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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 06-28-12 4646 Dakota Street SE Prior Lake, MN 55372 CITY OF PRIOR LAKE, MINNESOTA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES – JUNE 28, 2012 1. Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 7:35 a.m. in the Wagon Bridge Conference Room at City Hall. Members present: Troy Presler, Mike Myser, Bill Henry, Adam Blahnik, Mary Viereck, Greg Schweich, Wade Larson, Bernie Carlson and Thane Tande. Members absent: Joe Passofaro and Sandi Fleck. Staff present: Dan Rogness and Casey McCabe. Guests present: Larry Shepard, Vanessa Perry, and Matt Hyde. 2. Approval of March 29, 2012 Meeting Minutes. MOTION BY HENRY and SECOND BY SCHWEICH, to approve the May 24, 2012 minutes as submitted. Motion adopted unanimously. 3. Old Business. a. EDAC Liaison to the EDA Presler: introduced the agenda item and reviewed previous EDAC discussion regarding the position of EDAC liaison to the EDA where members determined the liaison position would alternate between EDAC members. EDAC Members: were provided a sign-up sheet showing the dates of the remaining 2012 EDA meetings. Members voluntarily signed-up to serve as the EDAC liaison to the EDA on specific meeting dates or volunteered to serve in an alternate or substitute role. b. Downtown Prior Lake Speed Limits McCabe: introduced the agenda item and recapped previous EDAC discussion related to traffic speed limits through downtown Prior Lake. Carlson: stated that due to the timing of the current construction activities and the proposed improvements; including signalization of the Arcadia Avenue/CR 21 intersection and the placing of a median and removal of the four-way stop signs at the Main Avenue/CR 21 intersection, it may be better to revisit the speed limit issue following implementation of the stated improvements. Myser: asked for clarification on why there is a need to reduce the speed limit. Carlson: stated a lower speed limit would assist in creating a viable downtown and reasonable safety for pedestrians crossing CR 21; specifically at the Main Avenue intersection. McCabe: stated that the speed limit during construction activities is 30 mph and he will verify the posted speed limits along CR 21 through downtown Prior Lake when construction activities are not occurring. 1 Myser: asked if the posted speed limits will be addressed in the current Downtown South Study and stated the Downtown South Study should confirm safe pedestrian crossings exist. EDAC Members: agreed to rely on the Downtown South Study to address the speed limit issue and members may choose to revisit this discussion following implementation of the remaining improvements, including installation of a median, removal of the four-way stop signs, and signalization of the Arcadia Avenue intersection. MOTION BY CARLSON and SECOND BY VIERECK, to refer this matter to the Downtown South Study and review any impacts after construction activities are completed. Motion adopted unanimously. c. Bus Stop at CR 21 / Main Avenue SE Intersection McCabe: provided an overview of previous EDAC discussion regarding the current bus pick-up/drop-off location at CR 21 / Main Avenue SE intersection. The EDAC had been made aware that Blue Express commuters appear to be parking their personal vehicles throughout downtown and occupying a parking stall all day while they utilize the bus service. McCabe: stated that staff has reviewed the City Council minutes from November 15, 2010 where the Council considered using the Colorado Street municipal lot as a park and ride lot. At that time the City of Prior Lake sent 76 surveys to downtown business owners and received 26 responses. 25 of the responses were received from people who identified themselves as patrons or employees of Premiere Dance and all of them were in opposition to using the Colorado Street lot as a park and ride lot. Henry: asked how many commuters ride the bus. McCabe: estimated six to eight commuters ride the bus. Larson: stated that the North side of Prior Lake is where development will be occurring and that is where the city should consider a park and ride lot. EDAC Members: agreed to defer this discussion and potentially include this item in the Envision Minnesota Downtown Vitality technical assistance study to be discussed under agenda item 4a. d. Downtown South Study Rogness: provided a summary of Downtown South Study activities that have occurred including one open house, one citizen and business advisory group meeting, and one technical advisory committee meeting. Carlson: stated he is on the Business Advisory Group and following the first meeting, committee members were asked to submit written comments. Mr. Carlson reviewed four written comments that he submitted to the Prior Lake City Engineer following the first meeting of the group, including:  Concern over dividing downtown with a median and right-in and right-out access at the Main Avenue / CR 21 intersection before to the access improvements to downtown south from Hwy 13 are in place; neither Scott County nor MnDOT have committed to the timing of the Hwy 13 improvements.  His support of the traffic planning options that encourage economic development in the downtown transitional town center district.  A possible access connection from Hwy 13 / Franklin Trail to South Downtown which could replace the 3-way access at Hwy 13 / Pleasant Street and would relieve traffic on Duluth Street.  