Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-28-01-01 Economic Development Commission Meeting Minutes August 28, 2001 City of Lakeville Economic Development Commission Meeting Minutes August 28, 2001; 6:00 p.m. City Hall Members Present: Vogel, Matasosky, Pogatchnik, Emond, Schubert, Brantly. Members Absent: Tushie, Erickson, Miller, Bornhauser. Others Present: Mayor Johnson and City Council members Luick, Rieb, Mulvihill, Bellows. City Staff: Robert Erickson, City Administrator; Arlyn Grossing, Community & Economic Development Director; Ann Flad, Economic Development Coordinator. 1. Call Meeting to Order. Chair Vogel called the meeting to order at 6:07 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 20195 Holyoke Avenue, Lakeville. 3. Joint Work Session With City Council A. The 2002-2004 Strategic Plan for Economic Development • Chair Vogel welcomed the EDC and City Council members. Vogel indicated that the EDC has been working on a new Strategic Plan during the last four months. The EDC gathered information on the City Council's priorities and the history of the EDC before creating a vision statement and revising the mission statement. The EDC'S vision is to be: Creative and innovative, Credible, Facilitators of change, Providers of outcomes to achieve lasting impact, Providers for a better community, Promoters rather than policy makers, Builders of relationships between businesses and residents, Successful facilitators of Council initiatives, Anticipatory of difficult City issues, and developers of proactive solutions, Identifiers of issues before they become a problem, and Aggressive innovators. City Council members indicated they suppported the EDC's vision, particularly the following elements; facilitators of change, promoters rather than policy makers, anticipate issues and solutions, identify issues before they become problems. It was suggested that a comma be added, therefore reading "Anticipatory Of Difficult City Issues, And Developers Of Proactive Solutions." The EDC proposes a new mission as follows, "The Economic Development Commission is committed to innovative economic growth which enhances the quality of life, and provides balance to, the business and residential community." The City Council members indicated support of the proposed mission statement. Discussion ensued regarding balance to the community and whether to rephrase a portion of the mission statement to emphasize "quality of life." 1 G:V1FIad\ECOndev projectslEDC12001 mtgs\BAugust1082801 minutes.doc Economic Development Commission u Meeting Minutes August 28, 2001 Ms. Flad then explained how the EDC arrived at the four proposed Strategic Work Areas. The four Strategic Work Areas are as follows: • Promote Policies Of Quality Strategic Growth • Encourage investigation of all potential upgrade opportunities in critical "business infrastructure" elements -phone, data, and other infrastructure, to promote positive outcomes for long term. • Encourage the use of development tools, e.g.: PUD's to integrate city design standards with new developments to achieve overall consistencies. • Continue to partner with Lakeville Chamber and DLBA for promoting Lakeville's identification - "Where we are located." • Anticipate emerging/future city economic development issues and develop a proactive solution. The Council members spoke favorably about the items listed under this Strategic Work Area, and particularly about anticipating future issues and developing proactive solutions. Foster A Balanced Community • Inform and educate residents on benefits of C/l base to gain community support and appreciation for business growth. • Identify solutions for affordable and lifecycle housing. • Work to retain the historical flavor of downtown area, developing it into a vibrant business community & ensuring its long-term viability. • • Make use of Southern Gateway opportunities and proximity to both metro areas. • Develop specific marketing for commercial growth. Council member Reib spoke favorably about the EDC's proposal to inform and educate residents. Council member Bellows inquired about the heading of this Strategic Work Area. EDC members explained that each item listed was a component of a balanced community. It was suggested that the term "lifestyle" be changed to "lifecycle" and that the EDC consider rewording the title. Promote Growth Of Industrial And Commercial Development To Encourage Balance Between C/l And Residential Tax Base • Financial planning for community -encourage community partners - schools, city, county, state, etc. to provide input to create basic financial models that can be used to visualize and measure potential threats, outcomes, and overall impacts of our efforts to improve financial position of city in future. • Need to have a proactive budgeting process for EDC. • Affordability of land. • Current lack of retail. The City Council and EDC members discussed the item "affordability of land," specifically opportunities to market the value-added characteristics of locating in Lakeville. Members also discussed recruiting retail establishments that are not present . in neighboring communities, thus attracting consumers to Lakeville. Council members Page 2 of 8 - ~ Economic Development Commission