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EDA Minutes 12-14-2011MINUTES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (EDA) Wednesday, December 14, 2011- 6:00 p.m. Commissioners Present: Treasurer Bill Tapper, Tracy Hinz, Matt Frie, Bruce Hamond, and Council Members Tom Perrault and Brian Stumpf Commissioners Absent: President Bill Demeules Staff. Executive Director Megan Barnett - Livgard Other: Bret Weiss -WSB, Amanda Rohasse 1. Call to Order Bill Tapper called the meeting to order at 6 p.m. 2. Approve Meeting Minutes BRUCE HAMOND MOVED TO APPROVE THE NOVEMBER 9, 2011 EDA MINUTES. MOTION WAS SECONDED BY TRACY HINZ. MOTION CARRIED 5 -0. (Brian Stumpf abstained.) 3. Consideration of additional agenda items a) IEDC Work plan Correction b) TAC Update 4. Approval of EDA Invoices Staff pointed out that an additional invoice related to the purchase of mylars for recording documents at Wright County had been included in the packet. Bill Tapper noted that the $536 charged for WSB assistance on the Embracing Downtown project had been coded to the EDA instead of the Economic Development Department. Tom Perrault asked how the EDA benefits from the Law Bulletin expense. Staff indicated that the EDA gets access to brokers and real estate agents, end users, and other local economic development professionals attending the MN Real Estate Journal events. Matt Frie asked about NAIOP membership dues. Staff pointed out that attendance at events provides exposure to national office and industrial brokers through luncheons with key speakers. Economic Development Authority Minutes 12/14/11 Bruce Hamond asked a number of questions related to determining the cost of development and the handling of financial information for projects. He asked for a copy of the developer's contract agreement form. Staff clarified that, in an effort to save Suburban Manufacturing time and money in completing their project, the City had contracted with WSB for the needed survey work and wetlands delineation and Suburban had reimbursed the City upon receiving a quote from WSB. Also, as there were some unanticipated fees resulting from processing the Suburban project, staff indicated that, in this instance, the City had agreed to split the cost of those overages with Suburban. Bruce Hamond asked that additional totals be included at the bottom of the invoices. He is interested in a total of the actual amount to be approved, last year's invoices approved, the budgeted amount for this year and a total for last year for the same period of time. Matt Frie agreed that monthly totals would be useful to ensure that the EDA expenses are on track. TRACY HINZ MOVED TO APPROVE THE NOVEMBER INVOICES. MOTION WAS SECONDED BY MATT FRIE. MOTION CARRIED 6 -0. 5. Consideration of approving Resolution #2011 -116 recommending the City Council amend the Monticello Comprehensive Plan adopting the Embracing Downtown Plan Student Amanda Rohasse from SCSU presented an overview of the Embracing Downtown Plan focusing on the implementation and feasibility of the project. She briefly outlined the land use, transportation, and design and image components and pointed out that the plan represents a change in goals and a new vision for a commercially viable and vibrant downtown. She noted that the implementation approach would need to involve a commitment to a shared vision, an understanding of market realities, established ground rules for valuation of property, a long term commitment to civility and cooperation in the redevelopment process and the financial resources in place to move forward. There must also be a strong and diverse leadership component driving the process. She indicated that marketing the program will create business opportunities. She noted that preliminary redevelopment costs were calculated for each downtown block and she identified financing tools such as grants, loans, surplus TIF, and tax abatement funds potentially available to assist in implementing redevelopment. Brian Stumpf asked if staff had heard from downtown business association. Megan Barnett - Livgard noted that, although there are still questions, response seems to be quite positive. Economic Development Authority Minutes 12/14/11 Bruce Hamond confirmed with Bret Weiss that the timeline, feasibility and projected cost of the transportation component of the plan as presented seem to be on track. Tom Perrault noted that he felt that the plan might be overemphasizing walkability and access to the river. He also has a concern with the city owning parking stalls and leasing them back. Several commission members commented about the need to see the plan as a guide and the importance community support during implementation. The IEDC and the Planning Commission recommended approval of incorporating the Embracing Downtown Plan into the Comprehensive Plan. The plan will go before the City Council on January 9, 2012. BRUCE HAMOND MOVED TO ADOPT RESOLUTION 2011 -116, RECOMMENDING APPROVAL OF THE NOVEMBER 4, 2011 EMBRACING DOWNTOWN FINAL REPORT AND RECOMMENDED TEXT CHANGES IN THE MONTICELLO COMPREHENSIVE PLAN. MOTION WAS SECONDED BY BRIAN STUMPF. MOTION CARRIED 6 -0. 