HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 09-27-12
4646 Dakota Street SE
Prior Lake, MN 55372
CITY OF PRIOR LAKE, MINNESOTA
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES – September 27, 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, Bill Henry, Wade Larson, Joe Passofaro, Bernie Carlson, Sandi Fleck,
Mary Viereck and Mike Myser. Members absent: Greg Schweich, Adam Blahnik and Thane Tande. Staff
present: Dan Rogness and Casey McCabe. Guests present: Chad Bohnsack and Mike Stout.
2. Approval of August 23, 2012 Meeting Minutes.
MOTION BY HENRY and SECOND BY FLECK, to approve the August 23, 2012 minutes as submitted.
Motion adopted unanimously.
With guest speaker Chad Bohnsack present, agenda item 4.a. Guest Speaker – Chad Bohnsack, Scott
County Commercial Appraiser was moved ahead of Old Business on the EDAC agenda.
4. New Business.
a. Guest Speaker – Chad Bohnsack, Scott County Commercial Appraiser
Bohnsack: introduced himself to the EDAC and shared his background and professional
experience related to property appraisals. Mr. Bohnsack presented information and led a
discussion with the EDAC on subjects related to commercial property assessments in Prior Lake
and Scott County.
Bohnsack: stated the Scott County Assessor’s Office has two primary functions; valuation and
classification. Mr. Bohnsack explained how the County determines a property’s market value, the
elements of market value and the differences between fee simple market value and leased fee
market value. Fee Simple is based on market information to estimate value, such as rents,
vacancy and expenses and Leased Fee uses the subject property’s actual information, including
actual income and expenses to estimated value. In addition, Mr. Bohnsack discussed the different
approaches to value including the cost approach, sales comparison approach and income
approach and explained the differences between the three.
Bohnsack: explained the formal duties of the Assessor’s Office including the appeal process,
where taxpayer concerns over valuations are addressed and detailed and the timeline for property
taxes payable, which takes approximately three years and includes a sales study, value date,
notices and tax statements, appeals process, truth in taxation meeting, tax statements/value
notices and property tax payment dates.
Bohnsack: shared a value comparison showing the increase in property value and total
commercial/industrial value in Prior Lake, Savage, Shakopee and Scott County in 2002 and 2012.
It was noted that Prior Lake is the second largest city in the county in terms of total property value
at $2,476,159,900 for taxes payable 2012.
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Myser: asked Mr. Bohnsack to explain fiscal disparities. Mr. Bohnsack and the EDAC discussed
fiscal disparities noting that the City of Prior Lake budget benefits from the fiscal disparities
program.
Bohnsack: shared sales and listing comparison information which highlighted the location and
pricing of available commercial and industrial property available in Prior Lake compared to other
properties in Shakopee. The listing information indicated a wide range of pricing based largely on
location.
Bohnsack: was asked to respond to a question about why property values vary within different
industrial parks. Mr. Bohnsack responded stating there are many factors that influence value,
including location, use, market conditions, quality of construction and age of improvement.
Bohnsack: responded to a question related to the estimated impacts to the City from an additional
200,000 square feet of new construction. Mr. Bohnsack stated the impact on the tax would depend
on a number of circumstances including local budgets, value of the improvements, changes in
values of remaining properties, law changes, etc. Assuming a total value of the proposed
improvement at $8,000,000 and budgets remaining flat and everything else remains the same the
total tax generated from the proposed development would be $290,873 with the City’s share of tax
increase being $28,183.
Bohnsack: shared the 2012 payable effective tax rates for the county which showed Prior Lake has
a commercial/industrial rate of 3.23%, which is the second lowest in the County to Shakopee which
has an effective tax rate of 3.2% for commercial/industrial.
EDAC members: had a lengthy and valuable discussion with Mr. Bohnsack and thanked him for
sharing his time.
3. Old Business.
a. Prior Lake Farmer’s Market Location
Presler: introduced the agenda item and stated the EDAC has discussed potential alternate
locations for the Farmer’s Market during previous meetings. During the February 2012 meeting,
the EDAC discussed alternate locations for the market and identified the current location on Main
Avenue as the best available location for 2012; however, the EDAC wished to discuss alternate
locations for 2013 during future meetings. Presler stated that some of the downtown businesses
are opposed to the market on Main Avenue and other businesses are in favor of the market at its
current location.
Carlson: stated the CarQuest and Shell businesses are negatively affected by the market.
Viereck: stated that many people from surrounding communities attend the Farmer’s Market and
Prior Lake and the downtown businesses are getting exposure during the event.
Passafaro: commented that there is a nice mix of people attending the Farmer’s Market and that
may be lost if the event is held at an alternate location, such as Lakefront Park.
