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IDC Minutes 11-05-2008MEETING MINUTES MONTICELLO INDUSTRIAL & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Tuesday, November 5, 2008 - 7:00 a.m. Bridge Room, 505 Walnut Street, Monticello, MN IEDC MISSION: To increase the industrial tax base, to create jobs at livable wage levels, and to maintain a favorable and desirable industrial and economic environment in the City of Monticello. MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Mike Benedetto, Vice Chair Bill Tapper, Secretary Lynne Dahl- Fleming, Zona Gutzwiller, Don Roberts, Dan Olson, Don Tomann, Patrick Thompson. MEMBERS ABSENT: Barb Schweintek, Dick VanAllen, Jim Johnson, Marshall Smith, Rich Harris, Wayne Elam. LIAISONS PRESENT: Mayor, Clint Herbst; City Council, Wayne Mayer CITY STAFF PRESENT: Economic Development Director, Megan Barnett 1. Call to Order. IEDC Chair Mike Benedetto called the meeting to order at 7:05 a.m. declaring a quorum. 2. Vote to approve the October 7, 2008 IEDC minutes. DON ROBERTS MADE A MOTION TO APPROVE THE OCTOBER 27 2008 IEDC MINUTES. SECONDED BY BILL TAPPER, THE MINUTES WERE APPROVED. 3. Reports: A. City Update. YMCA property: Mayor Clint Herbst stated that the state of Minnesota has already designated $1.2 Million dollars towards purchase of the YMCA land. In order to make use of this money Wright County and the City of Monticello would need to make some sort of land purchase before the end of this year. The City is also seeking additional financing by applying for LCMR funds through the state. The YMCA has been working with the county and city to allow for purchase of the 1200 acres in various stages by parcel as well as the ability to lease areas for land use (ie. ballfields on the north side of the property near County Road 39 West. The total price for the 1200 acres is $20.5 Million. The county and city are seeking support of $9 Million from the state level with the remaining amount split between the county and the city over several years. Seeking support from the state will provide the ability to hold the land purchase with YMCA until 2013 allowing more time to develop a financial solution. A plan is being developed between the county, city and YMCA as a way to start the land purchase process this year. The city has money available in its Parks Dedication Reserve Funds to make some of the initial land purchase. Public meetings will also be coming up allowing for community input into this regional park project. Other city updates: Bill Tapper asked if there was any news on Kohl's or Mills Fleet Farm. Mayor Herbst reported that Kohl's had submitted building plans to the city with a possible construction of spring 2009. No store plans or construction start date have been presented by Mills Fleet Farm. Chair Benedetto commented that the city should look to attract a higher end motel and/or conference center as some of the industrial and manufacturers have expressed a need for this type of business in Monticello. B. Fiber Optics: Lynne Dahl-Fleming updated the group on the lawsuit TDS presented to the city earlier this year. Wright County Judge Jonathan Jasper dismissed the case with merit on October 8. TDS has 30 days in which they can appeal the case and the city is waiting for that outcome. In the meantime, the fiber loop is being constructed in order to serve the commercial and industrial users with data only (Internet). The Council approved the construction of the fiber loop and the head end building (which will house the electronic equipment) and both projects are anticipated to be finished by the end of this year. This fiber loop will also connect important civic facilities (City Hall, Public Works, the Community Center and public library.) It is anticipated that businesses could begin service in early 2009. Wayne Mayer commented that he appreciated the support of the IEDC in regard to the city-wide fiber project and that serving the business areas first would support the economic development goals of the project. It was also noted that the city has not abandoned the full scale project of serving every home (residential community) as well as the business areas with all three services of telephone, Internet and cable TV. It was only due to the lawsuit that the full scale project has been delayed. C. Chamber of Commerce and Industry Director, Sandy Suchy was not present so no report was given. Megan Barnett stated that the Annual Chamber Banquet is scheduled for December 1 S` 4. Economic Development Director Report. Megan Barnett provided a report. Transportation: I-94 corridor: Mn/DOT has plans for work on the Monticello I-94 bridge with the off ramp to CSAH 18 near CSAH 75. River Street Closing: a second study for this area will be conducted between now and December 27. Furthermore, a Transportation Study Workshop will be presented to the public on November 19 at 5:30 p.m. to provide information on the overall transportation study by the city. 2 Bid Lake Racetrack: A public meeting was held in Big Lake Township on October 20 regarding the proposed racetrack project for south of Highway 10. 200 people were in attendance of the meeting and there appears to be a 50/50 support for and against the project. IMEDC -International Motorsports Entertainment Development Company, is still in contact with the city presenting general information related to the potential location of a racetrack in close proximity to the City of Monticello. Monticello Marketing Committee: This group met on October 30~'. It was reported that a community group is establishing itself as a way to investigate the possibility of utilizing the efforts of CCS -Center for Community Stewardship. This is a consulting group based out of Bemidji that could assist with focusing on a way to identify, grow and support leadership with a vision for the community. Note: this is a separate effort from the city's Monticello Marketing Committee. Representatives from various groups have been contacted to begin this process to discover how the community may wish to move forward with these efforts. Participants include the hospital, school, Chamber of Commerce, the City as well as various businesses. The group will be meeting with Dave Hengel from CCS who will present options for a year long community building process for this effort. The cost to complete this study is $35,000 with options for funding which include sponsorships and community grants. Nelson Realty provided the Marketing Committee with a presentation on how they could partnership with the city to assist in marketing the city-owned industrial property on Chelsea Road. Nelson