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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09 16 2011 EDA meeting minutes 4646 Dakota Street SE Prior Lake, MN 55372 Economic Development Authority Meeting Minutes September 16 , 2011 1. CALL TO ORDER President Hedberg called the meeting to order at 3:02 p.m. Present were Hedberg, Hitchcock, Morris and Myser ; Choudek was not in attendance, Finance Director Erickson, Assist ant City M anager Kansier, Commun i- ty and Economic Development Director Rogness, Executive Director Boyles. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION BY MYSER, SECOND BY MORRIS TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED . VOTE: Ayes by Hedberg, Hitchcock, Morris and Myser . The m otion carried. 3. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES MOTION BY MORRIS, S ECOND BY HITCHCOCK TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE AUGUST 8 , 2011 MEETING AS PRESENTED. VOTE: Ayes by Hedberg, Hitchcock, Morris and Myser. The motion carried. 4. P UBLIC HEARING No public hearin g was scheduled. 5. OLD BUSINESS A. Integra – Mary Korthour, Vice President, and Larry Shepard, Director of Network Ops and Outside Plant. Mary Korthour and Larry Shepard of Integra were present to talk about the plans Integra has for building a fiber optic to the home; and explore and discuss whether and how we might work together to identify and achieve mutually beneficial objec tives. Morris : asked how service boundaries are set. Korthour: explained their service area boundaries are established by the Public Utility Commission (PUC). Integra currently has 6,000 dwelling units within their service area boundary. They o f fer telephone, internet and cable TV services. Most of their existing service area is covered by copper, which a l lows a capacity of 30 Mg fo r downloading and 2 Mg for uploads. As new areas in the City are developed, Integra is installing fiber, which will allow a 30 Mg download and 30 Mg upload capacity. About 250 homes have fiber avail a- ble. The major cost in providing fiber to the home is the “last mile” or the line from the street to the home. This cost per household is generally around $2,500. Shepard: Integra works closely with the City Engineering Department to coordinate placement of copper and fiber in new developments and as we do street reconstruction projects. Even if fiber is not extended, conduit is placed in the street. Korthour: N oted some business have requested fiber. The cost is $90 for 30 Mg downloads, plus $20 for 30 Mg uploads. EDA commissioners : asked staff to try t o put together a graphic showing: 1. Location of the Scott County fiber; 2. Location of Integra fiber; 3. Location of Mediacom fiber, if any; and 4. Location of Century Link fiber. Phone 952.447. 9800 / Fax 952.44 7 . 4245 / www.cityofpriorlake.com EDA Commissioners : referred this to the Broadband Advisory Subcommittee. It needs to determine what it is looking for and bring a recommendation back to the EDA. B. Scott CDA Grant and Broadband Enhancements for Prior Lake Kansier: In December, 2010, the Scott County Community Development Authority awarded the City of Prior Lake a Technical Assistance Planning Grant in the amount of $15,000.00. The purpose of the grant is to provide funding to enhance economic development activities with the goal of achieving long range job cre a tion within Scott County. When the City submitted its original grant application, we intended to use the funds to retain the services of a consultant to help develop a Prior Lake Economic Development Strategy and Marketing Program. While this strategy is still valuable, the City Economic Development Authority r e- cent ly identified other goals, specifically making Fiber - To - The - Home (FTTH) a reality in Prior Lake. An a l- ternative use of the grant funds could be to retain a consultant to assist in the development of a FTTH i m- plementation plan. FTTH dovetails nicely into t he idea of expanding and utilizing the current County fiber optic backbone. If the EDA supports this change, we must specifically identify how we will use the grant funds. Staff suggest ed we put together a proposal to hire a consultant to develop a plan for a cooperative fiber network to serve economic development and businesses in Prior Lake. Matt Schmitt, with Scott Cou n- ty , will assist with this. MOTION BY MYSER, SECOND BY HITCHCOCK TO DIRECT STAFF TO: 1) SEND A LETTER TO THE SCOTT CDA REQUESTING A RE DIRECTION OF THE GRANT FUNDS; 2) PREPARE AN OVERVIEW OF WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR IN A CONSULTANT TO ACHIEVE OUR BROADBAND OBJE C TIVES USING ALTERNATIVES A) CITY - OWNED, OR B) OPEN ACCESS. VOTE: Ayes by Hedberg, Hitchcock, Morris and Myser. The motion carrie d. C. 2012 EDA Budget and Fund Transfer Finance Director Erickson reviewed the 2012 EDA budget. The City Council approved fund transfers on September 6, 2011, but did not adopt a preliminary 2012 budget. The Council will adopt a final budget in December, 2011. Hedberg : Commented the current budget proposal reduces the cash on hand. Additional expenditures could result in a tax levy increase. 6. NEW BUSINESS A. Rain Source Fund Program Deferred to next meeting. B. Appointment of Subcommittees In an effort to ass emble and organize human resources to achieve EDA objectives, Commi s sioners Morris and Hitchcock have proposed that subcommittees be established for the following EDA objective s: Broa d- band Technology, Technology Business Incubator, Technology Village, Dat a Center and Downtown Red e- velopment. The Commissioners decided to focus on three areas: Broadband, Technology Incubator and Data Center. There should be no more than five committee members, exclusive of staff. Community and Economic Development Directo r Rogness will be a part of each subcommittee. Additional outside expe r- tise can be called upon if needed. The subcommittees will have the following members: Broadband Advisory Technology Business Incub a tor Bob Morris, Chair Terry Hitchcock, Chair Er ic Lampland Michelle Choudek B ob Mo r ris Christopher Mitchell John Bryant Matt Schmit Bob Jader 09 16 11 EDA meeting minutes 2 Mary Steinhoff( SM S C) Atta Mateen Dan Rogness Dan Rogness Data Center Bob Morris, Chair Richard Keeney Eric Lampland Matt Schmit John Bryant Dan Rogness MOTION BY MYSER, SECOND BY HITCHCOCK TO ESTABLISH THE THREE SUBCOMMITTESS AS LISTED ABOVE. VOTE: Ayes by Hedberg, Hitchcock, Morris and Myser. The motion carried. 7. OTHER BUSINESS A. Draft October 10 , 2011 Agenda ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Myser and seconded by Hitchcock to adjourn the meeting. With all in favor, the meeting adjourned at 5:21 p.m. ___________________________ Frank Boyles, Executive Director 09 16 11 EDA meeting minutes 3