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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4. Approval of Minutes: October 17, 2006 OFFICIAL PROCEEDINGS OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY SHAKOPEE,M~ESOTA REGULAR SESSION October 17, 2006 Members Present: Steve Clay, John Schmitt, Matt Lehman, Steve Menden, and Terry Joos Staff Members Present: Mark McNeill, City Administrator; Jim Thomsen, City Attorney; R. Michael Leek, Community Development Director; Kris Wilson, Assistant City Administrator; Bruce Loney, Public W orkslEngineering Director, Mark Themig, Park and Recreation Director, and Judith S. Cox, City Clerk. I. Roll Call. President Lehman called the meeting to order at 9:15 p.m. Roll call was noted as above. II. Approval of the Agenda. Mr. McNeill asked that item 9, Application for Downtown Fayade Improvement Program, be moved up on the agenda to be discussed after the CSAH 101 Bridge Enhancement Design Proposal. Menden/Joos moved to approve the agenda as amended. Motion carried 5-0. III. Approval of the Consent Agenda. SchmittlJoos moved to approve the Consent Agenda. Motion carried 5-0. IV. Approval of Minutes. SchmittlJ oos moved to approve the Minutes of September 19, 2006. (Motion carried under the Consent Agenda.) V. Approval of Bills. SchmittlJoos moved to approve the bills in the Amount of$I,177.07. (Motion carried under the Consent Agenda.) VI. Discussion of CSAH 101 Bridge Enhancement Design Proposal. Mr. Leek presented the EDA with the CSAH 101 Bridge Enhancements Design Proposal. Mr. Leek stated that earlier this year road construction from the bridge to the CSAH 17 was completed. Replacement of the bridge is planned for next year, and the County is proceeding with design work for the bridge. If the EDA wishes to have any bridge enhancements included in the project, input to the County will need to be provided soon. Mr. Leek said that a proposal from Boonestroo, Anderlik and Rosene has been submitted for the design services for the bridge project. The total cost of the design proposal is approximately $23,000.00. Mr. Leek stated that staff thought the proposal was too high. Official Proceedings of the October 17, 2006 Economic Development Authority Page ~2- Mr. Leek stated that an alternative to the project to reduce costs would be to come up with enough direction that the County could incorporate enhancements into the project at a staff level. President Lehman asked who would be paying for the enhancements to the bridge. Mr. Leek stated that the City would be obligated to pay for the project which could be approximately $100,000.00. Mayor Schmitt stated that he is struggling with the high cost of the enhancement project. Joos/Menden moved to direct staff to develop enhancement strategies in~house and bring them back to Council for approval. Discussion followed. Cncl. Clay would like to see some design or naming the bridge after Reverend Pond. President Lehman asked if the EDA will be able to view the design prior to a final decision by the County. Mr. Leek stated that he would provide the fmal design and cost to the EDA before a fmal action is taken on the matter. President Lehman asked for a vote on the motion. Motion carried 5-0. IX. Application for Downtown Fa~ade Improvement Program. Ms. Wilson presented the EDA with a consideration of an application for funding from the Downtown Fayade ImprovementProgram. Ms. Wilson said the EDA currently has $25,000 in a Downtown Fayade Improvement Program fund. An application was recently submitted by Bill Wermerskirchen, owner of Bill's Toggery for funding assistance related to a new sign. Ms. Wilson said the applicant is requesting a $1,885 deferred loan to fund 50 percent of the cost of purchasing an installing a new sign at the property located at 138 South Lewis Street. Ms. Wilson provided the EDA with pictures of the proposed new sign. Ms. Wilson stated that the review committee recommended that the EDA approve a deferred loan in the amount of$1,885 to Bill Wermerskirchen, owner of Bill's Toggery. President Lehman stated that the sign in pictures looks very large and asked if it falls within the City's sign ordinance. Ms. Wilson stated that the loan is contingent on the Mr. Wermerskirchen obtaining a valid sign permit from the City. Menden/Joos moved to authorize the appropriate staff to enter into an agreement with the owner of the property of 138 Holmes St. for a deferred loan from the Downtown Fayade Improvement program to fund 50 percent of the cost of the proposed sign, up to a maximum of$I,885.00. Motion carried 5~0. VII. Discussion of Fa~ade Improvement