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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3.a. 20150616 PAM RMROSEMOUNT PORT AUTHORITY REGULAR MEETING PROCEEDINGS JUNE 16, 2015 CALL TO ORDER Pursuant to due call and notice thereof a regular meeting of the Rosemount Port Authority was held th on Tuesday, June 16, 2015, at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 2875 145 Street West, Rosemount. Chair Weisensel called the meeting to order with Commissioners Droste, Wolf, Smith, Abdulahi and DeBettignies attending. Commissioner Luing was absent. Staff present included City Administrator Johnson, Community Development Director Lindquist and City Clerk Hadler. The Pledge of Allegiance was said. ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO AGENDA City Administrator Johnson stated there were no proposed changes. Motion by Weisensel. Second by DeBettignies. Motion to Adopt the Agenda. Ayes: 6 Nays: 0. Motion carried. CONSENT AGENDA Motion by Wolf. Second by DeBettignies. Motion to Approve the Consent Agenda. a.Approval of June 2, 2015 Meeting Minutes Ayes: Droste, Wolf, Weisensel, Smith, Abdulahi and DeBettignies Nays: None. Motion carried. Absent: Luing NEW BUSINESS 4.a. Hotel Market Study Discussion Community Development Director Lindquist provided a summary of the staff report. She discussed the opportunity for updating the Hotel Market Study. Ms. Lindquist has been getting information from companies on costs. The last study was completed in 2010. Chair Weisensel stated goals for discussion were to determine if the Port Authority should commission a new study, as well as a goal for the type of hotel that might be established. Commissioner Smith inquired about going back to the researchers of the original study. Commissioner Droste stated he had concerns with the old data, which did not include a number of employers in the community, including Flint Hills, Uponor and the school district. Ms. Lindquist stated that one of the issues the community has is not necessarily showing demand, but instead finding the investors to finance the equity portion of the project. ROSEMOUNT PORT AUTHORITY REGULAR MEETING PROCEEDINGS JUNE 16, 2015 Commissioner Smith asked for a recap of what occurred with Country Inn & Suites in 2010. Ms. Lindquist stated that they had the zoning approvals but they could not gather enough investors for the project. Mr. Smith stated he believed that same franchise would have a much better chance today. Chair Weisensel asked if it would be worth doing a more comprehensive study instead of the community overview as was done before. Ms. Lindquist stated that the more comprehensive studies were generally done when there was a prospective investor, as the study must be current to be used at the bank for financing. Commissioner DeBettignies suggested a local business owner who might be interested in investing and he would be willing to discuss this with him. Chair Weisensel asked Port Authority members if they had preferences for the type or star-level of hotel they would like to see. Members were generally in agreement that a goal should be set for a 3- Star hotel. Chair Weisensel inquired if Port Authorities were in support of doing the study. Members were generally in agreement. Commissioner Abdulahi explained that city manages the planning and zoning and that the Port Authority is attempting to facilitate and expedite the process of finding a hotel for the site. Commissioner Droste added that the City had also added the road to the site to spur economic interest in the site. Commissioner Wolf expressed concerns that a study might be too site-specific. Ms. Lindquist stated that the study would not be site specific, just that the landowner would be contributing to the study. Motion by Weisensel. Second by Abdulahi. Motion to move forward with a community overview hotel study and set goal for 3-star hotel. Ayes: Droste, Wolf, Weisensel, Smith, Abdulahi, DeBettignies Nays: None. Motion carried. Absent: Luing 4.b. Light Industrial Uses Chair Weisensel invited Commissioner Abdulahi to start the discussion. Mr. Abdulahi discussed current industrial employers and stated he would like to put more emphasis on industrial development. He proposed a two- or three-person team to explore ideas for industrial uses and develop goals for an economic development plan along with staff. Chair Weisensel discussed with Mr. Abdulahi industrial development goals. He stated he supported the idea for a team. Mr. Wolf stated he was also interested in participating. ROSEMOUNT PORT AUTHORITY REGULAR MEETING PROCEEDINGS JUNE 16, 2015 Commissioners discussed land opportunities for industrial development. Community Development Director Lindquist stated that one issue is how to tap into a certain type of entrepreneurs. The City has information about land that is available. Commissioner Droste discussed an opportunity for office development and how other cities are booming. He asked staff to provide an update of the land information. Motion by Weisensel. Second by Abdulahi. Motion to establish subcommittee to explore light manufacturing. Ayes: Droste, Wolf, Weisensel, Smith, Abdulahi, DeBettignies Nays: None. Motion carried. Absent: Luing OLD BUSINESS REPORT REPORTS FROM PORT AUTHORITY COMMISSIONERS ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Port Authority and upon a motion by Weisensel, second by DeBettignies, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 6:51 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Clarissa Hadler, City Clerk