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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08 08 2011 EDA meeting minutes 4646 Dakota Street SE Prior Lake, MN 55372 Economic Development Authority Meeting Minutes Aug ust 8 , 2011 1. CALL TO ORDER President Hedberg called the meeting to order at 4 :0 6 p.m. Present were Hedberg, Choudek, Hitchcock, Mo r ris and Myser ; Economic Development Advisory Committee members Presler, G utowski, Henry, Blahnik and Howard ; Assistant City Manager Meyer, Assistant City manager Kansier, Planner Matzke, Community and Economic Development Director Rogness, Executive Director Boyles. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION BY MYSER, SECOND BY CHOUDEK TO APP ROVE THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED . VOTE: Ayes by Choudek, Hedberg, Hitchcock, Morris and Myser . The motion carried. 3. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES MOTION BY MORRIS, S ECOND BY MYSER TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE JU LY 11 , 2011 MEE T- ING AS PR E SENTED. VOTE: Ayes b y Choudek, Hedberg, Hitchcock, Morris and Myser. The motion carried. 4. P UBLIC HEARING No public hearing was scheduled. 5. OLD BUSINESS A. Approval of 2 Quarter Financial Report nd MOTION BY CHOUDEK, SECOND BY MYSER TO APPROVE THE 2 QUARTER FINANCIAL REPORT. ND VO TE: Ayes by Choudek, Hedberg, Hitchcock, Morris and Myser. The motion carried. B. Discussion of Roles and Relationship Commissioners commented that they anticipate the relationship of the EDA and EDAC to evolve over time into a strong team that can share e xpertise. Noted that the EDAC has historically been shown to be a be n- efit and both the EDA and EDAC are working toward the same goals. Comments: Henry : asked how the EDAC will communicate with the EDA. Gutowski : Stated he wants to understand what the d owntown will look like commenting that if the EDA and EDAC do not know how it will look, others will not. Howard : spoke of EDA C member recruitment and retention. Believes the City needs to know about tools for retention of business. Feels the EDAC is at a standstill and the City is at a cro s sroads. Blahnik : commented that the advisory committee role is not an authority role. Wants to be able to advise. Hedberg : Replied that a distinctive EDAC contribution has been working with retaining existing busin es s- es, adding that 80% of new jobs come from existing businesses. Illustrated the complexities of who is in charge of what. Myser : Stated that we fail if we do not address the things the EDAC’s work has revealed. Hedberg : Stated that City staff must be relied upon and lately there have been staff vacancies. Phone 952.447. 9800 / Fax 952.44 7 . 4245 / www.cityofpriorlake.com Howard : Asked what the next step would be in each area. Expressed feelings of being stalled and b e- lieves there should be a process to follow. Believes the same complaints are being expressed that w ere brought up 20 years ago. Myser : Replied that he would like to see the specifics about those complaints from the EDAC. Hedberg : Reiterated that having limited staff may have created delays. Gutowksi : asked the staff position on parking. Henry : Comme nted that Prior Lake is a “bedroom” community and we need to look at codes. Hitchcock : Believes there is a lack of communication. Would want to know all that was found both good and bad about Prior Lake. Need to communicate that to others. Put the list togethe r and push the system. Should n ever hear that for 20 years that the same problem exists . Choudek : Invited the EDAC to gather what they know and share it. Hedberg : Stated the EDA has to take on the position of being the advocate on behalf of the EDAC. Clar i- fied that the EDA has statutory authority. Myser : Stated it is appropriate for Howard to provide a summation to the EDA and, by the same token, the EDAC should be informed regarding the EDA priorities. Hedberg : Commented that they should cons ider whether the EDA will take on all issues, but concurs that the communication should begin to flow. Howard : Believes th e role of the EDAC is to study issues and forward information to the EDA . Stated the City should be business friendly; the downtown area needs signs. C. Discuss October 27 Meet and Greet Fifty businesses, fifty comments. Divided into downtown and meet and greet. Considering holding the event at Fong’s. Businesses wanted to have both City Council and School District attend. Choudek : Commented that people communicated at the last meet and greet and are concerned that not h- ing happened. Stated she would go back to another and did not expect that everything would change. Gutowski : Got to get back to businesses, share at meetings. Presler : Spoke of the things businesses come up against when dealing with ordinances; i.e. C - 2. Many times messenger. Myser : Believes the next meet and greet should be done and the message should be given about the things that have been done and that we are ad dressing the things that can be done. Howard : Commented that they found out that many times only those with negative opinions show up. Stated the planned schedule is from 5 – 7 p.m. with a presentation planned for 5:30 p.m. D. Retention Questionnaires Ho ward: queried whether anything should be added to the questionnaires. Noted that feedback from the questionnaires is ever evolving. Hitchcock: Stated the action steps should be identified. Hedberg: Added that institutionalizing communicat ing to the publ ic would be beneficial . Believes that r e- petition is good. 6. NEW BUSINESS A. CR 21 Discussion / Recommendation Howard: Stated that the EDAC recommended the realignment route based upon the information they had. Hedberg: Recommended that the EDAC communica te their beliefs to the City Council. Henry: Finds the baseline ineffective in economic development of the City and believes it may not be safe today or tomorrow. Howard: Believes the bypass option will have the best economic development impact. Hedberg: Stated that is consistent with the Maxfield recommendations. Henry: Asked how it would be financed. 08 08 11 EDA meeting minutes 2 Myser: Believes the EDAC should have a position paper to be presented to the City Council and others. Believes it wo uld be tougher coming from the E DA because two members of the City Council serve on the EDA. Choudek: Stated she would like to have three EDAC members a t the Council meeting to say their piece. Consensus was reached to present a white paper to the EDA and City Council. Those who do not a gree with the majority may develop a minority piece. B. Maxfield Research, Inc. Prior Lake Commercial and Industrial Demand Analysis – Mary Bujold Mary Bujold presented the results of this study , which is an update of the 2003 McCombs Study, and an s- wered que stions. C. Rain Source Funding Action Steps Boyles outlined the process per Tanja Weber. Queried what the public purpose of Rain Fund would be. Queried whether the EDA is willing to front the needed $30,000. MOTION BY MYSER, SECOND BY CHOUDEK TO DIRECT S TAFF TO INVESTIGATE THE PUBLIC PURPOSE OF RAIN SOURCE FUNDS AND REPORT UPON HOW THIS EFFORT WOULD BE ACCO M- PLISHED . VOTE: Ayes by Choudek, Hedberg, Hitchcock, Morris and Myser. The motion carried. 7. OTHER BUSINESS A. Draft September 12 , 2011 Agenda ADJOURN MENT A motion was made by Myser and seconded by Hitchcock to adjourn the meeting. With all in favor, the meeting adjourned at 6:31 p.m. ___________________________ Frank Boyles, Executive Director 08 08 11 EDA meeting minutes 3