Stout: asked if the Farmer’s Market should be viewed as a problem or an opportunity. Stout
acknowledged that some businesses may be negatively affected by the market but many other
businesses profit from the market.
When discussing whether the concerns of a few businesses should override the support of many
businesses, Passafaro stated that it is tough not to listen to the businesses that suffer but that
doesn’t mean the EDAC cannot listen to all businesses.
Carlson: stated there may be other suitable locations that would maintain the benefits to downtown
businesses and may mitigate the challenges.
EDAC members discussed the option of moving the market to Erie Avenue and utilize the City
owned parking areas. Members directed staff to analyze the Erie Avenue space option related to
parking stalls, dimensions, and display area and report back to the EDAC at a future meeting.
4. New Business.
b. EDAC Annual Report – November 26 City Council Work Session
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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. Staff will compile a few suggested topics to
highlight at the work session for additional discussion during the October EDAC meeting.
Presler: stated this agenda item should be a high priority during the October EDAC meeting and
recommended EDAC members bring suggested topics to highlight at the work session to the next
meeting for discussion.
c. EDAC Terms Ending October 31, 2012
McCabe: stated the EDAC currently has four members with terms expiring on October 31, 2012,
including members: Presler, Viereck, Passafaro and Blahnik. McCabe added that the City has
received applications from five people interested in serving on the EDAC. The City is in the
process of interviewing applicants in compliance with the EDAC Bylaws and it is anticipated that
new EDAC members will be recommended for EDA approval prior to the November EDAC
meeting.
5. Other Business.
a. EDA Updates
i.Broadband Fiber Optic Network
McCabe: informed the EDAC that the EDA Broadband Advisory Committee (BAC) presented
its Fiber Optic Network Feasibility Report during a combined City Council and EDA work
session on September 10. A representative from Springsted was also available and
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presented a report on public financing options to the City Council and EDA. Following the work
session, EDA members identified a need to continue discussion of the fiber recommendation to
allow additional time to research the proposed project and address their concerns.
ii.Technology Village Incubator
McCabe: stated the City Council received a Technology Village incubator program report
during a September 5 work session. On September 10, the City Council approved a
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$50,000 budget amendment to fund Phase I of the Technology Village program. Staff has
been working with the Technology Village subcommittee to finalize the program documents
(Bylaws, lease agreement, application, etc.), establishing a list of candidates to serve on the
Board of Directors, and required construction activities. A target grand opening date has been
established in December 2012.
iii.Broker/Developer Panel Discussion
McCabe: informed the members that the EDA held a similar Broker/Developer panel
discussion on September 17 as was held by the EDAC in August. Guests included Ron
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Mullenbach of DR Horton, Jim Hill of Gonyea Land Company and Steve Dombrovski of
Suntide Commercial Realty. The discussion centered on current development activity in Prior
Lake and the surrounding communities, feasible future development opportunities in the
community and where the EDA and the City of Prior Lake should be concentrating their efforts
for future economic development activities.
iv.Downtown Vitality Study – Envision Minnesota
McCabe: updated the members on the Downtown Vitality Study being completed with Envision
Minnesota. A brief survey was drafted by steering committee members to gather information
from downtown property owners, residents and customers. City staff and steering committee
volunteers passed out surveys during the August 25 Prior Lake Farmer’s Market and the
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survey was also made available online; approximately 120 online surveys have been
completed. Envision Minnesota will compile the survey results and the information will be
presented during the Downtown Vitality Workshop, which has been scheduled for Thursday,
Oct. 18, 3:00 – 8:00 PM at Club Prior. All EDAC members are invited to participate in the
workshop.
The survey deadline is September 30. Members were asked to complete the short online
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survey, which can be found at the following link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/27MD9N5
b. EDAC Liaison to the EDA – October 15, 2012 Meeting (Bill Henry)
Bill Henry will serve as the EDAC liaison at the next meeting of the EDA on October 15, 2012.
c. November EDAC Meeting Date (November 29, 2012)
EDAC Members were informed that due to the Thanksgiving holiday, the November EDAC meeting
will be held on the 5 Thursday of the month; November 29, 2012.
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Miscellaneous.
Henry: noted that the EDAC had previously established an October 1, 2012 deadline for the completion of
the Business Retention and Expansion surveys in Deerfield, Welcome, and Waterfront Passage Industrial
Districts. City staff will compile the results of the completed surveys for review at the October EDAC
meeting.
6. Next Meeting Date. The next EDAC meeting will be Thursday, October 25, 2012 at 7:30 a.m.
7. Adjourn. With a MOTION BY HENRY and SECOND BY CARLSON, the meeting adjourned at 9:15 a.m.
Submitted by: Casey McCabe