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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-22-19 MINUTES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Regular Meeting August 22, 2019 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair Simmons at 6:30 p.m. Members Present: Simmons, Bernhjelm, Butterfield, Jolley, Wilson Members Absent: Cordes, Craig Also Present: Adam Kienberger, Community Development Director; Jeff Kerr, Homestead Community Church; Kara Hildreth, Dakota County Tribune 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. ROLL CALL 4. APPROVE AGENDA MOTION by Wilson, second by Bernhjelm to approve the Agenda. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. 5. CITIZEN COMMENTS/PRESENTATIONS 6. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Jolley, second by Bernhjelm to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: a) Approved Meeting Minutes (June 27, 2019, Regular Meeting) b) Received Monthly Financial Statements APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 7. PUBLIC HEARINGS 8. DISCUSSION ITEMS a) Approve Downtown Facade Improvement Grant Program Application— Homestead Community Church Pastor Jeff Kerr has applied for a façade grant for the Exchange Bank/Larson Building, 344 Third Street. Improvements include: - Repair and resurfacing of the Larson building exterior - Repair existing window frames - Spot tuckpointing The grant amount requested is $10,000. There are funds to cover this amount. The goal is to have the work completed by late November. EDA members were very pleased to see this investment in this building. MOTION by Butterfield, second by Bernhjelm,to approve the downtown Façade Improvement Grant application and contract for 344 Third Street. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. EDA Minutes(Regular) August 22,2019 Page 2 Member Jolley asked about the procedure of the grant process and if staff verifies the applicant's matching funds. Staff stated they do not need to provide proof because it is a one-to-one match. When they provide the invoice it shows the applicant has paid the full cost upfront and then we cut the check. So we are reimbursing them. Member Jolley was concerned about what we have agreed to and the community is expecting to see, could not be done if it turns out the applicant's funds are not available. She feels staff should verify the applicant has funds available before the grant is approved. Staff explained we are not obligated to pay any funds. The contract states the applicant needs to provide a bid that shows the amount and an invoice showing they have expended those funds. Chair Simmons noted from a business perspective an applicant wouldn't sign a contract with a contractor if you don't have the funds. That would not be good business. Staff noted we can never give out dollars that haven't been proven they have expended an equal amount. Member Jolley stated as a process,we should know their part is there before we commit our part; that they have the matching funds. Staff should know the funds are in place. Member Wilson appreciated that perspective, but this commission has been burned one time with a business that received grant money and then left town. If we were to adopt that approach,that would really change the positive direction of the city that we are easy to work with. He would feel very uncomfortable reviewing bank statements that a certain amount of dollars are available. If we know someone has paid something then we can expend the money. If they haven't,then they lost out on an opportunity. Member Jolley stated it doesn't have to be a review of financial statements. We tell them here is the grant money, show us proof of your funding. Chair Simmons stated our program design is showing proof of payment at the end right now. We are getting solid proof with a copy of an invoice showing payment made to a contractor before we pay money. We are covering that with our current program design to ensure our dollars are not paid before we receive written proof the project is paid. Staff noted our allotment of funds has been used up with this grant. The grant funding was $20,000 for this year. Last year it was increased to $25,000 because of the number of applications received. Members asked for an outline of funds for this program and for the EDA budget for the next meeting. Member Bernhjelm suggested having a submission timeline for grant applications. Staff will bring to the next meeting the EDA budget, including grant funding and ways to change the process. The last grant project was with Peerless Plastics and staff provided some before and after pictures. b) Business Retention and Expansion Strategy Update Staff reviewed business and expansion strategies. The city website contains a list of top 10 employers. Staff provided handouts with methods to determine the needs of local businesses. Chair Simmons noted the EDA had talked about categorizing Farmington businesses into small, medium and large as a way to EDA Minutes(Regular) August 22,2019 Page 3 identify their needs. Member Bernhjelm noted on the list of businesses provided by staff, she asked to eliminate those in the townships and expand it beyond the top 10. She would like the EDA to reach out individually to the businesses and make connections. A lot of them do not know who the EDA is or what we do and we need to build a relationship with them. Chair Simmons suggested doing targeted outreach to those that have opened in the last ten months. How do we learn about those poised for growth? Member Bernhj elm noted we see them at the ribbon cuttings and there is no connection after that. Member Jolley noted we used to do business visits and they were very successful. It allowed us to spread the news of the good things going on in Farmington. Business owners are proud that someone wanted to see what they are doing. They would take less than an hour. Member Wilson recalled the visits stopped because we ran into businesses not having time. Staff noted the business visits were part of our last strategic plan from five years ago. They are not prioritized in the latest version of the strategic plan. Chair Simmons recalled there was a concern about time commitment. No one has to commit any more time than they already have. You are a member of this committee and you signed on for one meeting a month. There is no pressure to do business visits. If you are interested, it can be up to what you are able to commit. Chair Simmons asked if there are members on other commissions that would be interested in partnering with us to do the visits, such as the Planning Commission. Member Bernhjelm suggested starting small and pick one business