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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-25-11City of Lakeville Economic Development Commission Meeting Minutes January 25, 2011 Marion Conference Room, City Hall Members Present: Comms. Matasosky, Brantly, Longie, Tushie, Vlasak, Emond, Smith, Ex- officio member Mayor Mark Bellows, Ex- officio member Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Todd Bornhauser, Ex- officio member City Administrator Steve Mielke. Members Absent: Comms. Schubert, Starfield. Others Present: David Olson, Community & Economic Development Director; Adam Kienberger, Economic Development Specialist; Daryl Morey, Planning Director; Dennis Feller, Finance Director. 1. Call Meeting to Order Chair Matasosky called the meeting to order at 4:35 p.m. in the Marion Conference Room of City Hall, 20195 Holyoke Avenue, Lakeville, Minnesota. 2. Approve November 23, 2010 Meeting Minutes Motion 11.01 Comms. Emond /Smith November 23, 2010 unanimously. moved to approve the minutes of the meeting as presented. Motion carried 3. Election of Officers Chair Matasosky solicited nominations for the positions of Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary of the EDC. Motion 11.02 Comms. Smith / Emond moved to renew the existing officers of the EDC for 2011 as follows: Chair, Jack Matasosky, Vice Chair, Gary Tushie, Secretary, Bob Brantly. Motion carried unanimously. Steve Mielke noted that the City Council is proposing to shift the appointment of nominees to the various boards and commissions to the first quarter of the year instead of the end of the calendar year. 4. Discussion of Office Park (OP) Zoning District Uses David Olson introduced the EDC memo outlining the Office Park (OP) zoning district. Economic Development Commission Meeting Minutes January 25, 2011 Daryl Morey reviewed the EDC memo and gave a history of the evolution of the allowed uses within OP zoning district formerly the Corporate Campus (CC) and Commercial Warehousing (C -W) zoning district. New Morning Windows, which is located in the Fairfield Business Campus, was recently listed for sale. An issue has been raised that the zoning of the Fairfield Business Campus no longer allows manufacturing as a conditional use. Fairfield Business Campus is zoned OP, Office Park District. Chair Matasosky indicated that the EDC wasn't aware that the manufacturing use was removed when the CC district was converted to the newly created OP district. He added that it was important to make the affected businesses aware of the change. Mr. Morey stated that manufacturing was previously allowed as a conditional use (CUP) in the CC district. CUP's run with the property and are not tied to individual businesses. Comm. Emond asked if a new business occupied the New Morning Windows property that was not a manufacturing business, would a business somewhere down the road be able to go back to utilize the existing CUP for the property to begin manufacturing again. Mr. Morey responded that he would follow up with the City Attorney to address that question. [Lakeville City Attorney Roger Knutson has responded with his opinion that under section 11 -15 -3D of Lakeville City Code the CUP on the property would expire if it was not utilized for more than a year.] Mr. Mielke mentioned that one approach to providing for manufacturing in the OP district would be to try to differentiate between "smokestacks" and "clean" manufacturing types of businesses. Ex- officio member Bornhauser asked if the former CC district was the only area of Lakeville affected by this change. Mr. Mielke responded that the area just south of the Fairfield Business Campus was previously zoned CW and is now a part of the new OP district. Comm. Tushie stated that heavy manufacturing doesn't belong in an office park setting. Some cities have used the presence of loading docks or a calculation related to floor space dedicated to manufacturing to separate types of manufacturing that is allowed in office parks. Mr. Olson reviewed a handout outlining the changes in the OP zoning district that was used throughout the zoning ordinance amendment process last year. Mr. Mielke concluded the discussion by stating that the issue will be discussed by the Planning Commission at a future meeting and all businesses and property 2 Economic Development Commission Meeting Minutes January 25, 2011 owners potentially impacted by these changes will be notified so that they can be included in the public review process. 5. Presentation of a Summary of Existing and Previous Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts in the City of Lakeville Mr. Olson reviewed the EDC memo outlining the historical use of TIF in Lakeville. Dennis Feller reviewed each of the existing TIF districts along with their original intentions and then outlined the outcomes and impacts of each district. Chair Matasosky commented that the report reflected a good demonstration on the City's return on investment of this economic development tool. 6. Update on Marketing Plan Initiative Adam Kienberger reviewed EDC memo and recapped the meeting of the Marketing Subcommittee. Mr. Kienberger noted that the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program is being utilized to fund the initial marketing plan development. It is proposed that an RFP for a marketing consultant be developed by the Subcommittee. It was also the recommendation of the Subcommittee to have the EDC appoint Clinton Kennedy as the fourth member of the Subcommittee. Several Commissioners complimented a short video City staff had produced the past spring for the Google Fiber application. It was requested that a link to the video be shared with the rest of the EDC as an example of a method the City can use to market itself. Motion 11.03 Comms. Tushie /Emond moved to appoint Lakeville resident Clinton Kennedy to the EDC's Marketing Subcommittee and move forward with the marketing initiative as outlined at the meeting. Motion carried unanimously. 