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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007.08.20 EDA MinutesMINUTES FOR THE EDA MEETING OF AUGUST 20, 2007 EDA President Fran Miron called the meeting to order at 8:30 am. PRESENT: Jan Arcand, Jim Bever, Tom Denaway, Mike Granger, Phil Klein, Brian Thistle, and Fran Miron ABSENT: None City Administrator Mike Ericson, CD Director Bryan Bear, Associate Planner Rachel Simone APPROVAL OF MINUTES EDA MEETING OF JULY 16, 2007 Klein made motion, Granger seconded, to approve the minutes for the EDA meeting of July 16, 2007. All aye. Motion carried. EDA MARKETING STRATEGY At the July EDA meeting a work plan for the EDA marketing strategy was approved. A portion of the work plan includes updating the MNPRO website to show commercial and industrial properties available in the City. At the meeting the MNPRO website was showcased with the commercial properties on CSAH 8. Staff will update the MNPRO website as other properties become available. Granger made a suggestion to have the traffic counts for major roads in the City on the MNPRO website. The EDA also talked about the EDA Annual Report. Staff drafted a concept for what the annual report will look like. New construction projects will be highlighted in the report as well as the EDA's annual goals. Staff recommend to the EDA that the annual report for 2007 be completed by January 2008. The EDA agreed and recommended that the businesses in the annual report be contacted. 2008 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN The EDA was presented with a draft of the future land use plan for the City and the portion of the 1998 Comprehensive plan on Economic Development. A majority of the economic development section is out of date and will be updated with the 2008 Comprehensive Plan. The CD Director gave an overview of the draft future land use plan and requested feedback from the EDA. Klein and Miron asked when 170th Street and 35E corridor planned for. CD Director stated that the timeline is contingent on the new interchange at 170th and 35E, but there is not a timeline for that or funding. Bever stated that he would like to see the industrial area of the draft land use plan go all the way to the west to 35E and would like to see that area as industrial with exterior storage allowed. Granger asked if wetlands were taken into consideration when preparing the draft plan. CD Director stated yes, there is a natural resources plan that was looked at when the plan was drafted. Arcand asked about the mixed-use category on the draft land use plan. CD Director stated that the mixed-use category is having residential and commercial uses in the area, such as retail on the bottom of a building and residential above. The CD Director talked about the 1998 Comprehensive Plan's economic development section and asked for suggestions on what should be in the 2008 Comprehensive Plan. Miron stated that the staff should include the downtown area and the TIF Plan. Include information on the County Road 8 and Highway 61 corridors. Klein stated that the staff should identify the rail corridor and update the population changes. Granger agreed with identifying the rail corridor. Denaway stated that the economic development section will need an action plan to attract businesses and encourage current businesses to stay in town or expand. Miron stated staff should include what mixed use is and that medical services are desired. CD Director stated that a draft of the plan will be presented at the next months EDA meeting. DISCUSSION ON PROJECT SHOWCASE IN FINANCE AND COMMERCE NEWSPAPER Staff has been in contact with Shelia Bennett from the Finance and Commerce Newspaper to discuss doing a project showcase advertising section of their paper. The project showcase section is a way for cities to highlight development projects. Staff felt that the project showcase advertising would be a great way to promote the downtown area. Staff presented an example of the project showcase portion of the newspaper. Denaway and Granger agreed that it would be a good way to market the City owned properties and the downtown area. Miron made a motion, seconded by Bever, to recommend to the Council to use Project Showcase as a marketing tool. Before the Project Showcase is published in the Finance and Commerce Newspaper the City should advertise in the local newspaper that this will be in the Finance and Commerce Newspaper. All aye. Motion carries. UPDATE ON DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING OF CITY OWNED CITY OWNED PROPERTIES CD Director gave an update on downtown redevelopment and the property owners that have been keeping in contact with the City, such as the End Zone, Carpenters Restaurant, and Ricci's. Miron and Granger agreed that is a good thing that the property owners are keeping in contact and that they are interested in redevelopment of the downtown. The EDA recommended that staff stay in contact with the property owners ADJOURNMENT Denaway made motion, Bever seconded to adjourn the meeting at 10:40 am All aye. Motion carried.