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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-21-2003 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION AGENDA March 21, 2003 7:30 A.M. MOUNDS VIEW CITY HALL - CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS 1. CALL TO ORDER '7137 A.M. 2. ROLL CALL (Present = P, Absent = A) Belting Fox Field Helgemoe Johnson ✓ Entsminger McDonald Backman (Staff) Ericson (Staff) 3. APPROVE EDC MINUTES • February 21, 2003 Motion: F Second: . Vote: _Cr g 0 4. SPECIAL BUSINESS A. No Special Business Scheduled 5. REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS, STAFF AND EDA LIAISON A. Report of Commissioners –No Materials Attached B. Report of EDA Liaison –No Materials Attached C. Chamber of Commerce Update –No Materials Attached D. Report of Staff 1. Edgewood Regional Pond—Grant Request to Ramsey Co. 2. EDA Approval of 5 TIF Developer Payments for 2nd half 2002 3. Developer Activities—Community Dev. Group (Amoco Site) 4. City of Mounds View received 2/21/03 I-35W TCBM Insert (840 copies) & Chamber Resource Guide (200 copies) 5. Renaissance Exteriors—Expansion Activities 6. Pam's Furniture—Prospect Activities 7. Developer Activities—Long Lake & Hwy 10 Medical Clinic 8. I-35W Coalition ED&M Committee Meeting-3/18/03 \\Ntserver\CityHall\DATA\GROUPS\ECONDEV\EDC\Agendas\Agenda03\3-21-03.doc r 6. EDC BUSINESS A. Review of City's Business Subsidy Policy B. Potential Real Estate Acquisition for Residential Develop. south of Co. Rd. H2 C. Other d 7. ADJOURN at 97S A.M. Next Regularly Scheduled Meeting: April 18, 2003 4111 • \\Ntserver\CityHall\DATA\GROUPS\ECONDEV\EDC\Agendas\Agenda03\3-21-03.doc Not Approved Minutes of the Economic Development Commission City of Mounds View Ramsey County, Minnesota Regular Meeting March 21, 2003 City of Mounds View, Council Chambers 2401 Highway 10, Mounds View, MN 55112 1. CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Greg Belting called the meeting to order at 7:37 am. 2. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Dr. Greg Belting, Jackie Entsminger, Tom Field, Jason Helgemoe, and Torri Johnson Members Absent: David Fox, Stan McDonald • Staff Present: Others Present: Economic Development Coordinator Aaron Backman None 3. APPROVAL OF EDC MINUTES: Motion/Second: Field moved and Entsminger seconded the approval of the February 21, 2003 EDC minutes. Motion Carried: 5 Ayes 0 Nays 4. SPECIAL BUSINESS No Special Business Scheduled. 5. REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS, STAFF AND EDA LIAISON A. Commissioner Reports: Field asked if developments regarding Mounds View Square would be discussed. Backman indicated that he was planning to later in the meeting. B. Report of EDA Liaison: None C. TCN Chamber of Commerce Update: During the past month the biggest event that occurred was the Twin Cities North Chamber holding its Annual Gala at the Mermaid on March 1st. A record number of tickets were sold (350)and a record number of people attended(275)the event,which is the Chamber's largest fundraiser. The theme was the Fabulous Fifties. The Chamber was so impressed with the Mermaid and the support from the City that it has already scheduled the 2004 Gala at the Mermaid. With the growth of the Chamber, the organization has decided to add a Director of Membership&Marketing. The interview process has begun-56 people applied, 10 EDC Minutes March 21, 2003 Not Approved Page 2 were interviewed, and next week the four finalists will be interviewed a second time. Backman 111 also participated in various meetings, including the Gaming Oversight Committee(2/26/03),the Board of the Directors Meeting and the Membership Gaming Meeting on 2/28/03. Helgemoe noted the Chamber's Spring Golf Tournament occurs on May 20th. D. Report of Staff: 1. Edqewood Regional Pond—Grant Request to Ramsey Co.: As part of the Mermaid expansion, a regional drainage pond was constructed west of the Mermaid complex and east of the Edgewood Middle School. The total cost of the project was approx. $494,000 with the great majority paid for through grants. As the EDC is aware,the State of Minnesota(DTED) provided $333,333 that has been fully drawn down. Other funding sources include Ramsey County and Rice Creek Watershed District. Ramsey County's policy is to contribute to regional pond projects based on the relative contributing drainage area (in this case, 15.5% of the final construction cost of $375,459.64 (excluding engineering and administrative expenses). Backman has submitted a request for reimbursement of $58,196.24 to Terry Noonan, Water Resources Project Manager(Ramsey County). He expects that to come in the next couple of weeks. Following that step he will proceed with the Rice Creek request. 2. EDA Approval of 5 TIF Developer Payments for 2nd Half 2002: Backman indicated that on March 10th the EDA approved developer payments for five projects in the City—C.G. Hill, Building N, Silver Lake Pointe, Midwest I.V. and Zep Manufacturing. These payments reflect the tax increments collected for the last half of 2002 and for this time period totaled approximately $75,000. 