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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 2 CITY OF LAKEVILLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES May 26, 2020 1. Chair Scherer called the meeting to order at 4:05 p.m. in the Council Chambers. Members Present: Comms. Christiansen, Emond, Gillen, Matasosky, Scherer, Seiler Ex-officio Members Present: Mayor Anderson, City Administrator Miller, Chamber President Jech Members Absent: Comm. Collman, Dautel, Stone, Starfield Staff Present: David Olson, Community & Economic Development Director; Kati Bachmayer, Economic Development Coordinator; Zach Johnson, City Engineer 2. Approval of April 28, 2020 Meeting Minutes Comms. Emond / Scherer moved to approve the minutes of the May 28 meeting minutes as presented. Motion carried unanimously. 3. Review of Petition from Industrial Park Businesses Regarding Installation of a Traffic Signal at County Road 70 and Hamburg Avenue Mr. Olson informed EDC members that 25 industrial park businesses had signed and submitted a petition to the Dakota County Board of Commissioners in support of including a traffic signal at the intersection of County Road 70 (CR70) and Hamburg Avenue with the upcoming CR70 4-lane expansion project. In the petition, the businesses expressed traffic flow and safety concerns. City Engineer Johnson was present to provide more detail about the CR70 project and the County’s reasoning behind removing the 4-way stop at that intersection and not replacing it with a traffic signal at this time. The County Board will discuss the winning bid and vote on June 2. Mr. Johnson said that the expansion project will move forward regardless of the signal decision, as a traffic signal at Hamburg Avenue (if added by the County Board) would be constructed in year two of the project. Mr. Olson noted the intersection would meet the County’s half-mile spacing standards. Comm. Emond felt that taking the CR70/Hamburg intersection back to a 2-way stop configuration was setting it back 20 years to when there were a lot of fatal accidents. EDC members were in support of the industrial park businesses and their petition. 4. Review of City Requirements for Temporary Restaurant Outdoor Seating Areas Mr. Olson stated that Minnesota Executive Order 20-56 allowed restaurants to reopen to the public on June 1st for outdoor seating only. In response to those Economic Development Commission Minutes May 26, 2020 Page | 2 guidelines, the City Council passed an outdoor customer service policy that allows commercial and industrial businesses to establish drive-up/pick-up areas and restaurants to create temporary patio areas in parking spaces or grassy areas adjacent to the business. An amendment to the policy was going to be discussed during the May 26 City Council work session, that addresses liquor license holders. In order for restaurants to serve alcohol on temporary patios, the business will need to provide a site plant of the temporary patio area, type of fencing used to delineate the area and a copy of their modified liquor license liability insurance policy. The policy sunsets when the City’s Peacetime Emergency expires. Mr. Olson shared that the Metropolitan Council has decided not to assess additional SAC (sewer availability charge) units on the temporary patios, but city staff will need to provide a list of businesses who add seating area under the policy and confirm removal of that seating area when the policy has expired. EDC members expressed frustration at Governor Walz’s decision to only allow outdoor dining at this time and about the cap in place at 50 people per outdoor patio area regardless of available space. Mayor Anderson informed the EDC that he had been in recent conversations, along with other metro city mayors, with MN Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) Commissioner Steve Grove to lobby for the reopening of additional businesses and loosening of existing restrictions. EDC members complimented the City of taking quick action to support the businesses during the pandemic. 5. Continued Roundtable Discussion of COVID-19 Impacts on Lakeville Businesses Comm. Gillen asked how the pandemic has affected construction in Lakeville. Mr. Olson told the group that development has continued to be strong in the city and hasn’t slowed down during the pandemic. Residential building permit numbers have been coming in higher than 2019 during the same period and several new projects have been proposed for development, including FedEx Freight’s expansion, Launch Park 2nd Addition, and a few in the Timbercrest area near Target. 6. Director’s Report Mr. Olson provided noted that construction on Kingsley Place continues and clean up applications were turned into DEED and the Dakota County Community Development Agency in late April. Notification on both grant applications is expected in June. The next EDC meeting is scheduled for June 23, 2020. Adjourn Meeting adjourned at 5:20 p.m. Respectively submitted by: Kati Bachmayer, Economic Development Coordinator