HomeMy WebLinkAbout12 21 2015 EDA Minutes FINAL
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Prior Lake, MN 55372
Economic Development Authority Meeting Minutes
December 21, 2015
1. CALL TO ORDER
President Hedberg called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Present were Commissioners Hedberg,
Chromy, Choudek, Sheehan-Kerber and Keeney. Also present were Executive Director Boyles and Com-
munity & Economic Development Director Rogness.
2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION BY CHOUDEK, SECONDED BY KEENEY TO APPROVE THE AGENDA.
VOTE: Ayes by Hedberg, Chromy, Choudek, Keeney and Sheehan-Kerber. The motion carried.
3. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
MOTION BY CHROMY, SECONDED BY SHEEHAN-KERBER TO APPROVE THE NOVEMBER 16, 2015
MEETING MINUTES WIH ONE CORRECTION ON 9A TO CHANGE THE LAST DATE IN THE LAST SEN-
TENCE FROM 2015 TO 2014.
Ayes by Hedberg, Keeney, Chromy, Choudek and Sheehan-Kerber. The motion carried.
4. CONSENT AGENDA
No items were on the Consent Agenda
5. REMOVED CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS
No items were removed from the Consent Agenda
6. PUBLIC HEARING
No Public Hearings
7. OLD BUSINESS
A. Prior Lake Community Assets - EDAC
Rogness: provided a summary from McCabe’s staff report regarding a list of community assets being
done as part of the EDA’s directive to the EDAC related to a marketing plan. He said that the headings for
each asset was the way to describe them currently, while the longer text is proposed as the more detailed
and descriptive replacement.
Choudek: said that having 80 acres of commercial-industrial property is not a very positive inventory of
land ready to develop.
Chromy: recommended adding some wording about the City’s access to various highways.
Commissioners: discussed the list of incentives and thought a different order was needed , to include TIF,
DEED, Conduit Bonds, Sewer/Water Deferral, Revolving Fund, Open to Business and Abatement. Three
items would be deleted, including Microenterprise Loans, Technology Village and Economic Gardening.
Commissioners: suggested that the schools should be described as exceptional or nationally recognized,
and that private schools be included. It may be a good idea to have the school administrators review the
description for changing and editing.
Hedberg: said that the regional parks with their size should be included in the parks section.
Keeney: also wondered whether the acreage of the lake should be added as well as the YMCA Camp.
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Boyles: suggested more emphasis on the Mystic Lake casino, hotel and convention center, and also men-
tion the ice sheets and health club facilities.
Rogness: wondered whether these assets may be better shown and described in a FAQ format.
Hedberg: wanted to re-emphasize his main descriptions of Prior Lake’s small town feel and character, in-
cluding: (1) a robust downtown with commercial and civic buildings, (2) neighborhoods that are strong and
connected, and (3) open space throughout the city that is connected to the rural area.
Sheehan-Kerber: asked about how these assets would be used, possibly more as a resource document,
and she further said that it could be used as more than listing things, but rather, as positioning the city.
Keeney: said that there is a high percentage of long -term residents here, and that people are really tied to
this location within the Twin Cities.
Boyles: wondered if we were including a safe city enough as a community asset.
Commissioners: emphasized Prior Lake’s proximity to metropolitan assets, such as the theaters, sports
venues, arts, universities, etc.
Hedberg: said that Prior Lake has historically been, on average, one of the top 5-10 metro cities for new
housing construction.
Commissioners: asked staff to return with a revised list of assets based upon their comments.
8. NEW BUSINESS
A. Proposed Bylaws Amendments
Boyles: reviewed the purpose of these proposed amendments related to Section 3.6 “Removal of Mem-
ber” and Section 16.3 “Gifts and Favors”. In Section 3.6, amendments attempt to clarify and improve lan-
guage that would allow the removal of an EDA or EDAC member based on failure to comply with a range of
federal, state or local rules and regulations. In Section 16.3, amendments include a list of exceptions to
gifts and favors.