Meeting Minutes August 28, 2001 also agreed that encouraging communication between community partners would be • very beneficial to the community. Support Major Transportation Facilities In The City • Assess impact of Interchange priorities for 60-70-50. • Need for major transportation arteries in the city including the need to provide adequate access to commercial/retail/industrial area. • I-35 Corridor enhancements. • Explore issues related to East-West Corridor. • Implementation of Gateway and Corridor Plan -need defined plan for implementation. • Investigate/encourage expansion of airport and rail opportunities and their impact on the C/I community. City Council and EDC members discussed the EDC's role in addressing business- related issues along transportation corridors, rather than infrastructure and design issues, as well as the accessibility of commercial and industrial developments. It was suggested that the first item be revised as follows: "Assess impact of interchange priorities for 60-70-50." It was also suggested that the title of the Strategic Work Area be changed to "Support Major Transportation Facilities in the City." EDC members also clarified that they propose to examine freight rail opportunities and not passenger rail. The City Council indicated their overall support of the proposed 2002-2004 Strategic • Plan for Economic Development. The EDC will discuss the recommended changes and begin developing work plans at their meeting in September. The work plans will be incorporated into the Strategic Plan and a final document will be presented to the City Council later this year. The City Council/EDC work session concluded at 7:37. The EDC moved to the Lake Marion Conference Room for the remainder of their regular meeting. 2. Approve June 19, 2001 meeting minutes. Motion 01.20 Comms. Matasosky/Pogatchnik moved to approve the minutes of the June 19, 2001 meeting. Motion carried unanimously. 8. Revolving Loan Fund financing of Marquette Bank's acquisition of the car was/laundromat in downtown Lakeville to be redeveloped as a parking lot. Mr. Erickson informed the EDC that the City has been working to acquire the car wash/Laundromat in downtown Lakeville. The property has been vacant since November, 1999, is blighted, and is not suitable for renovation to Historic Fairfield District of Downtown Lakeville Design Guidelines. Because of the blighted condition of the property and suspected hazardous waste issues with the site, the City of Lakeville • has been ab{e to negotiate a tentative purchase price of $125,000 with CIT Small Business Lending Corp. Page 3 of 8 Economic Development Commission ~ ` Meeting Minutes August 28, 2001 Marquette Bank has need for additional onsite parking and is currently using Babe's • parking lot. Marquette Bank is proposing to purchase the property from the City, demolish the building, address any potential hazardous waste issues, and redevelop the site as a parking lot. Marquette Bank is requesting approximately $90,000 in financial assistance from the Lakeville Revolving Loan Fund for the acquisition of the property. The remainder of the project cost would be Marquette Bank's responsibility. The additional parking will assist Marquette in attracting viable businesses to lease space at their downtown location. The Downtown Lakeville Business Association had also previously inquired about the feasibility of turning that property into a parking lot. Should Marquette acquire the property, they would be required to maintain the property as a parking lot and would be prohibited from selling the property. Comm. Pogatchnik questioned whether Marquette Bank is the most suitable recipient of financial assistance. Mr. Erickson indicated that this project requires a private party with significant assets of their own to invest in the project. Mr. Erickson also explained that redeveloping the site for a parking lot would result in a substantial public benefit, as it would address the significant parking issues in the downtown commercial district. Comm. Matasosky concurred, indicating he believed this assistance would help address the significant parking issues on that block. Comm. Matasosky also indicated that the Downtown Lakeville Business Association would be the appropriate party to acquire parking-and address all of the parking issues downtown. Mr. Erickson noted that information had been provided to the DLBA on the requirements for setting up a parking district. The DLBA has not indicated the ability to undertake this project, thus • Marquette Bank remains the only party interested in undertaking the redevelopment of the property for a parking lot. The Revolving Loan Fund has a balance of $96,587 and continues to receive payments from New Morning Windows per the MN Department of Trade & Economic Development grant agreement and subsequent loan agreement. Approximately $72,000 expected to be deposited in the Revolving Loan Fund between August 31,2001 and December 31, 2006. Comm. Emond indicated his intention to abstain from voting on this project as he is currently on the board of directors of Marquette Bank. Motion 01.21 Comms. Pogatchnik/Matasosky moved to support the provision of financial assistance to Marquette Bank for the acquisition of the laundromat/car wash site in downtown Lakeville and redevelopment of the site as a parking lot. Emond Abstained. Mofion carried. 