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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-13-20 MINUTES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Regular Meeting August 13, 2020 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair Simmons at 6:00 p.m. Members Present: Simmons, Bernhjelm, Butterfield, Cordes, Craig, Hudlemeyer, Wilson Members Absent: None Also Present: Adam Kienberger, Community Development Director; Kalley Swift, Community Development Specialist 2. PLEDGE OFALLEGL4NCE 3. ROLL CALL 4. APPROVE AGENDA MOTION by Bernhjelm, second by Cordes to approve the Agenda. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. 5. CITIZEN COMMENTS,,PRESENTATIONS 6. CONSENT AGENDA MOTION by Bernhjelm, second by Craig to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: a) Approved Meeting Minutes (June 25, 2020, Regular Meeting) b) Received Monthly Financial Statements APIF,MOTION CARRIED. 7. PUBLIC HEARINGS 8. DISCUSSION ITEMS a) Commercial Rehabilitation Grant Program Application—306-312 Oak Street A Community Development Block Grant(CDBG) application has been received from Mr. Paul Otten for his building at 306-312 Oak Street. Staff and the Community Development Agency (CDA) are recommending approval of the $27,141 grant due to the detriment of public health and safety. The grant requires a 1:1 match, competitive bidding and compliance with the Davis-Bacon Wage Act. This amount depletes the remaining balance in the commercial rehabilitation program. It will be used to replace the roof to prevent further water intrusion. Mr. Paul Otten thanked the EDA for approving the grant. The roof leaks,there is mold inside and the mechanical units need to be replaced. He will be putting in more funds than the 1:1 match. There are three units in the building and one of them is rented. He is working on finding renters for the other two units. EDA Minutes(Regular) August 13,2020 Page 2 Member Wilson asked once the repairs are completed, what is the life span for the building? Mr. Otten explained stopping the water intrusion is key. There is a lot of nice space inside. The back storage area has been neglected and that is where the water damage is. He will be putting in the funds necessary to fix it up. He acquired the property the end of June. Other buildings he owns are 100% occupied and leases have been renewed. The roof work will start in September. MOTION by Bernhjelm, second by Wilson to recommend approval of the CDBG grant in the amount of$27,141. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. This item will be on the September 8, 2020, City Council meeting. b) Public Space Improvement Program The EDA requested a$20,000 - $30,000 sign project be brought forward for wayfinding signs downtown and a kiosk. MnDOT has assessed the TH3 and County Road 50 intersection for sign placement. They don't want a sign placed next to a turning lane. The EDA and staff reviewed signs from Northfield and Hastings at the last meeting to be placed on light poles. A downtown sidewalk replacement project including light poles, furnishings, etc. will take place in 2021. There are 17 light poles that would have wayfinding signs and they are all included in the sidewalk project. Blackfire Creative can produce the signs. There is also a Spruce Street sidewalk project leading to Vermillion River Crossings scheduled for 2022. Staff proposed moving the wayfinding sign project to coincide with the downtown sidewalk project in 2021. Chair Simmons asked regarding the intersection at TH 3 and CR50 if we could put a simple wayfinding sign on the stop light pole. Staff will reach out to MnDOT for any restrictions. Chair Simmons also suggested a sign at TH3 and Ash Street. Member Craig suggested a simple sign to identify Farmington. Member Bernhjelm agreed with moving the project to 2021. The kiosk was proposed to be located in the Depot Way Art Park, but that park is underutilized. Member Wilson was okay with delaying this project to 2021, but we should not derail the work too long. Chair Simmons suggested not starting with the kiosk in the Art Park. She asked if it meets the EDA's objectives. Staff suggested putting the kiosk on the sidewalk near City Hall or the Library. Member Hudlemeyer suggested having business locations and parks locations on the kiosk map. Members liked this idea. Member Bernhjelm was concerned that parks may not have the budget to partner on this project. She would rather invest in more professional signs than a kiosk. Staff asked if there were any provisions to consider for timing of installation now versus in the spring. Public Works Director Gehler stated the wayfinding signs can be put up any time of year. Digging into the ground is limited to May— October. If the sidewalk project is not done in 2021, you could move forward with the wayfinding signs. Chair Simmons asked if members wanted to continue EDA Minutes(Regular) August 13,2020 Page 3 with simple wayfinding signs or hold off until next year? The consensus was to hold off until 2021, but continue to firm up what we want so we are ready to go. Members agreed the work that has been done is great and we just need to wait for the right time. Member Wilson was concerned that having six or seven sign blades on one post is too much information. We could accomplish more with less. Member Hudlemeyer noted Northfield has three sign blades per pole. Member Craig suggested moving the wayfinding sign closer to the actual location. Member Bernhjelm stated we are totally on track with the look, feel and locations. She agreed with starting with less. Staff summarized to hold off on the wayfinding signs until 2021. Give a quantity and location update and surface ground mounted map with parks and business locations at the next meeting. C) CARES Act and Local Grant Program Update The city has the opportunity to provide local businesses affected by COVID-19 