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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-28-98 a CITY OF LAKEVILLE • ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES April 28, 1998 Members Present: Brantly, Detjen, Emond, Krejci, Matasosky, Miller, Pogatchnik, Tushie and Vogel. Members Absent: None Staff Present: Robert Erickson, City Administrator; Michael Sobota, Community & Economic Development Director; and Nicole Bennett, Economic Development Coordinator. Also Present: Greg Konat and Judy Tschumper, City of Burnsville; Dick Sherman, Nancy Smith, Jody Braun, and Roseann Klaphake, Downtown Lakeville Business Association; Dan Kinsella, Grist Mill Company; and Tom Smith, President, and Cindy Johnson, Executive Director, Lakeville Area Chamber of Commerce. 1. Call to Order. Chair Vogel called the meeting to order at 6:05 p.m. in the • Administration Conference Room at Lakeville City Hall. Introductions were initiated among those present. 2. Approval of the February 24, 1998, Meeting Minutes. 98.11 MOTION: Comms. Emond/Miller moved to approve the February 24, 1998, meeting minutes as written. Motion carried unanimously. 3. Presentation by City Manager Greg Konat and Director of Development/ Redevelopment Judy Tschumper from the City of Burnsville regarding the "Heart of the City" initiative as background for the Landscape Corridor Study RFP. Mr. Sobota introduced Greg Konat, City Manager, and Judy Tschumper, Director of Development/Redevelopment, from the City of Burnsville. Mr. Konat provided a brief overview of the "Heart of the City" initiative. He noted that the project began with business owners and residents expressing a need for Burnsville to identify a downtown or center for community activities. He stated that the project area includes Burnsville Parkway from I-35 to Parkwood Drive and Nicollet Avenue from Highway 13 to McAndrews Road, which was originally planned as a downtown area for Burnsville prior to the commercial development at I-35 and County Road 42. Mr. Konat explained that the schools and civic facilities located in the project area will serve as a connecting force along with public transit, pedestrian and bicycle access to • the area. He noted that the area was also in need of rejuvenation with many opportunities for redevelopment such as the Diamond Head Mall being purchased by the school district and converted to a community education campus. Lakeville Economic Development Commission Apri128, 1998 Meeting Minutes Page 2 • Mr. Konat stated that the Burnsville Parkway streetscape improvements will include the widening of trails to encourage additional pedestrian and bicycle traffic, extensive landscaping in the median and along the parkway, ornamental street lights and seasonal decorations, scored brick pedestrian crossings across street intersections, and the addition of access roads to slow traffic on the parkway and to provide better business access. Mr. Konat stated that the city's traditional process for public improvement projects typically include the City Council making a decision to do the project, city staff working with consultants to plan and design the project, and meetings with affected business and property owners to present the final plans. However, the "Heart of the City" process has involved residents and business owners in the initial brainstorming and design stages. Mr. Konat noted that project improvements will cost an estimated $3 million for phase I with 80% coveted by city TIF funds and 20% being assessed to business and property owners. He noted that individual visits were made to every affected business or property owner along the parkway, and they all agreed to the assessment. Ms. Tschumper noted that direct input from property owners has driven the entire process including the planning of public improvements in the project area. She indicated that the process included a 20-member committee with a 4-member management team of local business representatives coordinating the project details. She noted that it was a 2-3 year process from start to finish including soliciting public • input and getting property owners involved. She noted that in addition to the complete renovation of the Diamond Head Mall by the school district, two new office buildings have been proposed for the area including asix-story office complex. Comm. Matasosky inquired how the whole process got going. Ms. Tschumper responded that after initial letters were sent to property owners requesting their participation, it took 6 months to organize the committee and get people involved. From there, city staff began working with BRW Consultants and engineering staff to incorporate the committee's comments into the planning and design of improvements. Comm. Tushie inquired if only those businesses along the parkway were assessed. Ms. Tschumper replied that only the businesses and property owners adjacent to the parkway were assessed on a per front foot basis. Comm. Matasosky inquired if the project involved modifying the zoning ordinance or other city standards. Mr. Konat responded that they are discussing the potential creation of special zoning districts to encompass the project area including specific landscaping standards. Mr. Sobota inquired if the city provided funding for the planning, staffing and design costs. Mr. Konat responded that part of the planning costs were covered by the city's engineering and planning department budgets and the rest was rolled into the $3 million "Investment for Tomorrow" fund from excess tax increment. • Comm. Tushie inquired if businesses would be given credits for completing additional landscaping as part of the project. Ms. Tschumper responded that the businesses agreed to have all landscaping and other improvements included in one project bid by Lakeville Economic Development Commission April 28, 1998 Meeting Minutes Page 3 • the city, and additional landscaping added by individual businesses would not receive any special credit from the city. EDC Members and staffthanked Mr. Konat and Ms. Tschumper for attending the meeting and providing their insight on the "Heart of the City" process. 