HomeMy WebLinkAbout06 03 2015 Technology Village Minutes
CITY OF PRIOR LAKE, MINNESOTA
TECHNOLOGY VILLAGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MEETING MINUTES – June 3, 2015
1.Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 4:08 p.m. in the Little Prior Conference Room at City Hall. Members present: Gerry
Hughes, Lori Frank and Adam Proehl. Members absent: Dan Stratton, David Rech and Ken Hedberg.
Staff present: Dan Rogness and Casey McCabe.
Guest present: Stacy Crakes, Scott County First Stop Shop
2.Approval of Meeting Minutes
a.May 14, 2015
Without a quorum of members present from the May 14, 2015 meeting, approval of the meeting minutes was
tabled to the next meeting date.
3.Old Business
a.Lunch and Learn Event
Board Members: discussed the next Lunch and Learn event. Ms. Frank informed the board she has reached
out to her contact who is interested in presenting on the topic of payment receipt/security/liability and she is
coordinating possible event dates.
Board Members: suggested staff contact James Vande Castle who mentioned he may also have a contact who
could speak on this topic.
Board Members: suggested informing Scott County Open to Business when the event is scheduled so the lunch
and learn could be promoted through that pipeline also.
b.Technology Village Participant Breakfast Meeting Follow-Up
Hughes: informed the board that all participants had representation at the breakfast meeting. Updates were
provided from all participants. The breakfast meeting was well received and there was good collaboration
between the participants.
4.New Business
a.Scott County First Stop Shop Discussion - Stacy Crakes, FSS Business Development Manager
Stacy Crakes with Scott County First Stop Shop (FSS) provided a summary of the FSS including the
establishment of the organization a few years ago, their efforts to increase employment opportunities in Scott
County, their role to respond to site inquiries from developers and site selectors, the assistance they provide to
communities to attract employers, and other efforts to promote and market the county and its communities.
Hughes: informed Ms. Crakes that the Technology Village board is focused on how to better brand Technology
Village and inform residents in the region that the accelerator program exists and attract participants.
Board Members: discussed collaboration opportunities with Ms. Crakes, including the Open to Business program
and promotion opportunities in the Scott County Scene, literature at the county libraries, Scott County
Government Center, banks, accountants, etc.
Phone: 952.447.9813 / Email: drogness@cityofpriorlake.com / www.cityofpriorlake.com
Hughes: will schedule a meeting with Ms. Crakes and Christine Pigsley with Open to Business to further explore
collaboration opportunities.
b.Technology Village Phase III RFP
Board Members: reviewed the Draft RFP to study Technology Village Phase III.
Hughes: recommended adding the metrics and goals to the RFP.
Clarify the County-wide role in evaluating phase III including a county-wide accelerator in Prior Lake, satellite
accelerator programs in Scott County communities, or other options.
Proehl: asked if the board and EDA would consider virtual meetings with the consultant if it is found that the
majority of the responses may come from out of state.
Board Members: directed staff to finalize the RFP and send to the board for comments prior to EDA review of
the proposal.
5.Staff Update
a.Technology Village Website Revisions
McCabe: informed the board the initial website revisions are nearly complete and a plugin was found for a
slideshow of images on the homepage. Mr. McCabe will send out an email when the revisions are ready for
board review.
Proehl: encouraged staff to make sure Yoast was being used for the WordPress website which will help Google
see and identify the website.
b.Outstanding Ventures Update
McCabe: informed the board that he has communicated with Nick Rasmussen with Outstanding Ventures and
informed him the board would be evaluating a ‘virtual’ accelerator program over the next couple months and staff
would follow up in approximately 60 days.
c.LinkedIn Promotion
McCabe: provided a draft Technology Village promotional program summary to be distributed through LinkedIn.
Proehl: asked staff to email him a copy of the program summary and offered to review and provide comments.
Mr. Proehl also encouraged staff to include a visual and a quote along with the summary.
Proehl: encouraged all board members to bring a laptop to the next work session and he will provide a brief
training on the use of LinkedIn so members can post Tech Village new and promote participants.
Board Members: directed staff to poll participants to determine if they have any news the board can share to
promote their business and the Technology Village program.
d.Technology Village Metric Report – May 2015
Board Members: reviewed the Technology Village Metric Report for May 2015.
e.Action Item Update
Board Members: reviewed the pending action items.
f.Board Member Ideas/Recommendations
Rogness: mentioned Mr. Hedberg contacted him following the participant breakfast meeting and suggested
establishing a local resource list of service providers. Mr. Rogness reminded the board that a letter was sent
out a couple of years ago seeking service providers but the board did not receive many responses. Board
members suggested this as a topic for the next work session meeting. Board members also suggested a
possible lunch and learn with potential service providers to generate awareness of the program and identify
individuals or organizations who would be willing to provide services at a free or low cost to program participants.
Board Members: discussed finding an alternate meeting time to help more board members attend meetings
regularly. Board members directed staff to send an email to all members to identify a meeting time which will
work well for everyone.
6.Adjourn
MOTION BY PROEHL and SECOND BY FRANK to adjourn the meeting. The motion was approved 3-0. The meeting
adjourned at 5:14 p.m.
Submitted by: Casey McCabe