Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-21-2008 Minutes of the Economic Development Commission City of Mounds View Ramsey County, Minnesota Regular Meeting March 21, 2008 City of Mounds View, Council Chambers 2401 Highway 10, Mounds View, MN 55112 1. CALL TO ORDER: Chair Jason Helgemoe called the meeting to order at 7:43 a.m. 2. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Chair Jason Helgemoe and Commissioners Greg Belting, Dan Larson and Jackie Entsminger Members Absent: Commissioners Gary Meehlhause, Torri Johnson and Jennifer Wagner Staff Present: Economic Development Specialist Heidi Steinmetz 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: Motion/Second: Commissioner Larson moved and Commissioner Entsminger seconded the approval of the March 21, 2008 EDC agenda. Motion Carried: 4 Ayes 0 Nays 4. APPROVAL OF EDC MINUTES: Motion/Second: Chair Helgemoe moved and Commissioner Belting seconded the approval of the February 15, 2008 EDC minutes. Motion Carried: 4 Ayes 0 Nays 5. SPECIAL BUSINESS There was no special business; however Commission Belting asked if anyone attended the Medtronic tour on February 20th. Ms. Steinmetz and Commissioner Larson attended and said it is a nice facility. Ms. Steinmetz mentioned she had toured the building three times and each time she sees something she didn't notice before. Chair Helgemoe reminded the group that there will eventually be another building and an additional parking ramp. He also added that he drives by the facility every day and traffic flow does not seem to be disrupted in any way. EDC Minutes March 21,2008 Page 2 of 7 Chair Helgemoe took the opportunity to advertise the Chamber's upcoming annual golf tournament to be held at Majestic Oaks on Tuesday, June 3rd. The event is a fundraiser for the Chamber. He encouraged Mounds View businesses, their employees and residents to support the event by golfing or donating items for the silent auction. He added that he attended the Chamber luncheon yesterday at The Mermaid where the chief economist from Wells Fargo spoke about the economy and how investment houses are lacking assets since there is no market for hybrid securities. Chair Helgemoe also mentioned that the search committee has narrowed down the choices for a new Chamber president. Commissioner Entsminger reminded the group that the Mounds View Town Hall Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, April 19th from 9:00am until noon. Finally, Chair Helgemoe congratulated Commissioner Belting on moving into a new building (Commissioner Belting's business, Silver View Chiropractic, has a new home in Mounds View City Center Suites). Commissioner Belting added that it was nice to stay in Mounds View. 6. EDC BUSINESS A. Continue Discussion Regarding Internal Public Communications/Marketing Assessment Ms. Steinmetz explained that this discussion began last month. She reminded the EDC that last month they discussed Mounds View entrance road signs and that the Council is leaning towards the design that is not preferred by the EDC. Ms. Steinmetz posed several questions for the EDC to consider regarding public communications and marketing. The first question was "Is creative and low cost branding something the City should consider?" She referenced an article she included in the EDC's meeting packet about other cities that have completed branding exercises. Chair Helgemoe responded "Yes". He added that everyone has something to sell. The City wants to sell itself and present itself in the best light possible. He asked "Why wouldn't we want to have some sort of a symbol and/or marketing that is recognizable, creates a positive feeling and is identifiable?" He can't imagine why the City would not want to do that. He mentioned that Coon Rapids has undertaken branding and they've had decent results. Commissioner Belting concurred with Chair Helgemoe's comments. He thinks it's important to "make yourself relevant/stay relevant and branding is certainly a way to do that;" however he believes we should continue to be conscious about cost. He referenced that staff seems to be conscious of that per the staff report. Chair Helgemoe agreed but posed the question "Can you really afford not to?" He added "in life you need to spend a little bit to get a better return"and although it may be hard to quantify the results, he thinks the benefit would outweigh the costs. Commissioner Entsminger agreed and pointed out that she doesn't like the road sign design at all. She said it reminds her of something one would see up north near a cabin EDC Minutes March 21,2008 Page 3 of 7 area. Commissioner Belting added that it's a sign one would see in a smaller town near Brainerd. Commissioner Entsminger doesn't think the design represents Mounds View at all. Chair Helgemoe asked if the design is what the Council is leaning toward. Ms. Steinmetz confirmed and added that Jim Ericson provided the Council with the EDC's input. Commissioner Engsminger added that the Council's preferred design is "not even progressive, since we have Medtronic and new businesses,this shows no progress at all to our community". Chair Helgemoe asked if we've had any input from the citizens or other community leaders. Ms. Steinmetz said "no", which is why staff asked the EDC for input. She added that she is unsure when the Council is going to make their decision or when the signs are going to be ordered so staff will definitely provide the additional input from the EDC. Commissioner Belting added that consistency in branding is important too. He gave the example that large corporations don't have different logos for different products, so to have road signs that don't match a new newsletter or Website design doesn't make a lot of sense. Chair Helgemoe added that it wouldn't be cost effective. Commissioner Belting said that perhaps we should ask the community if there are any cost effective branding process options. Ms Steinmetz referenced the article in the meeting packet again about communities that have taken advantage of"free"assistance with branding exercises. Chair Helgemoe and Commission Entsminger agreed that anyone who would complete branding for the City of Mounds View would be a good addition to his or her