Hedberg: is troubled by the general language proposed for Section 3.6. He does not believe that a mem-
ber should be considered for removal based upon a misdemeanor charge, for example. Hedberg believes
only gross misdemeanor and felony charges should be the basis for removal.
Sheehan-Kerber: questioned whether they are discussing rules of behavior or rules of conduct.
Boyles: also questioned whether removal should be based upon the decision of the City Manager rather
than by 4/5 vote of the EDA.
Keeney: believes that the body who appoints should also be the body that removes members.
MOTION BY KEENEY, SECONDED BY SHEEHAN-KERBER TO APPROVE THE RECOMMENDED BY-
LAWS AMENDMENTS ONLY AS THEY APPLY TO THE EDAC BYLAWS.
Ayes by Hedberg, Keeney, Chromy and Sheehan-Kerber. The motion carried.
B. Prior Lake EDA 2016 Business Plan
Rogness: noted that no specific changes are being proposed by staff at this time; rather, this is an oppor-
tunity for the EDA to provide early comments on the 2016 Business Plan in relationship to its proposed
2016 goals as submitted to the City Council.
Hedberg: proposed an idea whereby a new action within the Implementation Plan section would have the
EDA and City work with Scott County on a possible purchase of the ReMax building at the northwest corner
of Highways 13 and 21. If purchased, the City could utilize that land area for downtown public parking.
Keeney: wondered whether that makes sense if the Monnens Lumber site sells sooner than expected. He
also wondered whether the building could be used for Technology Village in the interim before the highway
intersection is reconstructed.
Chromy: believes that this site, if combined with the Shell station property, would make a substantial rede-
velopment site available in the future, which begins to make sense.
Hedberg: emphasized that the downtown roadway network needs to be resolved first, which then allows
further downtown investments in parking, streetscape and business growth.
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Sheehan-Kerber: asked about the overall timing and alignment of the Monnens’ property being ready to
sell and the City being ready to consider purchasing it.
C. 2016 EDI Grants – Scott County CDA
Rogness: summarized the grant program, which is not yet officially promoted by the CDA for 2016. How-
ever, Rogness thought it would be good to have some discussion assuming a fairly short timeline for appli-
cations to the CDA. He believes that program guidelines will not change between 2015 and 2016.
Boyles: referred to five proposed projects that may be worthy of applications for the Technical Assistance
category, all of which focus attention in the downtown area.
EDA Commissioners: after some discussion, the Commissioners favored one of the five suggested items
that would evaluate the relocation of an existing stormwater pond at the northeast corner of Highway 21
and Arcadia (south of the Police Station). If relocated, a vacant flat site could potentially be one the City
could sell for commercial development at a key future signalized intersection.
Rogness: said that no action is necessary by the EDA, and that staff will return to the EDA at its January
meeting with a possible project proposal for that preferred downtown site.
9. OTHER BUSINESS
Choudek: questioned why the final proposed EDA budget now includes a $15,000 item for the EDA to
support SCALE’s Transportation & Economic Development (TED) annual city cost.
Boyles: responded that this change was an attempt to address the overall City budget challenges in 2016
in order to reduce the levy increase. By moving this cost to the EDA, Boyles believed that it made some
sense due to SCALE’s efforts in the area of economic development.
EDA Commissioners: agreed that this proposed change did not receive previous support as the EDA de-
veloped its budget, and that it was unfair to assume that the EDA should absorb that cost. Some ques-
tioned TED’s effectiveness at this point in time, and also questioned whether the City is obligated to pay
that amount.
Boyles: said that he will not pursue this budget item within the EDA’s budget any further, and he assured
the EDA that their proposed budget will go to the City Council for its approval without the SCALE expendi-
ture.
10. ADJOURNMENT
MOTION BY KEENEY, SECONDED BY CHROMY TO ADJOURN THE MEETING. With all in favor, the
meeting adjourned at 5:27 p.m.
___________________________
Frank Boyles, Executive Director