4. Presentation by the Downtown Lakeville Business Association including: An update regarding a petition for the proposed creation of a Special Service District along Holyoke Avenue from 202nd Street to 210th Street, request for a recommendation from the EDC to forward the petition to the City Council for scheduling a public hearing to establish the proposed Special Service District, and request for a city matching grant/funding assistance for the DLBA. Mr. Dick Sherman, Chair of the DLBA, provided a brief overview of the Downtown Lakeville Business Association's drive for a petition to establish a Special Service District along Holyoke Avenue from 202nd Street to 210th Street. He noted that the original district boundaries included property from Airlake Ford along County Road 50 to Ipava Avenue along C.R. 50, however the property owners in the outlying areas were not in support of the district at this time. He stated that the required property owner signatures representing 25% of the tax capacity value and land area for the proposed district had been attained on the petition. He noted that the district would be funded through an assessment of commercial property owners based on a formula of 10% of taxes payable with a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $6,000 per property owner. Mr. Sherman noted that it was discovered within the past week that • the assessment formula used in the petition may need to be revised to comply with the state statute, and he asked if Mr. Erickson could elaborate on the issues regarding the assessment formula. Mr. Erickson stated that there was some confusion regarding the proposed assessment formula being based on taxes payable rather than on tax capacity as referenced in the statute. He noted that he spoke with City Attorney Roger Knutson, and the assessment formula as stated in the petition is in compliance with the statute. He stated that the city has the right under the statute to create an enabling ordinance that establishes the assessment formula. The ordinance can be used to ensure that the DLBA's objectives are met in terms of creating a board structure to oversee the funds, a detailed project budget, and a method for disbursing the funds. Mr. Erickson stated that the process would be similar in nature to the creation of the Lakeville Convention and Visitors Bureau which required the Chamber to partner with the city for statutory authority to collect and disburse funds. Mr. Erickson stated that a lowering of commerciaUindustrial property tax classification rates from 4.0% to 3.5% by the 1998 legislature created an unanticipated shortfall in the district budget based on reductions in taxes payable for 1999. He noted that Finance Director Dennis Feller estimated the impact on 1999 taxes payable as approximately a 12% reduction. Thus, the process is in tact legally but the district will • not raise as much funding as originally planned based on the assessment formula of 10% of taxes payable. Lakeville Economic Development Commission Apri128, 1998 Meeting Minutes Page 4 • Ms. Nancy Smith stated that the DLBA would like to move forward as quickly as possible to maintain the momentum that has been established, and she noted that the DLBA is requesting that the EDC recommend forwarding the petition to the City Council for a public hearing on May 18th. Comm. Emond inquired as to how the district will deal with the unanticipated shortfall due to the reduction in commerciaUindustrial property tax rates. He asked if they plan to decrease their budget or increase the assessment. Ms. Smith responded that the DLBA needs to discuss their options regarding changing the assessment formula to maintain an adequate budget for district activities. Mr. Tom Smith, Chamber President, inquired what percentage of downtown property owners have signed the petition. Mr. Sherman responded that they have more than the required 25% of the property owners signatures and others have agreed to support the effort but have not yet signed the petition. Mc Smith noted that it would be better to have at least 50-75% of downtown property owners' signatures in support of the proposed district before moving ahead with a public hearing where opposition could kill the petition. Comm. Brantly inquired as to any marketing materials being used by the DLBA to help property owners visualize the benefits of the proposed district, and he inquired as to what the DLBA feels will be the biggest advantage of the district to downtown • property owners. Ms. Smith stated that letters were sent out to all affected property owners and a neighborhood meeting was held to discuss the proposed district with property owners. She noted that the biggest benefit will be a staff person hired part- time to organize and spearhead the various DLBA committees to get the work done. 98.12 MOTION: Comms. EmondBrantly moved to forward the petition to the City Council for scheduling a public hearing to consider establishing a proposed Special Service District in downtown Lakeville along Holyoke Avenue from 202nd Street to 210th Street. Motion carried unanimously. Ms. Smith inquired if the EDC would also consider recommending to the City Council that a matching grant be provided to the DLBA to support the proposed district. Mr. Erickson noted that Council Member Tom Ryan, as liaison to the DLBA, wanted to discuss various options for assistance to the downtown at the Council work session scheduled for Apri129th, including support for parking facilities or other improvements as opposed to "soft costs" such as promotions and special events. He stated that the EDC may want to table consideration of a matching grant to allow Council Member Ryan to discuss various funding options with the other City Council members. • 98.13 MOTION: Comms. Tushie/Emond moved to table discussion regarding a matching grant from the city to support the DLBA and proposed Special Service District. Motion carried unanimously. Lakeville Economic Development Commission April 2S, 1998 Meeting Minutes Page 5 . 