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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3.a. Approval of September 4, 2012 Regular Meeting Minutes 3,cie ROSEMOUNT PORT AUTHORITY REGULAR MEETING PROCEEDINGS SEPTEMBER 4, 2012 CALL TO ORDER Pursuant to due call and notice thereof a regular meeting of the Rosemount Port Authority was held on Tuesday, September 4, 2012 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 2875 145t Street West, Rosemount. Chair Weisensel called the meeting to order with Commissioners Droste, Wolf, Riley, Leuth, Peterson and Kearney attending. Staff present included Executive Director Johnson, Deputy Director Lindquist and City Clerk Domeier. The Pledge of Allegiance was said. ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO AGENDA Executive Director Johnson stated there were no proposed changes. Motion by Weisensel. Second by Kearney. Motion to Adopt the Agenda. Ayes: 7 Nays: 0. Motion carried. CONSENT AGENDA Motion by Riley. Second by Peterson. Motion to Approve the Consent Agenda. a. Approval of August 21, 2012, Regular Meeting Minutes Ayes: Droste, Wolf, Riley, Weisensel, Leuth, Peterson, Kearney Nays: None. Motion carried. NEW BUSINESS 4.a. Business Incubator Discussion Executive Director Johnson summarized the information provided within the staff report. He suggested that a small group be organized to further explore the business incubator options. Deputy Director Lindquist added that staff hasn't received a lot of requests for space and that the City would need to advertise to attract businesses for this type of initiative. Commissioner Leuth provided information on his experience working on the Plateville, Wisconsin Business Incubator Community Partnership plan. He also provided information on discussions he has had with local groups in Rosemount. Chair Weisensel inquired as to how long the project took in Plateville to come to fruition. Commissioner Leuth stated the plan in Plateville took about three years, with finding of financing and construction of the building about one year. Commissioner Wolf questioned the percentage of successes for the businesses and how long before a business is able to go out on their own. Mr. Leuth provided information on some of the challenges for businesses in Plateville. Discussion was held about the incubator initiative. Commissioner Riley suggested using the Chamber. Ms. Lindquist talked about the CDA focusing on small businesses at an upcoming event. She also stated that the city currently does not have a lot of mid -size space. If exploring the initiative further, the city doesn't have the space for the second ROSEMOUNT PORT AUTHORITY REGULAR MEETING PROCEEDINGS SEPTEMBER 4, 2012 "move up" step for the business. Commissioner Kearney stated that a couple examples provided were fairly new and he questioned their success and /or failure. Ms. Lindquist stated that she has exchanged phone calls with the River Heights Chamber. Commissioner Kearney stated that a small group to explore this further would be beneficial. He added that the resources from a human seem to be what businesses are interested in finding out. Chair Weisensel stated this hit our goals to see where Rosemount fits. If other communities are putting out an announcement it's hitting the news that they have an incubator. His hope was to have an idea if this was a good initative. He agreed that a small group should explore the options. He also thought that a presence on the city website would be good. Discussion was held about finding out more information from the Chamber and other resources. Commissioner Peterson suggested having some questions answered from the Chamber and other cities before assembling a small group. Discussion was held regarding moving forward and the different models before the Port Authority. Mr. Johnson suggested that the small group meet a couple times just to develop the scope. Chair Weisensel's summary of the discussion was to move forward with the small group answering some of the questions in the report, narrowing the focus and really answering the demand, and determining what need that could be filled in Rosemount. He added the importance of figuring out what it is needed and what we could do and who could partner in the process. Mr. Johnson suggested having more structure in the small group set up. It could be discussed at the next meeting. CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT Chari Weisensel shared that at the last Council meeting the City secured a bond at an interest rate of less than one percent. He also provided information from Moody's report. REPORTS FROM PORT AUTHORITY COMMISSIONERS Commissioner Riley thanked Commissioner Leuth for his work on the incubator businesses item. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Port Authority and upon a motion by Weisensel, second by Peterson, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 7:03 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Amy Domeier, City Clerk