Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-25-21 MINUTES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Regular Meeting February 25, 2021 1. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair Simmons at 6:00 p.m. Members Present: Simmons,Butterfield, Carpentier, Hoyt, Hudlemeyer, Kaufman Members Absent: Bernhjelm Also Present: Adam Kienberger, Community Development Director 2. PLEDGE OFALLEGL4NCE 3. ROLL CALL 4. APPROVE AGENDA MOTION by Kaufman, second by Hudlemeyer to approve the Agenda. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 5. CITIZEN COMMENTS/PRESENTATIONS 6. CONSENTAGENDA MOTION by Kaufman, second by Hudlemeyer to approve the Consent Agenda as follows: a) Approved Meeting Minutes (January 28,2021, Regular Meeting) b) Received Monthly Financial Statements APIF, MOTION CARRIED. 7. PUBLIC HEARINGS 8. DISCUSSION ITEMS a) Annual Organizational Items Election of Officers Chair Simmons nominated Mayor Hoyt for Chair. Mayor Hoyt stated the City Council will be setting priorities for the EDA so he would rather see someone else as Chair to avoid an unobjective bias. Member Kaufman agreed with Mayor Hoyt. Having leadership in both could cause some consternation. It should be someone with a business association to the city. Member Butterfield asked if Councilmember Bernhjelm has expressed an interest in being chair. Member Carpentier stated we would still have a conflict of interest. Chair Simmons noted boards are a working extension of the City Council and she doesn't see a conflict of interest. Chair Simmons nominated Member Butterfield for Chair. Member Hudlemeyer agreed. Member Butterfield accepted the nomination and he looks forward to working with City Council and staff to set the agenda each month. However,the EDA Minutes(Regular) February 25,2021 Page 2 EDA has had a discussion over three years to align with the City Council. He does not believe there is a conflict with the Mayor or a Councilmember to Chair the EDA. Member Hoyt stated this is a great opportunity for others to step out of their comfort zone to Chair the EDA. It is the definition of servitude leadership. Mayor Hoyt nominated Councilmember Bernhjelm for Vice-Chair. MOTION by Simmons, second by Hudlemeyer to nominate Member Butterfield as Chair, Councilmember Bernhjelm as Vice-Chair and Executive Director Adam Kienberger as Secretary/Treasurer. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. Meeting Schedule, Official Newspaper,EDA By-laws MOTION by Hudlemeyer, second by Hoyt to keep the current meeting schedule as the fourth Thursday of every month at 6 p.m. APIF, MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Hoyt, second by Hudlemeyer,to acknowledge the Dakota County Tribune as the official newspaper. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. MOTION by Kaufman, second by Hoyt to accept the EDA By-laws as amended. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. Community Development Director Kienberger reviewed the open meeting law. All business must be conducted in front of the public. Do not email and reply all to EDA members. Mayor Hoyt added when at an event, don't be in a group of four. He recommended leaving the event, even though there is no business conducted; it is what is perceived by the public that matters. b) City Council Update/Member Roundtable Mayor Hoyt gave an update on City Council activities. The City Council has discussed streamlining their time together and being more efficient, so starting in March City Council work sessions will be held prior to the first City Council meeting of the month at 5 p.m. and then go into the Council meeting at 7 p.m. If more time is needed for the work session,that will continue after the Council meeting. The Fire Department's ladder truck is being worked on and will be ready in March. The city hired two new Administrative Support Specialists. Steve Arndt is serving as interim Municipal Services Director. City Council extended the lease with Allina for the use of Fire Station 2 for ALF Ambulance storage. We approved the preliminary plat for Whispering Fields on Flagstaff Avenue. Sapphire Lake 3rd Addition was approved. All appointments have been made to boards and commissions. Chair Butterfield asked if there are plans to rezone properties. Staff replied we don't get rezoning applications. Monday's work session will be with the City Council and Planning Commission. They will discuss updating the zoning map to align with the Comprehensive Plan. There are some zoning changes. Chair EDA Minutes(Regular) February 25,2021 Page 3 Butterfield asked staff to add an overview of the zoning changes to the Director's Report at the March EDA meeting. Mayor Hoyt continued with City Council activities noting the city received a Certificate of Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association. At the last work session, Council discussed changes in solid waste. There are a lot of state unfunded mandates. We will have weekly recycling by the end of the year. The Daisy Knoll water tower is off line half of the year and needs to come down. There will be a new water tower at 195th Street and Highway 3. Vita Attiva, a 55+development, is being proposed north of the Vermillion River and south of the industrial park. It has 115 units. It will be discussed at Monday's work session. City Council priorities will be reviewed on Monday. The priorities are business growth, community engagement and infrastructure support. Member Carpentier asked what are the requirements to have a second water tower. Mayor Hoyt responded demand and public safety. It will be larger than the current tower at the municipal center. Member Kaufman asked if because of more people working from home will that draw more water needs? Mayor Hoyt noted we don't have final data for 2020 yet, but so far there has not been a significant increase. Chair Butterfield stated at the last meeting we talked about Council goals. It sounds like Council goals aren't ready to pass on to boards and commissions. Mayor Hoyt explained the goals are finalized and are on Monday's agenda to approve. Staff added the Council will ratify their goals on Monday and then meet with the EDA on goals and then the EDA can prioritize what they want to do. Mayor Hoyt stated a lot of the goals are an extension of work the EDA has in place. Member Simmons supported having a joint meeting with the City Council. She asked Council to think about strategic planning with the boards. She thought we would come to this meeting to discuss goals and now we have to wait until March. It feels like we are losing time. She asked if the EDA strategic plan should be two years instead of three years? We do have a strategic plan now that we could be making progress on. Mayor Hoyt stated the last two years on City Council things have progressed, but not efficiently. There have been too many independent bodies and not one large collaboration. We need to fund the EDA so you are able to do things. The Business Retention and Expansion program is in place and the EDA owns it. In 2021 we will have direct touchpoints with every business by the City Council and staff. We will make sure boards have actionable items to pursue. Chair Butterfield stated we had a three-year strategic plan of what we will do and all fall within business growth. More defined goals and direction from the City Council will help. We have to streamline our work. We spent eight months defining BR&E. Mayor Hoyt stated in the last five years there has been a lot of planning, but no funding. Not having measurable growth from EDA Minutes(Regular) February 25,2021 Page 4 plans is not good. We can't have growth without systems and plans with measurable items. Chair Butterfield stated the last three years of the EDA was spent developing tools. A lengthy discussion of community needs and funding continued. 9. DIRECTOR'S REPORT a) February Director's Report Dakota County CDA has offered round four of small business grants and Farmington participated in that. The new EDA composition was approved and we have two new members, Tony Kaufman and Rob Carpentier. Staff has received an offer for private development on the Riste lot,which is owned by the city. Staff will bring the contract to the EDA in March. The CDA renewed a one-year contract with MCCD for the Open to Business program. The CDA foreclosure report and information on Stay Safe MN was provided. Staff reviewed a list of active development projects. The programs and policy decisions the EDA makes impact these projects. The Community Development Annual Report will be presented at the March 16 City Council meeting. A growth surge is coming. The next EDA meeting is March 25, 2021. 10. ADJOURN MOTION by Hoyt, second by Butterfield to adjourn at 7:36 p.m. APIF,MOTION CARRIED. Respectfully submitted, c&wtKo Mv_Uer Cynthia Muller Administrative Assistant