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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01 23 2014 EDAC minutes 4646 Dakota Street SE Prior Lake, MN 55372 CITY OF PRIOR LAKE, MINNESOTA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES January 23, 2014 1.Call to Order. The meeting was called to order at 7:36 a.m. in the Wagon Bridge Conference Room at Prior Lake City Hall. Members present: Bill Henry, Greg Schweich, Lloyd Erbaugh, Mike Stout, James Ford, Mark Petersen, Wade Larson, Annie Sheehan-Kerber, Jim Mahoney, Sandi Fleck, Bernie Carlson and Michelle Choudek. Members absent: Thane Tande. Staff present: Dan Rogness and Casey McCabe. 2.Approval of Meeting Minutes. a.December 5, 2013 MOTION BY PETERSEN and SECOND BY ERBAUGH to approve the December 5, 2013 meeting minutes as submitted. Motion adopted unanimously. 3.Old Business a.Prior Lake Marketing Materials McCabe: updated the committee on the activities of the Marketing Packet Subcommittee. Mr. McCabe stated the subcommittee has met twice since the December EDAC meeting and has also met with local business leaders to identify the type of information to be included. The subcommittee is working on a draft marketing packet. After the draft document is finalized, it will be presented to the EDAC and EDA for review and comment prior to printing. b.Track Commercial Vacancies McCabe: informed the committee that the EDA previously requested city staff work with the EDAC to track commercial vacancies in the community and make the information available on the City of Prior Lake website. Mr. McCabe informed the committee that staff has sent a letter and property information sheet to property owners and real estate agents representing 22 Prior Lake commercial and industrial properties that staff is either aware of a current vacancy or a vacancy existed within the past 12 months. Staff requested the property information sheet be completed and returned to city staff by January 24 so the information can be compiled and made available on th the city website. McCabe: stated staff is also considering developing a fillable form, which will be available on the website for property owners to complete and have their available property listed in the property inventory. compares to other communities in the region. McCabe: added staff will provide additional information on this topic during the February 2014 EDAC meeting. 4.New Business a.Election of Officers McCabe: reviewed the EDAC Bylaws which require members to annually elect officers. Mr. McCabe reviewed the duties of the Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary. The bylaws state the City Manager or his/her designee shall serve as the Secretary of the committee. 1 MOTION BY HENRY and SECOND BY FLECK to nominate Lloyd Erbaugh as Chair of the EDAC. Motion adopted unanimously. MOTION BY STOUT and SECOND BY HENRY to nominate Mark Petersen as Vice-Chair of the EDAC. Motion adopted unanimously. b.Review Draft EDA Business Plan Rogness: provided a summary of the draft EDA Business Plan which was reviewed by the EDA on January 21, 2014 noting the updated 2014 plan provides a report on three years of data to support job, business and commercial/industrial market value increases compared to goals. The implementation plan has been updated for ongoing initiatives related to broadband, Technology Village, targeted development areas and city codes. One new initiative was added for industrial property, including the Deerfield and Welcome Avenue area. The business plan provides some focus for what the EDA should be working on in 2014 as well as measure progress since 2011. Rogness: added the EDA will also be discussing the EDAC marketing subcommittee recommendation to include an implementation item related to overall improvements to the marketing of Prior Lake and opportunities for collaboration with regional agencies, like the Scott County First Stop Shop. EDA Business Plan updates will be provided to the EDAC throughout the EDA review process. 5.Other Business a.EDA Updates Rogness: provided the committee with an update of EDA activity from their January 21, 2014 meeting related to the following items: Election of Officers for 2014 Draft EDA 2014 Business Plan Update Draft EDA 2013 Annual Report Expand Technology Village Board of Directors EDA Discussion with Christine Pigsley about the Open to Business Program Joint Marketing Discussion (SMSC, Prior Lake, Savage, Shakopee, Canterbury Park, Valley Fair, Renaissance Festival) b.Staff Updates Rogness: provided an update of the Open to Business program which is a business assistance project sponsored by the Scott County CDA. All Scott County businesses are eligible for free assistance. The program provides loan funds, and assistance in financial management, bookkeeping, loan packaging, business plan assistance, marketing assistance, strategic planning, etc. The program will provide a counselor who will office in Shakopee one day per week and will be available by appointment at other times. Henry: recommended Open to Business program information should be made available on the City website. Rogness: informed the committee that staff has sent a letter and zoning information to all properties in the TC-T, Transition Town Center Zoning District. This follow-up was a result of earlier EDAC discussion related to the lack of follow-up residents received from the City Council. Choudek: thanked the EDAC members for all the work they do to support the EDA. c.Member Ideas/Recommendations Erbaugh: encouraged committee members to consider items or issues to focus on and pursue or continue in 2014 to improve retail and commerce. Mr. Erbaugh asked the committee to identify the issues keeping the EDAC from being truly effective, the vision for Prior Lake, where the committee should invest its time and potential organization of subcommittees to address the identified issues. Henry: recommended an agenda item related to the status of the Business & Industry Forum comments be added to the February agenda packet for discussion. Carlson: suggested the EDAC consider making a recommendation to the EDA and City Council related to a connection of the downtown area to the Village Commerce area; creating a large integrated retail area. Mr. Carlson recommended the City Engineer attend an upcoming meeting of the EDAC to provide the committee with a status update on the South Downtown Study. 6.Next Meeting Date. The next regular meeting of the EDAC will be on February 27, 2014. 7.Adjourn. MOTION BY CARLSON and SECOND BY PETERSEN to adjourn the meeting. Motion adopted unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:02 a.m. Submitted by: Casey McCabe