HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 08-23-12
4646 Dakota Street SE
Prior Lake, MN 55372
CITY OF PRIOR LAKE, MINNESOTA
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES – August 23, 2012
With both EDAC Chair Troy Presler and EDAC Vice Chair Joe Passofaro absent, MOTION BY HENRY and
SECOND BY CARLSON, to nominate FLECK to chair the August 23, 2012 EDAC Meeting. Motion
adopted unanimously.
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: Bill Henry, Greg Schweich, Wade Larson, Bernie Carlson, Sandi Fleck and Mike Myser.
Members absent: Troy Presler, Joe Passofaro, Adam Blahnik, Thane Tande and. Mary Viereck. Staff
present: Casey McCabe. Guest present: Stephen Dombrovski.
2. Approval of July 26, 2012 Meeting Minutes.
MOTION BY CARLSON and SECOND BY HENRY, to approve the July 26, 2012 minutes as submitted.
Motion adopted unanimously.
With guest speaker, Stephen Dombrovski present, agenda item 4.a. Guest Speaker – Stephen
Dombrovski, Suntide Commercial Realty, Inc. was moved ahead of Old Business on the EDAC agenda.
4. New Business.
a. Guest Speaker – Stephen Dombrovski, Suntide Commercial Realty, Inc.
McCabe: introduced guest speaker Stephen Dombrovski, President of Suntide Commercial Realty, Inc.
Dombrovski: shared his background and professional experience working on commercial development
and redevelopment projects in Prior Lake, the surrounding communities and the Twin Cities metro
area. Mr. Dombrovski presented information and led a discussion with the EDAC on subjects related
to; a comparison of retail/office vacancies in Prior Lake to Savage and Shakopee; state of the local
economy since the economic downturn; future retail/office opportunities in Prior Lake; how can the City
of Prior Lake, the EDA and the EDAC help brokers fill spaces and/or see new buildings built; and the
overall strengths and challenges in Prior Lake related to economic development activities.
Dombrovski: provided a current listing of commercial vacancies which were detailed in a MNCAR
(Minnesota Commercial Association of Realtors) report. The report indicated a total of 160 offices
available in the communities of Prior Lake, Shakopee and Savage. Of the 160 available offices, 40 of
the properties are for sale and the remaining are available for lease. Prior Lake properties accounted
for ten of the 160 available office spaces which indicated the communities of Shakopee and Savage
have more leasing and sale activity than Prior Lake.
Dombrovski: talked about the lakes within the City of Prior Lake as an amenity and a negative. The
lakes are an amenity because of the residential and recreational opportunities they provide but they are
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also a negative because they hamper the traffic flow and the area consumed by the lakes removes the
opportunity to provide additional “rooftops” which are desired by most commercial businesses.
Dombrovski: when talking about the current state of the local economy, stated that since the economic
downturn, commercial realtors are starting to see a stop in the “negative erosion” or decline in
commercial property lease rates, which are stabilizing. However, Mr. Dombrovski said the price of
commercial land is still “up in the air” which indicates commercial land prices have not stabilized. Mr.
Dombrovski estimated that commercial lease space, on average, was down 30-40 percent, so
properties that once leased for $10/square foot may now be leasing for $6.50-$7/square foot. The
lease rates for type “A” office space have remained generally consistent.
When asked what the City of Prior Lake can do to assist brokers or developers to fill vacancies and see
new buildings constructed, Mr. Dombrovski stated cooperation and communication are important, as
well as keeping an active and up-to-date list of current vacancies. Providing an opportunity for a
developer to present their plan to all departments within the City is also important (Prior Lake has a
weekly design review committee DRC meeting for this purpose). Mr. Dombrovski added that it is better
to have a plan and not follow it than not have a plan at all. The planning process should provide a
source of communication and establish realistic goals and the City should identify incremental steps it
can take to achieve its goals. Mr. Dombrovski indicated that it is important that City staff to cooperate
with developers and work toward a mutual goal of development instead of getting hung-up on a specific
issue or concern with the overall plan.
Community strengths were discussed with the EDAC, including a higher average household income
than most metro communities. Weaknesses were noted, including a downtown area that is “not sure
what it is”. When talking about the downtown, Mr. Dombrovski shared his thought that “if it was good
once, it will be good again and if it never was good, it will never be”. The indication was the City
needed to define what it wants it downtown to be and make it so.
