HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 10-25-12
4646 Dakota Street SE
Prior Lake, MN 55372
CITY OF PRIOR LAKE, MINNESOTA
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES – October 25, 2012
1. Call to Order.
The meeting was called to order at 7:40 a.m. in the Wagon Bridge Conference Room at City Hall.
Members present: Troy Presler, Bill Henry, Thane Tande, Greg Schweich and Mike Myser. Members
absent: Adam Blahnik, Wade Larson, Joe Passofaro, Bernie Carlson, Sandi Fleck and Mary Viereck. Staff
present: Dan Rogness and Casey McCabe. Guest present: Mark Peterson.
2. Approval of September 27, 2012 Meeting Minutes.
With no quorum present, the EDAC was not able to approve the September 27, 2012 meeting minutes;
however, one correction from the September 27, 2012 meeting minutes was noted. Correction included
changing the date of meeting minute approval from July 26, 2012 to August 23, 2012.
3. Old Business.
a. EDAC Annual Report – November 26 City Council Work Session
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Rogness: 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. Rogness added that the format of the work
session will be different this year and all advisory committees will be invited to the work session to
present on the same night; opposed to previous years where advisory committees would present
their reports at separate meetings throughout the year.
EDAC members: reviewed a list of 2012 accomplishments and objectives for 2013 that was
provided by City staff and included in the meeting agenda packet.
Rogness: asked if any EDAC members were available and willing to present the information during
the City Council work session on November 26. Presler agreed to review his schedule to see if
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he is available. If Presler is not available, City staff will email all EDAC members to see if another
committee member is available to present the report to the City Council.
Myser: while reviewing the 2012 accomplishments noted the downtown parking study update was
completed as a result of 2011 Meet-N-Greet comments and the results of the parking study should
be provided to the Meet-N-Greet attendants, as well as information related to the updates to the
Fire Code and C-2 Zoning Ordinance, as these updates also resulted from comments received at
the Meer-N-Greet event.
b. Business Retention & Expansion Survey Results
McCabe: presented the results of the completed Business Retention & Expansion (BR & E)
surveys to the members; it was noted that only eight surveys were submitted and a large majority
of the surveys have not been completed.
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EDAC members: discussed more effective ways to get the surveys completed. All members in
attendance agreed that the surveys were an important tool to communicate with business owners
and they provided valuable information.
Staff: suggested City staff attending the BR & E visits along with an EDAC member and also the
possibility of City staff coordinating the meeting times in an effort to complete the surveys in a
shorter time frame. EDAC members also discussed the option of establishing a BR & E
subcommittee of EDAC members most willing to participate in the BR & E visits.
EDAC members: agreed to bring this item back to the EDAC in November for further discussion,
which will also provide an opportunity for the newly appointed EDAC members to comment and
participate.
Presler: suggested the EDAC continue to concentrate its BR & E efforts in the Deerfield, Waterfront
Passage and Welcome Avenue industrial park areas.
c. Business Friendly Zoning Ordinance Amendments (Industrial)
McCabe: introduced the agenda item and presented the results of a comparison survey detailing
the current Prior Lake Zoning Ordinance requirements related to allowed uses, permitted exterior
building materials and zoning requirements compared to the same requirements of seven “peer
communities” which were chosen based on proximity and size.
McCabe: stated the comparison survey was completed as a result of public comments received at
the 2011 Meet-N-Greet event related to restrictive zoning and development requirements in the
City of Prior Lake and the intent is to make the Zoning Ordinance more “business friendly”. The
survey results indicated Prior Lake has more restrictive requirements in some areas and less
restrictive requirements in others compared to the peer communities.
McCabe: presented City staff’s recommended amendments to the Zoning Ordinance, which staff
believes will ensure the City of Prior Lake’s zoning requirements and development standards are
similar to the surrounding communities and will simplify the development process.
McCabe: added that the results of this survey are for industrial properties only and following
anticipated approval of Zoning Ordinance amendments related to industrial property, staff will also
conduct a similar survey and recommend amendments for commercial and residential properties.
Rogness added that staff will also conduct a comparison survey of development fees.
EDAC members were encouraged to review the proposed Zoning Ordinance amendments and
contact City staff with any questions or suggestions.
McCabe: informed the EDAC of the process for approval, which included presenting the proposed
changes to the EDA on October 29 and staff anticipates presenting the proposed Zoning
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Ordinance amendments to the Planning Commission in November and the City Council in
December.
