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EDA Minutes 05-08-2013MINUTES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (EDA) MEETING Wednesday, May 8, 2013 - 6:00 p.m. Mississippi Room Present: Bill Demeules, Bill Tapper, Tracy Hinz, Rod Dragsten, Tom Perrault, Brian Stumpf Absent: Matt Frie Others: Jeff O'Neill, Angela Schumann, Wayne Oberg 1. Call to Order Bill Demeules called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. 2. Approve Meetina Minutes TOM PERRAULT MOVED TO APPROVE THE APRIL 10, 2013 REGULAR EDA MEETING MINUTES. BILL TAPPER SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED 5 -0. (Brian Stumpf was not yet present.) 3. Consideration of additional agenda items None 4. Consideration of approving payment of bills Rod Dragsten asked why a $42,000 bill had been included for Advanced Disposal when the EDA was only asked to approve about $7,200. Bill Tapper suggested that the entire bill for the City may have been included and that the EDA may only be responsible for a portion of the bill. Angela Schumann said that she'd confirm that with the Finance Director. Tom Perrault asked for further detail about two $125 relocation costs. Schumann said that the expense was related to the search itself and pointed out that each relocation expense is reviewed by Dan Wilson's office for conformance to statutory requirements for relocation benefit. No claims are paid unless approved by Wilson Development. Brian Stumpf joined the meeting at this time. BILL TAPPER MOVED TO APPROVE PAYMENT OF BILLS IN THE AMOUNT OF $7,231.39 THROUGH APRIL 2013. ROD SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED 6 -0. 5. Consideration of action related to Economic Development services The EDA shared their perspectives about the Market Matching proposal. There was much discussion as to whether to proceed with the development of a scope of services contract with WSB or whether to also consider other options prior to making a decision. EDA Minutes — 5108113 Brian Stumpf asked if WSB would be required to attend EDA meetings as part of their contract. Staff indicated that there would be regular reports as per contract. Stumpf confirmed that there would be no hidden costs. He said that the proposed approach seemed to make sense and he felt that it would be of benefit to the City. Rod Dragsten questioned whether staff has the time and sales expertise required to sign prospects once brought to the table by WSB. He felt strongly that there be only one contact person throughout the development process. Jeff O'Neill cited staff's long record of moving businesses through the development process. He said that Angela Schumann had been the point person but also suggested that the City has a Concierge team for additional support. He said that getting prospects to Monticello is key and that once they are in Monticello City staff can close the deal with an attractive package. Bill Demeules agreed that if the numbers don't work out, no amount of salesmanship will change a business decision to locate. Bill Tapper said that the WSB proposal is heavily focused on data and that data doesn't sell. He indicated that the City is underestimating the importance of a strong sales and marketing plan and needs to hire a firm that knows how to get the attention of the customer and stay with them until a deal is closed. He pointed out that the contract cost is a lowball proposal and said that the City won't get what it wants. He said that the City should consider other proposals. O'Neill said that the proposal would provide the data which the City would have to pay to obtain anyway. He suggested that it would be a good value for the money if it launched Monticello into a larger network using networks already in place. He also pointed out that Greater MSP had changed the economic development landscape in that it supports outreach efforts throughout the region. Tom Perrault indicated that he was apprehensive that the City would be guinea pigs for program and would prefer to look at other options. O'Neill said that the City could explore other options. Tracy Hinz stated that there may be hesitation to move forward with the proposal because of the experience with the McComb Group contract which had failed to produce prospects. O'Neill noted that the sole purpose of this particular contract would be to produce prospects and that the contract was just for one year trial period. Hinz asked about the in -house economic development tasks that would not included as 2 EDA Minutes — 5/08/13 part of the WSB contract. Angela Schumann briefly outlined a few of the duties that staff will continue to handle internally. Those cited were paying bills, processing development paperwork, fielding legal questions, assisting with negotiations, presiding at ribbon cuttings, coordinating efforts with the Chamber, organizing Breakfasts with Mayor, preparing communications materials, maintaining the website, and business retention. Hinz said that she is impressed with the proposal but would have preferred to keep the EDA Director position as well. O'Neill stated that while staff doesn't have the capacity to do prospecting and outreach they can shift some responsibilities to make it work. TRACY HINZ MOVED TO DIRECT THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CONTRACT FOR SERVICES FOR MARKET MATCHING SERVICES FOR REVIEW AT THE JUNE EDA MEETING. BRIAN STUMPF SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED 4 -2 WITH BILL TAPPER AND ROD DRAGSTEN VOTING IN OPPOSITION. 6. Consideration of Director's Report Fred's Auto - MSA Professional Services completed the physical site investigation for potential underground storage tanks on the former Fred's Auto site. The investigation found magnetic signatures, but there was no physical evidence that tanks might still be there. Formerproperty owners believe that the tanks were either filled or removed according to investigation interviews. Tracy Hinz asked for clarification about risk assessment. Staff suggested that it had to do with the EDA's level of comfort with the findings of the investigation prior to selling the property. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency declined to add the site to a registry of underground storage tanks. A summary report will be provided at the June meeting. Staff noted that there had been some recent interest in the site which had resulted in a site tour. June EDA Meeting — A Look Ahead — The EDA will work to identify target areas for TIF 1 -6 and 1 -22 investment based on observations resulting from their tour of those districts. In addition, the EDA will consider if putting For Sale signs up at City -owned properties in that area would be appropriate at this time. Bill Tapper will present a strategy for creating a cooperative environment to move forward when working with property owners during future acquisition projects. This strategy relates to whether and how to push forward with the "matrix" format. ROD DRAGSTEN MOVED TO SCHEDULE A SPECIAL EDA MEETING FOR 5:00 PM ON JUNE 12, 2013 TO CONDUCT A DRIVING TOUR OF CURRENTLY HELD PROPERTIES AS A FOUNDATION FOR SELECTING TARGET INVESTMENT AREAS IN TIF DISTRICTS 1 -6 AND 1 -22 AS PART OF THE REGULAR EDA AGENDA TO FOLLOW THE TOUR. BILL TAPPER SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED 6 -0. EDA Minutes — 5108113 I -94 Coalition Update Tracy Hinz confirmed that, since the EDA had voted against membership in the I -94 Coalition, funding would not come from the EDA budget if Council decided to approve membership. Coalition representatives will respond to questions at the May 13th Council meeting. Tom Perrault indicated that he'd like to look at financial statements to find out how the Coalition spends money. TA Tdate - The Transportation Advisory Committee meets at 7:30 AM on Thursday, May 9 . Building /DevelopmentActivity- Schumann noted that she doesn't have any information to report about the silt fence at the lot south of PetSmart at the Union Crossings development. 7. Added Items None 8. Adiourn TOM PERRAULT MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 7:05 P.M. BILL TAPPER SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED 6 -0. Recorder: Kerry Burri Approved: June 12, 2013 Attest: ezez JATA,Xeill, City Administrator 4