portfolio. It would provide a "win/win" situation. Commissioner Larson had the idea of asking community members to submit branding proposals and to hold the Council's final vote at the Festival in the Park. Ms. Steinmetz mentioned that she would summarize the EDC's ideas into a draft marketing plan for review next month. A revised plan would eventually be considered by the EDA. Ms. Steinmetz asked the next question,which Commissioner Belting already discussed, which was"Should the City have one consistent logo?" She referenced that the internal marketing assessment included examples of the different City logos currently being used and that there is not consistency. She asked the next questions "Should the City newsletter be redesigned?" and should be a "go to" person overseeing all of the City's marketing/communications activities? Currently there are many different staff at City Hall completing different marketing/communication activities and since each person has their own creative opinions, it is difficult to achieve consistency. Chair Helgemoe stated "Yes" to every question. Commissioner Belting said the newsletter is not as relevant as what other cities are distributing in today's market, especially the cover. Chair Helgemoe said it looks like a technical manual. Both agreed that the newsletter should be redesigned. The Commission realizes that the newsletter is completed "in house"and by no means wants to offend City staff currently producing EDC Minutes March 21,2008 Page 4 of 7 the newsletter; however newsletters are hard work and perhaps a professional would make the process easier on staff. Commissioner Larson asked how the newsletters are distributed. Ms. Steinmetz believes they are sent directly to the residents; however they are actually distributed with the Sun Focus. He said we need to expand distribution to all Mounds View businesses. Chair Helgemoe said perhaps the U of M could provide assistance with this matter. Commissioner Belting said that there should absolutely be a "go to" marketing/communications person on City staff. Chair Helgemoe added that if there are several staff people doing different marketing/communications jobs,there is not going to be synergy. Chair Helgemoe summarized the discussion by saying that it is the EDC's consensus that it would be a good idea to have a "go to" marketing/communications person at City Hall. B. Discuss 2008 Taraeted Business List Ms. Steinmetz stated that this agenda item was generated from the Comprehensive Plan Task Force. The Task Force noted that the current Comprehensive Plan contains a phrase that the City's targeted business list should be updated annually. Ms. Steinmetz explained that in years past, the list was updated annually but since the list never seemed to change, annual updates hadn't occurred lately. Having said that, Ms. Steinmetz recommended that the list be reviewed annually so it is completely clear where staff should be focusing business recruitment efforts. For example, a list should serve the community as a whole rather than one or two residents. She mentioned the current list was based on Jim Ericson's and Aaron Backman's memory and included recommendations from residents and elected and appointed officials. Ms. Steinmetz added that there are related policy questions that the EDC should discuss prior to reviewing or updating the current targeted business list, such as "What is the City's main business recruitment goal?" Chair Helgemoe asked if the EDC should postpone this item until the next meeting when more members are present. Ms. Steinmetz agreed because the related policy questions are important. Chair Helgemoe commented on the lack of restaurants in Mounds View and referenced Commissioner Wagner's comment from the last EDC meeting regarding the lack of a grocery store in Mounds View. He asked Commissioner Entsminger for input. She responded with saying that a large grocery store is not warranted for this size of community. She said Mounds View "doesn't really have anything to draw people to" (an anchor business) and added that she "doesn't mean that in a negative way", however "it's basically a pass-through community". Ms. Steinmetz added that ever since several contiguous properties had become available for redevelopment (between County Road H2 and Woodale) that developer input is that Mounds View is not going to see a lot of redevelopment interest because EDC Minutes March 21,2008 Page 5 of 7 there's no anchor or destination-type core to the City. That is why a lot of communities are building downtowns from scratch. Since Mounds View does not have a center or core, business recruitment and redevelopment may be more difficult. Chair Helgemoe asked if the City needs to change its focus regarding the types of businesses it tries to recruit. Ms. Steinmetz mentioned that the City Council will be holding a redevelopment roundtable on April 7th,which may help answer that question. Commissioner Belting mentioned the dynamics of County Road 10 have changed but the speed limit has not. Chair Helgemoe mentioned that he personally drives slower through Shoreview because he thinks it's visually appealing. He feels that the renovation of Mounds View Square may be the start of improving the aesthetics of Mounds View's main corridor. Chair Helgemoe asked staff to send an e-mail reminder about the redevelopment roundtable and wondered the other City Commissions should be invited. Commissioner Entsminger asked for clarification that Robert's is "off the table". Ms. Steinmetz confirmed. Commissioner Entsminger left the meeting for another appointment. C. Discuss Housing Replacement Program Ms. Steinmetz suggested postponing this item as well. She reminded the EDC that the Housing Replacement Program is a City program administered offsite through the Housing Resource Center. The program offers a forgivable loan to be paid back within 10 years. The purpose of the program is to assist people who want to replace blighted homes. Staff would like the EDC's input regarding whether or not the City and the Housing Resource Center is meeting the needs of the community. This issue has come to light because of the foreclosure crisis. Chair Helgemoe asked how many foreclosures are