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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01 22 2014 Technology Village Minutes CITY OF PRIOR LAKE, MINNESOTA TECHNOLOGY VILLAGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES – January 22, 2014 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 4:01 p.m. in the Little Prior Conference Room at City Hall. Members present: Gerry Hughes, David Rech, Rick Bump and Kris Pauna. Members absent: Lori Frank and Bob Jader. Staff present: Dan Rogness and Casey McCabe. 2. Approval of January 8, 2014 Meeting Minutes MOTION BY RECH and SECOND BY HUGHES to approve the January 8, 2014 meeting minutes as submitted. With all members in favor, the motion was approved. 3. Old Business a. None. 4. New Business a. Consider Obligating Phase II Rent Subsidies for Program Participant Expansion Hughes: provided background information and summarized a previous conversation with ICP President, Rick Beer, where Mr. Beer stated ICP’s desire to relocate their corporate offices. During this conversation, Mr. Hughes shared the proposed budget in the Phase II Technology Village Business Plan with Mr. Beer which identified $10,000 in rental subsidies. Mr. Hughes and Mr. Beer discussed the option of utilizing the Phase II rental subsidy funds to assist ICP with rental costs at a Prior Lake location. Mr. Hughes shared that Mr. Beer represented eight FTE employees may be relocating to Prior Lake. Rogness: stated he and Mr. McCabe also recently met with Mr. Beer to discuss ICP’s relocation plans. Mr. Rogness also stated that the EDA discussed a potential rental subsidy under the Technology Village program or another form of subsidy during their January 21, 2014 meeting. The EDA identified many positives of ICP relocating their office to Prior Lake; including, the growth and retention of a Technology Village program participant, local CEO moving his business to Prior Lake, potential for adding high paying jobs to the community, filling vacant commercial space, opening up an office space in the City Hall Technology Village location to serve additional program participants, and it would tell a good story about Technology Village and show the Technology Village model for developing businesses that grow and stay in the community is working. Board Members: felt they should provide the EDA with the value of this potential project, including, marketing, jobs, and local spending. Pauna: stated that the Technology Village Board did not anticipate a company of this size utilizing rent subsidies when the 2014 budget was requested and approved and recommended the board request the majority of the rental subsidy for ICP come from the EDA so the Technology Village board can Phone: 952.447.9813 / Email: drogness@cityofpriorlake.com / www.cityofpriorlake.com continue to pursue three additional program participants, beyond ICP, as was anticipated in the Phase II business plan. Board Members: estimated the amount of rental subsidy ICP would be eligible for based on the criteria established in the Phase II business plan and the following assumptions. Example Scenario – ICP has ten employees and leases a 3,000 square foot office at a cost of $20 per square foot in a private building. Although ICP is leasing 3,000 SF, the Phase II Business Plan limits the amount of square feet per employee to 150 SF so the rental subsidy would be calculated based on a 1,500 SF office. Because two-thirds of the gross lease rate of $20/SF is in excess of $12/SF, the EDA/Technology Village would reimburse at the rate of $12 per square foot. Under this scenario, the EDA would reimburse $12 X 1,500 SF = monthly reimbursement of $1,500. The proposed lease commencement date would begin on April 1, 2014 (9 months X $1,500 = $13,500 reimbursement in 2014). Board Members: acknowledged any potential subsidy in 2015 would need to be requested and approved at a later date because the only funding that has been approved if for FY 2014. Pauna: recommended the board obligate $1,500 from the current FY 2014 budget and request the EDA provide an additional $12,000 to the Technology Village budget for ICP rental subsidy in 2014. MOTION BY HUGHES and SECOND BY BUMP obligating $1,500 from the FY 2014 Technology Village budget and requesting the EDA allocate $12,000 from its Professional Services Fund to the Technology Village FY 2014 budget to support rental subsidies for Innovative Computer Professionals. By maintaining existing Technology Village FY 2014 rental subsidy funding will allow the board to provide rental subsidy assistance to three additional Technology Village program participants as contemplated in the Phase II Technology Village Business Plan. An EDA allocation of funding will support the growth and retention of a Technology Village program participant, assist in the creation of additional high paying jobs in the community, provide an increase in local spending, and assist in the marketing of the Technology Village program to potential program participants by demonstrating a successful and effective business accelerator model. Ayes by: Hughes, Rech, Pauna and Bump. Nays by: None. The motion was approved 4-0. Board Members: discussed alternatives in the event the EDA does not approve the funding request or approves a lesser amount than requested. MOTION BY BUMP and SECOND BY HUGHES obligating up to $10,800 from the FY 2014 Technology Village budget in the event the EDA denies the request for funding or approves a lesser amount. It is the intent the Technology Village Board of Directors to provide a total rental subsidy of up to $1,500 per month, based on the rental reimbursement schedule approved in the Phase II Technology Village Business Plan, to support rental subsidies for Innovative Computer Professionals in 2014. In the event a lesser amount is approved by the EDA, a portion of the obligated $10,800 will be utilized to provide a total rental subsidy of $13,500. In the event the EDA denies the request for funding allocation, Innovative Computer Professionals would be eligible for a maximum rental subsidy of $10,800 in FY 2014. Ayes by: Hughes, Rech and Bump. Nays by: Pauna. The motion was approved 3-1. 5. Staff Update a. Prior Lake American Article Rogness: stated Prior Lake American published an article on Technology Village in the January 18, 2014 issue. Mr. Rogness noted one error where the article referenced the city’s plans to offer affordable leases for small businesses in other city owned buildings. Mr. Rogness requested a correction to clarify Phase II expansion will be in private office buildings in the community. A notice of the correction was provided in the City of Prior Lake weekly staff and City Council update. b. EDA Decision on Board Expansion Rogness: stated the EDA approved the expansion of the Technology Village board from six to eight members. Staff will provide the public notice of the positions in the Prior Lake American and the notice will be available on the City website and Technology Village website. Board members were encouraged to notify any resident or business owner in the community of the available positions if they feel they are a good candidate. The application deadline is February 242014. The board will discuss the process to fill the vacant , positions during their next meeting. c. RFP Commercial Property Updates McCabe: informed the board a letter has been sent to building owners or agents requesting property lease information for 23 commercial properties that either have a vacancy or have had a vacancy within the past 12 months. Information was requested by January 24 and as of January 22 only 3 thnd responses have been received. McCabe: stated staff will contact the property owners and agents who have not responded to gather the requested information prior to the February work session. d. Board Member Ideas/Recommendations Board Members: briefly discussed preferred skill sets for Board of Director applicants or desired network connections with technology driven companies. Pauna: recommended an agenda item related to board member skills and criteria be added to the February meeting agenda. Board Members: noted a bio is still needed for the Technology Village website for Rick Bump, Valde Group and Black Dog Computer Services. Mr. Rogness will contact Black Dog Computer Services to request a bio. Rech: stated that he had previously contacted representatives from Inver Hills Community College, Dakota County Technical College and the University of St. Thomas and all were interested in participating with Technology Village at some level. At that time Technology Village was not ready to pursue an educational partnership but the board should discuss this again. Mr. Rech noted potential benefits include educational content, resource content, interns, and a phase II tenant pipeline. 6. Adjourn MOTION BY RECH and SECOND BY BUMP to adjourn the meeting. Ayes by: Hughes, Rech, Pauna and Bump. Nays by: None. The motion was approved 4-0. The meeting adjourned at 5:31 p.m. Submitted by: Casey McCabe