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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEDAC Meeting Minutes 07-29-10o~ P~o~ ~ Economic Development Advisory Committee ,~ ~ Meeting Minutes July 29, 2010 MINNES~~P 1. Call to Order Chair Howard convened the meeting at 7:30 a.m. Present were: Terry Gutowski, Joe Passofaro, Adam Blahnik, Sandi Fleck, Troy Presley, Deno Howard, Mike Myser, Danette Parr and Frank Boyles 2. Approval of June 24, 2010, Meeting Minutes. Chair Howard asked if there were revisions to the minutes. Hearing none she stated that under the status of retention interviews, the minutes should say "continuing to work on" rather than gone." The Committee approved the minutes with this change. 3. Old Business a. Upcoming Business, Civic and Community Events Chair Howard indicated that she and Adam Blahnik had attended the Farmer's Market represer>xirig the EDAC. She admired the table top display, but said the wind made it hard to keep on the table. She stated that they did receive one complaint and that it would be helpfial for the EDAC members to have more information about issues they maybe asked to comment upon. They spoke to about 50 people. She suggested that the EDAC do this once more in September. The EDAC will have a booth at the Lakefront Days wine tasting. Chair Howard stated she would be there and invited other committee members to join her. On September 20, the EDAC will have a table at the Community Fall Fest conducted at the high school from 6 - 8:30 p.m. EDAC members are invited to participate. b. Upcoming Meet and Greet Event Joe Passofaro reported that he was seeking a downtown venue and has spoken with the VFW. The VFW suggests a Tuesday or Thursday night for the event and would extend happy hour prices to the event. The VFW suggests a sandwich bar, cheese and crackers and chicken wings. Discussion ensued. Members agreed that finger foods would be appropriate. The entire EDAC is expected to attend and the schedule would be: 5:30 p.m. Social 6:30 p.m. EDAC presentation 6:45 p.m. Mingle 7:30 p.m. Adjourn Cards will be distributed for attendees to suggest EDAC actions which can improve the business climate in Prior Lake. The event would be the first week in October on the 5~' or 7~'. 0 FTLES110 EDAC`llvfinutes'aninubes July 29, 7A10. doc County Board, School District Board, City Council and Watershed Board will be invited. The mailing list will include all Chamber members and the Long Range Planning Committee. Joe Passofaro is going to check with the Wilds to see if the event could be held there at a reasonable price. c. Previous Retention Interviews • Factual information Danette stated that she emailed the factual information out to committee members. She indicated that the survey has been modified to allow for easy coding so the answers are consistent. Danette will email the revised survey for members to use. • Pros and Cons Danette reported that the top six cons were: o Taxes o Parking o Reactive, not proactive staff o Police enforcement o City trying to say no, not yes o Sign size and number The one's that received the highest frequency were "reactive, not proactive" and "taxes." The committee reviewed each ofthe cons. The staff is to report for the next meeting with a paper on the six cons so EDAC members will be better able to understand each. o Taxes -describe what is happening: the levy, values, classifications and commercial vs. residential. o Downtown parking -explain the short- and long-range parking plan. Perhaps use this one to support the CR 21 alternative 3. o Reactive vs. proactive -would like specifics on what is happening, including ordinances the City does not enforce and signs relating to number, size and location. o Police enforcement -probably has a lot to do with persons parking their cars between 2 - 6 a.m., and being towed or officers watching liquor venues at closing. o City trying to say no -the EDAC and EDA are examples of the City working to say yes. Mike Myser wanted to know if these are "old" businesses or "new" businesses raising this argument. o Sign size and number -the zoning ordinance amendment should be explained. Chair Howard asked each committee person to identify specifically what the survey respondents were saying with respect to each to assure that the EDAC is responding to the concerns the businesses have. She also suggested that as part of the next meeting, the committee evaluate the retention survey to assure it is effective in eliciting the desired information. 4. New Business a. Business Loss - no discussion b. MetroMSP.org Website -no discussion c. City CouncillEDA Discussion Frank Boyles advised the committee that the City Council added twelve objectives to the economic development vision element. He stated they also directed the staffto change the EDA bylaws so the body consists of two Council members and three corporate-types. The purpose is to improve the aggressiveness of our EDA efforts. The EDAC will report to the EDA rather than the City Council. A number of questions were asked. The proposed bylaws will be shared with the EDAC. d. Identify Future Retention/Recruitment Committee members concurred that members had contacted Cocoa and Fig regarding a move to Prior Lake. The committee agreed that the next retention area should be Deerfield, Welcome Avenue and Waterfront Passage Business Park. Next meeting will be Thursday, August 26, 2010, at 7:30 a.m. The meeting adjourned at 9 a.m.