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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08 14 2017 EDA Minutes Phone 952.447.9800 / Fax 952.447.4245 / www.cityofpriorlake.com 4646 Dakota Street SE Prior Lake, MN 55372 Economic Development Authority Meeting Minutes August 14, 2017 1. CALL TO ORDER President Chromy called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. Present were Chromy, Briggs, Braid, Sheehan-Kerber and Boucher-Hoese. Also present were Executive Director Boyles and Community Development Director McCabe. Guests present: Kelly Johnson, Chris Moe and Paul Oberg representing the Jeffers Foundation. 2. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION BY BRIGGS, SECONDED BY SHEEHAN-KERBER TO APPROVE THE AGENDA AS PROPOSED. Ayes by Chromy, Briggs, Braid, Sheehan-Kerber and Boucher-Hoese. The motion carried 5-0. 3. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES MOTION BY BOUCHER-HOESE, SECONDED BY BRIGGS TO APPROVE THE JUNE19, 2017 MEETING INUTES. Ayes by Chromy, Briggs, Sheehan-Kerber and Boucher-Hoese. The motion carried 4-0-1 with Braid abstaining. 4. CONSENT AGENDA A. EDA 2017 Revenue & Expenditure Report (7/31/17) B. Development Update (7/31/2017) MOTION BY BRAID, SECONDED BY BRIGGS TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS SUBMITTED. Ayes by Chromy, Briggs, Braid, Sheehan-Kerber and Boucher-Hoese. The motion carried 5-0. , 5. REMOVED CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS No items were removed from the Consent Agenda 6. PUBLIC HEARING No Public Hearings 7. OLD BUSINESS None. 8. NEW BUSINESS A. Jeffers Pond PUD Discussion Kelly Johnson and Paul Oberg with the Jeffers Foundation and Chris Moe, with HJ Development, were in attendance to discuss the Jeffers Pond Planned Unit Development (PUD). McCabe: provided a brief history of the multi-family and commercial aspects of the PUD and stated the pur- pose of the discussion was to begin exploring opportunities to stimulate development at the CH42/CH21 intersection. Oberg: summarized the development history including the reclassification of Jeffers Lake, sale options pro- vided to developers, the number of acres within conservation easements and the negotiations for school district, fire station and parkland properties. Johnson: asked the EDA if it is more important for the development to reach the commercial square foot target or the number of residential units, as she did not think both could be accomplished. Ms. Johnson 2 added that it has been tough to market the property and put a project together without knowing the land uses that would be approved by the City of Prior Lake. Moe: introduced himself and shared an overview of his company, HJ Development, which owns 1.5 million SF of retail development and have developed commercial strip centers in the area. Mr. Moe has been working with Jeffers Foundation for a few months to put a valid commercial project together. Mr. Moe stated the site lends itself to convenience businesses, such as neighborhood retail, service and restaurants. Chromy: commented on the uncertainty of retail development in this area related to the currently low number of rooftops. Mr. Chromy asked the guests to share their current vision for the property. Moe: stated the site can support 8 to 10 acres of restaurant and service oriented commercial property; devel- oped over a few years. Oberg: commented on a previous denial for a fuel station on the site and questioned the potential of a fuel station on the property in the future. EDA Members: commented on the reasons the fuel station request was denied, which included neighborhood concerns, access and lighting. Braid: commented that he is focused on commercial development in this area. Mr. Braid added that approval of a fuel station would be difficult without neighborhood support. Briggs: added that the residential neighborhood remains engaged in their vision for the area. Sheehan-Kerber: stated the EDA supports commercial growth and neighborhood support and participation would be key to successful development of the property. Chromy: stated the EDA is in favor of finding a solution and asked the EDA for their feelings on the direction moving forward and if it would be helpful for the EDA to meet with the neighboring residents. Moe: commented that the property owners do not have a development to present at this time but would take feedback from a meeting with city and/or residents before presenting a project in the future. Oberg: encouraged the city to consider approving projects that will serve the community best. Johnson: stated the Jeffers Foundation would be willing to meet with neighboring residents and questioned what type of meeting format would beneficial and which city representatives (Planning