HomeMy WebLinkAboutEDAC Meeting Minutes 09-08-11
4646 Dakota Street SE
Prior Lake, MN 55372
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 8, 2011
1.Call to Order.
Members present: Deno Howard, Troy Presler, Bill Henry, Joe Passafaro, Terry Gutowski and
Sandi Fleck. Members absent: Mary Viereck, Bob Facente, Adam Blahnik and Ken Hedberg.
Staff: Jane Kansier and Dan Rogness. Guest: Thane Tande. Dan Rogness introduced himself as
2.Approval of July 29, 2011 Meeting Minutes.
specific percentage numbers. MOTION BY HENRY and SECOND BY PASSAFARO, to approve the
amended minutes. Motion adopted unanimously.
3.Agenda. Due to the length of the agenda, Howard stated that the order of the agenda would
be changed to first discuss the TIF application, Fall Fest and County Road 21.
4.New Business.
TIF Application from River Valley Veterinary Services.
Rogness: Provided a short summary of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and the state legi
special legislation to allow TIF to be used for development projects that include job creation
through June of 2012. Rogness then explained the application from River Valley to expand its
existing building of 7,000 square feet by another 7,000 square feet. The annual tax increment
will be captured for nine years to be used to assist with project cost under a pay-as-you-go
program. Approximately $60,000 is expected to be generated over that time period that would
be available to the building owners.
Members discussed the pros and cons of TIF. The positive elements of this proposal is that it
would not happen without this public financing assistance, and full tax benefits will begin in the
tenth year. The negative element relates to assisting this business versus others that may
expand without public financing. Further discussion included whether the EDAC should support
TIF as an economic development tool. Rogness said that TIF has become a more difficult tool
due to many legislative restrictions over the past years. However, the EDAC should continue to
explore ways in which it can be used constructively through good local policy.
Gutowski: Commented that rents should support a business expansion, so there would be no
clear need for this type of public assistance.
Rogness: Explained that county staff is currently in discussion with city staff about the existing
and future value of the land and buildings. The TIF assistance would be approximately 8-10% of
the total project cost of $682,000.
Howard and Fleck: Both felt that this business would not expand without the TIF assistance and
pursue for economic development.
Passafaro: Stated that this application is a good learning experience for the EDAC since TIF as
an economic development tool has not been used for some time.
MOTION BY HENRY and SECOND BY PASSAFARO, to recommend approval of TIF assistance for
the expansion of the River Valley Veterinary Service project. Motion adopted unanimously.
5.Old Business.
Fall Fest. Passafaro will be there working the floor; Howard will be there, but later; and Henry
will be there about 6:00 PM. Rogness will be present as city staff representing economic
development and the EDAC.
Meet-N-Greet. The date is fixed for October 27 at Fongs with a menu assuming 50 people at
$10 cost each. The timeframe will include 5:00-5:30 for networking, 5:30-5:45 for a
presentation, and 5:45-7:00 for opinion sharing. Marketing will follow the same format as last
year with Passafaro updating the flyer. Promotion will include a series of email blasts 1 month,
2 weeks, 1 week and 2 days before the event, as well as information presented in newsletters
and a press release. The city council and school board should be invited, including Boyles and
Rogness representing city staff. Other logistics were discussed, including a comment box,
nametags, and email addresses requested at sign-eet-N-Greet
comments into the same format as the downtown issues for discussion at the next meeting.
County Road 21 Position Statement. Members began to review and discuss a draft White
Paper on the reconstruction of County Road 21 through downtown Prior Lake. Members
agreed that much of the discussion so far has been focused on negative issues from affected
residents rather than on comments from affected businesses. With minimal time remaining to
discuss this agenda item, it was agreed that the next EDAC meeting should focus more time on
a position related to the County Road 21 project. While some minor corrections were made to
the White Paper, Howard asked Kansier and Rogness to send EDAC members more facts, if
available, with the next meeting agenda.
6.Other Business.
Next Meetings. The EDAC will meet next on September 23 to primarily discuss County Road 21,
and on October 21 to make final preparations for the Meet-N-Greet event.
Meeting adjourned at 9:10 a.m.
Submitted by: Dan Rogness Approved (final) on 9/23/11