in Mounds View and what percentage of Mounds View housing stock is in foreclosure. Ms. Steinmetz said there are about fifty foreclosures but she didn't know the percentage. Commissioner Belting asked if the City is getting reimbursed for the City services that result from the foreclosures. Ms. Steinmetz said that this is a discussion point among cities and each city is recouping the costs differently. He asked if the fees should be raised or if there should be a "foreclosure fee?" Ms. Steinmetz said there are two separate issues to discuss "Does the City want to expand its housing program?" and there is also the foreclosure issue. The foreclosure issue spawned from a more global issue of making sure Mounds View housing stock does not deteriorate. Commissioner Larson said that(as a resident)the City should get involved to make sure the housing stock doesn't deteriorate further. As far as foreclosures, he suggested that City officials approach residents who live next door to foreclosures because in most case, they'd be willing to help because foreclosures affect property values. Chair Helgemoe agreed because it would protect the City's tax base and property values. Commissioner Belting left the meeting for another appointment. EDC Minutes March 21,2008 Page 6 of 7 7. REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS There were no Commissioner reports. 8. REPORTS OF STAFF A. Economic Development Component of the Comprehensive Plan Ms. Steinmetz summarized the March 12th Comprehensive Task Force meeting and said she reformatted the Economic Development portion so that it is easier to read. She added that the Task Force asked her to wordsmith the document to be reviewed at the April 91h Task Force meeting. Ms. Steinmetz asked to the EDC to let her know if they had further input and that she would forward any new input to the EDC's Task Force representative, Commissioner Meehlhause. B. Final Version of the Mounds View Business Toolbox Ms. Steinmetz stated that the EDA approved the final version of the Toolbox on March 10th. Chair Helgemoe asked how it would be disseminated. Ms. Steinmetz said that it's only for staff, elected and appointed officials' reference. Chair Helgemoe asked if it is the Council's ideal for staff to distribute the Toolbox to businesses and how the Toolbox would be utilized. If it is not used as a marketing tool or distributed to businesses, what is the purpose? Ms. Steinmetz stated that she believes the Council does not want businesses to view the Toolbox as a menu of financing options. She added that perhaps this is a policy issue that should be discussed. Are business subsidies something the City no longer wants to provide? Chair Helgemoe added that many or most of the items listed in the Toolbox are not City subsides. He feels that the Toolbox should be mentioned on the City Website but feels that the EDC should discuss this further at a future meeting. C. Premium Stop Redevelopment Area Update Robert's Bar is currently under a purchase agreement and the buyers plan to reopen the facility as a bar/restaurant. The proposed closing date is May 15th, however it could be several months before the business opens because a sprinkler systems needs to be installed. She provided background that Robert's was part of a 12-acre redevelopment area along Hwy 10 between County Road H2 and Woodale. Robert's and the apartment building are not available, which leaves ten available properties. It is significant and unusual for ten contiguous properties fronting a highway to be available within a community. Chair Helgemoe mentioned the Saturn dealership. Ms. Steinmetz said the Saturn/MultiTech site has received more interest (than the 10-parcel redevelopment area across the Hwy) from the development community. Chair Helgemoe asked if the inquiries have been for the same use (a car dealership)? Ms. Steinmetz said that staff has received inquires for whether or not the City would be interested in a high density/multi-family residential project, which would require a rezoning. EDC Minutes March 21,2008 Page 7 of 7 She summarized by saying that the location of the numerous available properties (both areas) at a key intersection within the community puts the City in a good position to create a nucleus, although redevelopment is extremely expensive and complex, so it would take a lot of support and a very strong vision from Mounds View appointed and elected officials to make it possible. The redevelopment roundtable on April 7th may be the beginning of meaningful redevelopment discussions, such as discussing what the City wants the corridor to look like in 20 years. Chair Helgemoe referenced Lino Lakes's town center project. He said their sentiment was that they had open land and wanted to "do it right". They didn't want to jeopardize the long-term health of the community for a short-term benefit. He added that perhaps Mounds View should move slower rather than faster because if we do the right thing it will impact us in years to come. Ms. Steinmetz provided more background information regarding the planning study that was completed for Mounds View's Premium Stop Redevelopment Area and that it is posted on the City's Website. The City does have a vision and a concept for the Premium Stop area but not for the Saturn site. The City's involvement for both areas is to promote the areas to the development community. Although the EDA owns one parcel in the area, the City is not interested in purchasing more property. Ms. Steinmetz concluded by saying that the roundtable will provide more insight on this issue. Chair Helgemoe said that hopefully the results of the roundtable will be for the City to take a more proactive approach rather than "throwing caution to the wind". This is a highly visible and important area. Perhaps after input is received at the roundtable,the EDC should continue this discussion as high on its priority list. Ms.Steinmetz suggested a joint meeting between the EDC and the Council. She will keep the EDC posted. 9. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Commission, Chairperson Helgemoe adjourned the meeting 8:53 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Heidi Steinmetz Economic Development Specialist