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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-28-15CITY OF LAKEVILLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES April 28, 2015 Chair Starfield called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. in the Marion Conference Room at City Hall. Members Present: Comms. Starfield, Longie, Collman, Gillen, Rajavuori, Matasosky, Scherer, Emond, Smith, Vlasak, ex -officio member Roche. Members Absent: Ex -officio members; Mayor Little, City Administrator Miller Others Present: Mike McBrady and Rob Novak, ImageTrend, Inc., Bryan Bartz and Mike Waterston, Mendell, Inc., David Olson, Community & Economic Development Director; Rick Howden, Economic Development Specialist. 2. Introduction of New Members Chair Starfield asked all in attendance to introduce themselves and their business as there are new members of the EDC as well as special guests. 3. Approval of March 24, 2015 meeting minutes Motion Comms. Emond/Longie moved to approve the minutes of the March 24, 2015 meeting as presented. Motion carried unanimously. 4. Review ImageTrend's Request to Amend Contract for Private Development Mr. Olson stated that in August of 2009, the City Council approved a Contract for Private Development that authorized the sale to ImageTrend of a City -owned 3.39 acre lot adjacent to their existing building located at 20855 Kensington Boulevard in the Fairfield Business Campus. The Contract established a sale price of $627,589 for the property. The terms of the Contract called for one third of the sale price to be paid by ImageTrend at the time of closing. The remaining two thirds of the purchase price would be forgiven if ImageTrend completed their first expansion by the end of 2011 and the second phase was required to be completed by the end of 2013. The total of the two expansions is required to be a minimum of 50,000 square feet. The contract also required that ImageTrend create a minimum of 21 additional jobs in addition to the just under 100 jobs that existed in 2009. The company completed their first phase expansion of 27,000 square feet at the end of 2011 and has created 60 new jobs which is nearly three times the number of new jobs required under the contract. An amendment to the original Contract for Private Development was approved in March of 2013 that extended the completion of the second expansion phase from November 2013 to December 2015. Based on current hiring forecasts, ImageTrend will not need additional office space until the end of 2018 and as a result they are requesting an amendment to the current Contract for Private Development to extend the completion date from December 31, 2015 to December 31, 2018. At this point, ImageTrend will have completed their second phase expansion and will have grown to approximately 300 employees. Mike McGrady gave a presentation of ImageTrend's history and future growth in Lakeville. Following Mr. McBrady's presentation, a motion was presented. Motion Comms. Emond/Smith moved to recommend amending the Contract for Private Development with ImageTrend to extend the completion date of their Phase B expansion from December 31, 2015 to December 31, 2018. Motion carried. Comms. Matasosky abstained due to his firm's involvement in the original construction. 5. Review Request for Tax Increment Financing for Mendell Inc's Proposed Expansion Bryan Bartz, President of Mendell Inc. gave a presentation on Mendell Inc., its history, the products it produces and their plans for expansion. Mr. Olson reviewed Mendell's expansion plans. A 18,200 square foot addition to their building and add 12-25 new jobs over the next two years. The average salary of these jobs will range from $51,000 to $59,300. The request for Tax Increment Financing is to assist in filling a project financing gap of approximately $436,612. Mendell is also in the process of submitting an application to the State of MN Job Creation Fund program which is administered by the MN Department Employment and Economic Development (DEED) to fill a portion of the project financing gap. Mr. Olson also explained that the Assessor's Office has determined that the range of the market value for the expanded Mendell building to be between $52 to $56 per square foot. Using the higher end of this range results in a net increase of market value for property tax purposes of $1,047,200. This results in a total estimated amount of $114,000 of tax increment being available during the nine year period in which tax increments can be captured for an Economic Development TIF District. Motion Comms. Smith/Longie moved to recommend calling for a public hearing to consider the creation of a new Tax Increment Financing District for the expansion of Mendell Inc. Motion carried. Comms. Matasosky abstained due to his firm's involvement in the project. 6. Election of Officers Mr. Olson explained that in line with new board and commission appointments made by the City Council on March 26th, EDC election of officers will take place at this month's meeting. In 2014, EDC members elected Glenn StarField as Chair, Sheila Longie as Vice Chair, and Joe Julius as Secretary. Motion Comms. Longie/Gillen moved to recommend Comms. StarField as Chair for 2015. Motion carried unanimously. Motion Comms. Emond/Matasosky moved to recommend Comms. Longie as Vice Chair for 2015. Motion carried unanimously. Motion Comms. Starfield/Smith moved to recommend Comms. Scherer as Secretary for 2015. Motion carried unanimously. 7. Discussion of 2014-2016 Strategic Plan for Economic Development 2015 Work Program Mr. Olson presented an updated 2015 Work Plan for the 2014-2016 Strategic Plan for Economic Development. The 2014 Work Plan Update as discussed at the EDC's March meeting served as the foundation for the activities staff will pursue in 2015. The attached update incorporates actions identified by the EDC and City Council from discussion at the March EDC meeting. 8. Director's Report Mr. Olson reviewed the Director's Report. On April 23rd, the Planning Commission approved a Conditional Use Permit to allow a small brewery and taproom operated by Angry Inch Brewing Company. The taproom will be in the former Ace Hardware building, which will also be occupied by Motley Crews Heavy Metal Grill. This is the first brewery and taproom for the City of Lakeville following a Zoning Ordinance amendment in 2014 to allow this use. Frontier Communications along with DISH Network and CoBank are sponsoring the America's Best Communities Prize competition among communities throughout Frontier Communications' 27 state service areas. The City of Lakeville along with the Lakeville Area Chamber of Commerce and Lakeville Area Public Schools submitted an application in March. On April 29th, 50 quarter -finalists will be announced and will receive $50,000. On April 20th the City Council approved the Preliminary and Final Plat and a Conditional Use Permit for SuperAmerica Gas Convenience Store to be located in the TimberCrest shopping center on 185th Street. This new SA will be located at the corner of 185th Street and Orchard Trail just east of Buffalo Wild Wings. 9. Adjourn Meeting adjourned at 6:07 p.m. Respectfully submitted by: Rick H wden, Economic Development Specialist