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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-17-2006 Minutes of the Economic Development Commission City of Mounds View Ramsey County, Minnesota Regular Meeting November 17, 2006 City of Mounds View, Council Chambers 2401 Highway 10, Mounds View, MN 55112 1. CALL TO ORDER: Chairperson Torri Johnson called the meeting to order at 7:40 a.m. 2. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Jackie Entsminger, Tom Field, Jason Helgemoe, Jerry Jaker, Torri Johnson Members Absent: Greg Belting, Gary Meehlhause Staff Present: Economic Development Coordinator Aaron Backman Others Present: None. 3. APPROVAL OF EDC MINUTES: Motion/Second: September 15, 2006 minutes not completed at this time. 4. SPECIAL BUSINESS A. Commissioner Term Expiration. Backman reviewed the current terms of the EDC Commissioners. Three have terms that conclude in December—Torri Johnson, Jason Helgemoe, and Gary Meehlhause. If Commissioners are interested in renewing their service on the EDC they need to fill out an application. Johnson has already done so. 5. EDC BUSINESS A. Discussion of Mounds View’s TIF Policy. The EDA did encourage the Economic Development Coordinator to revisit the City’s current TIF Policy that was adopted in 2000. As the EDC members are aware we did previously update the City’s Business Subsidy Policy in 2003. Also, the City’s Tax Rebate Financing Policy was also updated in 2003. The current TIF Policy has not been updated. The EDC did briefly consider the TIF Policy in July of this year. However, other activities precluded further action until now. Backman has included several documents in the Commission’s meeting packet for a side-by-side comparison--the current Mounds View TIF Policy adopted in 2000, the Tax Rebate Financing Policy as revised in 2003, and the City of St. Anthony’s TIF Policy. Backman began by reviewing the general policy or policy purpose of TIF, and comparing this section among the documents. EDC focused on the overall policy components of the TIF Policy. The EDC by consensus incorporated some language from the St. Anthony model regarding the use of TIF. Backman will incorporate these changes and bring them back to the EDC in December. EDC Minutes November 17, 2006 Page 2 6. REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS, STAFF AND EDA LIAISON A. Report of Commissioners. Helgemoe attended an awards event of the Roseville Convention & Visitors Bureau, an organization that is a member of the TCN Chamber. He also mentioned the Chamber’s upcoming Gala. Johnson noted that there will be a street improvement public meeting to discuss the proposed 2007 project at the M.V. Community Center on November 21st. There is a related report on the City’s website. B. Report of Staff: 1. Update on Medtronic CRM Corporate Campus: Backman distributed the latest photographs of the campus construction. They show the three buildings that are being enclosed for the winter. The Topping Out ceremony for the South Building occurred on September 25, 2006. To date, about $1.62 million in permit fees have been paid to the City for the Medtronic project. Of that amount, approximately $700,000 was paid to the Met Council for the SAC fee. The valuation of the building permits issued or applied for to date for the Medtronic CRDM campus totals nearly $164,000,000. Backman also discussed the County Road J road reconstruction project. The old bridge was taken down at the end of September. The photos show the new bridge abutments being built. The north off ramp from 35W recently was opened. Field inquired about the use of the permit fees. Excluding SAC/WAC fees, the City has been using those funds for plan review fees (professional services contract), a new pickup truck for the building inspectors, other equipment, and a temporary building inspector for two to three years. 2. Legislative Activity—Appropriation for Noise Wall Extension along State Hwy 10 in Mounds View and for I-35W Design Concept Study: This project is a priority for the city council. During March 2006 the City of Mounds View sought approval from the Minnesota legislature for an appropriation to extend the noise wall along the south side of State Hwy 10 from about Long Lake Road eastward beyond the Laport Meadows residential neighborhood. While MnDOT has $300,000 programmed for this, the project is estimated to cost more than $800,000. There is an opportunity to direct funds associated with the Medtronic project to items benefiting this area—the noise wall extension and the I-35W design concept study. Last session our legislative efforts started late (due to the focus on accelerating Phase 2 of the Medtronic campus). This time we are starting earlier. Backman talked with our local representatives yesterday. He will meet with Sen. Betzold and Rep. Tillberry next week to discuss the legislative process. 