickson and seconded by Hedberg to adjourn. With all members in favor, the motion carried and the meeting adjourned at 9:36 p.m. Frank Boyles, Executive Director Charlotte Green, Administrative Assistant M\EDA\2010\04 19 10 meeting\04 19 10 EDA minutes.doc 3