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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-25-19 MINUTES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Regular Meeting April 25, 2019 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair Simmons at 6:30 p.m. Members Present: Simmons, Butterfield, Craig, Jolley, Wilson Members Absent: Bernhjelm, Cordes Also Present: Adam Kienberger, Community Development Director 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. ROLL CALL 4. APPROVE AGENDA Member Butterfield asked for an update on the April 8 Highway 3 workshop. That will be done under the Director's Report. MOTION by Craig, second by Jolley to approve the Agenda. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. 5. CITIZEN COMMENTS/PRESENTATIONS 6. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Jolley, second by Wilson to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: a) Approved Meeting Minutes (March 28, 2019, Regular Meeting) b) Received Monthly Financial Statements APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 7. PUBLIC HEARINGS 8. DISCUSSION ITEMS a) Business Retention and Expansion Strategy Update This was discussed at the last meeting and is part of the strategic plan. Community Development Director Kienberger presented a list of activities that are being done that fall under business retention and expansion including relationships,partnerships, data and informational. Member Jolley asked about the FBA networking meeting and asked for any feedback,whether it was worthwhile, etc. Staff attended that meeting and Member Craig will attend the next one. Chair Simmons appreciated the list and the categories. She noticed an article where Rosemount has an open position for recruitment and retention activities. The position would be aggressively recruiting to certain markets to try to actively EDA Minutes(Regular) April 25,2019 Page 2 bring in businesses. The EDA has discussed this in the past and asked how that looks for Farmington. She asked if staff reaches out to businesses once they have purchased land here and are we actively reaching out to other markets for development. Member Jolley stated that was covered in the State of the City Address. Aldi, Hy-Vee still have intentions to build here,they just aren't ready yet. Regarding where they have secured a site, staff follows up with them regularly. Businesses come where it makes a sound business decision for them. We do address that through the broker community. The brokers have established relationships with end users. Staff often receives a request for information from a site selection group and they assign code names to the project. Staff receives details as to what they are looking for and we send them a package with the information. Sometimes you hear back, sometimes not. Member Wilson asked what is most persuasive for developers; is it access to transportation,work force, land,taxes, etc. Staff stated it is all of those and most of the time it's things we can't control. We make sure they receive the information they asked for. Member Wilson suggested including a couple EDA members in Chamber activities. He asked how in tune the staff is to growth and development. When a customer walks in, do they recognize a function of the city is to serve those that live here and also those that at some point serve those who may work or live here? Does the entire staff feel excited about economic development and the vision the Council has put out or are they focused on their own jobs. Staff stated the Council's priorities are communicated through the city administrator to the rest of staff. That is frequently highlighted in terms of encouraging growth and development. Brokers and developers also ask about the political climate and is the city welcoming to new businesses. Overall,there is a strong message. Member Craig agreed that staff is very supportive and many times they go above and beyond. If we ask questions,they bring us information. They have been a great resource. Member Wilson stated there is a core group in Farmington that is anti-Farmington being anything than what it used to be. Staff noted that was in the State of the City Address. Member Jolley felt it was the best address she has seen in several years. Very professional showcase of slides and divided what the Mayor and City Administrator were going to talk about. They stressed the positives, but mentioned a couple problem areas. The room was packed with dignitaries. Members would like to occasionally review and update this activity list. b) Marketing and Website Review This item was to review how we portray ourselves through the website. Staff reviewed what is on our website as far as economic development. Member Butterfield mentioned the picture being residential and suggested something industrial. EDA Minutes(Regular) April 25,2019 Page 3 Staff noted last week information was sent to the downtown properties regarding the facade improvement grant program. We are constantly promoting the Open to Business program. Staff stated the number one question from site selectors is how do I reach someone. That is the first thing that appears. Staff will check on the email address. We often route people to the Open to Business program. We have a database through LOIS,which is a partnership with the state,to develop a map based site selection tool. All of the available