Mr. Dombrovski also shared a Notable Transaction list from MNCAR for the second quarter of 2012
and noted that only 2 of the properties on the Notable Transaction list (approx. 130 transactions) are
located in Scott County. This indicates there is still a (real or perceived) disconnect of Scott County
from the metro area; which Mr. Dombrovski speculated was due to the transportation network and river
separating the county from the metro area.
EDAC members: had a lengthy valuable discussion with Mr. Dombrovski and thanked him for sharing
his insight and expertise.
Myser: felt a similar conversation with Mr. Dombrovski and other professionals in the field of real estate
development would be valuable for EDA members and suggested City staff coordinate a similar
discussion with a panel of real estate professionals at a future EDA meeting.
3. Old Business.
a. Business Retention & Expansion Survey Progress
McCabe: presented the agenda item and asked EDAC members to complete the remaining BR & E
surveys in the target area of Welcome Avenue, Waterfront Passage and Deerfield Industrial Parks.
McCabe asked the committee members if they would like to consider electronic or phone surveys in
lieu of face to face interviews.
Fleck: stated face to face interviews are the most beneficial.
Carlson: suggested that a phone interview be completed when it is the only option.
Henry: reminded the EDAC members that earlier in the year the EDAC established a date of
September 1, 2012 to have all BR & E surveys in the target area completed.
4. New Business.
b. 2012 Meet-N-Greet Event
McCabe: presented the agenda item and a brief history of the previous Meet-N-Greet events; most
recently held in October 2011 at Fong’s Restaurant. McCabe asked the members to determine if they
would like to host another Meet-N-Greet event during the fall of 2012 or postpone the event to a later
date.
Fleck: felt the 2011 event was not as successful as the 2010 event, which had greater attendance and
a more open dialogue. Fleck recommended the EDAC consider hosting the event every other year.
Henry: stated the EDAC may wish to hold the event in the spring of 2013.
Schweich: commented that important changes resulted from the 2011 Meet-N-Greet event and cited
the repeal of Fire Code Chapter 1306.
Carlson: stated holding the event less frequently makes sense.
MOTION BY CARLSON and SECOND BY HENRY, to take no action and continue discussion at a
future meeting. Motion adopted unanimously.
c. Prior Lake Business Pages E-Newsletter - 2012
McCabe: presented a history of the EDAC Prior Lake Business Pages e-Newsletter and provided a list
of possible article topics for the fall 2012 edition of the e-newsletter. Suggested topics included;
Downtown CR 21 / Arcadia Avenue reconstruction project update, Downtown Parking Study update,
Technology Village project update, fall 2012 Meet-N-Greet event, Prior Lake building activity (1 and
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2 quarter 2012), and a welcome new business article on Safe Step.
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EDAC members: removed the proposed article on the fall 2012 Meet-N-Greet event as it was
determined by the committee earlier in the meeting that the 2012 Meet-N-Greet event would be
postponed.
Carlson: when discussing the Downtown Parking Study update article, suggested the City of Prior Lake
and EDAC may wish to evaluate the existing downtown parking requirements and suggested the City
may establish a parking policy related to parking requirements for new downtown businesses.
EDAC members: directed City staff to prepare draft articles on the topics identified above, subject to
the removal of the 2012 Meet-N-Greet article, to be distributed to EDAC members electronically for
review and comment with a targeted circulation date in September 2012.
5. Other Business.
a. EDA Updates
Due to time constraints, EDAC members were directed to review the summary of each of the EDA
update items included in their agenda packet. EDA update items included; 2012 EDA budget
amendment – Technology Village incubator, 2013 EDA budget and tax levy, TIF 1-1 plan
modification update, broadband fiber optic network business venture fair, and downtown
redevelopment acquisition opportunity.
b. EDAC Annual Report
McCabe: informed the members that the EDAC has been invited to a City Council work session on
Monday, November 26, 2012. The purpose of the work session is to allow all advisory committees
an opportunity to present the City Council with a report of activities completed in 2012 and a
planned list of activities to be completed in 2013. More information and discussion related to the
City Council work session will be presented to the EDAC at future meetings.
c. EDAC Liaison to the EDA – September 17, 2012 Meeting (Greg Schweich)
McCabe: noted that Mr. Schweich will serve as the EDAC liaison at the next meeting of the EDA on
September 17, 2012.
Miscellaneous.
Carlson: suggested the Farmer’s Market location be placed on the September 27, 2012 agenda.
6. Next Meeting Date. The next EDAC meeting will be Thursday, September 27, 2012 at 7:30 a.m.
7. Adjourn. With a MOTION BY HENRY and SECOND BY LARSON, the meeting adjourned at 9:10 a.m.
Submitted by: Casey McCabe