7. Presentation on Proposal from WebQA Mr. Olson reviewed the EDC memo outlining a proposal the City has received from a company called to WebQA to partner with the City to produce a value -added business directory as part of the City's website. The directory would offer Lakeville businesses an opportunity to have a presence on the City's website while allowing them to create a "micro- site" to offer coupons, business links, and other value -added features. The proposal would be part of a three -year contract with the City for no fee in exchange for the company to solicit web - advertisements from local businesses to be included on the WebQA portion of the business directory website. Ten percent of the revenues of the advertisement sales would be shared with the City of Lakeville. 3 Economic Development Commission Meeting Minutes January 25, 2011 Daryl Morey reviewed the EDC memo and gave a history of the evolution of the allowed uses within OP zoning district formerly the Corporate Campus (CC) and Commercial Warehousing (C -W) zoning district. New Morning Windows, which is located in the Fairfield Business Campus, was recently listed for sale. An issue has been raised that the zoning of the Fairfield Business Campus no longer allows manufacturing as a conditional use. Fairfield Business Campus is zoned OP, Office Park District. Chair Matasosky indicated that the EDC wasn't aware that the manufacturing use was removed when the CC district was converted to the newly created OP district. He added that it was important to make the affected businesses aware of the change. Mr. Morey stated that manufacturing was previously allowed as a conditional use (CUP) in the CC district. CUP's run with the property and are not tied to individual businesses. Comm. Emond asked if a new business occupied the New Morning Windows property that was not a manufacturing business, would a business somewhere down the road be able to go back to utilize the existing CUP for the property to begin manufacturing again. Mr. Morey responded that he would follow up with the City Attorney to address that question. [Lakeville City Attorney Roger Knutson has responded with his opinion that under section 11 -15 -3D of Lakeville City Code the CUP on the property would expire if it was not utilized for more than a year.] Mr. Mielke mentioned that one approach to providing for manufacturing in the OP district would be to try to differentiate between "smokestacks" and "clean" manufacturing types of businesses. Ex- officio member Bornhauser asked if the former CC district was the only area of Lakeville affected by this change. Mr. Mielke responded that the area just south of the Fairfield Business Campus was previously zoned CW and is now a part of the new OP district. Comm. Tushie stated that heavy manufacturing doesn't belong in an office park setting. Some cities have used the presence of loading docks or a calculation related to floor space dedicated to manufacturing to separate types of manufacturing that is allowed in office parks. Mr. Olson reviewed a handout outlining the changes in the OP zoning district that was used throughout the zoning ordinance amendment process last year. Mr. Mielke concluded the discussion by stating that the issue will be discussed by the Planning Commission at a future meeting and all businesses potentially 2 Economic Development Commission Meeting Minutes January 25, 2011 impacted by these changes will be notified so that they can be included in the public review process. 5. Presentation of a Summary of Existing and Previous Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts in the City of Lakeville Mr. Olson reviewed the EDC memo outlining the historical use of TIF in Lakeville. Dennis Feller reviewed each of the existing TIF districts along with their original intentions and then outlined the outcomes and impacts of each district. Chair Matasosky commented that the report reflected a good demonstration on the City's return on investment of this economic development tool. 6. Update on Marketing Plan Initiative Adam Kienberger reviewed EDC memo and recapped the meeting of the Marketing Subcommittee. Mr. Kienberger noted that the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program is being utilized to fund the initial marketing plan development. It is proposed that an RFP for a marketing consultant be developed by the Subcommittee. It was also the recommendation of the Subcommittee to have the EDC appoint Clinton Kennedy as the fourth member of the Subcommittee. Several Commissioners complimented a short video City staff had produced the past spring for the Google Fiber application. It was requested that a link to the video be shared with the rest of the EDC as an example of a method the City can use to market itself. Motion 11.03 Comms. Tushie /Emond moved to appoint Lakeville resident Clinton Kennedy to the EDC's Marketing Subcommittee and move forward with the marketing initiative as outlined at the meeting. Motion carried unanimously. 7. Presentation on Proposal from WebQA Mr. Olson reviewed the EDC memo outlining a proposal the City has received from a company called to WebQA to partner with the City to produce a value -added business directory as part of the City's website. The directory would offer Lakeville businesses an opportunity to have a presence on the City's website while allowing them to create a "micro- site" to offer coupons, business links, and other value -added features. The proposal would be part of a three -year contract with the City for no fee in exchange for the company to solicit web - advertisements from local businesses to be included on the WebQA portion of the business directory website. Ten percent of the revenues of the advertisement sales would be shared with the City of Lakeville. 