3. Developer Activities—Community Dev. Group (Amoco): Community Development Group (CDG), the developer from Michigan continues to push ahead with the retail project at the corner of Silver Lake Road and Co. Highway 10. This project is moving slower than what Backman would like. The problem is not the local landowners or price but rather with getting the necessary approvals and documentation from BP Amoco. URS, the architects for the project, have done a primarily layout of what the site could look like. It shows the 13,000 sq. ft. building for the national retailer, a smaller area for additional retail, and 106 parking spaces. CDG has not released the name of the end user at this point. Field asked about any environmental issues on the Amoco site. Backman responded that studies have not indicated anything hazardous at this point. He believes that this redevelopment will have a positive effect in the neighborhood and will lead to other spin-offs in the western portion of the City. For example, Steve's Appliances is looking at possibly expanding or remodeling its facilities on Co. Hwy 10. Helgemoe inquired about the intended use of the vacant lot used for Christmas trees. Backman stated that Integra, a Twin Cities developer,with the intent of building town homes, acquired the property. There are several hurdles with that concept, including zoning changes, neighborhood concerns, and access onto Co. Hwy 10. 4. City of Mounds View received I-35W TCBM Insert& Chamber Resource Guide: Backman handed out copies of the insert and the resource guide. Both of these marketing pieces were delivered to the City on February 21st after our last EDC meeting. Copies have been distributed to major employers in the community, at the Home&Garden Show, and to other groups. Backman indicated that he did not have a lot of editorial input regarding the Resource Guide. While he wrote up a narrative more focused on business development,the section describing Mounds View ended up discussing more the history of the City. One error he noticed was the total number of housing units in Mounds View. It should be 5,130, not 11,504. Field asked about the lower median home price for Mounds View(vs. other cities). Backman mentioned the higher proportion of manufactured homes and other lower cost units 11 EDC Minutes March 21, 2003 Not Approved Page 3 brings the average down. The"Growth Engine"insert that went into the Twin Cities Business Monthly has been received well. Each community member of the I-35W Corridor Coalition had two pages of narrative (inc. photographs). Backman had more editorially impact over the Mounds View section,entitled"A New View". The insert was published at no cost to City due to corporate sponsors. 5. Renaissance Exteriors—Expansion Activities: The last week of February, Councilmember Gunn alerted me to the potential of Renaissance Exteriors moving out of Mounds View due to a need for more space. On February 25th Backman spoke with Jeff Pattison, its COO, to discuss the company's need for more office and warehouse space. Founded in 2000, the home improvement company (windows, siding, doors & sunrooms) has expanded quickly. Last year sales reached $4.5 million. Currently it operates out of 4,000 sq. ft. (two bays) in Silver View Plaza. Ideally they would like to have 10,000 sq. ft. of space. On March 3rd Backman showed Pattison several potential locations in Mounds View. He particularly showed interest in the Hwy 10 Business Center facility. John Kopas felt that such a business would be a good fit next to his carpet business. Later in the month Rob Carlson Builders provided Renaissance with a lease proposal. 6. Pam's Furniture—Prospect Activities: For the past 15 years Pam's Furniture has been operating in Spring Lake Park. The business also operates in a building near Northtown Shopping Center. In early March Backman was informed by Paster Enterprises that this furniture business needed warehouse space. On March 6th he met with Pam Soebbing, President of Pam's Furniture, to discuss her business and space needs, etc. She felt that recent road changes (i.e. new service road) negatively impacted her business. She collaborates a lot with Jerry's Floor Store, a floor covering business in SLP. Backman discussed options and later Ms. Soebbing met with John Kopas regarding the Hwy 10 Business Center space. Kopas expressed his view that Pam's would be another good fit next to his business. 7. Developer Activities—Lonq Lake&Hwy 10 Medical Office: Backman now has the names of the developer (LandCor, Inc. of Osseo, MN) and the architect (ATA-Beilharz Architects of Cincinnati, OH)who are working on this project. Backman showed the members a drawing of what the medical office building would look like on Parcel A. The retail building on Parcel B could include a Starbucks or perhaps a Dunn Brothers Coffee shop. LandCor would develop both parcels. 