4. A.) Incentives Subcommittee Mr. trussing informed the Commissioners that Springsted has completed several components of the Financial Incentives Study. The completed items have been compiled into a draft document entitled "Lakeville Economic Development Commission Financial Tools Program." Revisions have been made to this document based on staff • Page 4 of 8 Economic Development Commission Meeting Minutes August 28, 2001 input. The Incentives Subcommittee will meet next week to review the document and • make recommendations to the EDC at their September 25, 2001 meeting. B.) Labor Force Ms. Flad reported that the Labor Force Subcommittee met in May and decided to use NationJobs.com as the web site to list job openings. Discussion ensued at the June meeting about the advertising costs the project would incur that are not included in the NationJobs fee. Todd Bornhauser, Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce, indicated he would explore the cost and availability of billboards outside of Lakeville. The committee also commissioned a company to design a logo for the project. Ms. Flad also developed a brochure to use in recruiting companies to participate in the project. Economic changes have reduced the number of Airlake businesses hiring new employees, and some businesses report layoffs. Therefore the committee will be meeting in early September to discuss whether it is feasible to solicit at least ten businesses join the JobslnLakeville.com program, and whether those businesses would advertise enough job openings to make the project successful. Commissioners indicated that EDC's original intention was to encourage leadership amongst Airlake Businesses and have that leadership undertake the JobslnLakeville.com project and others. Commissioners recognized the renewed activity of the HR Committee through this labor force project, and suggested that the role of the EDC and City staff is complete. The EDC and Citystaff will continue to • support the effort but will take a less active role in the project implementation. C.) High Tech Ms. Flad reported that the High Tech Subcommittee met on August 8, 2001. The joint subcommittee reviewed the High Tech Survey results. The Subcommittee originally distributed approximately 157 surveys to businesses located in Airlake Industrial Park, Fairtield Business Campus, and the McStop area. The survey was accompanied by a cover letter explaining the project, and was signed by the chairs of the Telecommunications Commission and the Economic Development Commission. These surveys were sent to the primary contact for each company as represented in the City of Lakeville's database. Two methods of distribution were used: delivery via the U.S. Postal Service to approximately half of the companies, and delivery via a-mail to the remainder of the companies. The original response rate to the survey was low, with 14 companies (9%) responding to the survey. Interestingly, the High Tech Subcommittee had used technology in the form of a-mail to distribute nearly half of the surveys, however this method of distribution received the lowest response rate (2 companies, or 1%.) A second copy of the survey was sent to the same contacts at the same companies, however they were all sent via the U.S. Postal Service and were accompanied by a letter from Mayor Bob Johnson requesting participation. The second distribution of the • survey brought the response rate up to 27% (a total of 42 respondents.) Page 5 of 8 Economic Development Commission Meeting Minutes August 28, 2001 Statistics were generated and a preliminary review by Dakota County Technical College Telecommunications Commission member and Telecommunications Instructor Doug . Thompson revealed that additional responses would be needed in order to maximize the usefulness of this survey exercise. Mr. Thompson and staff completed additional 10 surveys via phone calls to companies chosen for their size or likelihood to have telecommunications infrastructure. These answers are incorporated into the final statistics listed below. A list of all companies that participated in the survey is attached for your information. The committee concluded that "most companies do not need fiber at this time but it would be helpful for the future." Specifically the committee felt further exploration of fiber would allow existing businesses to take advantage of technological advances and would encourage new businesses to locate in Lakeville. Staff will arrange to have the following service providers present information to the subcommittee: MCI WorldCom, Integra, Frontier, Charter, McCleod, Qwest, Hickory Tech, and AT&T. Providers will be asked to share information on their vision and plans for providing service in Lakeville, as well as information on the demographics that could trigger a market presence in the community. Staff will also develop a presentation to share with the service providers which explains the subcommittee's objectives and information on the market Lakeville currently has and anticipates in the future. The subcommittee also felt that educating the business and residential community • about telecommunications options could be a second phase of their efforts. Responses to the surveys indicated that a number of businesses are paying for duplicative service without the need to do so. Many of these businesses also indicated they are not particularly knowledgeable about telecommunications and their options. Thus assisting businesses (and residents) in understanding what their needs and options are would provide a great benefit to the community. Once the subcommittee meets with the service providers, the subcommittee will draft a statement to share with the businesses who responded to the survey and other interested parties. Additional methods of information distribution and education will also be explored. 