HomeMy WebLinkAbout08 06 2014 Technology Village Minutes1. Call to Order
CITY OF PRIOR LAKE, MINNESOTA
TECHNOLOGY VILLAGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MEETING MINUTES — August 6, 2014
The meeting was called to order at 4:05 p.m. in the Little Prior Conference Room at City Hall. Members present:
Gerry Hughes, Lori Frank, Kris Pauna and Adam Proehl. Members absent: Rick Bump and David Rech.
Staff present: Casey McCabe.
Guest present: Michelle Choudek.
2. Approval of June 4, 2014 Meeting Minutes
MOTION BY FRANK and SECOND BY PROEHL to approve the June 4, 2014 meeting minutes. With Hughes
abstaining and Frank, Proehl and Pauna in favor the motion was approved.
Approval of July 2, 2014 Meeting Minutes
MOTION BY PROEHL and SECOND BY FRANK to approve the July 2, 2014 meeting minutes. With Pauna
abstaining and Frank, Proehl and Hughes in favor the motion was approved.
3. Old Business
a. Educational Box Lunch Series at Technology Village
Board Members: discussed the educational box lunch event which has been scheduled for Thursday,
August 28, 2014 from 12:00-1:30 p.m. Existing program participants and local businesses will be
invited to attend the event. Expectation of 20 to 25 attendants. Adam Proehl will present digital
marketing trends.
Board Members: discussed the event format of 12:00-12:30 (networking and lunch); 12:30-1:00
(presentation); 1:00-1:15 (question/answer); and 1:15-1:30 (wrap up and networking).
Proehl: requested information be provided about the type of businesses attending so the presentation
can be tailored to the attendants.
Board Members: directed staff to prepare an invitation, requesting RSVP, and utilize the Chamber of
Commerce, Mayor announcement at Council meeting, existing city email contacts, downtown
monument signage, Prior Lake American and any other source to promote the event.
Pauna: recommended that the presentation be focused generally on digital marketing and not promote
NordicClick to avoid any potential conflict of interest.
Proehl: agreed with Mr. Pauna.
Hughes: agreed with Mr. Pauna also and added Mr. Proehl is an expert in his field and the focus of the
event is to promote Technology Village and educate attendants on digital marketing, not to drive
business to NordicClick.
Phone: 952.447.9813 / Email: drogness@cityofpriorlake.com / www.cityofpriorlake.com
b. Technology Village FY2015 Budget Request
Board Members: reviewed and discussed the draft FY 2015 Technology Village budget request.
MOTION BY HUGHES and SECOND BY PROEHL to forward the proposed FY 2015 Technology
Village budget request to the EDA for review and request the EDA recommend City Council approval
of the FY 2015 Technology Village budget. With all members in favor, the motion was approved.
4. New Business
a. Program Participant Application — MyCarte
Hughes: summarized his meeting with Mr. Isaacson where they discussed his program application for
MyCarte. Mr. Hughes felt the applicant was well prepared and has completed a lot of market research.
Based on the discussion with the applicant, Mr. Hughes felt there was a need for the proposed business
and supported the application.
Frank: added that the business appeared to be in the incubator stage and the applicant has a good
business idea. Ms. Frank felt the board would have an opportunity to provide support to the business
and supported the application.
Board Members: discussed the lease term and lease rate structure. Board members supported a
longer term lease (2 years) and no less than a 6 month lease. Board members acknowledged the
applicant may be interested in a shorter term lease so a 30 -day notice of termination may be
appropriate.
MOTION BY PAUNA and SECOND BY PROEHL to approve the program participant application from
Carl Isaacson and direct staff to negotiate lease terms. With all members in favor, the motion was
approved.
Board Members: directed staff to contact Mr. Isaacson and inform him that the application has been
approved.
b. Value of a Job Discussion
McCabe: briefly summarized previous board discussion about determining the value of a new job to
Prior Lake. The purpose of determining the value of a job would be to help measure the economic
impact of a new technology based job in Prior Lake as a result of the Technology Village program. Mr.
McCabe provided a paper titled, Measuring How Much Economic Change Will Mean to Your
Community by Dr. Michael L. Walden, Professor and Extension Economist with the Department of
Agricultural and Resource Economics at North Carolina State University for board discussion.
Board Members: reviewed and discussed the "multiplier effect" and "leakage" information provided.
Board members conservatively estimated a new technology job would pay an average wage of $50 per
hour. Board members also suggested a conservative leakage rate in Prior Lake would be 75%.
Board Members: directed staff to calculate the economic impact of a new technology based job in Prior
Lake using $50 per hour and a 75% leakage rate as a guideline.
5. Staff Update
a. Technology Village Space Available Prior Lake American Ad
McCabe: presented the latest draft Technology Village Space Available advertisement for the Prior
Lake American.
Board Members: discussed the draft ad and agreed it was ready for publication. Board members
directed staff to publish the ad in the Prior Lake American.
b. Technology Village Metric Report — July 2014
Board Members: reviewed the Technology Village metric report for July 2014. Board members
commented on the need to schedule a quarterly meeting with Valde Group. Members also discussed
the difficulty contacting Black Dog Computer Services. Members acknowledged Mr. Hendren was very
busy but would like to ensure Black Dog is aware the board is available to provide assistance where
needed.
c. Action Item Update
McCabe: provided a list of staff and board member action items from the past few board meetings for
board review. Mr. Hughes stressed the importance of establishing a Technology Village company page
on Linkedln and directed staff to schedule a meeting with the appropriate parties to accomplish this.
d. Board Member Ideas/Recommendations
Pauna: announced that he will be stepping down from the Technology Village Board of Directors in
October 2014.
6. Adjourn
MOTION BY PROEHL and SECOND BY FRANK to adjourn the meeting. With all members in favor, the motion
was approved. The meeting adjourned at 5:07 p.m.
Submitted by: Casey McCabe