currently represents the Chadwick property located across the road from the city's land. The marketing committee recently changed the billboard message on I-94 promoting the city's fiber optics and also ran an ad in the MN Real Estate Journal publication. An article on fiber will follow in the December issue. Business Newsletter: As a way to communicate with the business community, a newsletter is being developed which will include articles and updates on city projects and direct mailed to the businesses in the city limits three times a year. The first issue will be sent in January 2009. Barnett noted that she is looking for volunteers to write articles for the newsletter which would include updates from the IEDC, EDA, Planning Commission and City Staff. The first Business Spotlight for the newsletter will feature Cargill Kitchen Solutions. Director Barnett distributed amock-up of the layout for the newsletter design. Higher Education Committee: There is a trend to develop higher education centers around the state and Monticello would be an excellent location. This education center would have participants from colleges and technical schools who would offer classes at a designated Monticello location to train workers. The first step would be to identify what the needs are in the community by businesses for educational and training efforts. Anoka Ramsey Community College has offered to conduct a study for the cost of between $15,000 to $20,000. Another option is to have St. Cloud College Business Center students conduct the study at no charge but rather as a project (similar to the study that was done for the city for bio-science.) Two IEDC members, Patrick Thompson and Don Tomann, are on the Higher Education Committee. IEDC Related Events: Director, Barnett noted that a joint meeting will be scheduled for the EDA and IEDC sometime in November/December. In addition, the EDA/IEDC has elected to hold its own banquet (separate from the current Chamber Industrial Banquet). The EDA/IEDC banquet would most likely be set for sometime in October 2009. 5. Other Business. A. Discussion of officers and membership for 2009. With the acceptance of resignation from Chairperson, Mike Bendetto the group entertained discussion regarding officers for 2009. Bendetto indicated that this would be his last meeting for the year as he would not be able to attend the December IEDC meeting. Barnett noted that the IEDC Organizational Guidelines indicate that officers shall be elected annually at the January meeting for Chairperson, Vice-chair and Secretary. Length of terms shall not exceed three consecutive terms. Don Tomann nominated Lynne Dahl-Fleming to serve as Chair, however, because an IEDC member had to leave the meeting earlier, there was no longer a quorum present and no official designations could be made. Discussion continued with Dahl-Flemings verbal acceptance of a willingness to serve as chair. Discussion was open for any others interested in any of the positions. It was noted there would be a need for a Secretary ifDahl-Fleming who is currently serving as Secretary were to be elected to the chair position. Tomann commented that he would be interested in serving as Vice-Chair. Comment was made that the Vice-chair should be willing to step into the chair position at some point and it would need to be determined how long the elected chair wished to serve (one year or up to three years.) Length of IEDC membership is three years. There is no term limit for membership and any member wishing to continue serving on the committee may so indicate prior to the expiration of their term. The following members term expires at the end of December 2008: Barb Schweintek, Bill Tapper, Jim Johnson, Don Tomann and Patrick Thompson. It was noted that a new member, Charlotte Gabler from the Planning Commission would be starting her three year term in January 2009 which would serve as a replacement for Benedetto's resignation. This would leave the committee with 14 members as it now stands. Chair, Benedetto also noted that for members, a 75% attendance record is 4 encouraged for the year (January through December) and should be followed. Those who have a poor attendance record should be approached as to whether or not they wish to remain on the committee. C. IEDC Sub-committee Planning: It was discussed that it would need to be established whether or not the sub-committees would require meeting time outside of regular IEDC meetings. Sub-committees include: Land Use, Transportation and Business retention/Communications and previous planning sessions were conducted at the August/September IEDC meetings to establish goals and objectives for each group. Director, Barnett asked if in summary, there were any objectives that members or anyone in the group felt should take a priority in 2009. - Mayor Herbst commented that in the area of Business Retention, the City Council should consider taking a look at providing a break in the cost of building permits to allow for current business expansions to have a possible reduction of fees. This could encourage business retention inside the city limits. -Dahl-Fleming noted that she would like to see the Business retention sub-committee move forward with conducting a Business Survey in order to canvas the industrial, manufacturing and commercial community for feedback. Tomann added that specific questions could be asked that would facilitate feedback for groups such as the Higher Education Committee as well by asking businesses what type of training they would like to see provided here. - Director, Barnett added that she would like to see a web page on the city's website under the section for IEDC which would allow for feedback on a regular basis via a submit form. D. Recognition: Bill Tapper voiced his appreciation to Council member, Wayne Mayer for his dedication in attending the IEDC meetings on a regular basis over the past years he has served. He commented that it has been very helpful to the IEDC to have both a council person and the Mayor in attendance. Mayer noted that this would be his last IEDC meeting since he would not be able to attend the December meeting and as of January 2009, since he had not been reelected to City Council, he would no longer be serving as a liaison to the IEDC. This would also be Chair, Mike Bendetto's last meeting with IEDC and equal appreciation was voiced for his service on the IEDC. 7. Adiournment. DON TOMANN MADE A MOTION TO ADJOURN THE MEETING. SECONDED BY BILL TAPPER. THE IEDC MEETING ADJOURNED AT 8:27 A.M. Next IEDC meetine -Tuesday, December 2, 2008 at 7 a.m Lynne Dahl-Fleming, IEDC Secretary 5