8. I-35W Coalition ED&M Committee Meetinq-3/18/03: Backman is chair this year of the Economic Development& Marketing Committee of the I-35W Coalition. We held our first meeting at Mounds View City Hall on March 18th. The members will be considering the committee's work plan (economic development and marketing) activities for 2003. 9. Moundsview Square Developments: Culver's Restaurant—As encouraged by Backman, Paster Enterprises submitted a proposal to Steve Sparks regarding the former Hardee's building. Mr. Sparks left Backman a message indicating that the price was still too high and that Paster needed to "sharpen its pencils". Sparks still thinks a Mounds View location is doable for him. Dance Moves—This Circle Pines business has over 100 students and needs additional studio space. One of the principals has viewed the Moundsview Square. The owners appear interested in leasing about 4,000 sq. ft. of space. Pawnshop—Backman • indicated that there has been discussion regarding a proposed pawnshop that would locate in the shopping center. He noted changes in the industry—automated tracking systems and franchise chains. There are concerns regarding how this business may function in the community. NIL EDC Minutes March 21, 2003 Not Approved Page 4 III 6. EDC BUSINESS A. Potential Real Estate Acquisition for Residential Development near Co. Rd. H2: During the spring and summer of 2001, City staff promoted a residential buildout project in the southwest corner of the City of Mounds View. Letters were sent to all property owners in an area bounded by County Road H2, Pleasant View Dr., Knollwood Dr., and Woodale Drive. The majority of the residents indicated that they wanted no development to occur and were not interested in subdividing the large lots. A smaller number were open to development if it was limited to single family homes. Currently the City of Mounds View owns or controls approximately 6.5 acres in the north central portion of the block. During the past month, one of the property owners, Blaine Fyksen, has expressed a willingness to sell his property to the City. Mr. Fyksen owns three parcels (totaling 4.6 acres)that border the City's property to the west. He does not want to see high-density residential development in the area, but would be willing to sell if the property would be developed for high-end homes (approx. $450-500,000 each) on 180' lots. There are three financing options that could be considered for developing the Fyksen property: 1) Use Tax Increment Financing(TIF)to acquire the Fyksen parcels. 2) Use Special Projects/HRA funds to acquire the Fyksen parcels. 3) Find a private developer that would acquire both the City's and Fyksen property. After discussion, it was the consensus of the EDC members that the preferred option was#3. B. Review of City's Business Subsidy Policy: As part of the update to the City's Tax Abatement 0 (Rebate) Policy, the EDC needs to update Section VI Subsidy Agreement & Reporting Requirements. In order to do that revision the EDC must first review its Business Subsidy Policy, a separate document. Backman e-mailed to the members copies of the current policy and sample policies from other communities. He mentioned that in 1999, the State Legislature adopted new regulations for the granting of business subsidies by state and local government. The business subsidy law requires each"grantor"(i.e. state or local government agency or public entity) of a "business subsidy" to adopt criteria for awarding business subsidies. A business subsidy is defined as grant, contribution of personal property, real property, infrastructure, the principal amount of a loan at below commercial rates, any reduction or deferral of any tax. The Statutes exclude 22 items from the definition of subsidies, including a subsidy of less than $25,000; business loans or guarantees of $75,000 or less. In 2000 the Legislature adopted several changes to the law, including requirements that the criteria "may not be adopted on a case-by-case basis" and "must set specific minimum requirements that recipients must meet in order to be eligible to receive business subsidies." These changes specified that the criteria must include a "specific wage floor" for the wages to be paid for the jobs to be created. Communities need bring their business subsidies criteria into compliance with Statutes by May 1, 2003. Backman distributed to members business subsidy criteria research that compares wage and job creation criteria for eight communities. After discussion, members agreed to a two-tiered wage floor based upon a percentage above the federal minimum wage. Members wished to have manufacturing jobs at a higher wage floor than for retail. Members agreed that each project should create at a minimum one new fulltime job. C. Other: None 1110 A EDC Minutes March 21, 2003 Not Approved Page 5 7. ADJOURNMENT 1110 There being no further business before the Commission, Belting adjourned the March 21 meeting of the Economic Development Commission at 9:15 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Aaron A. Backman Economic Development Coordinator Mitserver\CityHall\DATA\GROUPS1ECONDEVEDC\Minutes\Min03\2-21-03.doc III II