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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-24-96 • City of Lakeville Economic Development Commission Meeting Minutes September 24, 1996 Members Present: Brantly, Detjen, Emond, Krejci, Matasosky, Pogatchnik, Tushie and Vogel Members Absent: Erickson Also Present: Robert Erickson, City Administrator; Michael Sobota, Director of Community & Economic Development; Nicole Bennett, Economic Development Specialist. 1. Call to Order. Chair Brantly called the meeting to order at 6:10 p.m. in the Administration Conference Room at City Hall. 2. Approval of the July 23, 1996 Meeting Minutes. 96.12 MOTION: Comms. Emond/Matasosky moved to approve the July 23, 1996 meeting minutes as written. Motion carried unanimously. 3. Presentation of Non-Airlake Business Survey Results by Dr. Bill Morris, Decision Resources Ltd. Mr. Sobota stated that due to illness, Dr. Morris was not able to attend the meeting and his presentation will be rescheduled for a later meeting. • 4. Project Activities Update. Mr. Sobota stated that Alcorn Beverage has submitted a TIF application for an 80,000 square foot distribution center. The project involves a portion of the 22 acre parcel located on the southwest corner of C.R. 70 and Highview Avenue. He noted that a key element of the project is storm water ponding that has been proposed to be located on MAC-owned property to the south through a Joint Powers Agreement. He added that a special EDC meeting may be necessary to review Alcorn's request for TIF. Mr. Sobota stated that Grist Mill recently completed paving a major parking lot expansion on the west side of their warehouse building. The company is working on a high-quality 10,000 square foot office space expansion. Mr. Sobota noted that the Itron building in Fairfield Business Campus is ahead of schedule with stucco on the building and the parking lot paved He added that the building should be complete by November 1st. Mr. Sobota noted that Pinnacle Products plans to locate in Airlake Industrial Park and has submitted plans for a new 38,000 square foot office/warehouse building. He stated that Pinnacle Products is a major customer of Imperial Plastics and is moving to Airlake to be conveniently located near Imperial. • Economic Development Commission September 24,1996 Meeting Minutes Page 2 • Mr. Sobota stated that the financial closing for Verified Credentials, Inc., was held on September 16th, and the company broke ground in Fairfield Business Campus later that week. Mr. Sobota stated that Photran Corporation has submitted a request for Industrial Development Revenue Bond (IDRB) financing, and the company's proposal will be reviewed later in the meeting. Mr. Sobota noted that the new bridge and access ramps at I-35 and C.R. 46 were dedicated on September 6th, and opened to traffic on September 9th. Mr. Erickson stated that landscaping is being installed at the intersection which will further add to the high quality of the project. Ms. Bennett stated that staff worked with Utilicorp, formerly Peoples Natural Gas, in providing information and four color photos for a Community Profile of Lakeville to be included on LocationOne, a site search web page on the Internet. Mr. Sobota noted that staff continues to send out Development Project Feedback Surveys, and forward the responses to Chair Brandy. Chair Brandy stated that most of the surveys have been quite positive in nature except for two of the latest survey • responses he has reviewed. He noted that one response indicated that the costs for streets and utilities that the city forces the developer to pay are burdensome to new business. Comm. Pogatchnik inquired as to the cost of the road improvements for this project and if they were high compared to other projects. Mr. Sobota responded that the road improvement for this project was cone-sided frontage road; thus there was no property owner on the other side of the road to share the costs. He stated that the street improvements cost approximately $80,000 and the developer/business was made well aware of these costs early on in the development process. Chair Brandy stated that another negative survey response addressed multiple issues of concern, and he inquired if the EDC and staff felt he should follow-up with the business contact. EDC members and staff indicated that they felt the Chair should follow-up on the letter of concern by contacting the manager. 5. Review of Photran-IDRB Proposal. Mr. Sobota introduced the request for Industrial Development Revenue Bonds (IDRBs) from the Photran Corporation. He stated that Photran is a hi-tech company located in Airlake Industrial Park and they are requesting that the City support their application for $7 million in IDRBs. Comm. Matasosky inquired as to the qualifying characteristics of this company for IDRBs. Mr. Sobota responded that Photran qualifies for IDRB funding as a manufacturing facility and that the City Bond Attorney, John Kirby, will review the project in detail for conformance with Federal regulations. • Economic Development Commission September 24, 1996 Meeting Minutes Page 3 • Mr. Sobota stated that the IDRB approval process involves the proposed preliminary authorization and a final resolution (probably in December) from