Myser: commented that the City Attorney has previous experience working with some of the peer
communities surveyed and suggested reviewing the proposed amendments with the City Attorney.
Tande and Myser: stated the City should issue a press release and advertise the Zoning Ordinance
amendments on the City website when approved in an effort to let the community, business owners
and developers understand the efforts of the City to become more business friendly.
4. New Business.
a. None
5. Other Business.
a. EDA Updates
Rogness: stated the EDA meeting, previously scheduled for October 15, 2012, has been
rescheduled for October 29, 2012 and presented information to the EDAC related to the items the
EDA will be reviewing at their upcoming meeting, including:
i.Business Retention – Captain Jacks
Staff will update the EDA on recent conversations with the owners of Captain Jacks who are
considering improvements to their existing retaining walls which are failing. Staff and the EDA
will discuss city financing options for a potential business improvement project.
ii.Approve EDAC Member Appointments
The EDAC that the EDA will review the recommended appointments of Lloyd Erbaugh, James
Ford, Kris Pauna, Mark Peterson and Mike Stout to the EDAC.
iii.Fiber Optic Network Discussion
Representatives of the City recently met with representatives from Integra, Century Link and
Mediacom. The meeting was an effort to start direct dialogue with the local service providers
in order to explore potential cooperation and/or partnership opportunities related to the City’s
interest in a broadband fiber network; additional meeting with the existing providers will follow.
iv.Technology Village Business Incubator Documents
The EDA will be reviewing documents related to the Technology Village incubator project,
including proposed Technology Village Bylaws and a Technology Village Lease Agreement
between the City of Prior Lake and the City of Prior Lake Economic Development Authority.
v.Discussion with Gene Goddard, Greater MSP
Gene Goddard will join the EDA as a guest speaker at the October 29 meeting. Mr. Goddard
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is the Director of Business Investment for GREATER MSP.
vi.EDAC Recommendations for “Business Friendly” Zoning Amendments
City staff will be presenting the proposed Zoning Ordinance amendments, as reviewed earlier
in the EDAC meeting, to the EDA for review and comment.
vii.Downtown Property Acquisition Opportunities
City staff was present the EDA with potential downtown property acquisition opportunities.
b. Envision Minnesota – Downtown Vitality Workshop
Rogness: recapped the Downtown Vitality workshop and highlighted a few examples of the
discussion topics from the meeting. Vitality Workshop discussion topics included pedestrian
safety, transportation, and low and no-cost ways to bring more vitality downtown such as
pedestrian walking maps and community events, building revitalization, developing a network and
contact list for downtown property owners and downtown/lake connections.
Rogness asked EDAC members who attended the meeting to comment.
Henry: felt the meeting was similar to previous downtown meetings and was not overly impressed.
Fleck: was not able to attend the meeting but asked McCabe to pass along her comments related
to the Envision Minnesota Downtown Vitality Workshop, including:
It was a great meeting, great thoughts going around the room.
The Envision Group did a really [good] job trying to get us to articulate what we loved and
wanted downtown.
It was a shame more people didn’t take the time to stop by, especially since the downtown is a
huge part of Prior Lake and gives us the ‘small town feel’ and how we want that to continue.
Personally, [Fleck liked] the after dinner program – the vision and what can we do ‘today’ and 6
months and 5 years!
c. EDAC Terms Ending October 31, 2012
Rogness: Informed the EDAC four current members with terms expiring on October 31, 2012 will
not seek another term; including Troy Presler, Mary Viereck, Adam Blahnik and Joe Passafaro.
Rogness thanked all four members for their service.
Presler: thanked the EDAC members and City staff. Presler commented that he has enjoyed his
time on the EDAC and the City has taken some very positive steps in the past few years and he
likes the direction the city is heading.
d. Liaison to the EDA – November 19, 2012 Meeting
McCabe: stated the EDAC does not have a member currently signed up to serve as the EDAC
liaison at the next meeting of the EDA on November 19, 2012. If any member is interested, they
should contact staff.
6. Next Meeting Date. The next EDAC meeting will be Thursday, November 29, 2012 at 7:30 a.m.
7. Adjourn. With no quorum present to officially approve a motion adjourning the meeting, the meeting was
called at 9:00 a.m.
Submitted by: Casey McCabe