Commission, EDA, City Council, other) should be invited to attend. McCabe: suggested staff provide the Jeffers Foundation with list of land uses permitted within the city’s gen- eral business use district. The developers could then review the list and identify which land uses they may potentially like to see on the property. The list could then be referenced in a conversation with the neighboring property owners and ultimately as the basis for a future PUD amendment to clearly identify the land uses the city would approve for the property. Chromy: stated the EDA and staff will continue to look at possibilities and there will be further discussion of this topic in the future. B. Preliminary 2018 EDA Budget McCabe: presented a draft 2018 EDA budget for consideration and highlighted the differences between the proposed 2018 budget and the approved 2017 budget. 3 Boyles: commented that staff received direction from the Council to reduce the budget. One alternative to reduce the budget is to utilize EDA reserves in 2018. Mr. Boyles added previous EDAs chose to maintain reserve balances. Chromy: stated the EDA budget has decreased over the past few years. Braid: felt that EDA was moving in the wrong direction by reducing its budget. Mr. Braid suggested increasing the budget back to 2016 levels and added it is important for the EDA to build a reserve. Braid: following EDA discussion about building a reserve fund to acquire properties, commented that if time is a factor, the EDA could potentially enter into purchase agreements which would be contingent upon ap- praisal and City Council approval. Briggs: stated that if the EDA sees merit in acquiring property then the EDA should prepare a report to that effect for Council consideration. Mr. Briggs commented on the potential use of general fund reserves as a source of funding to build an EDA reserve. Boyles: offered another option of the one-time use of general fund reserves to build an EDA reserve. Braid: cited the CH21/Hwy 13 project and anticipated costs related to helping businesses affected by con- struction, as well as streetscaping opportunities and potential property acquisitions as reasons the EDA budget should be increased. MOTION BY BRAID, SECONDED BY BRIGGS DIRECTING STAFF TO PREPARE A BUDGET FOR EDA CONSIDERATION INLCUDING A LEVY OF $155,000 AND NO IMPACT TO THE RESERVE FUND BAL- ANCE. Ayes by Chromy, Briggs, Braid, Sheehan-Kerber and Boucher-Hoese. The motion carried 5-0. MOTION BY BRIGGS, SECONDED BY SHEEHAN-KERBER DIRECTING STAFF TO CREATE A PRO- CESS FOR REPEATING ALLOCATION OF GENERAL FUND RESERVE FUNDS, TO BE PRESENTED TO THE CITY COUNCIL FOR CONSIDERATION, FOR PROPERTY ACQUISITION, CH21/HWY 13 BUSINESS IMPACT ASSISTANCE AND DOWNTOWN BEAUTIFICATION, FOR THE EXPRESS PURPOSE OF PROVIDING THE EDA WITH RESOURCES TO ACCOMPLISH THEIR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES AS OUT- LINED AND AGREED UPON BY THE CITY COUNCIL. Ayes by Chromy, Briggs, Braid, Sheehan-Kerber and Boucher-Hoese. The motion carried 5-0. C. C-3, Business Park Exterior Building Materials McCabe: summarized a request the Council received during a recent Public Forum where a resident re- quested the Council consider relaxing the building design standards in the C-3, Business Park Use District to allow the use of uninsulated metal panels as a permitted exterior building material. EDA Members: discussed the request and did not support the use of an uninsulated metal panel as a permit- ted exterior material in the C-3 use district. The EDA commented on consistency in design and durability with other business in the business park and concerns from other property owners with more costs in building. 9. OTHER BUSINESS a. Commissioner Comments i. Strategic Property Acquisition and Downtown Development Chromy: commented on the potential benefits of a connection to and promotion of the history of downtown Prior Lake. Options included adding legacy plaques to buildings, providing a history of property ownership, front façade improvements tying into the historic appearance of down- town. 4 EDA Members: supported the idea of enhancing the connection to the past in downtown with façade improvements and other programs. Chromy: encouraged the EDA to proceed with the downtown improvements prior to the antici- pated construction projects in 2019. MOTION BY CHROMY, SECONDED BY BOUCHER-HOESE DIRECTING STAFF TO EX- PLORE POSSIBILITIES AND REPORT BACK RELATED TO DOWNTOWN DESIGN GUIDE- LINES, LEGACY, PLAQUES, Ayes by Chromy, Briggs, Braid, Sheehan-Kerber and Boucher- Hoese. The motion carried 5-0. 10. ADJOURNMENT MOTION BY BRIGGS, SECONDED BY BOUCHER-HOESE, TO ADJOURN THE MEETING. With all in favor, the meeting adjourned at 6:08 p.m. ___________________________ Frank Boyles, Executive Director