the City, and staff is requesting that the EDC make a recommendation to the City Council supporting Photran's IDRB proposal. He noted that the IDRBs are not obligations of the City and do not involve Lakeville in any direct credit risk. He added that Photran intends to do a private placement of the bonds; thus, the City's only role is to "qualify" the company as eligible for IDRBs through the state. Comm. Tushie inquired if the company produces any hazardous materials in their processing. Mr. Sobota responded that they are likely a small hazardous waste generator, if at all, and he will verify that they have the necessary permitting through the MPCA. 96.13 MOTION: Comms. Pogatchnik/Tushie made a motion to recommend approval ofPhotran's IDRB Request to the City Council. Motion carried unanimously, with Comm. Matasosky abstaining. 6. Discuss Results of the ISD 194 Bond Referendum. Mr. Erickson asked if the Commissioners would be willing to provide any input regarding the recently defeated ISD 194 Bond Referendum. He noted that later this evening a regular School Boazd • meeting will be held and community members are stepping forward to provide recommendations to the School Board on issues that need to be addressed prior to another referendum being held. Comm. Detjen stated that he heard objections to the referendum based on residents' concerns that expansions of the high school and junior high facilities, rather than new facilities, would create undesirable facilities that will be too large. Comm. Vogel noted that a "culture change" may be required, such as the evolution that occurred with City Hall and the Chamber of Commerce working together, and that the business community needs to offer continued support and remain active in the process. Commissioners Tushie, Vogel and Pogatchnik noted that they were invited to a debriefing session with school district officials later that week to discuss why the referendum failed. 7. Discuss Express Commuter Transit Service Report by LRJ, Inc. Mr. Sobota introduced the transit report from LRJ, Inc., and stated that the report conclusions indicate there is not enough demand to support certain transit services in Lakeville at this time. Comm. Pogatchnik inquired as to how soon the issue of demand for transit will be revisited considering the rapid population growth of the city. Mr. Sobota responded that this issue would be reexamined annually. 8. Preview of Marketing Video Targeted at Manufacturing. Mr. Sobota stated that • the manufacturing-targeted video is complete and in the process of being duplicated. Ms. Bennett stated that the packaging is complete, and the rest of the video mailing Economic Development Commission September 24, 1996 Meeting Minutes Page 4 • materials will be complete by the end of the week. She passed around one of the custom video boxes printed by Menasha Corporation in Airlake Industrial Park, and the EDC viewed the manufacturing video. EDC Members indicated that they were pleased with the final product. Comm. Tushie noted that printing the insert copy with the same bulleted points that are highlighted in the video was a nice touch. 9. Draft Agenda for the October 10-11 Strategic Planning Session. Ms. Bennett stated that a copy of the draft agenda for the October 10-11 Strategic Planning Session was included with the packets, and she noted that Commissioners should contact her if there is anything that needs to be added to the session agenda. lO.Other Business. Chair Brantly stated that the City needs to develop tools for conducting acost/benefit analysis of development projects, perhaps using incentives versus return on investment as a tool for conducting cost benefit analysis to determine whether or not to provide incentives for a project. Mr. Sobota responded that this would be an excellent issue to address as part of the Strategic Planning Process, and should be brought up in the special October meetings. Comm. Tushie expressed his concern in response to the city proposittg TIF to the Toro Company, based on the low number of jobs generated by the project. He noted • that the EDC and the City need to develop criteria for evaluating incentive requests, and job creation should be a major consideration. Comm. Tushie stated that the Toro use (as a large distribution center) should be located west of Airlake outside of the MUSA. Comm. Brantly stated that he would like suggestions for the task force membership that will address the naming of Town Square. He noted that persons on the task force should possess 2 characteristics: they must know the city and they should possess creativity. He stated that he views the naming as atwo-meeting process with the first meeting to prioritize what the name should say or reflect; and a second meeting to generate a list of names that satisfy those criteria. Staff and the Comrissioners suggested that task force membership include representation from City staff, the Chamber of Commerce, creative junior or senior high school students, and representation from the developers that will be involved in the final project. 11. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 8:40 p.m. Respectfully sub~ted: A EST TO:~ ole E. Bennett, Recording Secretary Joan Krejci, ec etary c:\winword\edclmtg10221mn0924396.doc