HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes Nov 18, 2011
4646 Dakota Street SE
Prior Lake, MN 55372
CITY OF PRIOR LAKE, MINNESOTA
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES – NOVEMBER 18, 2011
1.Call to Order.
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 a.m. in the Wagon Bridge Room at City Hall. Members
present: Troy Presler, Joe Passafaro, Terry Gutowski, Adam Blahnik, Sandi Fleck, Greg
Schweich, Wade Larson and Thane Tandy. Members absent: Bernie Carlson, Mary Viereck, Bill
Henry and Ken Hedberg. Staff: Dan Rogness, Jane Kansier. Others: Larry Gensmer, Brad
Rothman, Mike Podowitz.
2.Review of Bylaws; Election of Chair and Vice-Chair.
MOTION BY PASSAFARO and SECOND BY FLECK to elect Troy Presler as Chair for a two-year
term. The motion carried unanimously.
MOTION BY FLECK and SECOND BY BLAHNIK to elect Joe Passafaro as Vice-Chair. The motion
carried unanimously.
The EDAC members agreed to change the regular meeting date to the last Thursday of each
month from 7:30 AM to 9:00 AM. The remainder of the bylaws will be addressed at the next
meeting in order to allow the new members’ time to review the bylaws.
3.Approval of October 21, 2011 Meeting Minutes.
MOTION BY PASSAFARO and SECOND BY FLECK, to approve the minutes as submitted. Motion
adopted unanimously.
4.Old Business.
Meet-N-Greet Event.
Passafaro: Indicated a new comment received pertaining to Fire Code 1306, requiring existing
buildings be retrofitted for sprinklers when there is a renovation or addition. Stated existing
codes are disincentive to businesses. Asked staff to review codes in other cities to see what our
competition is doing, possibly to also include incentives offered by other cities.
Gutowski: Agreed that fewer rules will likely draw more businesses.
Larson: Asked what the impact may be of this regulation on insurance? How does this
regulation impact the fire safety rating of the City?
EDAC Members: Asked about information available on vacant or available properties. Fleck
and Rogness stated this is on the City and Chamber websites. The City website is formally
updated twice a year, with a survey sent to all commercial property owners. Otherwise, it is
updated as the information is available to the City.
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EDAC members also noted that the Farmers’ Market continues to be an ongoing issue. Tandy
commented it brings people directly to the front door of downtown businesses. Some business
owners have questioned why a private business should be allowed to take over public
infrastructure. The question is, where should the Farmers’ Market be located, and what is the
impact on existing businesses?
Presler: Concluded that the EDAC will review all of the comments line by line at the next
meeting.
Downtown Area and County Road 21.
EDAC members deferred this discussion to the next meeting.
5.New Business.
EDA Updates.
EDAC members deferred this discussion to the next meeting.
Deerfield Industrial Park – Proposed Change from Industrial to Residential
Gensmer, Rothman and Podowitz: Explained their proposal for affordable, workforce housing
on 8.6 acres of land in Deerfield Industrial Park. The property is currently zoned for industrial
uses. They would like to develop the site with 2-story townhouses. In order to do so, an
amendment to the Comprehensive Plan and the Zoning Map to designate the property for
residential uses is necessary.
Rogness: The key question is whether or not it is appropriate to change industrial property to
residential, especially with economic development as a high priority of the city council. In
addition, the Maxfield Commercial/Industrial Market Analysis may help decide the impact of
the city industrial land supply if nearly 9 acres is removed from industrial to residential.
Passafaro: Asked why this site is chosen to develop residentially?
Rothman: Answered that they own this site, and have been unable to develop it with industrial
uses over the past five years. In the current economic conditions, there is no demand for
industrial land except for storage, and vacant land is not worth much. They have met with the
adjacent Deerfield residents who like the idea of establishing a buffer between the industrial
area and the existing residential area. This new residential area might help develop supporting
commercial businesses.
Due to time constraints, the EDAC members did not make any further recommendation to the
developers on this issue. They agreed to discuss this again in the future.
6.Other Business.
Next Meetings. The EDAC will meet next on Thursday, January 26, 2012. There will be no
meeting in December due to the holidays.
Meeting adjourned at 9:05 a.m.
Submitted by: Dan Rogness