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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07 18 2016 EDA Minutes FINAL Phone 952.447.9800 / Fax 952.447.4245 / www.cityofpriorlake.com 4646 Dakota Street SE Prior Lake, MN 55372 Economic Development Authority Meeting Minutes July 18, 2016 1. CALL TO ORDER President Hedberg called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Present were Hedberg, Chromy, Choudek and Sheehan-Kerber. Also present were Executive Director Boyles, Community & Economic Development Di- rector Rogness, and Community Development Specialist McCabe. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION BY CHOUDEK, SECONDED BY SHEEHAN-KERBER TO APPROVE THE AGENDA. VOTE: Ayes by Hedberg, Choudek, Chromy and Sheehan-Kerber. The motion carried. 3. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES MOTION BY SHEEHAN-KERBER, SECONDED BY CHOUDEK TO APPROVE THE JUNE 20, 2016 MEETING MINUTES. Ayes by Hedberg, Choudek and Sheehan-Kerber; Chromy abstained. The motion carried. 4. CONSENT AGENDA A. EDA 2016 Revenue & Expenditure Report (6/30/16) B. EDAC Commercial Liaison Mid-Year Report MOTION BY CHROMY, SECONDED BY CHOUDEK TO APPROVE THE 6/30/16 EDA REVENUE & EX- PENDITURE REPORT AND THE EDAC COMMERCIAL LIAISON MID-YEAR REPORT Ayes by Hedberg, Chromy, Choudek and Sheehan-Kerber. The motion carried. , 5. REMOVED CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS No items were removed from the Consent Agenda 6. PUBLIC HEARING No Public Hearings 7. OLD BUSINESS A. Downtown Development Guide Update – Draft #1 McCabe: provided a summary of the two downtown maps and corresponding text that describe what has been accomplished since 2000, and what needs to be completed in the future. He described how these diagrams show a connection from the core downtown area southerly to the Southlake Village district and northeasterly to the Gateway district. Hedberg: described the importance of a connection southerly, but felt there was less importance north- easterly to the Gateway area due to it changing more from commercial to residential. Choudek: supported EDA involvement if, for example, zoning changes are proposed for any of these ex- pansion areas. Sheehan-Kerber: questioned whether the EDA is a part of the decision-making process, and whether it must provide adequate notification for future downtown planning . Chromy: feels that the Gateway area does not provide retail strength to Prior Lake in the future . Sheehan-Kerber: supports tying together downtown to the Southlake Village district as essential. 2 Choudek: supports the EDAC getting involved in this discussion. Chromy: would like more information about the proposed highway connection from TH13 to Pleasant Ave- nue; he further supports the traffic signal at Arcadia being installed now, and ponders a pedestrian bridge concept connecting the south and north downtown areas. Hedberg: advocated for future redevelopment potential in the downtown area, but only after the road net- work plan is approved by the City, and further assisted by land control by the City. Boyles: asked the EDA to consider a multi-layer planning process with the EDA and Council whereby feedback would be received first from certain advisory committees followed by the public. Sheehan-Kerber: said this plan is not so much new, but an update of an existing plan from 2000 showing improvements and future needs. Hedberg: asked that the staff evaluate further multifamily housing opportunities in and around th e down- town area; this type of development will support downtown retail. MOTION BY CHROMY, SECONDED BY SHEEHAN-KERBER TO APPROVE THE DRAFT MAPS WITH MINOR CORRECTIONS, HAVE OTHER ADVISORY COMMITTEES REVIEW THEM, AND FURTHER DE- VELOP A PROCESS FOR PUBLIC REVIEW Ayes by Hedberg, Chromy, Choudek and Sheehan-Kerber. The motion carried. B. Preliminary 2017 EDA Budget – Draft #2 Rogness: reviewed the second draft of an EDA budget for 2017 based on input at the previous EDA meet- ing in June. Changes include a $10,000 increase in the EDA levy and a similar reduction in the use of EDA reserves. The Technology Village Board recommended a few minor changes to its preliminary budget. Choudek: asked whether other city EDA budgets were similar or different to the Prior Lake EDA budget, and further requested staff to provide a comparison. Sheehan-Kerber: said that Councilor McGuire had asked whether the EDA has much validity in Prior Lake due to the city’s general lack of support for commercial-industrial development. Hedberg: asked that the EDA discuss this topic further after the local elections . MOTION BY CHROMY, SECONDED BY CHOUDEK TO APPROVE THE PRELIMINARY 2017 EDA BUDGET AS PRESENTED Ayes by Hedberg, Chromy, Choudek and Sheehan-Kerber. The motion carried. 8. NEW BUSINESS A. Versatile Vehicles TIF and Revolving Loan Fund Requests Rogness and McCabe: introduced a request from Versatile Vehicles for public financing assistance for a proposed 58,000 square foot industrial development project on a 7-acre parcel in the Deerfield Business Park. Gaby Accab: described their business history since 1985, their growth over 30+ years, and their proposed expansion in Prior Lake to include new assembly operations for future growth . Sheehan-Kerber: asked about their new employment growth shown as a minimum of five, but possibly up to 15 new employees. McCabe: described the change from tax increment financing to tax abatement due to the timing con- straints of their project, selling an existing building in Savage and moving it to Prior Lake. He further de- scribed the proposed deferred loan, to be approved by the EDA, for all of the Minnesota Investment Fund loan balance of approximately $94,300 to Versatile Vehicles. The loan would be forgiven if the job/wage goals are met within five years. EDA Commissioners: after further discussion, the Commissioners supported this project as important to the Deerfield Business Park and to the overall tax and job growth of Prior Lake . MOTION BY SHEEHAN-KERBER, SECONDED BY CHOUDEK TO AUTHORIZE THE MINNESOTA IN- VESTMENT FUND DEFERRED LOAN AT A MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF $95,000 AND FURTHER RECOM- MEND THAT THE CITY COUNCIL APPROVE THE USE OF TAX ABATEMENT Ayes by Hedberg, Chromy, Choudek and Sheehan-Kerber. The motion carried. 3 9. OTHER BUSINESS A. Recent City Council Meeting Recaps Rogness: Briefly reviewed two City Council meeting recaps from June 27 and July 11. Boyles: said that these recaps can be sent to the Commissioners the day after the meeting, which would then not require this to be an agenda item. B. Commissioner Comments No time was available to review this agenda item. 10. ADJOURNMENT MOTION BY SHEEHAN-KERBER, SECONDED BY CHROMY TO ADJOURN THE MEETING. With all in favor, the meeting adjourned at 6:08 p.m. ___________________________ Frank Boyles, Executive Director