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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06 21 2012 EDA Minutes4646 Dakota Street SE Prior Lake, MN 55372 Special Economic Development Authority Meeting Minutes June 21, 2012 1. CALL TO ORDER President Hedberg called the special meeting of the Economic Development Authority to order at 5:00 p.m. Present were Ken Hedberg, Bob Morris, Michelle Choudek, Mike Myser, Executive Director Frank Boyles, Community and Economic Development Director Dan Rogness, Assistant City Manager Kelly Meyer, and Community Development Specialist Casey McCabe. Absent was Dave Chromy. Guests present were Eric Lampland, Christopher Mitchell, Mary Steinhoff, Matt Schmit, Wayne Dodaro, Rob Westphal, and Lloyd Erbaugh of the Prior Lake Broadband Advisory Committee and Susan Feyder of the Star Tribune. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION BY MORRIS, SECONDED BY CHOUDEK TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS PRESENTED. VOTE: Ayes by Hedberg, Morris, Myser and Choudek. The motion carried. 3. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES No meeting minutes were reviewed. 4. PUBLIC HEARING No public hearing was scheduled. 5. OLD BUSINESS None. 6. NEW BUSINESS A. Prior Lake Broadband Advisory Committee Report: Morris: provided an introduction to the Broadband Advisory Committee (BAC) presentation and introduced members of the Economic Development Authority to the BAC. Lampland: introduced members of the BAC to the EDA. Lampland: began the BAC presentation by showing a short video titled: Living in a Smart City: Chattanooga, TN and distributed an informational packet of material to the EDA titled; Fiber to the Home: The Advantages of Optical Ac- cess, which was produced by the Fiber to the Home Council in the spring of 2011. r e r `•� `r X r e r ` Lei III TITTIMEWIM IMM. IMARMEEN871 M-1 "141111111014TUNTIM $1211121M M14 17 M11, I Phone 952.447.9800 I Fax 952.447.4245 I www.cityofpriorlake.com Mitchell: provided the EDA with an overview of regional and national fiber network projects and identified achieve- ments and challenges experienced in other communities who have built a fiber network. Hedberg: commented on language within presentation on the BACs High Level Consensus slide, which stated, "In- terconnects and, possibly, the sharing of services infrastructure: Sibley, Carver and Scott Counties." Mr. Hedberg asked if the BAC proposal will leverage the existing Scott County fiber ring as originally anticipated. Lampland: responded by saying the BAC is still reviewing opportunities to incorporate the Scott County fiber network and referenced that at this point the Scott County network is not heavily utilized in the BAC plan. Myser: stated that it appears the existing Scott County fiber network has not financially impacted this proposal. Lampland: stated that is correct. Myser: asked a question regarding the development or attraction of a data center to Prior Lake. Lampland: responded the City of Prior Lake will not attract or support a data center without a fiber network with mul- tiple diverse paths. Dodaro: discussed past, present and future video technology and the network capabilities that will be required to support future technology. Hedberg: asked how many of the communities who developed a fiber network already had two plus providers with triple play services. Lampland: stated that it is a fairly common situation to have two plus triple play providers. Hedberg: asked what happened in Monticello. Mitchell: provided detail regarding the lawsuit in Monticello and the impact the lawsuit delay had on repaying the bonds. Mr. Mitchell also stated that the City of Monticello may be the only community in the nation with two compet- ing fiber networks. Myser: requested the City of Prior Lake Finance Director review the bond rates used in the BAC proposal to deter- mine if they are accurate estimates of the current rates. Lampland: offered to meet individually or collectively with all members of the EDA to respond to specific questions. Myser: stated the EDA may be best served to meet as a whole on this issue. Hedberg: suggested the BAC take the plan to local providers and ask for their partnership. Myser: stated the city must ask local providers to participate with the City in the broadband fiber network. Hedberg: asked the BAC what take rate that was assumed in the report. Lampland: stated the BAC assumed a take rate of 40% within 5 years, which was only an estimate. Mr. Lampland stated that the model being proposed will work with a take rate of 33% at the end of the third year. Myser: suggested that more analysis on the financial aspects of the plan is needed with regards to take rates, and costs related to potential lawsuits and other items. DRAFT 5/14/12 EDA meeting minutes 2 Myser: stated he is a strong believer that a fiber network is critical infrastructure and is convinced data needs are growing and this could be a differentiator for Prior Lake. Mr. Myser stated he believes there is a role for government but he has many questions and would like to discuss this report with SMSM and Scott County. Schmit: stated Scott County has had discussion on the proposed Prior Lake fiber network and the county is commit- ted to using its fiber infrastructure to help Prior Lake and its economic development. Myser: asked if the County or SMSC would entertain a contribution to this project. Schmit: stated he could not speak for the County Board. Steinhoff: stated SMSC has had several conversations on this issue and their stance is Mystic Lake would be a cus- tomer of this network. Ms. Steinhoff added that businesses are currently courting SMSC for fiber services. Hedberg: thanked the BAC and Mr. Lampland for their work on this subject and stated he needed to leave the meet- ing for another commitment. Morris: asked if the EDA and BAC would consider another session to further discuss the broadband fiber network. MOTION BY MYSER, SECONDED BY CHOUDEK TO DIRECT CITY STAFF TO MAKE ARRANGEMENTS FOR A FUTURE EDA AND BROADBAND ADVISORY COMMITTEE INFORMATIONAL MEETING. VOTE: Ayes by Morris, Choudek and Myser. The motion carried. ADJOURNMENT MOTION BY MYSER, SECOND BY CHOUDEK TO ADJOURN THE MEETING. VOTE: Ayes by Morris, Choudek and Myser. The meeting adjourned at 6:50 p.m. Frank Boyles, Executive Director DRAFT 5/14/12 EDA meeting minutes 3