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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-16-2018Minutes of the Economic Development Commission City of Mounds View Ramsey County, Minnesota Regular Meeting March 16, 2018 City of Mounds View, Council Chambers 2401 County Road 10, Mounds View, MN 55112 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Jim Freichels called the meeting to order at approximately 7:30 a.m. 2. ROLL CALL Members Present: Chair, Jim Freichels, Vice Chair, Dan Larson, Commissioners, Gary Stevenson, Dennis Farmer, Teresa Muckala, Jason Helgemoe & Ken Breske Members Absent: Staff Present: Business Development Coordinator, Brian Beeman Meeting Attendees: Gary Meehlhause, Jacob Martin 4. APPROVAL OF MARCH 16, 2018, AGENDA Motion/Second: Commissioner Stevenson moved and Commissioner Farmer seconded the approval of the March 16, 2018 EDC agenda. Motion Carried: 7 Ayes, 0 Nays 5. APPROVAL OF FEBRUARY 16, 2018, EDC MINUTES Motion/Second: Commissioner Breske moved and Commissioner Larson seconded the approval of the February 16, 2018 EDC minutes. Motion Carried: 7 Ayes, 0 Nays 6. EDC BUSINESS Review Single & Multifamily Residential Housing Issues Business Development Coordinator Beeman informed the Commissioners that as part of the 2018 EDC Priorities, the EDC identified the following as a goal: “Monitor and assist with citywide housing issues & priorities and projects and older properties as well as cooperating with multifamily property owners to assist with upgrading facilities”. The first step in this process is to identify the properties and issues that are causing a concern. The second step is to identify any existing financing programs available to address those issues. The last step is for the EDC to determine which of the financing programs the City should be using to address the housing issues and if a new financing program should be created. Jacob Martin, the City’s Code Enforcement Officer, was present to provide comments, feedback, and answer any questions as it related to code violation EDC Minutes March 16, 2018 Page 2 of 5 trends. The EDC reviewed the chart of properties and violations and common trends for all of the properties and determined that Multi-Family properties had wall coverings, paint, parking lots, carpet, appliances, and plumbing as common violations while the single-family homes had windows, aesthetics, and landscaping, as the commons themes for violations. Officer Martin informed the Commission that his focus is safety and code violations. Commissioner Dennis Farmer mentioned that the City should perhaps look into helping single-family home owners who have naturally occurring affordable housing with assistance programs to help them upgrade their buildings and property. Officer Martin said the older properties may simply need a face-lift. Commissioner Ken Breske had met with his tax advisor and provided the EDC with an update on the new tax laws as it relates to landlords and property owners. Breske suggested that Officer Martin could inform landlords of the new tax laws in an attempt to motivate them to make improvements. Commissioner Gary Stevenson suggested that the City change its focus or include a new component to the Code Enforcement’s role to address the outside aesthetic issues in addition to the current safety and code enforcement role. Stevenson brought attention to the age of the current apartment and housing stock. Some apartment buildings may have looked great 30 years ago, but they are in dire need of upgrades and outside appearances. The look of these buidings contributes to the tired and run down look of the hosing stock in the city. Officer Martin informed the Commission that if land lords improve their properties then likely the County Assessors will increase the taxable value of those structures and therefore force the landlords to increase rents to cover the additional property tax. Commissioner Jason Helgemoe stated that with the new apartment buildings being built this could potentially cause existing tenants to leave the old apartment buildings and occupy the new apartment buildings. This may motivate the landlords who own older building to want to improve their building in order to keep their tenants. Officer Martin informed the EDC that the current apartments are 90-95% filled. Commissioner Jim Freichels suggested that Coordinator Beeman send the EDC the spreadsheet listing the current violations and between now and the next EDC meeting, Commissioners can note their observations of apartment buildings and the housing stock on the spreadsheet while they drive around the city and identify problem areas. Beeman informed the Commission that when Commissioners bring back their comments he will compile the comments into one master list and try to identify trends. Beeman informed the Commission that he is trying to coordinate schedules to get a representative from the Ramsey County Economic Development Department to attend then April ECD meeting to inform the Commission of any existing financial programs that might be able to address some of the identified issues. Chair Freichels thanked Code Enforcement Officer Jacob Martin for this comments and observations and moved to the next agenda item. Update from Comprehensive Task Force Members Commissioner Dennis Farmer provided the EDC with an update on the most recent Comprehensive Task Force meeting. The main takeaways from the last meeting is that the City needs to simplify its land use codes, the Task Force also talked about the differences in neighborhood versus regional commercial area. Regional Commercial are EDC Minutes March 16, 2018 Page 3 of 5 areas that outside residents drive to like the Mounds View Boulevard businesses. While neighborhood commercial area are places like the old Snap Market business or smaller convenience stores where only the local residents are likely to go to. County Road I would be an example of