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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09 16 2013 EDA Minutes 4646 Dakota Street SE Prior Lake, MN 55372 Economic Development Authority Meeting Minutes September 16, 2013 1. CALL TO ORDER Vice President Choudek called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Present were Choudek, Keeney and Chromy. Also present was Community & Economic Development Director Rogness, Community Development Specialist McCabe, EDAC member Lloyd Erbaugh, and Mary Korthour with Integra Telecom. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION BY CHROMY, SECONDED BY KEENEY TO APPROVE THE AGENDA WITH CHANGES TO MOVE AGENDA ITEM 7B TO 7A, AND TO ADD AGENDA ITEM 7D RELATED TO THE ARCADIA STREET EXTEN- SION TO HIGHWAY 13. VOTE: Ayes by Choudek, Keeney and Chromy. The motion carried. 3. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES MOTION BY CHROMY, SECONDED BY KEENEY TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF AUGUST 19, 2013. Ayes by Choudek, Keeney and Chromy. The motion carried. 4. CONSENT AGENDA No Consent Items 5. REMOVED CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS No Consent Items Removed 6. PUBLIC HEARING No Public Hearings 7. OLD BUSINESS A. Fiber Agreement – Prior Lake, Scott County and Integra. Rogness: introduced Mary Korthour with Integra Telecom to summarize their fiber installation agreement with Prior Lake and Scott County. Korthour: described the build-out of fiber to include the businesses in Welcome Avenue, Waterfront Pas- sage, Deerfield Business Park, and Commerce Avenue. Various public buildings will also be connected, such as the fire stations and maintenance facility. The project will be completed by the end of 2013, and this system will all connect to the 511 building in Minneapolis. Keeney: asked about promotion efforts and any limitations to future connections. Korthour: said that it will take more customer demand to increase their efforts to go beyond a current de- mand of 10 megabytes, even though 30 is now available. However, Integra is poised to meet future de- mand for higher bandwidth. Chromy: asked how many homes are now serviced with Integra fiber? Korthour: said approximately 200 homes. Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. Phone 952.447.9800 / Fax 952.447.4245 / www.cityofpriorlake.com Keeney: said that a map is needed showing service areas; the partners could drive economic develop- ment by leveraging executive home connections. Choudek: commented that some type of high-speed fiber tutorial for businesses would be beneficial. Keeney: thought that a few take-away messages would help market this service, especially to small busi- nesses in Prior Lake. He would like to see their marketing efforts identify all options available to small busi- nesses. Chromy: would encourage Integra to expand their efforts to make sure all business are aware now of the existing 30 megabytes of fiber service; that may not be known by many small businesses. B. 2014 EDA Budget with Technology Village Phase II McCabe: reviewed the plan proposed by the Technology Village Board of Directors. This plan includes subsidizing rents at office locations outside of City Hall, including three estimated businesses. The subsidy is based on a similar structure of paying a portion of rent per square foot of leased space. The estimated annual budget for that subsidy is $10,000 in 2014. Choudek: asked whether there could be a structure whereby the office building owners would cut their lease rates as direct assistance. McCabe: responded that the proposed structure does not anticipate that type of owner participation; in fact, market lease rates would be maintained while this program attempts to provide incentives for the busi- ness to lease those existing vacant spaces. Keeney: wants to build momentum beyond the first phase to create a strong reputation of small business support in Prior Lake, which requires commitment by the EDA and City Council. MOTION BY KEENEY, SECONDED BY CHROMY, TO RECOMMEND APPROVAL OF THE 2014 BUDGET WITH CHANGES THAT ADD REVENUE AND EXPENDITURES FOR THE PHASE II TECH- NOLOGY VILLAGE PROGRAM; THE TOTAL BUDGET IS NOW $173,411. Ayes by Choudek, Keeney and Chromy. The motion carried. C. Downtown Parking Options – Erie Avenue Rogness: reviewed parking design options for land owned by the Merten’s along Erie Avenue at the loca- tion of the vacant house. A small parking lot would only provide eight stalls at an estimated cost of $50,000, not including lease costs for the land. On-street parking at a much lower cost would include ap- proximately six stalls. Keeney: the EDA needs to pay more attention to sites that are key to the future viability of downtown Prior Lake. The health of downtown includes removing eyesores, but more important, it includes future develop- ment opportunities. EDA Commissioners: after further discussion, they concluded that no more attention should be given to this site at the current time due to the minimal parking impact compared to costs. D. Arcadia Avenue Extension Rogness: provided an update on information from Gonyea Land Company and TOLD Development re- garding the Diggers site. They are still interested in commercial redevelopment opportunities, but only if a roadway plan is adopted by the City Council. Keeney: summarized the status of past City Council discussions at a recent Work Session, including a corridor access study. MnDOT appears to support a full three-quarter access at Highway 13 and Franklin Trail rather than a full signalized intersection. The City Council is divided on whether the city should be pro- active to acquire more residential properties to extend Arcadia from Colorado to Pleasant Streets. Chromy: emphasized that it is important to ultimately connect the south business area to downtown in or- der to strengthen both areas economically; the EDA should support this new corridor. Keeney: concluded that this connection may not be good if it is indeed premature; rather, a final approved plan must be in place with full city support. 2 8. NEW BUSINESS A. EDAC Business & Industry Forum Responses and Action Plan. McCabe: reviewed a written summary and response to the comments received at this 2013 event. The EDAC is recommending that the EDA approve the responses and action plan. Chromy: said that these comments address concerns very well, but wondered when follow-up actions would be done. Is this a wish list which may cost a lot of money? Choudek: wants to know that the EDAC has been heard by the EDA. Keeney: questioned specific action items; for example, a crosswalk was previously addressed in another study. He asked that businesses be talked to about the proposed 2-hour restriction. This list should be linked to an EDAC website. Chromy: said that many actions are open ended with no finite solutions. MOTION BY CHROMY, SECONDED BY KEENEY TO APPROVE THE EDAC RESPONSES AND ACTION PLAN WITH RECOMMENDED CHANGES AS DISCUSSED. VOTE: Ayes by Choudek, Keeney and Chromy. The motion carried. B. County Highway 42 Study Conclusions No time was available to discuss this agenda item. 9. OTHER BUSINESS A. Draft October 21, 2013 Agenda. No time was available to discuss this agenda item. 10. ADJOURNMENT MOTION BY CHROMY, SECONDED BY KEENEY TO ADJOURN THE MEETING. With all in favor, the meet- ing adjourned at 5:58 p.m. ___________________________ Frank Boyles, Executive Director 3