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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-03-96 • CITY OF LAKEVILLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES December 3, 1996 Members Present: Brandy, Detjen, Erickson, Krejci, Matasosky, Pogatchnik, Tushie and Vogel Members Absent: Emond Also Present: Robert Erickson, City Administrator; Michael Sobota, Director of Community & Economic Development; Nicole Bennett, Economic Development Specialist. 1. Call to Order. Chair Brandy called the meeting to order at 6:10 p.m. in the Administration Conference Room at City Hall. • 2. Approval of the October 29, 1996, Meeting Minutes. 96.18 MOTION: Comms. Erickson/Pogatchnik moved to approve the October 29, 1996 meeting minutes as written. Motion carried unanimously. 3. Presentation of Non-Airlake Business Survey Results by Dr. Bill Morris, Decision Resources. Dr. Morris stated that this report completes the information gathered through a survey conducted in May 1996 of Lakeville businesses. He noted that the responses of Airlake Industrial Park businesses surveyed were presented at the July 23rd EDC meeting, and the responses ofNon-Airlake businesses surveyed would be the focus of this presentation. Dr. Morris noted that the survey was conducted with 143 randomly selected business outside of Airlake Park in the City of Lakeville. The kinds of businesses surveyed included 63% "service", 28% "retail", 4% "manufacturing", and 7% who indicated they were "something else". The businesses noted that they view the greatest strengths of Lakeville to be its growth, location and friendliness. While 36% of businesses were unable to note negative aspects of the community, others indicated that the things they like least about Lakeville are "high taxes" and "poor location", "the City was not helpful", and "the downtown area was not busy". • Economic Development Commission December 3, 1996 Meeting Minutes Page 2 • Dr. Morris noted that approximately 40% of the businesses indicated that 50% or more of their employees are Lakeville residents. He stated that small retail businesses with less than four employees tended to draw almost all of their employees from Lakeville, while larger businesses or manufacturers were likely to employ fewer Lakeville residents. When asked if the quality of the unskilled, skilled and professional labor pools had improved, declined or stayed about the same, most businesses responded that all three had "stayed about the same". Regarding "unmet needs" and the quality of city services, the retail segment was more critical of the City than other businesses were. Comm. Tushie asked if Dr. Morris could provide additional insight as to why the retail sector had a more negative response regarding the City than the other businesses. Dr. Morns responded that the attitudes of retail businesses seemed to be based on some negative experience with the City in the past and reflected historical feelings. He added that retail is facing a slower market right now, and Lakeville's retailers indicated that location is a problem in attracting enough business activity. Dr. Morris noted that the number of businesses reporting direct contact with the City was much higher in Lakeville than other cities he has surveyed, and that may indicate that businesses feel comfortable approaching the city with questions or for • information. Mr. Sobota inquired about the high number of businesses reporting direct contact with the city, and the reason for these inquiries. Dr. Morns stated that most businesses indicated they were contacting the city for information on ordinance or permitting requirements. He added that businesses felt the city required a lot of paperwork and had unnecessarily tedious requirements. Chair Brantly noted that based on these survey results and the responses of retail businesses in Lakeville, the EDC should perhaps focus on improving City service to retail businesses under the 1997-1998 Strategic Plan for Economic Development just as the EDC focused on Airlake Industrial Park under the former strategic plan. Mr. Sobota noted that the survey results will be helpful in developing the new workplan for 1997-1998. The EDC and staffthanked Dr. Morris for his insightful presentation. 