HomeMy WebLinkAbout06 08 2017 Technology Village Minutes
CITY OF PRIOR LAKE, MINNESOTA
TECHNOLOGY VILLAGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
MEETING MINUTES – June 8, 2017
952.496-8830 – jfoust@scottfss.org - www.technologyvillage.net
1. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 a.m. in the Parkview Community Room at City Hall. Members present: Gerry
Hughes, Adam Proehl, Patrick Stroh, Zach Braid, Lori Frank, Dan Straton and Advisory Board member Dave Rech.
Staff present: Jo Foust (FSS) and Alyssa Meierbachtol (FSS Intern). Absent: Sarah Jones and Community
Development Director Casey McCabe.
2. Approval of Meeting Minutes
a. May 9, 2017
MOTION BY Frank and SECOND BY Proehl to approve the May 9, 2017 meeting minutes. The Motion was
approved 6-0. Hughes requested future minutes identify members not present.
The May 23, 2017 workshop minutes were included in the packet for Board members’ information.
3. Old Business
a. FAST-TRACK Challenge -Business Competition
An update was provided on the FAST-TRACK Business Challenge. Board members were asked to take formal on
moving forward with the Challenge, as June had been identified as a timeframe for determining if the event was a
go or no-go. The Board discussed the strong support from area communities and the broad based interest from
participants.
MOVED by Stroh and SECOND by Straton to move forward with the FAST-TRACK Challenge and formal
application process. Motion carried 6-0.
Discussion on the eligibility of Technology Village current participants occurred. There was concern that the
perception may be that the program and funding is a conflict of interest and being used to assist existing program
participants. The consensus was to bring any application requests from participants to the Board. Frank
recommended formally finalizing eligibility criteria. The Board agreed to expand eligibility to residents of Scott Co.
or businesses willing to locate their business in Scott County, as well as start-up businesses versus the 12 month
incorporation restriction.
Foust reported fourteen businesses/entrepreneurs have responded to the Interest Survey. Most submittals
occurred after the Scott County SCENE publication was released on June 5th. Interested parties are from four of
the seven Scott County communities, and one from St. Paul. Areas of interest include health care/health IT,
software publishing, energy, environment & sustainability and four “others”. Hughes discussed the interest survey
and whether or not technology is included in the product ideas. The Board discussed if this should be a
requirement brought to the forefront and if so, how. The consensus was to include a question related to technology
on the application and also include it on the judging criteria, which will be shared with applicants.
A formal application was included in the Board packet for review and comment. A question will be added to the
application, “What technology component is included in your business or product?” Emails will be sent to all
interested parties thanking them for their interest and requesting a formal application. A ne w press release was
distributed announcing the formal application process is now open. This will be provided to local c ities and
Chambers of Commerce, with updates on the locations of applicants.
The panel of judges was briefly discussed. Stroh noted it would be an approximate four hour commitment.
Potential judges were identified. A binder of information including judging criteria and the finalists’ information will
be prepared and provided to the judges.
Four service providers have expressed a verbal commitment to providing legal, accounting, graphic design/web
design and training. Additional service providers are needed.
Sponsorship of the event was discussed. Stratton, Rech and Foust provided updates on contacts they have made.
Board members were asked to continue to assist in seeking sponsors. Proehl and Hughes offered to reach out to
organizations including TechdotMN, the MN High Tech Association and DEED.
The next steps in the process will be to (1) send applications to the parties that have expressed interest in
participating, (2) post the application to the web site, (3) send a press release to area newspapers announcing
applications are now open, (4) email cities and chambers of commerce the application and press release update,
(5) secure a sponsor(s), (6) finalize the prize package and (7) establish the panel of judges.
b. County wide incubator update
Foust reported on recent discussions amongst cities regarding the investigation of a county-wide incubator
program. First Stop Shop included information regarding this in their recent electronic newsletter. Staff will be
meeting with the city of Shakopee to discuss this as well.
4. New Business
a. None.
5. Updates
a. Technology Village Metric Report – May, 2017
Board members reviewed and discussed the May 2017 Metric Report. All participants are current with rent. There
are 31 employees at this time. Relating to website activity, Foust noted there were 111 website hits in May, 2017.
This compares to an average of 73 per month from January to April. It was noted peak web site visits appear to
occur in June/July of the year, based on previous statistics. There have been no new applications. Hughes noted
he met with ICP and SWOT. He reminded Board members/sponsors to provide updates on their meetings with
participants by the end of June. He also noted we may remove etaKnowledge from the Metrics Report.
b. Action Item Update
The Action Item report was referenced. Staff will check on the status of updating participant bios on the website.
c. Calendar of Events
The next workshop session is scheduled for Tuesday, June 20, 2017 at 7:30 a.m. A Participant breakfast will follow
at 8:15 a.m. with Gene Grugal, Integrated Business Solutions, as the speaker. The session will be in the Wagon
Bridge meeting room.
The next regular Board meeting will be Tuesday, July 18, 2017 at 7:30 a.m., with a round table with Gifthorse at
8:15 a.m.
d. Board Member Ideas/Recommendations
None.
6. Adjourn
MOTION BY Stroh and SECOND BY Frank to adjourn the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 8:32 a.m.
Submitted by: Jo Foust, Scott County FSS