with grants. We can distribute $500,000 to local businesses. There are several guidelines that must be followed and applications are due August 14, 2020. The county has a pool of$10 million. The County Board meets August 26 to select businesses to receive the grant. An update with the list of Farmington businesses will be provided at the next meeting. Any money not allocated by Farmington will come back to Farmington for other uses. Businesses are selected by the county from state information. The Utility Fee Program has been underutilized with only six grants amounting to $2,450, leaving $7,549 in the fund. As far as businesses in multi-tenant buildings, their utilities are included in their rent, so they do not receive a utility bill. Member Butterfield suggested re-allocating the dollars to a similar program. Member Bernhjelm would like to see the dollars go to local businesses or hold the money through the rest of the year. Member Wilson noted some property owners have little contact with Farmington. He asked if we can reach out to the property owner. Staff noted if we re-tool the program or branch into something different, the criteria would be applied equally so we remain accountable. We are funding this with our dollars so we are not under a time crunch. We can leave it open to get additional applications or pause it or re-do it. Chair Simmons suggested re- tooling to offer rent relief. Staff stated that is an option. We would have to work with our City Attorney on that. Staff will bring ideas to the next meeting. d) City Council Update Member Bernhjelm stated the City Council is in the budget process for 2021 and it is difficult. The additional EDA money will not be in the budget. There will be more revisions before the September preliminary levy. Member Craig stated part of the issue is not knowing how things will affect taxes and revenues. We are keeping the necessary things in place. We have put off some pavement and sealcoat projects. EDA Minutes(Regular) August 13,2020 Page 4 Member Bernhjelm stated the $400,000 arena project has been cut down to $200,000 and will start this fall. The rest of the money will be re-allocated back to the budget. e) 2019-2021 Strategic Plan for Economic Development Update Chair Simmons noted we have a motivated group. Our pace is motivated by a number of factors. She asked what members want to see done for the rest of the year and how we can be more efficient with meetings. Member Wilson suggested putting this on the September agenda as a separate meeting and look ahead to 2021 —2023. Member Bernhjelm agreed we have an enthusiastic group. We started with three projects and then COVID hit. She would like to revitalize the BR&E program in 2021 and check in with businesses that are re-opening. Chair Simmons agreed with this program starting up. Member Craig also agreed and noted we will know who has received the CARES funds by then. Member Butterfield asked if there was anything we can do to partner with the City Council and the county to spur investment. Member Cordes agreed we started strong, but even with COVID we made progress on wayfinding signs. Member Butterfield asked if anyone was dropping off the EDA next year. Member Cordes stated he has four months left. Chair Simmons noted we will have changes with the Mayor and City Council. Member Bernhjelm noted we do board and commission appointments in January, so the composition could change. Staff stated the resident seats are for six years,plus we have two City Council seats and one school board seat. Member Craig is also running for City Council. Member Bernhjelm is running for Mayor, but her City Council seat is safe. Member Wilson is also running for City Council and Chair Simmons is running for school board. Member Cordes asked if Chair Simmons can retain her seat as a resident? Chair Simmons is two years into her appointment. Staff will look into this after a couple months. Chair Simmons would like to talk more about the strategic plan in September. She would like members to think about how to keep a sustained momentum. Staff noted there are no required action items for September, so we can allocate the entire meeting to the strategic plan. Chair Simmons would like to get the BR&E group together during the next six weeks. The BR&E should work with staff during the next six weeks to get some momentum and not spend the last four months of 2020 to plan and the first four months of 2021 to roll out. Over the next few days, staff will look at resources to EDA Minutes(Regular) August 13,2020 Page 5 bring to the BR&E Committee. Member Butterfield suggested the BR&E should bring a plan to focus on three to four-month actions. 9. DIRECTOR'S REPORT a) August Director's Report There has been a strong push by cities for businesses to apply for a Small Business Relief Grant. This was rolled out since the last EDA meeting. Stay Safe MN program has been forwarded to businesses regarding the Governor's executive orders. County CDA Foreclosure Report—Some deadlines have been extended and we may see a waive of these once the executive order ends. This could play into the September meeting. The next meeting will be September 24, 2020, at 6 p.m. Members felt an in- person meeting would be more efficient. Staff will email members a week or two before the meeting. Member Wilson asked if there is an update on Hy-Vee. Staff stated they still own the property and will keep the City Council and EDA updated. They have been granted all approvals and it is up to them as to when to build. Member Bernhjelm stated Bourbon Butcher has a new concept in their restaurant. Member Butterfield asked staff to give notable things concerning businesses in the director's report. 10. ADJOURN MOTION by Butterfield, second by Cordes, to adjourn at 8:00 p.m. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, CIS wth%a Mu.Uer Cynthia Muller Administrative Assistant