Loan Program Expansion. Mr. Leek presented the EDA with a Fa9ade Improvement Loan Program Expansion. Mr. Leek said that in 2005 the Council budgeted $50,000 for a Downtown Fa9ade Official Proceedings of the October 17, 2006 Economic Development Authority Page -3- Improvement Program. Earlier this year the Council provided direction to expand the program to the First A venue corridor if the funds were not expended by September of 2006. Currently about $25,000 remains in the program. Mr. Leek said he is looking for direction from the EDA as to the specifics of the expansion of the program. Mr. Leek stated that Staff has received two additional applications for minor amounts related to signage and other improvements. If granted, these loans would reduce the balance to approximately $16,000. Mr. Leek stated that he is looking for direction whether to extend the Facade Improvement Program. If the program is extended, what are the geographical boundaries for the program, and whether to develop separate guidelines for historic vs. non-historic structures within the expansion area. Cncl. Joos would like to see the program be cohesive. Mr. Joos doesn't want to see an obvious historic building next to a modem building. Mr. Joos wants the downtown area unified in design. Mr. Joos would like to see the program continue and utilize the existing funds and have staff come up with additional guidelines to expand the program to the rest of the corridor. Cncl. Menden and Cncl. Clay both agree with Cncl. Joos's views and recommendations. Menden/Joos moved to not extend the program at this time outside its current footprints. Direct staff to develop guidelines for properties along the First Avenue corridor. Discussion followed. Cncl. Mended asked to amend his motion to: MendenlJoos moved to direct staff to develop guidelines which would allow the extension ofthe program to the First Avenue corridor once the guidelines are developed and established by City Council. Motion carried 5-0. Mr. McNeill presented the EDA with a consideration of a change in the staffing for the economic development activities in Shakopee. XIII. Discussion of Staffing for Economic Development Activities. Mr. McNeill stated that the city posted the position for an Economic Development Coordinator and received twenty applications. One of the candidates had experience serving as an economic development function for another city as a contract employee. That was not an option which was presented to the EDA previously. Mr. McNeill felt that it was worthwhile to at least explore whether contracting the position is something worth considering. Mr. McNeill said that he has concerns that a full-time position at this time would not be fully utilized. Mr. McNeill said that if the EDA decides to hire a contractor, the contractor would report to the Community Development Director. It is likely that the EDAC, which has not been active since earlier this year, would continue in an inactive status, at least until such time that a policy issue needed to be considered. Official Proceedings of the October 17, 2006 Economic Development Authority Page -4- Mr. McNeill also said that while the hourly rate of a contractor would likely be significantly higher than that of a staff member assigned to this position and because there would be fewer hours, it should result in a savings to the EDA budget. President Lehman discussed what the EDA had proposed in the past to promote people to come to Shakopee such as a DVD, brochures, etc. Mr. McNeill stated that the City has just hired a Communications Coordinator and believes that the promotion of Shako pee through DVD's, brochures, etc would be ideal for this staff person to develop. Cncl. Joos believes that the City needs an Economic Development Coordinator to serve the City of Shakopee. Cncl. Menden believes that the position would best be suited to be a part-time position. Menden/Clay moved to direct staff to prepare a Request For Proposal for economic development professional services. Motion carried 4-1 which Cncl. Joos dissenting. President Lehman asked if there was any other business to discuss. encl. J oos stated that he attended a Shakopee Public Utility Commission meeting and stated that one thing that keeps coming up is the north, south, east, west water through the First Avenue corridor. Mr. Joos stated that this is a major concern when it comes to developing the area. X. Adjourn. Schmitt/Joos moved to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 5-0. Meeting ended at 10:30 p.m. , .'../ J a.). / ~' ~eJ'v/ ). ith s. Cox .. · .D.A. Secretary Kim Weckman Recording Secretary