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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-28-1997 1 Minutes of the Economic Development Commission City of Mounds View Ramsey County, Minnesota Regular Meeting October 28, 1997 City of Mounds View, Council Chambers 2401 Highway 10, Mounds View, MN 55112 1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 6:09 p.m. by Chairperson, Dan Nelson. 2. Roll Call: Members Dan Nelson, Ron Schmidt, Rosemary Goff, Tom Field and Steve Larson were present. Dir. of Economic Development Cathy Bennett and EDA Liaison Duane McCarty were present. Members Cindy Carlson and Brian Sjoberg and Alternate Liaison Gary Quick were absent. 3. Approval Of Minutes: Motion/Second: Goff/Larson moved approval of Minutes from August 28, 1997 as amended by Carlson. Motion Carried 5 ayes 0 nays 4. Special Business Chair Nelson introduced and welcomed new EDC members Steve Larson and Tom Field. Mr. Larson is filling Delane Welsch=s term which expires December 31, 1997 and Mr. Field is filling Bev Tarhark=s term which expires December 31, 1998. Mr. Larson is a long term resident who=s phone number has been the same since he was a small child. He is a stock broker and has an interest in the business issues in the community and feels he can contribute with is background in business financing. Mr. Field is also a long term resident who is a business banker. He also has an interest in contributing to the EDC and feels confident that he can provide valuable insight with his professional experience. 5. EDC BUSINESS A. Consideration of Tax Increment Request by Pelstring Capital Director Bennett gave a brief summary of the request from Pelstring Capital, acting on the behalf of CALPERS, for a grant of $700,000 to assist in the retention of Portable Products, a division of Fiscars, in the Mounds View Business Park building A. The grant request is to help move Sims Deltec who is located in Building A where Portable Products would like to expand into. Director Bennett explained that staff has met with Pelstring Capital to come up with other alternatives instead of a grant request but, according to CALPERS, who is the owner of the building, there is no other alternative financially feasible for them. 2 Representatives from Portable Products gave a presentation on the company and their need for expansion with the current growth projections and expectations of sales in excess of $50 million by the year 2001. Pat Pelstring of Pelstring Capital discussed the need for the grant in that the owner of the building, CALPERS, is neutral in the situation since they have signed leases from both Portable Products and Sims Deltec. They have made the request in good faith to retain both companies in Mounds View. Director Bennett discussed the other alternatives mentioned for a loan request, Portable Products moving into alternate space within the building or moving entirely into another building. Commissioner Field suggested that CALPERS incur the $700,000 moving costs for Sims and work the payback into the expanded lease for Portable Products. Commissioner Larson asked if members of the EDC could have a tour of the business to help in understanding the need for contiguous space. Chair Nelson stated that this is a difficult request since the City has not provided grant funds to companies before, especially when there would be no additional tax revenue to pay for the City=s investment. Chair Nelson noted that most of the pay-as-you-go TIF agreements that they have recommended were for significantly less than this and that the amount of jobs per investment is much higher than the State average for justifying assistance. Commissioner Larson asked if lease information was provided to the City TIF Consultant. Mr. Pelstring stated that CALPERS has agreed to give the Consultant that information if the Commission agrees to review the request. Commissioner Goff noted that since staff has not discussed the request with the principals of Portable Products and Sims Deltec that she was not in a position to make a decision on this matter. Mr. Pelstring thanked the Commission for their time and continued consideration of the request. Motion/Second: Goff/Schmidt moved to table the request and directed staff to work meet with the principals of both Portable Products and Sims Deltec to discuss other options. Motion Carried 5 ayes 0 nays 6. Reports From Chair, Commissioners and Staff: No reports 7. Adjournment There being no further business before the Commission, this meeting of the Economic Development Commission adjourned at 7:00 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Director of Economic Development