3 Economic Development Commission Meeting Minutes January 25, 2011 Comm. Longie expressed concern over the proposal and inquired as how the service would be able to pay for itself. Ex- officio member Bornhauser stated that while it looks like great software, it's not cheap software, and also wondered how the company would be able to make any money. It was also discussed how the City should partner more with the Lakeville Area Chamber of Commerce and include an easier to find link on the City website linking to the Chamber. Ex- officio member Bornhauser further stated that the Chamber could work with the City to do something similar to what WebQA is proposing. However, it would likely be limited to including only Lakeville Area Chamber of Commerce members. It would also be a burden to the business community to have another company like WebQA soliciting them for advertisement dollars. Comm. Longie expressed support of additional Chamber partnership and analyzing this type of venture as a component of the newly developing marketing plan. Mr. Olson noted that this no -fee offer may not be available in the future if the EDC decides to pursue this proposal in several months as part of the new marketing plan. Comm. Brantly asked if the Chamber were to do a similar type of directory, would it be used to solicit new Chamber members? Ex- officio member Bornhauser stated that yes it would be a tool to help increase Chamber membership. Vice chair Tushie stated that the proposal sounded like a good idea and should be a part of the City's marketing plan. It should also be something that includes all Lakeville businesses and not just Lakeville Area Chamber of Commerce members. Concluding the discussion, the EDC decided to not move forward with the WebQA proposal at this time, but rather assess how it would fit into the City's overall marketing plan. 8. Discussion of Spotlight on Business and Other Business Retention Efforts Mr. Olson reviewed the EDC memo regarding the Community and Economic Development Department's business retention and expansion programs and efforts. Mr. Olson sought input as to if staff should re- feature businesses that have been been Spotlighted in the past as a part of the Spotlight on Business program. Should the program be shifted to include smaller or more commercial /retail types of businesses? Comm. Longie asked if there was existing criteria as to how businesses are chosen for the Spotlight program in Economic Development Commission Meeting Minutes January 25, 2011 Mr. Olson responded that it has been past practice to feature businesses that are major employers. The original goal of the Spotlight on Business program was to communicate to the community the benefits of having a strong business community. Comm. Smith noted that it is often challenging to select a business to feature for the program as many have already been included in the past. Mayor Bellows noted that he would like to open up to the businesses and provide them an opportunity at City Council meetings to have the Council listen to how they be more business - friendly. Comm. Smith noted that the program has traditionally featured successful businesses and would caution shifting the program to become more negatively focused on business's complaints or issues with the City. Vice Chair Tushie added that this would be a different type of forum traditionally offered by the Spotlight on Business program. The Spotlight on Business program has historically focused on highlighting good stories from the Lakeville business community and celebrating those successes. Vice Chair Tushie suggested making the Spotlight on Business program more geographically based for a period of time. For example, in 2011 Downtown businesses could be the main focus; maybe work with the Downtown Lakeville Business Association (DLBA) on this. Chair Matasosky suggested engaging EDC members for more suggestions for the program so that staff doesn't have to arbitrarily choose a business to feature each time. Comm. Longie suggested working with the Lakeville Area Chamber of Commerce on partnering with them on their business visits. It was noted that each type of business retention program the City utilizes tends to have a slightly different focus (Spotlight on Business, Business Retention visits, Out & About cable TV segment). Mr. Olson concluded the discussion by stating that staff will begin to develop some criteria for each program and bring it back to the EDC at a future meeting. 9. Director's Report Mr. Olson reviewed the Director's Report. Mayor Bellows stated that the City Council is considering formulating a Financial Advisory Task Force or Committee to review City budget documents and provide input on the City budget process. 5 Economic Development Commission Meeting Minutes January 25, 2011 Mayor Bellows continued by asking the EDC for suggestions on people who might be willing to be a part of this "research team" to advise the City Council on budget matters. Mayor Bellows concluded by stating that as a part of the budget reduction efforts, $5,000 has been eliminated for a City Council facilitator to guide a strategic planning process. He asked the EDC if they had any suggestions on someone within the community who may be able to facilitate a City Council strategic planning process at no cost. Several EDC members noted that when Bob Vogel was on the EDC, he served as the EDC's facilitator for their strategic planning process several times. 10.Adjourn Chair Matasosky adjourned the meeting at 6:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted by: Adam Kienberg , Economic D elopment Specialist Attested to: R. T. Brantly, Secrefary 0