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EDA Minutes - 10/11/2023MINUTES REGULAR MEETING - ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (EDA) Wednesday, October 11, 2023 — 6:00 p.m. Mississippi Room, Monticello Community Center Commissioners Present: President Steve Johnson, Vice President Jon Morphew, Treasurer Hali Sittig, 011ie Koropchak-White, Rick Barger, Councilmember Tracy Hinz, and Mayor Lloyd Hilgart Staff Present: Executive Director Jim Thares, Angela Schumann 1. General Business A. Call to Order President Steve Johnson called the regular meeting of the Monticello EDA to order at 6:00 p.m. B. Roll Call 6:00 p.m. Mr. Johnson called the roll. C. Consideration of Payment of Bills D. Consideration of Approving Regular Meeting Minutes — September 13, 2023 Items 1C. and 1D. were moved to the consent agenda prior to any action taken on them. E. Consideration of Additional Agenda Items None 2. Consent Agenda A. Consideration of adopting Revised Resolution 2023-09 Approving Purchase Agreement for 216 Pine Street, Monticello, MN (PID #155010034010) B. Consideration of Payment of Bills C. Consideration of Approving Regular Meeting Minutes — September 13, 2023 HALI SITTIG MOVED TO APPROVE THE OCTOBER 11, 2023, EDA REGULAR MEETING CONSENT AGENDA, RICK BARGER SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY, 7-0. 3. Public Hearing N/A 4. Regular Agenda A. Consideration of accepting 2023 Housing Study Update Community Development Director Angela Schumann provided an overview of the agenda item to the EDA and the public. The EDA authorized a contract with MSA Professional Services to update the 2020 housing study at its June 14, 2023, regular meeting. Since then, MSA-PS provided a draft housing study for staff and the EDA to review, allowing time for any questions, comments, or revisions to be addressed prior to final adoption. MSA-PS was prepared to provide a presentation overview of the housing study update to the EDA prior to their regular meeting, but staff requested the presentation occur at the regular meeting on October 25, to allow more time for questions and concerns to be addressed. In regard to this agenda item, staff requested the EDA table action on accepting the housing study update, to provide feedback on their initial thoughts and questions on the update. Those items to be further clarified by MSA-PS will be submitted to them following the meeting. Rick Barger said that he noticed a lot of the data remained the same from the original document from 2020, and asked if it was due to the updated data not being available. Ms. Schumann confirmed. Mr. Johnson noted that a concern among residents is the large number of multi- family buildings being constructed, and the original study and update clarify that there was a reason and a need for it. He said it is important for residents to understand where the data is coming from to justify these developments. 011ie Koropchak-White also noted that was a concern she hears among residents as well. Vice President Jon Morphew noted the difficulty the housing market is seeing due to interest rates rising. Rising interest rates and housing prices do not make for a good environment for willing people to sell their homes. Rather, it is having an adverse effect. Mayor Lloyd Hilgart added that he believed the increase in costs for financing a project will make it difficult for multi -family projects to continue developing at the pace Monticello has seen in recent years. Additionally, if the multi -family project development stalls with the lower -than -average vacancy rates, higher than average rental rates will continue. Councilmember Tracy Hinz noted that she would like to be able to utilize the information provided within the housing study update to better understand the EDA's role as the Housing & Redevelopment Authority as well. Mr. Johnson asked for clarification on when the consulting team will be presenting the full contents of the housing study update to the EDA. Ms. Schumann clarified that they will be available to meet and present at the EDA's October 25, 2023. LLOYD HILGART MOVED TO TABLE ACCEPTANCE OF THE 2023 HOUSING MARKET STUDY PREPARED BY MSA PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. OLLIE KOROPCHAK-WHITE SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY, 7-0. LLOYD HILGRT MOVED TO AUTHORIZE A SERVICE FEE OF UP TO $625 PAYABLE TO MSA PROFESSIONAL SERVICES FOR THE FINAL PRESENTATION PREPARATION AND PREVIEW TO THE EDA. OLLIE KOROPCHAK-WHITE SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY, 7-0. B. Consideration of Tax Abatement Policy Recommendation to the City Council Executive Director Jim Thares provided an overview of the agenda item to the EDA and the public. The EDA held a joint meeting with the City Council on June 14, 2023, and was provided a summary overview of the capabilities of use of a Tax Abatement. Since then, City staff have worked on developing policy language for the City Council to consider adopting. The EDA was asked to review the draft policy and provide a recommendation to the City Council for official action. Mr. Johnson noted that the draft policy allows the City Council to utilize tax abatement for a project on a case -by -case basis. Mr. Morphew asked how the policy was developed at the staff level. Mr. Thares explained that staff referenced a number of other community policies to develop and tailor a policy specific to Monticello. Mr. Johnson noted that at the workshop, one of the directions from the EDA was to make sure that Wright County's policy is in alignment with Monticello's. Ms. Schumann confirmed that Wright County was one of the policies referenced in developing the draft policy, and that the allowable uses in each policy are the same. Mr. Thares walked through the main differences between the proposed tax abatement policy and the existing Tax Increment Financing (TIF) policy the City has. TRACY HINZ MOVED TO RECOMMEND THE PROPOSED TAX ABATEMENT POLICY BE ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL. HALI SITTIG SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY, 7-0. 5. Other Business A. Consideration of Economic Development Manager's Report Mr. Thares provided an overview of the agenda item to the EDA and the public. No action was taken on the agenda item. 6. Adjournment TRACY HINZ MOVED TO ADJOURN THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE MONTICELLO EDA. HALI SITTIG SECONDED THE MOTION. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY, 7-0. MEETING ADJOURNED AT 7:08 P.M. Recorded By: Hayden Stensgard 14- Date Approved: November 8, 2023 ATTEST: Jim Thares, Executive Director