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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02 21 2017 Technology Village Minutes CITY OF PRIOR LAKE, MINNESOTA TECHNOLOGY VILLAGE BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES – February 21, 2017 Phone: 952.447.9813 / Email: drogness@cityofpriorlake.com / www.cityofpriorlake.com 1. Call to Order The meeting was called to order at 7:30 a.m. in the Little Prior Conference Room at City Hall. Members present: Adam Proehl, Lori Frank, Patrick Stroh, Zach Braid and Sarah Jones. Staff present: Dan Rogness, Casey McCabe and Jo Foust. 2. Approval of Meeting Minutes a. January 10, 2017 MOTION BY STROH and SECOND BY PROEHL to approve the January 10, 2017 meeting minutes. Motion approved 2-0 with Frank, Braid and Jones abstaining. 3. Old Business a. Potential New Program Participants Foust provided an update on three inquiries for the Virtual Program. One is a home-occupation business currently located in Lakeville. They inquired about being able to access the program as a non-Scott County resident. Board members encouraged the submittal of an application in order to learn more about the type of business and job creation potential in the county. McCabe discussed a request from LocalVibe to lease an additional office space and a cubical for sales staff. The Board discussed the need to retain one cubical for use by Virtual Participants. The new lease rate of $10 per sq. ft. will apply to the new office rental. It was noted the three year lease term will be up in October or November of 2017 for the current space. b. Technology Village Phase 11.4 Business Plan McCabe provided an overview of the changes incorporated into the Business Plan including the budget for Phase II participants, date for the completion of the Commercial –Industrial Market Analysis, Program Participant Rates, and inclusion of biographies. He stated that if approved by the Board, the document will be presented to the EDA at their March 20, 2017 meeting. MOTION BY STROH and SECOND BY JONES to recommend the Technology Village Phase 11.4 Business Plan to the EDA, with the changes noted. Motion carried 5-0. c. Technology Village Value Proposition Stroh presented a four slide Value Proposition summarizing Technology Village. This may be used at presentations such as Rotary, etc. Board members reviewed the content and provided comments. Foust will update the document and upload it to Dropbox for Board members’ use. d. Marketing Plan A draft Marketing Action Plan was reviewed. Relating to print materials, it was noted the flyers for Technology Village have been distributed to 5 of the 7 libraries. All of the brochures have been distributed. The Board discussed the development of a marketing piece to be sent as a direct mail to technology related businesses and new business starts. Braid offered to assist with the mailing list development. Staff will work on a marketing piece. Relating to social media, Board members suggested focusing on two forms of social media and doing them well, with the Board sharing the posts on LinkedIn and Facebook. It was noted Nextdoor Communication is more residential in nature and not seen as an effective tool. Jones suggested taking video clips at upcoming Business Breakfasts and including short sound bites on Facebook and YouTube. McCabe noted the call back button has been added to Word Press for the web site but is not yet operational. The City’s web technician will assist in the next couple of weeks. Proehl recommended the call back button be designed to be operational from a mobile device. Proehl excused himself from the meeting at 8:08 a.m. 4. New Business a. Business Competition Event The Board discussed a possible “Shark Tank” like event. The purpose of the event would be to create awareness of Technology Village and develop a list of potential participants in Technology Village and/or a county-wide program. Foust referenced information included in the packet relating to Business Competition events held in other areas of the country. Frank suggested including the value of services such as legal and accounting services as part of a prize package. Seeking a sponsor, such as a major employer or technology related business, was suggested with naming rights for the competition. Coordinating with MN CUP through the Carlson School of Business was also suggested. Additional input will be sought from the SCALE Technical Team, which is comprised of representatives from each of the Scott County communities, at their March meeting. A fall event was recommended with marketing at community events such as Prior Lake Days in August. b. County-wide incubator/accelerator Program Report. Foust updated the Board on a meeting held with representatives from the Elko New Market Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber may have an opportunity to lease the bank building in November. They are exploring the feasibility of using the space for shared office space for the many home occupations business professionals in their community as well as investigating the concept of an incubator. They inquired about collaboration with the Technology Village Board. The Board felt it would be beneficial to collaborate on breakfast meetings and participant networking events. If the businesses are technology related, their participation in the Virtual Program could be considered provided there are sufficient mentors to assist. The Board discussed expanding the mentorship base to provide assistance to businesses in other locations. It was the consensus to continue to work with the Elko New Market Chamber of Commerce to explore options. An update on other spaces in the county which could be used for a county-wide incubator program was also shared. 5. Updates a. Technology Village Metric Report – January, 2017 Board members reviewed and discussed the January, 2017 Metric Report. b. Technology Village Lease Agreement Approval McCabe referenced the Lease Agreement included in the packet, which was recently approved by the EDA. c. Action Item Update McCabe provided an update on the status of Action Items included in the packet. It was noted the web site visits cannot be tracked by zip code. The Commercial-Industrial Market Study will be distributed when finalized. Board member Stroh excused himself from the meeting at 8:40 a.m. d. Emeritus Status Richard Beer and James Vande Castle have agreed to participate with an emeritus status or alumni status, in 2017. e. Training and Meeting Opportunities. A list of upcoming technology related events, which were included in the packet, were referenced for Board members’ information. f. Board Member Ideas/Recommendations Jones noted the Board may be asked to sign a Non-Disclosure with Wilwerks, Inc. prior to the March 21, 2017 roundtable. 6. Adjourn MOTION BY FRANK and second BY BRAID to adjourn the meeting. The meeting adjourned at 8:43 a.m. Submitted by: Jo Foust, Scott County FSS