4. Presentation of New Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) Ad Campaign by Cindy Johnson, Lakeville Area Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Cindy Johnson, Executive Director of the Lakeville Area Chamber of Commerce, stated that the Chamber began collecting a lodging tax June 1, 1996, to provide funding for the new CVB. She unveiled the new color ads for the CVB, attd stated that they will be appearing in the AAA Home and Away publication targeting Iowa, North and South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Ms. Johnson introduced Todd Bornhauser, Super 8 Motel and member of the CVB Marketing Committee, who helped develop the ad campaign. • Mr. Bornhauser stated that the ads were designed to be eye-catching and to carry a unique message to set Lakeville apart from other cities in the area. Ms. Johnson noted Economic Development Commission December 3,1996 Meeting Minutes Page 3 • that the CVB has received $1,500 from the Minnesota Office of Tourism and is applying for a total of $13,000 to help defray advertising costs. Chair Brandy inquired if the CVB ad campaign slogan "Come to where the action isn't" is at all contradictory with the image of Lakeville as an exciting, growing place as carried in the EDC marketing theme "A great place to grow a business." Comm. Tushie stated that location is an asset for Lakeville with our proximity to all the attractions of the Twin Cities. Ms. Johnson and Mr. Bornhauser noted that the CVB ads are targeted at tourists from Iowa and the Dakotas as a market separate from the business/work-traveler market. They also noted that other cities' ads list area attractions, and the purpose of the "corn and quiet" focus was to set Lakeville apart. Comm. Vogel stated that Lakeville's hotels are not full service convention centers for business guests, but instead cater to tourists that would be attracted by this type of ad. Mr. Erickson noted that the ads fit the current market focus and are a good opener for the CVB with a lot of eye appeal. He added that the ad campaign may need to evolve over time to keep pace with long-term changes in the market. Ms. Johnson noted that over 600 calls have been received in response to the black and white ads already in print, and packets of materials with informational brochures on all • five Lakeville hotels, Twin Cities attractions, and a golf guide are being developed. 5. Naming of Town Square. Chair Brandy stated that the naming of Town Square should include a three step process with step #1 to be a joint meeting with all interest groups represented to develop a shared concept and image, step #2 to be a meeting of the EDC to transform the shared image into names, and step #3 to be a paring down of the list of names to one or two final recommendations for the City Council. Mr. Erickson noted that Herb Wensman may also be developing a concept and name for the adjacent townhouse project, and this will be a helpful process to coordinate efforts for both projects. The EDC directed staff to set up a meeting with all EDC Members, the Dakota County Library Director, Herb Wensman, Burt Dahlberg of Ktaus-Anderson, land owner Jim Bresnahan, Dick Miller of the Downtown Business Association, and Dennis Passeri of Cherokee State Bank by December 20, 1996, to undertake step #1 in the naming process. The EDC also requested that City staff including Bob Erickson, Mike Sobota, Steve Michaud and Nicole Bennett be present at the meeting. 6. Customer Service Workshop. Mr. Erickson stated that a customer service workshop for all City staff has been scheduled for January 23, 1997, per a goal in the original Strategic Plan for Economic Development to enhance customer service. He • noted that the workshop will celebrate the customer service successes of the City staff while also providing valuable training and motivation to bring customer service at the Economic Development Commission December 3,1996 Meeting Minutes Page 4 • City to an even higher level. Mr. Erickson stated that Petra Marquart will serve as the workshop facilitator and she has extensive expertise in customer service. He stated that Bruce Christopher will give a presentation at the workshop, and Bruce is well- known across the country as an outstanding motivational speaker. Ms. Bennett noted that the facilitator would like to have participatory group sessions with a business community representative in each group in lieu of a panel discussion to involve City staff in solving customer service scenarios. Mr. Erickson stated that it would be beneficial to have the EDC and representatives from retail businesses participate in the group sessions to provide valuable business community insight. The EDC was asked to check their calendars and notify staff if they will be able to participate on January 23, 1996. Staff indicated that afollow-up memo would be sent to the EDC the first week in January. 