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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4. Approval of Minutes: November 01, 2005 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHOIDTY SHAKOPEE,MINNESOTA REGULAR SESSION NOVEMBER 1, 2005 Members Present: Helkamp, Joos, Lehman, Schmitt and President Menden Members Absent: None Staff Present: Mark McNeill, City Administrator; Kris Wilson, Assistant to the City Administrator;Judith S. Cox, City Clerk; Jim Thomson, City Attorney; R. Michael Leek, Community Development Director; and Bruce Loney, Public Works Director/City Engineer I. Roll Call President Menden called the meeting to order at 7:38 p.m. Roll call was taken as noted above. II. Approval of the A2:enda . Cnc1. Lehman requested that item 6, Utilization of Remaining Small Cities Development Program Funds, be deleted from the Consent Agenda and added as a regular agenda item. Joos/Schmitt moved to approve the Agenda as amended. Motion carried 5-0. III. Approval of Consent Business Items under the Consent Agenda were: Item No.4: Approval of the Minutes of the October 4,2005 meeting. Item No.5: Approval of Bills in the amount of$247.85. Joos/Schmitt moved to approve the Consent Agenda. Motion carried 5-0. IV. Approval of Minutes Action was taken under the Consent Agenda. v. Approval of Bills Action was taken under the Consent Agenda. VI. Utilization of Remainin2: Small Cities Development Pro2:ram Funds Kris Wilson informed the Council that there have been several commercial and residential property owners who had received deferred loans from the City, through the Small Cities Development Program. There was a condition placed on receiving the loans in that the owners were required to retain their properties for a period of seven years. If the owners sold their properties before the seven year period had elapsed, the loan amount would be prorated and the prorated amount would be repaid. To date, the City of Shakopee has received approximately $29,000 in repayments. Official Proceedings of the November 1,2005 Economic Development Authority Page -2- Staff recommends funds be made available as additional loans under the same parameters as the previous loan program. Ms. Wilson stated that an alternative would be to make an application to the State to the Department of Employment and Economic Development to utilize the repaid funds to the City and present its proposition. If Council opts for this alternative the City would be required to present a proposal showing the alternative meets at least one of the major goals of the program. Cncl. Lehman asked if the money could be used as matching funds with the Downtown Partnership and perhaps use the money for the downtown corridor. Ms. Wilson answered that there is the possibility of using the money as a match. Joos/Schmitt moved to authorize the use of the Small Cities Development Program fund balance to make additional deferred loans to qualifying property owners under the terms and conditions applied to the original program. Motion carried 5-0. Vll. Downtown Facade Improvement Pro2ram The improvement program was budgeted in the 2005 EDA budget. Ms. Wilson stated that she gathered input from the Economic Development Advisory Committee, the Historic Preservation Commission and the Shakopee Downtown Partnership. Based on input received, the recommended program should consist of a deferred loan program where the loan would be forgiven on a sliding scale over a five-year period if the property owner doesn't sell the property during that time. Eligible applicants would be owners of historic downtown properties along First Avenue between Fuller and Spencer. The maximum loan amount would be 50% of the total project cost with a maximum $25,000. Cnd. Lehman commented that it's unfortunate that it's only the First Avenue properties being targeted and it doesn't make sense to limit the eligibility of funds to only one area. He added that he would prefer it available to the entire corridor. Ms. Wilson responded that it would beat the discretion of the EDA and thatthe funds would be available to target area through September 2006. After September 2006, any remaining funds would be offered to property owners outside the target area. R. Michael Leek noted that there was a fa~ade grant program when he was first employed by the City but there were no coherent guidelines. He suggested that in the future it would be a good idea for the Council to give serious thought as to what type of improvements the City would like to support outside the downtown area. Cncl. Lehman noted if the money isn't used for the entire corridor, the upgraded properties would make the other properties look blighted by comparison. . I Offici~ll Proceedings of the November 1,2005 Economic Development Authority Page -3- Joos/Schmitt moved to approve the Downtown Fac;ade Improvement Program with the terms outlined in Kris Wilson's memo dated October 25,2005, and authorize staffto begin marketing the program to eligible property owners and occupants. Motion carried 4-1; Cnc1. Lehman dissented. President Menden complimented Ms. Wilson on her presentation at the meeting as well as the outstanding :work she had completed on behalf of the EDA. VIII. Other Business None IX. Adiourn Schmitt/Helkamp motioned to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0 and the meeting of the EDA was adjourned at 8:00 p.m. J4d.0;0 L2:th s. Cox EDA Secretary City Clerk Andrea Bortness Recording Secretary