Vehicle speed limits and pedestrian safety through downtown; specifically at the intersection of Main Avenue / CR 13 following the removal of the 4-way stop sign at this intersection. Schweich: stated he is also on the Business Advisory Group and the next meeting of the committee will attempt to narrow the submitted comments from committee members to three or four areas of focus. Presler: stated the EDAC will continue this discussion at future meetings. 4. New Business. a. Envision Minnesota Downtown Vitality Technical Assistance Rogness: presented the agenda item and gave a brief history of the technical assistance grant the City of Prior Lake received from Envision Minnesota. Rogness stated the technical assistance study will require a steering committee be established by the City of Prior Lake. Ideally the steering committee would include at least one appointed or elected official, city staff member(s), and downtown business owner(s). Rogness stated the City is requesting the EDAC as a whole or individual members of the committee serve as the steering committee. Rogness: introduced two guests from Envision Minnesota; Vanessa Perry and Matt Hyde. Perry: gave an introduction to the Envision Minnesota organization as a statewide non-profit organization focused on sustainable land use, public policy and public investment, education and outreach. Ms. Perry also shared information on previous projects completed by their organization, sources of funding for the study, and the expectations of the program for Prior Lake. Larson: asked Ms. Perry if she could share any success stories with the committee. Perry: stated the Envision Minnesota project in Jordan included updates to the commercial and industrial zoning districts along Hwy 169, beautification and increased walkability improvements, and development of historic downtown standards. Their work resulted in increased investment in their downtown and allowed the city to apply for and receive a $100,000 parks and trails grant. Perry: also discussed Envision Minnesota’s work with Center City which assisted the city in the completion of their first comprehensive plan and established a model storm water management ordinance which will help improve the community’s lake quality. Perry: stated the technical assistance will include a pre-assessment with the steering committee, a one- to two-day workshop to define the implementation strategies or action steps, and a follow-up meeting with the steering committee. Following the workshop the City would receive a summary report which will identify action steps, available financial resources, and low- and no-cost items the city can implement to achieve the goals outlined in the workshop. Rogness: reviewed potential topics of focus for the study and stated the steering committee could select a few areas to focus on or include multiple topics and develop a cohesive strategy to address all areas of importance. Perry: stated the timeline for the study would be August through October with the summary report ready in November or December of 2012. Henry: indicated this study seems to fit the goals of the EDAC. Rogness: stated City staff will poll the members of the EDAC next week to see which members would like to participate on the steering committee. b. Downtown Parking Study McCabe: shared the results of the downtown area parking study that were completed by City staff during the week of June 18. McCabe stated the survey results would be put into report format which th will be made available to EDAC members at the July meeting. The report format will be similar to the last Downtown Area Parking Study completed in 2004. McCabe: stated the survey results do not indicate a large downtown parking demand. Viereck: suggested the survey be completed again later this fall when construction activities in the downtown are completed because the construction may have impacted the results. 5. Other Business. a. EDA Updates i. Broadband Fiber Network Rogness: stated the Broadband Advisory Committee (BAC) completed its feasibility study and gave their report to the EDA during a special meeting on June 21. The BAC detailed a fiber to the premises network and the recommendation is for the City of Prior Lake to provide triple play services (phone, internet, and video). The EDA had many questions following the BAC presentation so a second informational meeting is currently being scheduled. Rogness informed the EDAC that the report will be available on the City of Prior Lake website. ii. Technology Village Incubator Rogness: informed the EDAC that the Technology Village incubator plan appears to be moving toward approval. The Technology Village subcommittee has made a few modifications to the business plan based on EDA direction and the revised plan will be presented to the EDA on July 16 . Miscellaneous. Larson: suggested it may be beneficial if the EDAC invite a representative from the Scott County Assessor’s Office to discuss property tax valuations in Prior Lake. Shepard: briefly discussed the EDA Broadband Advisory Committee Fiber Network feasibility study. As an employee of Integra Telecom, Mr. Shepard stated Integra always tries to work with local business to ensure their needs are being met and Integra has been investing in fiber to the property in all new subdivision developments since 2007. 6. Next Meeting Date. The next EDAC meeting will be Thursday, July 26, 2012 at 7:30 a.m. 7. Adjourn. With a MOTION BY HENRY and SECOND BY SCHWEICH, the meeting adjourned at 9:15 a.m. Submitted by: Casey McCabe