properties are updated with information from MNCAR. Members reviewed the information provided in the listings. Member Wilson asked if we have analytics people and know how often someone goes to view the various sites. Staff stated that may be available through our hosting company and will check on it. Members suggested having a pitch on the home page about being open to businesses coming here and to be more engaging. Staff went on to review the section on business incentives. Members suggested putting them in buckets by category such as funding dollars,tax incentives, networking, etc. Member Wilson asked if the navigation links could be put at the bottom. He felt that space could be used more effectively. Member Jolley looks for that information at the top. If it's at the bottom you have to go through the entire page. Staff stated a lot of this was done intentionally with where people look and it has to be compatible with mobile devices. Chair Simmons was looking at the navigation on the left and what a start-up business needs is different than an existing business. The Open to Business and Chamber would be relevant to all, but tax incentive financing, site readiness would be different. Member Craig noted some could show up in more than one bucket. Staff stated along the left is what most people ask us about and it links to other items from there. Member Butterfield noted the messaging would be different if you are looking for a corporate business or a small local business. We should look through that lens. Member Craig suggested each member pick a different city and bring back examples so we are unique. Member Butterfield asked if staff thinks that is the type of thing that drives business and is it worthwhile or are there other avenues more important. The city gets information from Greater MSP. So is it better to have Greater MSP come here and we pitch to them why Farmington is good so they have a good message from us as opposed to crafting our message for the website. Staff stated the answer is both. We are on the radar for Greater MSP. Member Wilson noted on his mobile device the links at the top are very handy. Staff reviewed the permits, codes, demographics, etc. On the community profile page, Member Simmons would like to see that more engaging. The downtown plan page should mention the facade improvement program, and pull out certain things from the plan so people don't have to go through the entire plan to find it. Member Butterfield suggested the navigation on the left have something more EDA Minutes(Regular) April 25,2019 Page 4 corporate. Staff suggested members look through the website as someone wanting to start a business or trying to find an answer to a specific question. Member Wilson noted there are many Farmington's so perhaps there could be an optimization for Farmington, MN 55024. Staff went back to the home page of the website and how the various categories are organized. Staff will incorporate the comments into a comprehensive list. Chair Simmons asked that the EDA strategic plan be placed on the EDA page. This goes to transparency, so the residents can see what we are doing. Members agreed with having a link to the EDA strategic plan on the website. 9. DIRECTOR'S REPORT a) April Director's Report Highway 3 Corridor Plan—the next open house will be May 16, 2019. We just finished developing an online survey today that will go live Friday or Monday. The next EDA meeting on May 23 will be a joint meeting with the EDA and Planning Commission to talk about the next step and the draft plan for the Highway 3 Corridor Plan. Staff asked if there are any other topics to discuss with the Planning Commission. Member Butterfield suggested sharing the last page of the EDA Strategic Plan with them. Members agreed. Staff will send the City Council Work Session minutes on the Highway 3 Corridor Plan to Member Butterfield. The final plan should go to the City Council on June 3, 2019. Staff received final CDBG numbers and there is a 2.8%decrease from 2018. Riste lot—The potential buyers have been occupied with their closing on the Exchange Bank building and they are working with an architect to get plans done for a new updated appraisal. They have a signed purchased agreement for the building. Staff has a draft contract for private development for the Riste lot to send them when the time is right. Member Butterfield asked about the proceeds from the sale of the Riste lot. Staff explained based on the dollars put into the demolition of the previous building, 76.9%of the proceeds of the sale need to go back to the CDBG program, but into our bucket. Any other profit would go to the EDA fund, but that should be minimal. Member Simmons asked how often we received an update from Open to Business. Staff noted that is received quarterly. Member Wilson asked what the city has done regarding the new logo. He noted the Rosemount logo has changed and all signage, etc. He does not want to miss an opportunity to shape Farmington. Changing the logo is a big deal. Member Craig stated we started looking at a new logo because of painting the water tower. Logo changes will be done as time goes on and we have financing. 10. ADJOURN EDA Minutes(Regular) April 25,2019 Page 5 MOTION by Wilson, second by Jolley to adjourn at 8:04 p.m. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, Ci/I,t1/11.01 Mu.LLer Cynthia Muller Administrative Assistant