5. Review request from Grist Mill Company to submit a loan application to the Minnesota Investment Fund in support of a potential expansion at its Lakeville facility. Mr. Sobota stated that Grist Mill Company was recently acquired by International Home Foods, a national manufacturer, distributor and marketer of food products. As a result of this acquisition, IHF is considering relocating some of its production lines to a facility in Pennsylvania or to the Grist Mill plant in Lakeville. He noted that Grist Mill CFO Dan Kinsella approached the city regarding any financial assistance available to assist in the relocation of these production lines and the purchase of equipment for the Lakeville facility. Mr. Sobota stated that city staff could explore an application to the Minnesota Investment Fund, a state program that makes grants to cities which, in turn, make loans to businesses for expansion projects in manufacturing that create newjobs. He noted that this program was used to make a loan to New Morning Windows. The first $100,000 of each loan is retained by the city for a future revolving loan fund. Mr. Sobota then introduced Mr. Dan Kinsella, CFO of Grist Mill Company. Mr. Kinsella stated that II-IF is a leading foods manufacturer of well-known private labels including PAM cooking spray, Chef Boyardee pasta, Bumble Bee tuna and other products. He noted that IHF is considering relocating the production of its marshmallow crisp rice bars and Campfire marshmallows from Salt Lake City, Utah, to operations in Pennsylvania, but those product lines would be a perfect fit with Grist • Mill's Lakeville operations. Thus, he contacted city staff to inquire about financial assistance programs that could be used to assist with the estimated $6 million in relocation costs to bring those operations to Minnesota He noted that the project would bring an estimated 125 jobs to Minnesota and production in excess of $40 million. Comm. Krejci inquired if Grist Mill had any concerns regarding the availability of labor to fill positions created from the proposed expansion. Mr. Kinsella indicated that current labor market conditions are a concern, but Grist Mill feels confident that they will be able to hire workers for the new positions. Mr. Sobota noted that scoring of the loan application by the state favors those projects that create a high number of jobs. 98.14 MOTION: Comms. Tushie/Pogatchnik moved to recommend that the city submit an application to the Minnesota Investment Fund on behalf of Grist Mill Company to support a potential expansion of the Lakeville facility. Motion carried unanimously. 6. Appoint two members to serve on the joint EDC/EAC South Creek Subcommittee. Mr. Sobota stated that the EDC is being asked to appoint two members to a joint EDC/EAC South Creek subcommittee to further review the Draft • Report of the 1997 Vermillion River and South Creek Tributary Monitoring Program and to develop recommendations to the City Council regarding the report and its conclusions. Mr. Sobota stated that the data has been collected, and the subcommittee would assist staff over the next few months in formulating a position on the technical Lakeville Economic Development Commission April 28, 1998 Meeting Minutes Page 6 and regulatory aspects of the future management of South Creek Comm. Matasosky stated that the DNR decision to designate additional trout streams was done without proper notification to property owners. Comm. Emond noted that the EAC/EDC South Creek Subcommittee recommendations should be reviewed by the EDC prior to City Council action. 98.15 MOTION: Comms. Krejci/Detjen moved to appoint Comms. Matasosky and Pogatchnik to serve on the joint EDC/BAC South Creek Subcommittee. Motion carried ururnimously. 7. Strategic Rork Plan and Project Activities Update. Chair Vogel stated that he met with city staff to discuss the strategic work plan activities for May and would like to suggest that the EDC cancel its regular May meeting in lieu of conducting various subcommittee meetings to work on the South Creek issue, Landscape Corridor Study and the Financial Incentives Policy. EDC Members agreed that they would rather appoint subcommittees to work on these projects than conduct a regular meeting for May. Comms. Tushie, Brantly, and Miller volunteered to serve on the Landscape Corridor Study Subcommittee that will be meeting in May. Comms. Matasosky, Pogatchnik, Krejci, and Emond volunteered to serve on the Financial Incentives Policy Subcommittee that will begin meeting in early June. 8. Preview the Office Services Marketing Video. EDC Members and city staff • previewed the third marketing video targeting office service businesses. The video features interviews with Sandy Winters, First National Bank of Monticello, and Steve Spang, Verified Credentials, Inc. Mr. Sobota noted that staff will be sending out more than 350 copies of this video to prospective businesses. EDC Members noted that this video is the best of the three marketing videos and requested copies for use in promoting Lakeville to their business and professional contacts. 9. Other Business. It was determined that the May 26th EDC meeting should be canceled to allow the newly created South Creek, Landscape Corridor Study, and Financial Incentives Policy Subcommittees to conduct work sessions during the month of May and early June. The next regular EDC meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, June 23rd at 6:00 p.m. 10. Adjourn. The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 p.m. Respectfixlly submitted: ATTEST TO: ~ ~ ~~~~s ~ tcole E. Bennett, Recording Secretary ; 7o~n Krejci, Secre v c:lwinword\edc11998mtgs\0428mtg1mn042898.doc •