6. Consideration of approving a $2,000 contribution to the Initiative Foundation The Initiative Foundation provides gap financing for new or expanding companies and grants to non - profit and government agencies. The Foundation provided the City a $5,000 grant in 2009 to assist in completing the BR &E program. The Foundation is requesting that the Monticello EDA contribute $2,000 to the organization in 2012. The EDA had previously authorized a $2,000 contribution in 2010 and 2011. The Foundation may be interested in providing a leadership grant for the Embracing Downtown Project. Tom Perrault noted that he will vote for the contribution because there are matching funds available and its scope is broader than just economic development. Matt Frie has been impressed by amount of work the Initiative Foundation does in Wright County. BRUCE HAMOND MOVED TO APPROVE CONTRIBUTING $2,000 OF THE 2012 EDA GENERAL FUND TO THE INITIATIVE FOUNDATION. MOTION WAS SECONDED BY MATT FRIE. MOTION CARRIED 5 -0. (Bill Tapper abstained.) Consideration of authorizing a contract between the Monticello EDA and Jim McComb to continue to work with potential business prospects Staff asked the EDA to table this item until the January 2012 meeting in order to more Economic Development Authority Minutes 12/14/11 thoroughly assess the implementation needs of the Embracing Downtown Plan. This will be an opportunity to identify the key resources needed to move forward and negotiate a financially responsible implementation strategy for each component of the project. Bruce Hamond cautioned that Jim McComb may not have adequate time to devote to the implementation of this project. Tracy Hinz still had some questions about the expected outcomes related to the marketing that Jim McComb would be doing. She agreed it would be useful to clarify who has the implementation skills most suitable for the next phase of the project. BRIAN STUMPF MOVED TO TABLE AUTHORIZING A CONTRACT WITH JIM MCCOMB. MOTION WAS SECONDED BY TRACY HINZ. MOTION CARRIED 6 -0. S. Consideration of approving a 2012 EDA work plan Staff invited comment about the priorities of the 2012 EDA work plan. Bill Tapper questioned crossing out participation in I -94 Corridor Coalition. Staff suggested inviting Coalition representatives to present before the EDA again this year. Tom Perrault agreed that he would like to see a financial statement. Tracy Hinz asked about the Housing and Redevelopment role of the EDA in providing affordable housing. Staff pointed out that the Comprehensive Plan indicated a focus on step up housing. The EDA will consider distressed housing as it becomes available. Bill Tapper asked if it were necessary to put further effort into BR &E surveys. Staff indicated that any survey contact would be a general follow up rather than a formal U of M survey. He also asked why research redevelopment grants was crossed out in the Embracing Downtown section of the work plan. Staff recommended applying for a Small Cities grant at the end of 2012. The work plan objective might best be cited more broadly: Apply for redevelopment grants. Tom Perrault suggested crossing out "annual" under Business Retention and rather fund it in IEDC. He asked why the city should sponsor a program in conjunction with the schools to provide courses for the local workforce. Staff noted that it is in response to the effort to set Monticello apart as a place that provides skilled work force. Bill Tapper also pointed out that there is a high demand for skilled labor but that businesses are reluctant to train. BRIAN STUMPF MOVED TO APPROVE A 2012 WORK PLAN AS AMENDED FOR THE EDA. MOTION WAS SECONDED BY BRUCE HAMOND. MOTION CARRIED 6 -0. Economic Development Authority Minutes 12/14/11 9. Consideration of items added to the agenda a) IEDC Work plan Correction - This issue was not addressed. b) TAC Update Bret Weiss pointed out that the Transportation Advisory Committee has been instrumental in moving forward viable options to address Monticello's highest priority traffic concerns — the need for a second river crossing and a Fallon Avenue Overpass. 2 m River Crossing He provided a brief history of previous river crossing studies and outlined the findings of the recent origin and destination study which served as the basis for developing the current options. The three concepts plans under consideration are Orchard Road, Washington Street, and CSAH 18. Studies emphasized that the crossing will benefit local traffic between Big Lake and Monticello. The current bridge carries 35,000 vehicles a day. Counts are expected to grow to 45,000 a day by 2030 without a second crossing. Intersection improvements will also provide some needed relief to the traffic levels. The next step is to meet with the River Crossing Coalition to establish support and then take the project to the legislature. Fallon Avenue Overpass The Fallon Avenue Overpass is an important link across I -94 which will keep local traffic flowing. The TAC reviewed eight concept plans to address this issue. Concepts 1, 3a and 5 were selected to move forward for review and input. Concept 1 involves the original stop condition on Fallon Avenue at a cost of $4.1 million. Concept 3a plans for two single lane roundabouts at a cost of $5.5 million. Concept 5 is a variation involving one roundabout which would pull Fallon Avenue into alignment with Washington Street at a cost of $5.5 million. Matt Frie had some questions about the impact of constructing an overpass at the Fallon Avenue location. Brian Stumpf pointed out that the City is required to construct a Fallon Avenue Overpass as part of the agreement involved in the construction of the CSAH 18 project. 10. Director Report The Director Report was included as part of the agenda packet submitted to the EDA. 11. Adiournment Economic Development Authority Minutes 12/14/11 TOM PERRAULT MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 7:58 PM. MOTION WAS SECONDED BY BRUCE HAMOND. MOTION CARRIED 6 -0. Recorder: Approved: Attest: