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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/07/2018 EDAC Minutes 1 CITY OF LINO LAKES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE MINUTES DATE: June 7, 2018 MEMBERS PRESENT: Andrew Cravaro, Thomas Colgan, Patrick Kohler, Don Johnson, Michael Ruhland, Julie Schwartz MEMBERS ABSENT: Chad Wagner, Jim Schueller, Nathan Vojtech OTHERS PRESENT: Mike Grochala, Mara Strand, Ryan Saltis, Bruce Sayler (Connexus Energy Principal of Community and Economic Development) APPROVAL OF MINUTES It was moved by Mr. Kohler to approve the minutes from May 3, 2018 and seconded by Mr. Cravaro, passing unanimously. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Anoka County Economic Development Initiative - Mr. Grochala introduced and explained the background regarding Anoka County Economic Development Initiative and described Greater MSP. Mr. Bruce Sayler from Connexus Energy was present. A SWOT analysis was recently conducted. Focus has been on the southwest metro. Anoka County does not have a point person, cities meeting to form goals and expectations for this new position, central website/database improvement, work direction given from Directors within the cities. Ms. Schwartz asked why the south metro is more attractive. Mr. Sayler stated geography and interstate access are big factors. Mr. Cravero stated access to fiber. Mr. Sayler explained how the ripple effect would be beneficial if businesses did not land in the City of Lino Lakes directly. (Ex: If businesses were developing in Blaine it could boost the economy for Lino Lakes indirectly through housing demands and neighboring business) A win is considered when a business moves from outside Anoka County into our County. Mr. Ruhland asked about the website. MNCAR is a national database that will focus on Anoka County. Ms. Schwartz asked why the decision was MNCAR. Anticipated roll-out date for the website is by the end of June. Ms. Schwartz suggested involving the community for logo and tag line suggestions. 2 B. Private Activity Tax-Exempt Financing Guidelines Conduit Box – state law allows City to issue bonds for private. Requests from private entities to bond. Private action routed through City – no harm to city. Does the City want to promote this option? Mr. Cravaro asked about the 1% administrative fee. Mr. Ruhland asked how often the $10M cap is reached. Mr. Grochala stated about every 5 years. No risk on City’s part when issuing under the City’s name. Counts toward bond limit but no obligation. Unanimous yes to bring conversation to Council about utilizing this opportunity. C. Project Updates Lyngblomsten – City Council was supportive of the project and will go through PUD. Anticipated submittal will be on Monday, June 11 and is in process of setting up neighborhood meeting. These concept plans will leave out plans on the corner for a possible agreement with a restaurant in the future. The City will have to get involved with what to do on the corner. City engineer is working on bringing utilities to 49/J property. Mr. Ruhland asked about the construction time line. Mr. Grochala stated the main building would be about a year construction period along with up to 2-3 years for the completed project. Lyngblomsten is still deciding on whether to rent or sell townhomes. Watermark – Potential grading to begin on southern part of the property in 2 weeks. Master build totals 864 units. Lennar Homes will be the first national builder to put rooftops in Lino Lakes. Mr. Colgan asked about the staff capacity. Mr. Grochala stated the City is including a building inspector in 2019. Ms. Schwartz asked if there was any interest from businesses because of the increased housing. Mr. Grochala stated that he does not know of any peaked interest specifically because of the increase in housing units within the City. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 8:53 A.M.