7. Project Activities Update. Ms. Bennett stated that staff met with the owners of Di- Hed Yokes (DHY) regarding the relocation of their company from Minneapolis to a site located in the northwest corner of Holyoke Avenue and C.R. 70. She noted that a copy of the letter to DHY and a map of the proposed site were included in the packet materials. Mr. Erickson noted that the owners of DHY are brothers that live in the Lakeville area and redevelopment of the proposed site would be a great benefit to • Airlake Industrial Park and Downtown Lakeville. Ms. Bennett stated that representatives of Ryt-Way Industries contacted staff regarding voice/data transmission cost issues. She reviewed the issue involving multiple carriers and a change in area code to connect Ryt-Way's headquarters in Northfield with its Lakeville facilities for data and voice connections. She noted that staff is researching the issue and has contacted other Airlake businesses as well as the State Public Utilities Commission to get more information. Ms. Bennett noted that Menasha Corporation is planning a phased expansion of its facility in Airlake Industrial Pazk and will be working with City staff. She updated the EDC on other projects, noting that the traffic study by SRF Consulting for the I- 35/C.R. 50 interchange is in progress, an updated map for Airlake Pazk was included in the November issue of Airlake Park News, and a copy of the 1996 Responses to the Development Project Feedback Survey were included in the packet information. She noted that 200 mazketing videos have been sent to businesses to-date and a tracking form to summarize the follow-up phoning and mailing was included in the EDC's packet. Chair Brantly and Comm. Tushie suggested that along-term tracking form be created to contact businesses again within a year or so if they indicated they might be expanding in that time frame. • Ms. Bennett stated that the City Council recently approved a temporary moratorium on motor fuel stations/convenience centers in order to develop specific azchitectural Economic Development Commission December 3, 1996 Meeting Minutes Page 5 • standards for those projects. Mr. Erickson noted that with the number of recent motor fuel station convenience store projects proposed in the City, it is necessary to take a "time out" to develop quality architectural standards. Comm. Tushie suggested that hours of operation as well as the issue of strip center versus free-standing stations be added to the list of considerations in developing the new standards for convenience centers. 8. Creation of Teams for Three New Strategic Issue Areas. Ms. Bennett stated that staff put together a suggested list of members for the three new strategic planning teams including city staff from other departments as requested by the EDC. The EDC indicated that the team lists as developed by staff were appropriate. The team lists are as follows: TEAM 1-PROVIDING THE RESOURCES EDC Members Ci Sta Joan Krejci Dennis Feller, Finance Director Jack Matasosky Jim Michel, Fire Marshall Dale Detjen Keith Nelson, City Engineer TEAM 2 -MARKETING THE COMMUNITY EDC Members Ci Sta • Bob Brantly Frank Dempsey, Associate Planner Gary Tushie Heidi Hamilton, Environmental Engineer Jim Emond, Sr. Steve Michaud, Parks & Recreation Director TEAM 3 -MANAGING THE PROCESS EDC Members Ci Sta Jerry Erickson Tim Hanson, Assistant City Engineer Barry Pogatchnik Dave Krings, Chief Building Official Bob Vogel Daryl Morey, City Planner TEAMS 1. 2 and 3 Ci Sta Robert Erickson, City Administrator Michael Sobota, Director of Community & Economic Development Nicole Bennett, Economic Development Specialist 9. Other Business. Comm. Erickson asked staff to reseazch the security lights located downtown as to who is being billed for the electricity. Mr. Sobota stated that the lights are not owned by NSP or the City, and he noted that he would research the electric billing issue. • Economic Development Commission December 3, 1996 Meeting Minutes Page 6 • Mr. Sobota stated that a special EDC meeting may need to be scheduled in early January 1997 to discuss TIF related issues as a single item. The EDC indicated that Tuesday, January 7, 1997, at 6:30 p.m. would be an acceptable time, and staff noted that they will contact the EDC members and send out materials prior to the meeting. The EDC asked to see how the City's GIS mapping system works, and Ms. Bennett provided a brief GIS demonstration using parcel and building files to illustrate a map and table of information on Comm. Pogatchnik's lot and home. 10. Adjournment. The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted: ATTEST TO: ~ . Nic e .Bennett, Recording Secretary ~n Krejci, Secrefa c: \winword\edc10129mtg1mn 1203 96. doc • •