HomeMy WebLinkAbout07 23 2015 EDAC minutes
1
4646 Dakota Street SE
Prior Lake, MN 55372
CITY OF PRIOR LAKE, MINNESOTA
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE
MEETING MINUTES – July 23, 2015
1. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 a.m. in the Wagon Bridge Conference Room at Prior Lake City Hall. Members
present: Lloyd Erbaugh, Thane Tande, Bill Henry, Kim Prchal, Mike Stout, Chamber of Commerce Liaison Sandi Fleck
and EDA Liaison Michele Choudek. Members absent: Wade Larson, Jim Mahoney and Marisa Colby. Staff present:
Casey McCabe.
2. Approval of Meeting Minutes
a. June 25, 2015
MOTION BY HENRY and SECOND BY PRCHAL to approve the June 25, 2015 meeting minutes. Motion
adopted unanimously.
3. Old Business
a. 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.
Henry: suggested the committee focus on what attracts business to the community and what attracts residents
to the community. EDAC members identified areas of focus for business and residential. These general areas
will have more specific details provided at a later date.
Business Focus
Pad ready land and zoning information
Land value; price per square foot compared to other communities
Tax rate
Available City and County incentives
Low crime rate
Arts, culture, entertainment
Thriving downtown (activities and events)
SMSC (size, proximity, jobs, entertainment)
Permits pulled, new businesses, Mom & Pop businesses.
Market to businesses attracted to Prior Lake
Residential Focus
Household income
Schools
Growth
Low crime rate compared to metro
Lakes, parks, recreation
% high school graduates, % college graduates
High School Fab Lab
Small town feel
Population age range (young & old)
EDAC Members: felt the focus of the information should be to attract investors, brokers and developers to the
community.
4. New Business
a. Social Media Strategies – Discussion
Prchal: stated the EDAC subcommittee for the fall business event was discussing opportunities for promotion
of the event. Different social media strategies were discussed which led to a larger discussion about what the
EDAC could be doing to help promote local businesses and Prior Lake success stories through social media
(Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.).
EDAC Members: felt that connecting with local business Facebook pages would help committee members stay
in contact with local businesses, see what type of marketing is being done through social media and to keep up
to date with business activities.
Erbaugh: reference the City of Prior Lake Communications Plan and requested staff provide a copy of the plan
to EDAC members.
EDAC Members: referenced Vintage Gypsy as a business who is effectively using Facebook to market their
business. EDAC members suggested Vintage Gypsy may be a good guest to invite to a future meeting.
McCabe: stated the City of Prior Lake has a Facebook page and the EDAC could utilize that to provide updates.
Committee members discussed sending any updates (new or relocated business or other announcements) to
staff and staff would forward to appropriate person for updates.
EDAC Members: suggested looking at how SMSC, RiverSouth, other communities, etc. to see how they are
using social media.
b. Businesses Outreach Strategies
EDAC Members: discussed the business outreach strategy of EDAC commercial area liaisons and how that
program would not reach the home based businesses. Committee members discussed the importance of
connecting with home-based businesses and the difficulty to compile a list of all home-based businesses in the
community. EDAC members will attempt to reach out to home-based business in future marketing materials so
they are aware of the EDAC and city services available to all Prior Lake businesses.
5. Other Business
a. EDA Meeting Update
McCabe: provided a summary of the July 20, 2015 EDA meeting topics, including:
EDAC Funding Request – Fall Business Event
Preliminary EDA 2016 Budget
Planned Unit Development Amendment for Jeffers Pond Commercial
b. Residential and Commercial Activity Update
EDAC Members: reviewed the residential and commercial activity update as of June 30, 2015. .
c. Staff Updates
i. Planning Process for Fall 2015 Community Event
McCabe: provided an update of the planning process for the fall business event. Mr. McCabe stated
the EDAC subcommittee has met one time and tentatively selected an October meeting time. The
location has not been established and the meeting format will be similar to the previous Business &
Industry Forum.
ii. Joint EDA/EDAC Meeting with Scott County First Stop Shop
McCabe: informed the committee that a joint EDA/EDAC meeting has been scheduled on Monday,
August 17th at 4:00 p.m. Parkview Meeting Room.
Choudek: encouraged all EDAC members to attend.
EDAC Members: discussed possible discussion topics for the meeting, including:
Roles for the EDA & EDAC; business attraction and/or business retention.
Major goals for the next year
Metrics
CR101 Marketing Report; could that report be helpful for Prior Lake?
RiverSouth; should the EDA and EDAC have a role in those meetings or implementation.
First Stop Shop; is the city rethinking the role of FSS as the program develops?
Transportation Network; what comes first businesses or transportation network?
EDAC Members: were asked to email any additional possible discussion items to staff.
d. EDAC Commercial Area Liaison Updates
None.
e. Member Ideas/Recommendations
Erbaugh: invited Thane Tande to provide an update on The Knotty Oar during the August EDAC meeting. Stout
recommended the committee take a few minutes at each meeting over the next several months to allow
committee members to share their business information. Mr. Stout added that it may be a benefit for EDAC
members to understand the other committee members’ professional background and strengths.
6. Next Meeting Date. The next regular meeting of the EDAC will be on Thursday, August 27, 2015 at 7:30 a.m.
7. Adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 9:00 a.m.
Submitted by: Casey McCabe