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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08 06 2015 Technology Village Minutes CITY OF PRIOR LAKE, MINNESOTA TECHNOLOGY VILLAGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES – August 6, 2015 1.Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:33 a.m. in the Little Prior Conference Room at City Hall. Members present: Gerry Hughes, Lori Frank, Ken Hedberg and Dan Stratton. Members absent: Adam Proehl and David Rech. Staff present: Dan Rogness. 2.Approval of Meeting Minutes a.July 2, 2015 The approval of the July 2, 2015 minutes was deferred to the next regular meeting in August. 3.Old Business a.Lunch and Learn Event Update Hedberg: had not yet followed up with Pivotal Advisors, but agreed to contact him for his availability of dates in late September. Frank: agreed that Pivotal would be a good fit for this topic of interest. b.Technology Village ‘Virtual’ Pilot Program Rogness: summarized the one-page description completed by Casey McCabe, including the proposed removal of paid membership to the Chamber of Commerce. Hughes: recommended that this proposal should be reviewed by the company interested in virtual space. He also asked that Open to Business be shown as an advisory by direct link. Frank: asked whether they should be restricted to the normal City Hall hours, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Hedberg: suggested to keep those hours for now, but to further explore open time beyond those hours. MOTION BY HUGHES and SECOND BY HEDBERG to approve the Virtual Pilot Program description as amended. The motion was approved 4-0. 4.New Business a.Accept David Rech Resignation Hughes: said that Rech has been very supportive of Technology Village, and he has been greatly appreciated for his service. Since his resignation is due to a move out of Prior Lake, Rech expressed interest in remaining as an Advisory Board member. MOTION BY HUGHES and SECOND BY FRANK to approve Dave Rech’s resignation from the Board due to his move out of Prior Lake. The motion was approved 4-0. b.Appoint David Rech as a Technology Village Advisory Board Member Phone: 952.447.9813 / Email: drogness@cityofpriorlake.com / www.cityofpriorlake.com MOTION BY FRANK and SECOND BY STATTON to approve Dave Rech as an Advisory Board member to the Technology Village Board. The motion was approved 4-0. c.Preliminary Technology Village 2016 Budget Rogness: reviewed the proposed 2016 Technology Village budget, which is $32,000 compared to $40,000 in 2015. The decrease largely relates to a reduction in cost associated with rent subsidies since ICP will go to the second year with less rent subsidy. Revenues are shown as coming from property taxes ($22,000) and office leases ($10,000). Hughes: suggested reducing the budget further to $30,000 with some small reductions in other line items. Hedberg: recommended against further reductions since Technology Village needs to be supported by the City Council in order to keep existing businesses in the program while adding new ones in 2016. He would prefer that some flexibility exists to grow the program without having to come back to the Council each time for an amended budget. MOTION BY FRANK and SECOND BY HUGHES to recommend the Technology Village 2016 budget at $32,000. d.Technology Village Website – FAQ Hughes: reviewed the purpose of have a “Frequently Asked Questions” section added to the website of Technology Village, which would provide further clarity to the program. He suggested that another partner include Integra with special high-speed broadband pricing, and that this new information be added to the website “Apply” section. Finally, Hughes expressed his thanks to McCabe for a job well done. e.Next Participant Breakfast Meeting Hughes: reminded the Board that Stacey Crakes with the First Stop Shop and Christine Pigsley with Open to Business will present at the upcoming participant breakfast. They will present for the first half-hour followed by program updates and participant sharing. Hedberg: said it would be ideal if the Scott County CDA would call Technology Village one of its partners as a way to broaden outreach. f.Open to Business and First Stop Shop Meeting Update Hughes: summarized his meeting with Christine Pigsley and Stacy Crakes; these programs will be presented at the upcoming breakfast meeting. 5.Staff Update a.Technology Village Metric Report – July 2015 Board Members: reviewed the July 2015 Technology Village metric report. Hughes suggested looking at the addition of subcontractor jobs, if any, that are working with the participant businesses. That will be a question asked at the breakfast meeting. b.Fall Community Fest Booth Rogness: said that Technology Village will have a table at this event on Monday, October 5. City staff will be there, but he invited Board members to participate as well, if available. c.Action Item Update Board Members: reviewed and discussed the pending action items, including a targeted Lunch & Learn only with Prior Lake bankers, accountants and attorneys. d.Board Member Ideas/Recommendations briefly summarized the Economic Gardening Program that is geared to more mature businesses; Hughes: however, gaining knowledge of this program by those in Technology Village provides a seed to future participation. . 6.Adjourn MOTION BY FRANK and SECOND BY STRATTON to adjourn the meeting. The motion was approved 4-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:43 a.m. Submitted by: Dan Rogness