HomeMy WebLinkAboutitem 02. EDC minutes 8.24.21 DRAFT
CITY OF LAKEVILLE
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
MEETING MINUTES
August 24, 2021
1. Acting Chair Starfield called the meeting to order at 4:03 p.m. in the Marion Conference
Room.
Members Present: Comms. Bjorklund, Christiansen, Gillen, Matasosky, Starfield
Ex-officio Members Present: Mayor Anderson, City Administrator Miller, Chamber
President Jech
Members Absent: Comm. Collman, Emond, Phillips, Seiler, Stone
Staff Present: David Olson, Community & Economic Development Director; Kati
Bachmayer, Economic Development Coordinator
Guest: Blaine Peterson, Reliever Airports Manager
2. Approval of June 22, 2021 Meeting Minutes
Comms. Gillen / Matasosky moved to approve the minutes of the June 22 meeting.
Motion carried unanimously.
3. Presentation by Blaine Peterson, Manager of Reliever Airports for the
Metropolitan Airports Commission and Adam Forsberg, General Manager of Aloft
Aviation at Airlake Airport
Mr. Olson introduced Blaine Peterson, Manager of Reliever Airports for the Metropolitan
Airports Commission (MAC). Mr. Peterson provided information about the Minneapolis-
Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) and Airlake Airport (Airlake) in Lakeville. Passenger
traffic at MSP has recovered to approximately 80 percent of normal travel counts and
concessions have started to reopen in the concourses. The MAC operates MSP and also
owns six general aviation reliever airports, including Airlake. The six reliever airports
combined generate a $756 million annual economic output. Airlake is ranked #11 in the
state for number of annual operations (31,314 annual operations), has over 100 hangars,
one fixed-base operator, one flight school and currently has one 2,099-foot runway.
Airlake generates $2.8 million in annual visitor spending and contributes $57,000 in state
and local taxes. The MAC has plans to extend Airlake’s runway in 2023 from 4,099 feet
to 4,850 feet to provide additional safety to the airport’s customers. Mayor Anderson
asked about extending the runway to 5,000 feet, but Mr. Olson stated that an extension
of that length was not possible due to the runway’s proximity to industrial park businesses
and Cedar Avenue.
Mr. Peterson shared that Airlake’s new Fixed Base Operator (FBO) is Aloft Aviation. The
FBO has made significant improvements at the airport, including increased flight training,
fuel sales and a growing number of maintenance contracts. A new FBO hangar is under
construction and will likely be erected by September and occupied by December.
4. Discussion of 2020-2023 Strategic Plan for Economic Development in Preparation
for the September 27th Joint Work Session with the City Council and Planning
Commission
Economic Development Commission Minutes August 24, 2021 Page | 2
Mr. Olson reminded the EDC that a joint work session to discuss updating the 2020-2023
Strategic Plan for Economic Development (Strategic Plan) has been scheduled to take
place on September 27 at 5 p.m. This meeting will bring the EDC, City Council and
Planning Commission members together to review the plan and make recommendations.
The strategic planning session will be facilitated by Craig Rapp of Rapp Consulting Group.
The group decided to meet for an additional hour following the joint work session, in order
to synthesize the ideas and suggestions presented and provide Mr. Rapp with guidance.
Mayor Anderson and several EDC members requested that relevant data be shared with
attendees prior to the meeting to provide a better understanding of where Lakeville has
been and where we’re going as a city.
5. Roundtable Discussion of COVID-19 Impacts on Lakeville Businesses
Comm. Gillen told the group that restaurants are still running into supply chain and
workforce challenges. Chamber President Jech stated that several ribbon cutting and
groundbreaking ceremonies have been held recently, which has been encouraging. The
additional federal unemployment benefit expires on September 6 and discussion was held
about how this may or may not affect local hiring. Comm. Matasosky noted that the
construction industry is experiencing significant material delays. Steel and precast
concrete that is ordered today won’t arrive until May 2022 (pre-COVID the same order
would have been only an 8-10 week wait).
6. Director’s Report
Mr. Olson highlighted several items from the Director’s Report. Mr. Olson also brought up
United Christian Academy’s (UCA) proposed plans for the Hack property, located south
of County Road 70 and west of I-35. This proposal was discussed during the City Council
work session on August 23. UCA is interested in constructing a private K-12 Christian
school and a medical office building on the 45 acres identified in the concept plan. Comm.
Starfield was concerned about taking that amount of commercial land off the tax rolls, but
other commissioners were in favor of providing this type of education option in the City of
Lakeville. Mayor Anderson informed the EDC that the southern part of the identified
property is not in the Metropolitan Urban Service Area (MUSA), meaning it does not
currently have access to city utilities and is not planned to develop until after 2029.
Another challenge for commercial developers is the existing gas pipeline that bisects the
property. The City Council was generally supportive of the project during the August 23
meeting and it is anticipated that a formal application to amend the comprehensive plan
is forthcoming. Mr. Olson also informed the group that The Outdoor GreatRoom Company
(OGC) was recently approved for a Job Creation Fund grant by the MN Department of
Employment and Economic Development. OGC is now anticipated to occupy
approximately 95,000 square feet in the new Interstate South Logistics Park spec building,
located at the southwest corner of County Road 70 and Dodd Boulevard.
Adjourn
Meeting adjourned at 5:37 p.m.
Respectively submitted by:
Kati Bachmayer, Economic Development Coordinator