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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05 28 2015 EDAC minutes 1 4646 Dakota Street SE Prior Lake, MN 55372 CITY OF PRIOR LAKE, MINNESOTA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES – May 28, 2015 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:39 a.m. in the Wagon Bridge Conference Room at Prior Lake City Hall. Members present: Bill Henry, Jim Mahoney, Wade Larson, Kim Prchal, Mike Stout, Chamber of Commerce Liaison Sandi Fleck and EDA Liaison Michele Choudek. Members absent: Lloyd Erbaugh, Thane Tande, Greg Schweich and Marisa Colby. Staff present: Casey McCabe. 2. Approval of Meeting Minutes a. April 23, 2015 MOTION BY PRCHAL and SECOND BY MAHONEY to approve the April 23, 2015 meeting minutes. Motion adopted 5-0. 3. Old Business a. City of Prior Lake Marketing Plan Update McCabe: stated the EDA reviewed and discussed the proposed marketing plan outline during their May 18 th meeting. The EDA did not approve of the EDAC developing a broad marketing plan for the City of Prior Lake. The EDA did direct the EDAC focus on two specific areas of the marketing plan outline; Community Assets and Sharpening. Mr. McCabe added that the EDA supported current EDAC initiatives, such as the commercial area liaison program and encouraged the committee to invest time communicating with the business leaders and to provide regular reports to the EDA. Choudek: clarified that the EDAC’s request to develop a marketing plan was not viewed negatively by the EDA, rather, the EDA preferred if the EDAC focused on a couple key areas of the outline and focused on other EDAC initiatives. Henry: commented that the EDAC may not be viewing their objectives correctly or there is a discrepancy on what the EDA and EDAC see as the role of the EDAC. Mr. Henry added that the EDAC has spent time on projects in the past that were ultimately not supported by the EDA. Mr. Henry encouraged, and committee members supported, additional communication between the EDA and EDAC. b. Downtown Parking Study Implementation Steps EDAC Members: received a copy of the Downtown Parking Study. Committee members reviewed the short, mid and long-term implementation steps recommended in the plan and discussed the recent EDA action to move many of the short-term implementation steps forward. McCabe: confirmed the Downtown Parking Study has been adopted and may be shared with anyone interested. Mr. McCabe added city staff will be communicating the study’s findings and EDA action to downtown business owners and employees. 4. New Business a. Election of Vice-Chair McCabe: informed the committee that Annie Sheehan-Kerber was appointed to the EDA and has resigned her position on the EDAC. Ms. Sheehan-Kerber had been serving as the Vice-Chair of the EDAC and that position is now vacant. Prchal: offered to serve as the Vice-Chair for the remainder of the current term which expires on October 31, 2015. MOTION BY MAHONEY and SECOND BY STOUT to elect Kim Prchal as the EDAC Vice -Chair for the remainder of the term; expiring on October 31, 2015. Motion adopted 5-0. b. Planning Process for Fall 2015 Community Event EDAC Members: discussed the proposed fall 2015 community event and the intended focus to change from an opportunity for businesses to express concerns to more of a promotional event to highlight the positive changes that have been made in the city and acknowledgement of new businesses/investments in the community. Henry: commented that the event should be more than a promotional event. Prchal: stated her understanding of the event was to provide a forum for business owners to get together in a social setting and to ensure businesses understand the role of the EDAC. EDAC Members: Henry, Prchal and Mahoney volunteered to serve on a planning subcommittee for this event. Member Erbaugh was also recommended to serve on the subcommittee. A meeting of this subcommittee will be scheduled in the future. c. EDAC Member Attendance McCabe: stated that during the April meeting, EDAC members discussed the importance of regular meeting attendance from its membership. Mr. McCabe added that all City of Prior Lake advisory committee members are expected to attend a minimum of 75% of committee meetings and acknowledged members have commitments outside of the EDAC that sometimes make attendance difficult. So far in 2015, four EDAC members are well below the 75% attendance goal. EDAC Members: discussed the importance of regular meeting attendance and the issues created with lack of attendance, including the requirement to have a quorum of members to take action. EDAC members directed staff to contact members who have not had regular attendance to determine the reasons. EDAC members asked that staff report back during the June meeting to determine if any further action is required. d. EDAC Vacancies McCabe: stated with the resignation of EDAC member Sheehan-Kerber the EDAC currently has nine committee members, an EDA Liaison and a Chamber of Commerce Liaison. The committee shall consist of no more than 13 members. Mr. McCabe asked if the EDAC wished to solicit applications for new members at this time or wait until the regular city advisory committee appointments are made in October. EDAC Members: discussed the vacancies and suggested inviting potential candidates to future meetings so they can understand what the EDAC does and determine if they are interested in participation prior to the application process. EDAC members may choose to contact potential applicants and invite them to future meetings. The committee will continue this discussion during the June meeting. 5. Other Business a. EDA Meeting Update McCabe: provided a summary of the May 18, 2015 EDA meeting topics, including:  Final Downtown Parking Study and Proposed Actions  Prior Lake Economic Development Authority 2015 Business Plan  City of Prior Lake Marketing Plan  RiverSouth Marketing Presentation  Development Update  Scott County CDA EDI Grant Award – Staff Update b. Residential and Commercial Activity Update EDAC Members: reviewed the residential and commercial activity update through April 30, 2015. c. Staff Updates i. Scott County One-Half Cent Sales Tax EDAC Members: reviewed and discussed a Prior Lake American article related to the recently approved Scott County one-half cent sales tax. ii. EDAC Business Invitation During the April meeting, Sheehan-Kerber offered to coordinate a business visit with a Gateway area business or property owner for the June EDAC meeting. Now that Ms. Sheehan-Kerber is no longer on the EDAC, members directed staff to invite a business owner to the June meeting; possibly Chad Dill with Norex and owner of property on Franklin Trail. d. Member Ideas/Recommendations i. Lanesboro Press Release Stout: discussed a press release from the City of Lanesboro promoting ten new businesses in their community. Mr. Stout stressed the importance of the city identifying a vision for downtown and connections to the lake, especially with key vacancies currently in the former Giggle Gals and Carquest spaces. EDAC Members: discussed other lake communities who have successfully achieved a vital downtown and connections to their lakes. ii. First Stop Shop Choudek: suggested inviting Stacy Crakes to a future EDAC meeting to discuss Scott County First Stop Shop achievements and what FSS is currently working on. Mr. McCabe added the EDA has also indicated interest for a similar meeting with FSS so a joint meeting of the EDA and EDAC may be beneficial. 6. Next Meeting Date. The next regular meeting of the EDAC will be on Thursday, June 25, 2015 at 7:30 a.m. 7. Adjourn. MOTION BY PRCHAL and SECOND BY MAHONEY to adjourn the meeting. Motion adopted 5-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:04 a.m. Submitted by: Casey McCabe