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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06 25 2015 EDAC minutes 1 4646 Dakota Street SE Prior Lake, MN 55372 CITY OF PRIOR LAKE, MINNESOTA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES – June 25, 2015 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:35 a.m. in the Wagon Bridge Conference Room at Prior Lake City Hall. Members present: Lloyd Erbaugh, Thane Tande, Marisa Colby, Bill Henry, Jim Mahoney, Wade Larson, Kim Prchal, Chamber of Commerce Liaison Sandi Fleck and EDA Liaison Michele Choudek. Members absent: Mike Stout. Staff present: Dan Rogness and Casey McCabe. Guest present: Konrad Gastony. 2. Approval of Meeting Minutes a. May 28, 2015 MOTION BY HENRY and SECOND BY LARSON to approve the May 28, 2015 meeting minutes. Motion adopted unanimously. 3. Old Business a. EDAC Commercial Area Liaison McCabe: provided the staff report related to EDAC liaisons being assigned to specific commercial and industrial areas of the community. The role of the EDAC liaison includes communication of City and EDAC activities with business owners and to provide an additional point of contact for their questions and concerns. The five commercial areas identified were: Downtown Area; Deerfield Business Park / Welcome Avenue Industrial Area; Commerce Avenue / Fountain Hills Area; Village Commerce / South Lake Village Area; and Gateway Area. Mr. McCabe reviewed the list of EDAC members assigned to each area: EDAC Members: discussed what information should be provided to the businesses; how often liaisons should be contacting their businesses; what updates/feedback should be provided to the EDAC and how often the feedback should be provided. Committee members felt the purpose of the EDAC contact should be communication, recognition of the business in the community and a source of information if the business has a question or concern. The EDAC determined one to two contacts with businesses per year is desired and updates and feedback should be provided to the full EDAC as needed. The EDAC will have information to present to businesses related to the fall event (formerly Business & Industry Forum). Committee members felt that a good time to contact businesses is when the event information/invitations are ready to hand out. b. Prior Lake Community Assets and Sharpening of Message EDAC Members: discussed the EDA direction to the EDAC to prepare information on the Community Assets and Sharpening sections of the Marketing outline so the city would be able to use that information in future marketing efforts. Community Assets relates to identifying specific community assets related to quality of life, transportation, crime rates, schools, cost of living, available properties, recreation activities, workforce, etc. Sharpening relates to how is Prior Lake different? What is the most important message Prior Lake can share? Who is the target audience? What does the target audience want to hear? Specific answers to target audience questions. EDAC Members suggested getting the appropriate information compiled as a full committee, compare Prior Lake to surrounding communities without the intent of naming the other communities in marketing materials, and then a subcommittee of four or five members could draft a report to the EDA. Erbaugh: asked all committee members to come to the next meeting with three ideas that make Prior Lake unique 4. New Business a. Guest – Konrad Gastony, Owner Paws & Pals Pet Resort Conrad Gastony, owner of Paws & Pals Pet Resort, attended the EDAC meeting as a guest. Mr. Gastony provided a history of Paws & Pals and discussed why he chose a location in Prior Lake. When asked what suggestions he may have for the City of Prior Lake as a business owner, Mr. Gastony recommended the city maintain the integrity of the Deerfield Business Park and to work with business owners during development projects and understand a business owner is looking for a return on their investment. Board Members: appreciated Mr. Gastony’s attendance at the meeting and felt the discussion went very well. The board recommended inviting a guest to attend on an every other month basis. Prchal: offered to coordinate a business owner visit for the August EDAC meeting. 5. Other Business a. EDA Meeting Update Rogness: provided a summary of the June 15, 2015 EDA meeting topics, including:  Downtown Parking Study Proposed Actions  Technology Village Phase III RFP  EDAC Quarterly Update  Fiber Network Update Report  Gateway Area Redevelopment b. Residential and Commercial Activity Update EDAC Members: reviewed the residential and commercial activity update. McCabe noted that as of May 31, 2015 the number of permits issued for i) new commercial; ii) new residential; iii) commercial additions and alterations; and iv) residential additions and alterations are all ahead of pace compared to 2014. c. Staff Updates i. City of Prior Lake App McCabe: stated that the City of Prior Lake app that was presented to the EDAC approximately 6 months ago is no longer being developed. Mr. McCabe added the City of Prior Lake recently updated its website and the mobile capabilities. A City of Prior Lake mobile app is not being pursued at this time but may be considered by the city at a later date. ii. Downtown Parking Study Implementation Rogness: provided a summary of a recent discussion at a Downtown Business / Chamber of Commerce meeting related to the Downtown Parking Study implementation steps. Mr. Rogness presented the recommended implementation steps, which included: installation of public parking lot signs on municipal off-street parking lots; a potential 3-hour parking restriction along portions of Main Avenue, Dakota Street and the Rock Creek parking lot; the EDA’s request to the MVTA to consider moving the current transit stop from the Main Avenue / CH 21 intersection; reconstruction of the Colorado Street municipal parking lot, and the installation of wayfinding signage. Rogness: added the presentation was well received and staff and the EDA will be following up with business owners with an informational flyer as the parking study initiatives are adopted. Mr. Rogness added that the EDA may ask the EDAC to hold a discussion with downtown business owners related to the mid- and long-term implementation steps identified in the plan. iii. Planning Process for Fall 2015 Community Event McCabe: informed the EDAC that the fall 2015 community event (formerly Business & Industry Forum) subcommittee has scheduled a planning meeting on July 9th. iv. EDAC Member Attendance McCabe: informed the EDAC that member Greg Schweich has submitted his resignation from the committee. Mr. McCabe added that he spoke with other committee members with less than 50% attendance so far this year and he felt assured attendance from those members would improve. v. Architectural Design Standards Rogness: updated the committee on the Architectural Design Standards that were recently amended by the City Council, specifically related to pole buildings. Rogness informed the EDAC that pole buildings would only be permitted in the I-1, General Industrial Use District by Conditional Use Permit. d. Member Ideas/Recommendations EDAC Members: discussed the proposed commercial development in the Eagle Creek Commercial subdivision and the proposed Planned Unit Development request currently being considered by the City Council. The EDAC member discussion supported commercial development in the C-2, General Business Use District. 6. Next Meeting Date. The next regular meeting of the EDAC will be on Thursday, July 23, 2015 at 7:30 a.m. 7. Adjourn. MOTION BY PRCHAL and SECOND BY MAHONEY to adjourn the meeting. Motion adopted unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 9:08 a.m. Submitted by: Casey McCabe