Loading...
IEDC Minutes 08-17-2010 Monticello IEDC Meeting Minutes 8/17/10 1 MONTICELLO INDUSTRIAL & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE (IEDC) MEETING MINUTES Tuesday, August 17, 2010 7:00 a.m., Boom Island MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Don Roberts, Patrick Thompson, Dan Olson, Bill Tapper, Zona Gutzwiller, Wayne Elam, Marshall Smith, Wes Olson, Luke Dahlheimer MEMBERS ABSENT: Vice Chair Rich Harris, Chris Kruse, Adam Stolpestad, Elaine DeWenter, Dick Van Allen LIASIONS PRESENT: Sandy Suchy, Chamber, Glen Posusta, City Council, Clint Herbst, Mayor STAFF PRESENT: Economic Development Director Megan Barnett, City Administrator Jeff O’Neill Call to Order Chair Don Roberts called the meeting to order at 7:00 a.m. Approve Minutes MOTION BY THOMPSON TO APPROVE THE JUNE 1, 2010 MINUTES. MOTION WAS SECONDED BY ELAM. MOTION CARRIED 9-0. Consideration of adding items to the Agenda No items were added to the agenda. Economic Development Report Barnett invited questions related to the Director’s Report. She gave a brief update about the Wind Supply conference she’d attended and noted that the EDA had given authorization for her to attend the CoreNet Global Summit conference in Arizona to further broaden Monticello’s ability to network. City Council Report 1) Budget Status Mayor Herbst reported on the recent Budget Workshop. He stated that, in general, the City has been holding off on equipment purchases but that there is a need to keep up with budgeting for these items. He indicated that next year’s levy may go up a small percent, however with values dropping it should not negatively affect residents and businesses. He noted he would rather look at increasing rates instead of increasing a levy. Monticello currently charges much less for utilities than surrounding localities. Increasing user fees would be a fair way to deal with keeping infrastructure up to speed especially as Monticello works to attract Monticello IEDC Meeting Minutes 8/17/10 2 business and industry. FiberNet Monticello (FNM): Staff reported that over 1,000 customers hooked up with FNM as of two weeks ago. There is the potential for 5,500 customers in the network. City Administrator Jeff O’Neill noted that FNM has the ability to hook up 100 homes or businesses per week. He indicated that FiberNet is making headway into the business community. He acknowledged that increased demand for installations has caused a slight delay in responsiveness. There have been many compliments on service. Technicians are the biggest sales representatives. Chairman Roberts asked if there is a break-even point. Mayor Herbst stated that 27-40% would indicate a profit. At this time Monticello has just under 20% in FNM coverage. O’Neill also noted that he would be hosting state legislators for a telecommunications visit on September 2 from 9-1 p.m. 2) Walgreens O’Neill stated that the Walgreens project is moving forward and the applicants would like to be in operation by next year. He indicated that the next few weeks are critical in terms of getting the intersection improvements underway. Chamber of Commerce and Industry Report 1) Business Expo: Chamber Director Sandy Suchy reported that the Chamber is considering hosting a manufacturing booth at the October 3rd Business Expo to mark October as Manufacturing Month and highlight a number of local businesses in one focused area. Other Chamber events of note: A series of meetings are scheduled at 7:30 a.m. from August 20-27 to identify a format for the candidate forum on October 18th Tickets are available for Bowlarama to promote the Shop Local Program at River City Extreme on Friday from 6-9 p.m. Play two poker bowling games and enjoy the taco bar. Business Retention & Expansion (BR&E) 1) Number of surveys completed: Sixty out of 398 businesses of all sizes in Monticello were surveyed. 2) General feedback, Red Flags, Leadership Workshop Barnett indicated that site visits and follow-up calls or visits have been completed. Chairman Roberts mentioned that he was impressed with the July wrap up session at the U of M and encouraged others to learn more about what to focus on to improve Monticello’s image at the meeting on the 28th. He also pointed out that the IEDC should send a letter to thank the leadership committee for their work. Some of the red flags noted in the study were: need for financing and sign ordinance information, need to understand zoning codes; need to know where to find resources and get further education on issues; need to understand workforce safety; and need to have visits from city staff. Monticello IEDC Meeting Minutes 8/17/10 3 3) BR&E Taskforce Retreat September 28, 2010: Specific information to follow. 4) Future Schedule: Community Meeting in October There will be a community meeting in October (date to be determined) at which the BR&E Leadership Team will present 4-5 viable projects. Review draft Ordinance establishing the IEDC in Chapter 2 of City Code Barnett pointed out that the IEDC was formally organized as a committee in 2008 through the adoption of a resolution which outlined the history and purpose of the IEDC. In order to be consistent with how the City establishes advisory boards and commissions, staff has drafted an ordinance to establish the IEDC in Chapter 2 of City code. The purpose, appointment of members, terms of office, attendance and duties discussed and incorporated in the resolution will remain intact. The ordinance will not change the function or the purpose of the IEDC. It is instead a housekeeping item which became a priority during cross checking as part of the zoning code revision process. Industry of the Year Award & initiate an Industrial recognition event Barnett recommended formalizing an annual Industry of the Year award through the IEDC and EDA. She included a draft outline which defined “industry” and provided general criteria for annually recognizing an industry. She discussed the option of initiating a local industry recognition event as part of Manufacturing Month in October and asked for input related to the type of gathering and the location. She indicated that the IEDC would provide a recommendation to the EDA since they have the budget for business retention efforts. Barnett responded to questions from the IEDC Board about how this effort might work. There was concern about how to determine which businesses to honor. She noted that it may be part of the role of the IEDC to learn about local businesses so they know that they have a voice in the community. After much discussion, the Committee determined that it might be most useful to spotlight one to three businesses in a breakfast event with the Mayor in October at the Community Center. Barnett agreed to obtain a list of businesses for the Committee to review. Provide feedback on proposed North Hennepin Leadership training course Upon completion of the BR&E survey, it became clear that businesses would like training classes to be local for their employees if at all possible. City Staff met with Jamie Simonsen from North Hennepin Technical College to discuss an opportunity to provide leadership and management training to our local business leaders. The college put together a dynamic eight month, once a month, four hour per course program. In order to make the program more affordable to the business community, city staff will be asking the EDA to subsidize a portion of the registration fee. Upon EDA approval, the course will be launched in October. City Staff recommended that the EDA approve the course and subsidize up to $6,400 dollars for 20 participants in the 2010 budget and up to $10,000 in the 2011 budget. Monticello IEDC Meeting Minutes 8/17/10 4 The Committee noted that participating businesses would pay about $495 each for all eight sessions as a core partner. Additional employees invited would pay only $75 for portions of the course. The EDA is being asked to pick up $325 of the cost of the class per core partner. It was determined that the optimal class size might be 20. Barnett provided a proposed L.E.A.D. Monticello program outline. She pointed out that many communities have been successfully doing this for years and that North Hennepin has extensive experience working with businesses. The Chamber has agreed to help promote the program through general announcements at Chamber events, mass mailings, e-news and information on their website. Staff asked for IEDC feedback as it relates to the proposed course content and the educational opportunity in general. The Committee agreed to support this effort as it is forwarded to the EDA. Rotary Event Announcement Zona Gutzwiller announced that she is selling Taste of Monticello fundraiser tickets for the 5:30-8:30 p.m. September 16th Rotary networking event. Adjournment MOTION MADE BY DAHLHEIMER TO ADJOURN. MOTION WAS SECONDED BY TAPPER. MOTION CARRIED 9-0. Meeting adjourned at 8:16 am.