neighborhood commercial buildings. They also reviewed economic development goals such as sustainability, transportation. Much of the focus has been along Mounds View Boulevard. There are areas that could be identified as nodes that could serve as a cluster of similar businesses or uses. Each of the Task Force Members participated in a Dotmocracy exercise where each members placed different colored dots on a list of goals and priorities and the group tabulated the results based on the most popular to least popular in the category of importance. Farmer volunteered to provide a presentation to the EDC at the April meeting. Update from Commissioner Muckala on New Business Categories to fill Vacant Space in Mounds View Commissioner Teresa Muckala provided an update on her efforts in assisting with the new 2018 EDC goal, “Monitor & Explore New Business Categories through Trade Groups like Medical Alley and Identify Available Spaces in Mounds View with the Intent to Fill Those Vacancies with New Companies”. The idea is to attract start-up companies to fill the vacant space in some of our industrial buildings and growing them. The Minnesota High-Tech organization may be another place to look to partner with. Eventually, a policy decision will need to be made on what if any the property owners versus the City should be doing to fill these spaces. Beeman said there are some opportunities in the flex space with some of the existing buildings. One thing to think about is are we growing businesses out of Mounds View or is it important to fill these spaces and encourage jobs or focusing on specific trades? Breske asked about vacancy rates. Beeman said there are some lease vacancies available but little to none of the buildings are for sale. Beeman said this can create an issue with the lack of corporate citizenship. While business owners who own their own buildings are likely to participate in the Festival in the Park, make donations, and participate on local boards and commissions, the business owners who lease are less likely to participate locally and they are more likely to see Mounds View as the place where they commute to go to work and not much more. 7. REPORTS OF STAFF Crossroad Pointe Redevelopment Project Coordinator, Beeman provided the Commission with an update on the Crossroad Pointe redevelopment site stating that at a recent City Council meeting, the Council passes an ordinance amendment that did not include language to allow the discharge of firearms in an approved firing range. Therefore, the gun range portion of the project will not be developed. Since then City staff met with INH Properties to better understand their intention for the development. INH prefers to do all apartments and if a mixed-use component is considered, INH prefers to sell that piece to the commercial owner or have the City retain that portion and the City would recruit a commercial business to that site. INH claims that if they construct all apartments on the site they could potentially be in the ground this year but if it is a mixed-use concept and/or TIF is requested then it may be delayed to 2019. INH is proposing to build approximately 140 units give or take EDC Minutes March 16, 2018 Page 4 of 5 depending on the configuration and if retail is included or not. There would be underground parking and they would work with the City to sign a development agreement that likely will include higher end finishes, aesthetics, and landscaping etc. Rice Creek Commons Coordinator, Beeman provided the Commission with an update on the Crossroad Pointe redevelopment site stating that the infrastructure is expected to occur in 2019 and new housing & commercial starts are expected in 2020. North Metro Business Council The North Metro Business Council meeting was held at the Mermaid Event Center March 14 where the group heard an update from Barclay Kruse from the National Sports Center (NSC) in Blaine. Beeman said the main takeaways are the NSC provided $79 million in annual tourism impact, a pedestrian bridge is planned over 105th Street in Blaine and an overpass at 109th Street. Freichels provided additional information, he said they are looking at building a hotel and Dist. 16 is looking to construct a magnet school. They are also the largest armature site in the country. They are also looking at bringing in an actual clinic on-site. The State of MN actually owns the site. Helgemoe said the expansion plans are exciting and it has the second largest draw behind the Mall of America and an international draw. They about 50 soccer fields and all of this helps local businesses. MWF Developers Beeman informed the Commission that MWF Properties has requested Tax Increment Financing (TIF) for their project. The Council created the housing TIF district recently and the City is cooperating with the developer to acquire the tax forfeiture properties. TIF plan a late fall 2018 start is all goes well. They found some contamination at the old gas station and will be working through that. Beeman said he is meeting with two more developers who are also proposing multi-family housing. Other Upcoming Events/Reports Beeman informed the Commission that the Mermaid is looking to refurbish the Mermaid statute and will relocate it somewhere on site. They are looking at the possibility of rebranding and updating their facilities. 8. REPORTS OF COMMISSIONERS Commissioner Helgemoe reminded the EDC that the next Twin Cities North Business Council meeting will be held June13 at the Mermaid and the topic will be cyber security. 9. NEXT REGULAR EDC MEETING Chair Freichels reminded the Commissioners that the next EDC meeting will be held April 20, 2018 at 7:30 a.m. EDC Minutes March 16, 2018 Page 5 of 5 10. ADJOURN There being no further business, Chair Freichels adjourned the March 16, 2018 meeting at approximately 8:35 a.m. Respectfully submitted, _______________________________ Brian Beeman Business Development Coordinator