5. Identify Process for developing Strategic Work Plans Chair Vogel indicated that he would work with City staff to incorporate the City Council's suggestions from the meeting into a document for the EDC's discussion at their September meeting. It was also determined that Commissioners would fax information to City staff regardirig the issues to address first. Subcommittees will then be formed to begin drafting workplans for those issues. It is anticipated that the work plans will be complete by October. 6. Metro East and Dakota County Economic Development Partnership membership update. Mr. Grossing informed the EDC that the City Council passed a resolution at its August 6, 2001 meeting to terminate the City's membership with Metro East effective 12-31-01. • The Council has chosen to maintain the City's membership with the Dakota County Page 6 of 8 Economic Development Commission Meeting Minutes August 28, 2001 Economic Development Partnership, as its focus is more local. Commissioners • concurred with the City Council's decision to terminate the membership with Metro East and indicated that further benefit should be sought from the Dakota County Economic Development Partnership. 7. Manufacturer's Week Tentative Activities Ms. Flad indicated that staff has met with Todd Bornhauser of the Chamber of Commerce regarding this year's activities. Those activities proposed for 2001 include the following: Luncheon: The Chamber of Commerce has indicated they will hold a "Recognition Luncheon" for manufacturers. The City has been asked to participate. Location and details are being determined. Staff suggested identifying a speaker that is relevant to manufacturers. Last year, manufacturers were invited to the Legislative Forum and Manufacturer's Recognition Luncheon, with nine manufacturers attending. In the past, the City has held luncheons or dinners. A 1997 survey of businesses indicated they would prefer a dinner and speaker, however Manufacturer's Week in 2001 falls on the same week as the Chamber's Fall Fundraiser, and two dinners in one week are not feasible. Proclamation and Governor's Certificate: The Mayor will be asked to proclaim the week as Manufacturing • Week. All manufacturing (industrial) businesses will receive a copy of the proclamation along with a Certificate of Appreciation from the Governor. These will be mailed to businesses to ensure their timely distribution. The Proclamation will also be published on the Messages page of the This Week-Life & Times newspaper. Informational Articles: The Lakeville This Week-Life & Times newspaper will be approached about doing an edition that focuses on manufacturing businesses. If the newspaper doesn't respond to this request, staff will draft articles that highlight the benefits of industrial businesses to our community. This is consistent with the 2002-2004 Strategic Plan for Economic Development. Commissioners indicated that a luncheon may be more successful if the speaker is more relevant to manufacturers. Commissioners also indicated support for the proposed activities, and were supportive of developing communication with the public on the benefits of manufacturing businesses in Lakeville. 9. Timbercrest Mr. trussing provided an update on the Timbercrest project. The Comprehensive Plan Amendment was complete with receipt of a July 30, 2001 letter to Robert Erickson from • Ted Mondale of the Metropolitan Council. An Environmental Assessment Worksheet was completed, and the City Council did not require an Environmental Impact Page 7 of 8 Economic f)evelopment Commission Meeting Minutes August 28, 2001 Statement at their meeting of July 30, 2001. The Environmental Affairs Committee also recommended approval of the development plan on August 21, 2001. . A Public Hearing was held with the Planning Commission on August 23, 2001. The request included rezoning of the property and approval of a preliminary and final plat for the first phase, which includes the Super Target. The Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the rezoning to PUD and the preliminary and final plats. Timbercrest plans will also be reviewed by the Park and Recreation Committee at their September 5, 2001 meeting. The project will be scheduled for first available City Council Meeting following the preparation of a development contract. Grading of the site is anticipated to commence in the fall. 5. Adjourn. The meeting was adjourned at 8:49 p.m. Respectfully submitted by: Attested t/o: U Ann Flad, Recording Secretary R.T. rantly, ecretary • • Page 8 of 8