3. Update on SYSCO Minnesota Parking Expansion: Backman was pleased to report that after one and a half years of effort, the SYSCO parking lot expansion project is largely completed. He showed the EDA members recent photos of the construction. The project entails the construction of 50 stalls for truck trailers, 100 parking spots for cars, a new gate-controlled entrance, and a relocated stormwater pond. The stormwater pond was moved to the south and east to allow for the additional trailer parking south of Sysco’s distribution facility in Mounds View. The total project cost is approx. $1.2 million. As the EDC is aware, the City approved $250,000 in TIF assistance for the project with a two-year payback. 4. Status of former Premium Stop Site / DSU Study: The EDA approved on June 26, 2006 the purchase of the deteriorated Premium Stop gas station and convenience store at 2390 County Road 10. The gas station facilities were demolished during the second week of September, the ground leveled and seeded. The site is basically ready for developers. On September 11th the City Council approved hiring DSU to undertake planning services at a cost of up to $14,000. The purpose was to provide a market overview of the property (and EDC Minutes November 17, 2006 Page 3 adjacent parcels) and concept plans of how the property could be redeveloped. Backman e- mailed three of the concept plans to EDC members. He described them: Concept Plan A involves the construction of a 5,000 sq. ft. one-story building for retail purposes. Taiko Sushi would remain on an adjacent property. Concept Plan B also leaves Taiko Sushi in place, includes the same 5,000 sq. ft. building, but it adds a two-story retail/office building (10,000 sq. ft.) on the corner and a neighborhood trail connects to the proposed County Road 10 trail. Under Concept Plan C there remains the 10,000 sq. ft. retail/office building, but Taiko Sushi becomes a tenant within an 8,0000 sq. ft. retail building; and Robert’s is redeveloped to include 40 market-rate senior condos (3-story building on the northeast corner) and townhomes on the west and south portion of that property. Field asked about what would happen to the carwash and parcels to the east. Backman indicated that given the land configuration there would be other clusters of development to the east. Jaker asked about next steps. Backman replied there will a few changes in the written report and then DSU will make a presentation before the Council in December. 5. Medtronic Workforce Collaboration: The workforce partners have been meeting periodically over the past several months. Information provided to the commissioners included the letter sent to Carol McCormick, a top HR person at Medtronic, offering different types of assistance; minutes from a meeting held on October 13th with Medtronic and Workforce Collaboration representatives; and types of positions that Medtronic is hiring for, etc. 6. Status of “Project Centaur”: There was a meeting with the site evaluation team from South Carolina. Backman had suggested the vacant Multi-Tech site east of the Saturn dealership. Mounds View made the first cut of 11 cities that were considered for the state-of-the-art medical treatment facility. We did not make the second cut. Four cities are still being considered—Maple Grove, Woodbury, Brooklyn Park, and Oakdale. 7. Active Living Ramsey County!: The latest agenda from the participants meeting was included. Active Living Ramsey County! (ALRC) has hired a project coordinator—Amber Dallman. She was hired by Ramsey County and funded through a $75,000 grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield. Dallman will continue to promote the Active Living lifestyle and various changes and activities in our cities, including adding trails. She will assist cities in updating their comprehensive plans to include Active Living principles. Backman also mentioned a new program being established with the goal of adding 1,000 benches in the county. Ramsey County earmarked $588,000 for the bench program. Grant funds will require a 50% local match to be considered. 7. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business before the Commission, Johnson adjourned the November 17th meeting of the Economic Development Commission at 9:02 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Aaron A. Backman Economic Development Coordinator \\Trout\CommDev\Economic Development\EDC\Minutes\Min06\11-17-06.doc