a month and whoever can come can come. There should always be a representative of the city there in addition to an EDA member. Prior to the visit, she would want some history or knowledge of their business; what have they partnered with us on in the past; what have they sponsored with us; does staff already know about their engagement with the city. From there you can tailor the conversation more about how can we work better together, strategize on what they are trying to offer the city; what does the business want out of that; are there programs the city can bring to you. The visit has to be customized. Chair Simmons agreed with starting small, evaluate, see how it goes. Member Bernhjelm suggested doing a couple visits this fall. Staff suggested recommending the businesses to reach out to as we have engagements with many of the businesses currently. We should determine what we want to get out of it; is it relationship, data, metrics. He is hearing more relationship rather than data. As far as logistics, we have to work around the business, then select members that are available for that time slot. Members suggested staff pick out a business for September and October and start with just the EDA. Member Bernhj elm suggested having a sheet to tell them what the EDA is working on and what the City Council is working on. Member Jolley suggested after doing a visit, maybe we can put a little article about it on our website with the owner's permission. Chair Simmons suggested developing a process for this. She would be interested in doing two visits a month; one from a current partnership and one that has opened in the last 12 months. Staff cautioned on the logistics and the amount of time it takes to set meetings and the coordination. Member Wilson suggested staff take back our comments and discuss this at the next meeting. Staff heard a desire to establish a business case and set up a timeframe for what the EDA Minutes(Regular) August 22,2019 Page 4 deliverables, outcomes and mutual benefits are expected to be of this process. From there look at one or two of what we can get and tailor the targets for who we are trying to hit in a given month. He will bring this back to the meeting next month and will reach out to a business or we can identify businesses at our next meeting. Staff could select a business from the list without discussing it at a meeting. Chair Simmons trusted staff to choose a business, but she feels less confident talking to a business versus someone from the city that does that every week. She doesn't want to do this just to check a box; she wants it to be meaningful. Staff will bring a structure to the next meeting and at the same time select a few businesses for the end of September or October. Talking points can be determined at the next meeting and who can go. Member Butterfield suggested the business not be consumer facing because you know what they do. He suggested industrial or more unknown where we can try to get feedback as to how they are doing. c) TH3 Corridor Plan Implementation Update The TH3 Corridor Plan was adopted by the City Council on June 3, 2019. Staff is working on implementation steps. This fall, with the adoption of the 2040 comp plan, we are looking at rezoning ordinance amendments and technical components. d) Economic Development Activities/Events in Farmington Chair Simmons wanted members to start thinking about unique events for Farmington. Member Wilson had brought up the Eagan food truck festival. She asked if there are things other members have attended that might be a good idea. Member Bernhj elm stated the City Council has talked about not reinventing the wheel, but capitalizing on things that are already going on. She suggested between now and the end of the year,put together a calendar of what does drive traffic down here; such as the fair, Dew Days, small business day, Ramble Jam. Look at that calendar next year and see how as a group we can enhance that and help drive traffic further. Member Bernhjelm asked if staff could pull that calendar together. Member Jolley suggested the EDA have their own table at the Expo. Maybe hand out a calendar as to when things are going on. Chair Simmons has heard of a ladies night in downtown in other cities. We will have the Main Street Day Spa,they had chiropractors doing massages, etc. You had a passport and would get it stamped and at the end of the night there was a drawing. It was sponsored by a business association. Member Bernhjelm suggested taking ideas to the FBA and perhaps the EDA can support it. Staff suggested having the city's communication staff come to an EDA meeting to talk about the different ways to do this and events and how they are being promoted. e) City Council Update Member Bernhjelm distributed a handout. She started with a high level of the City Council's 2020 priorities. This is what the council uses to determine if a project meets their priorities. There are many projects going on. One priority was better communication. Last month was the first Coffee with the Council and only EDA Minutes(Regular) August 22,2019 Page 5 a couple people showed up. The council met with the liquor store committee and decided for September two councilmembers will be stationed at the Pilot Knob liquor store for a couple hours on September 26 and take the opportunity to tell people how the money goes back into the community. The council is working on the 2020 budget. Right now there is not a plan to increase the tax levy. Debt is going down drastically which helps prevent that increase. A new position proposed for 2020 is the Deputy Police Chief Council and staff have been working on a major projects list and how much they will cost. The next step is how to check these off and assign a year to do them. Member Bernhjelm reviewed the list. Member Butterfield suggested the EDA review the list and determine what the EDA can participate in to support the project. Member Bernhjelm explained how a large business needs to fit with a project in order for them to contribute. Chair Simmons suggested that discussion could be part of the business visits. 9. DIRECTOR'S REPORT a) August Director's Report The joint City Council / School Board meeting was July 15. Community Development Director Kienberger presented his department's annual report and development update at that meeting. Staff asked about rescheduling the September 26 meeting as there are a couple other events going on that evening. It was determined to move the meeting to September 19, 2019. 10. ADJOURN MOTION by Jolley, second by Bernhjelm to adjourn at 8:20 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, C�wth�a MvLLer Cynthia Muller Administrative Assistant