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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015.04.14 EDA MinutesMINUTES FOR THE EDA MEETING OF APRIL 14, 2015 Commissioner Klein called the meeting to order at 4:58 pm. PRESENT: Denaway, Gallivan, Houle, Klein, Petty, Puleo ABSENT: Weidt STAFF: Bryan Bear, City Administrator Rachel Juba, Planner Rachel Leitz, Community Development Intern APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR THE EDA MEETING OF FEBRUARY 10, 2015 Houle made motion, Gallivan seconded, to approve minutes for the EDA meeting of February 10, 2015. All Ayes. Motion carried. DISCUSSION ON MARKETING OF CITY OWNED PROPERTY Planner, Rachel Juba, reiterated what was discussed at the February 10, 2015 meeting, regarding marketing of city -owned property. The EDA talked over setting certain development criteria that a developer would need to meet to be eligible to purchase the property for $1.00. Juba presented the final criteria to the EDA which include the following: A full service restaurant or some form of event center or family entertainment venue, situated so that the customers and public will benefit from views over the lake. Secondary retail, service and housing uses may be considered. A development and phasing plan is required with all development complete within 3 years. Quality architecture, building materials, and site design, exceeding requirements of the Downtown Design Guidelines. Construction of public amenities, including pedestrian connections, a gathering place near Egg Lake, and public parking. Along with the development criteria, Juba presented a flyer Staff put together framing the city - owned property to developers. This flyer includes property highlights and the development criteria. Planner Juba also updated the EDA on the previous City Council meeting, which included a conversation about how to market the city -owned property. The Council directed staff continue with the incentive and development criteria and to evaluate the marketing and brokering options from the St. Paul Port Authority and report back to the Council. Planner Juba stated that the meeting with the St. Paul Port Authority was very helpful and gave City Staff many ideas on how to market the property. Adding in new meetings, like attending MNCAR, EDAM, and other events will be something new, but City Staff are willing to put time and attention into marketing and selling the property. The EDA came to the consensus that the city -owned property should be marketed and sold first through the efforts of City Staff and to re-evaluate if the St. Paul Port Authority should step in later. Commissioner Klein asked the EDA how they felt about the development criteria. Commissioner Denaway thought the criteria should be a little more inclusive of other options. He believed a good addition to the restaurant or entertainment piece would be a "destination anchor." He believed that it would be up to the developer coming with a proposal to explain why this project could be considered a destination. Some inclusions in this framing would be projects like a tap room, movie theater, or other destination projects. Commissioner Klein asked the EDA their thoughts on the flyer. The EDA all liked the flyer and agreed that it would give enough information for developers to make a phone call to the City to get more information on the property. Commissioner Denaway stated that he would like to see some expansion on what has already been approved or done to this property. This included approved variances, wetland delineations, and other environmental assessments to make the property more enticing for developers. Commissioner Klein asked the EDA how they felt about marketing the property for $1.00. The EDA agreed that marketing the city -owned property for $1.00 would get the word out about this piece of land and lead to some new ideas and projects for downtown Hugo. Klein made motion, Petty seconded, to recommend moving forward with the development criteria and begin marketing this property along with its paired development criteria. All Ayes. Motion carried. UPDATE ON THE FUTURE OF THE RAIL LINE City Administrator, Bryan Bear, started with a recap of the February 10, 2015 meeting. He reminded the EDA that they wanted to have the City be involved in the rail line topic by facilitating meetings and by talking with the businesses and railroad in an effort to help develop a strategy. The EDA agreed that the City needed to be involved and financially supportive of the businesses in keeping rail service. City Administrator Bear said that there has been a lot of work done with the rail line issue, including work with the businesses, railroad, the legislature, and other government programs. He stated how helpful others have been on helping resolve this issue and that many people are putting in time and effort to keep the rail in Hugo. He said they are still doing work on this issue and have found a few potential options in helping to resolve this problem. These programs include a MNDOT loan program and special legislation. There are hopes that if this goes through that a more permanent solution can be put together later on. Commissioner Houle asked if there are any more available lots in the area that could be serviced by rail. City Administrator Bear stated that there is a good, viable site south of the pallet company. This site is 10 acres. The only hold back is the rail would have to cross over another property to provide rail to this site. Bear also stated that there are companies that currently are connected to the rail, but that do not use it. DISCUSSION ON 2014 EDA ANNUAL REPORT Planner Juba gave an update on the 2015 EDA Annual Report. She stated there are highlights on Christ Lutheran Church finishing construction, the ground breaking at Keystone Place at LaValle Fields, construction of Hugo Good Neighbors food shelf, the New Life Church addition, and O'Reilly Auto Parts presenting their concept plan. Juba also made note that Rosemary Way was built with a new assessment policy and that the City updated an existing market study for the downtown area. APPOINT COMMISSIONER TO GATEWAY SUBCOMMITTEE Planner Juba stated that the EDA adopted goals for 2015 included marketing/promotion of the City. Juba explained that the Planning Commission have had projects lead to the discussion of entry monuments into the City. Also, through the planning of Lions Park, entry monuments into the Park have been discussed. With so many different projects, Staff thought it would be valuable to form the gateway subcommittee to plan for a cohesive design within the City. The subcommittee will discuss gateway element items and make recommendations to the Council. Klein made motion, Gallivan seconded, to approve appointment of Commissioner Petty for the gateway subcommittee. UPDATE ON DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT Planner, Rachel Juba, already updated the EDA on the City -owned property. She stated that she is working with O'Reilly Auto Parts' design team in submitting plans for construction of the building. She expects to see an application for a building permit soon. ADJOURNMENT Klein made a motion, seconded by Denaway, to adjourn at 6:31 P.M. All ayes. Motion carried.