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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-09-2007PROCEEDINGS OF THE MOUNDS VIEW EDA CITY OF MOUNDS VIEW RAMSEY COUNTY, MINNESOTA Regular Meeting April 9, 2007 Mounds View City Hall 2401 Highway 10, Mounds View, MN 55112 6:30 P.M. 1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER 2. ROLL CALL: President Marty, Vice President Stigney, Commissioner Hull, Commissioner Flaherty, and Commissioner Mueller. NOT PRESENT: None. 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION/SECOND: Mueller/Flaherty. To Approve the Monday, April 9, 2007 Agenda as Presented. Ayes - 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 4. PUBLIC INPUT Gary Krig of 8160 Red Oak Court thanked the City for the assistance with demolishing the home they are purchasing. He then said that he feels that Council should consider allowing funds for anyone who is interested in buying a home to demolish the house and build a new one on the lot. Mr. Krig indicated that St. Louis Park has a program for reimbursing 25% of the costs for remodeling if they stay in the home 30 years so the City can look into other housing programs to assist residents. 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. March 12, 2007 EDA Minutes President Marty indicated he submitted corrections to Staff. Vice President Stigney: On Page 3, Line 120 motion failed rather than carried. Staff will correct it. Commissioner Mueller: On Page 5, Line 190 other tools insert the words “besides TIF” that could be used for development within the City. Mounds View EDA April 9, 2007 Regular Meeting Page 2 MOTION/SECOND: Mueller/Stigney. To Approve the March 12, 2007 Minutes as Amended. Ayes – 5 Nays – 0 Motion carried. 6. CONSENT AGENDA None. 7. EDA BUSINESS A. Continued Discussion Relating to Business Resource Guide/Toolbox Economic Development Coordinator Backman addressed the Council and continued discussions on the Business Resource Guide. He then said that the name of the document has been changed back to the Toolbox. Economic Development Coordinator Backman noted that the EDC discussed this at its April 6, 2007 meeting and adopted two motions. One motion was for approval of the toolbox and the second motion was for support of placing the business Toolbox on the website for review. Commissioner Flaherty said that under Item E he would like to see all local business finance is at the discretion of the Mounds View EDA and he would like that bolded so it stands out. The Authority expressed concern with the financial assistance the City may provide. Economic Development Coordinator Backman indicated that, as a rule of thumb, he does not think that a City should finance a majority of a project but require that the business do the majority and the City, if it offers any assistance, offer only a very small portion. Commissioner Mueller asked whether the City would have the ability to properly determine whether the business is credit worthy. Economic Development Coordinator Backman indicated that he would require the same information that the banks would require. Vice President Stigney indicated that he disagrees with the EDC’s recommendation to post the toolbox document to the web, and thinks the document is slanted toward businesses, and he would like to see the wording reformatted and he he would like to see some of the things discussed previously incorporated into the document.. Economic Development Coordinator Backman indicated that he did remove contact information and references and will review it again. He then said that it has been totally reordered and the Mounds View EDA April 9, 2007 Regular Meeting Page 3 EDC did recommend it go out on the website but there was not time to look at the 2% program but they will go back and look at the partnership program. Vice President Stigney said that he would like to have someone go through the tape and make the edits discussed as he would like to change the tone of the document and describe what the programs are rather than slant them toward the businesses. Commissioner Mueller indicated that she would not want it on the website but some information on the website for contact information about the program would be okay. She then said that she would like this document for internal use only. President Marty said that he would like this used as an internal toolbox for the City. He then said that items on the website should be promoting the location of Mounds View. He further said that in the background of the staff report the last sentence says that a statement will be added to show that financial assistance is at the discretion of the Mounds View EDA and he would like to start with that statement and wrap up with that statement to make it clear. President Marty indicated that if businesses come in asking for assistance then Staff is aware of the program and can discuss it with the businesses. President Marty indicated that the 2% loans and prime rate discussion should be incorporated into discussions with the EDC and bring it back but, the rest of the document has been reordered. He then said that his biggest issue was TIF being number 1 and he would be comfortable with this as long as it is an internal tool. William Werner of 2765 Sherwood Road said that Commissioner Mueller had complimented Staff for removing the toolbox term last time and he would like to know why she did not like it. Commissioner Mueller said that she did like the toolbox term but, when a more professional sounding name came up, it sounded better. She then said that the reason she asked for this document is so that TIF would not be the first thing that Staff came up with when a developer came to Mounds View. She further said that this is a tool and she does like the toolbox term. Mr. Werner said that he thought maybe Commissioner Mueller did not like this because she is usually more conservative but this seems like a toolbox that is open for businesses to come in and grab what they want. President Marty said that the EDA has agreed to keep this as an in house tool for Staff and Council to discuss if assistance is requested. B. Review Housing Replacement Program Policy and Requirements Community Development Director Ericson noted that this item is before the EDA for review and Mounds View EDA April 9, 2007 Regular Meeting Page 4 consideration at the EDA’s request. The Housing Replacement Program was created in 1995 with the intent of creating a way to eliminate blight and encourage redevlopment. There have been three or four homes rebuilt through the program. Director Ericson outlined that one option is to provide demolition assistance to the home owner if they want to stay in the community. He then said that Mr. Krig has had some excellent ideas, one of which was to tie the loan to the property with a second mortgage or a lien with a five year forgivable grant for a resident that stays for five or 10 years. Director Ericson asked for input from the EDA for any potential amendments to the program. Commissioner Flaherty indicated that the City is under no obligation with this program and he wants that highlighted. He then said that usually the reason the home is unkempt is because it is an absentee landlord so he does not see a necessity for living in the community. Commissioner Flaherty said that he would like it to state that funding will be based on need. He then said that he would like to consider a sliding scale system based on income. Vice President Stigney said that the items outlined have their merits and then said that he would like to know how long residents will live in the City after they use the program to redevelop the property. He then said that he thinks that the program needs a “but for” test. Commissioner Mueller said that she has had a lot of friends in town say that they are thinking of moving elsewhere for a bigger home with a larger garage but not necessarily a bigger lot for the same taxes or less. She then said that if they were aware of a program like this they may be willing to stay in the community. President Marty said that he would like to see that current residents would get bonus points or preferential treatment over someone just coming to the City. President Marty said that he thinks this is a good start but he would like to refer this to the proper commission for review and comment. Vice President Stigney said that he would like to have minimum size requirements to avoid buying a nice lot and putting a very small home on it because the City is attempting to increase tax base by eliminating blighted properties and building new homes. 8. REPORTS Economic Development Coordinator Backman reported that Governor Pawlenty will be attending a breakfast meeting at The Mermaid on Thursday, April 12, 2007 at 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Mounds View EDA April 9, 2007 Regular Meeting Page 5 Economic Development Coordinator indicated that Commissioner Mueller had asked to check with Medtronic for transit options regarding a potential bus stop at the location. He then provided a summary and copies of emails for review. 9. NEXT EDA MEETING: Monday, April 23, 2007 at 6:30 p.m. 10. ADJOURNMENT President Marty adjourned the meeting at 7:00 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Recorded and transcribed by: Joan Lenzmeier, Recording Secretary TimeSaver Off Site Secretarial, Inc.