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HomeMy WebLinkAbout3.b. 20160119 PAM RMROSEMOUNT PORT AUTHORITY REGULAR MEETING PROCEEDINGS JANUARY 19, 2016 CALL TO ORDER Pursuant to due call and notice thereof a regular meeting of the Rosemount Port Authority was held on Tuesday, January 19, 2016 at 6:01 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 2875 145th Street West, Rosemount. Chair Weisensel called the meeting to order with Commissioners Droste, Wolf, Luing, Smith, and DeBettignies attending. Commissioner Abdulahi was absent. Staff present included City Administrator Johnson, Community Development Director Lindquist, and Recording Secretary Roudebush. The Pledge of Allegiance was said. ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS TO AGENDA City Administrator Johnson stated there were no proposed changes. Motion by DeBettignies. Second by Luing. Motion to Adopt the Agenda. Ayes: 6 Nays: 0. Motion carried. COMMUNITY/AUDIENCE RECOGNITION CONSENT AGENDA Motion by Wolf. Second by Luing. Motion to Approve the Consent Agenda. a. Approval of December 15, 2015 Meeting Minutes b. Approval of Bills and Invoices Ayes: Droste, Wolf, Luing, Weisensel, DeBettignies Nays: None. Motion carried. OLD BUSINESS 4.a. Approve Open to Business Agreement Community Development Director Lindquist provided a summary of the history behind the Open to Business Program. Commissioner DeBettignies inquired about the fee. Community Development Director Lindquist stated it is $5,000 per year and the contract renews annually. Motion by DeBettignies. Second by Luing. Motion to Approve the amendment. Ayes: Droste, Wolf, Luing, Weisensel, DeBettignies Nays: None. Motion carried. ROSEMOUNT PORT AUTHORITY REGULAR MEETING PROCEEDINGS JANUARY 19, 2016 4.b. Buxton Contract Community Development Director Lindquist gave a brief overview of Buxton and the success rate from the contact information given. She also stated that we need to opt-out 30 days before the contract renews. Her main concerns were that many of the businesses suggested were franchise businesses and that the quality of the contact information given is not always up to date or correct. Mayor Droste agrees to opt out. Commissioner Wolf concurs with the other commissioners; he agrees the extra expenditure is not money well spent for the 3rd year. Chair Weisensel inquired about the effort and work by staff and insight on knowledge learned from the contacts. Lindquist stated she feels it is more important to work with local brokers and local contacts and Buxton provided corporate contacts. She felt that with the corporate contact we weren’t getting the attention or relationship opportunity the City could with local brokers. Commissioner DeBettignies stated that that at last year’s ICSC conference that the people they talked with said that Rosemount is on their radar but demand in Rosemount is not where it is needed. We have some contacts that we can use in the future as roof tops continue to grow. Chair Weisensel read Commissioner Smith’s statement to the Port Authority Members in his absence. Weisensel also stated that he spoke with the Director of Business Development of Retail Strategies, which is similar to Buxton. He indicated their approach may be more engaging because they meet with local land developers and companies. Lindquist stated that she had passed the first round of contacts to Mr. Israelson’ broker and he also contacted them with about the same luck as she had. She also went on to state that some of the retailers that Buxton provided aren’t reasonable suggestions, for instance Charming Charlie’s is only located in a mall. And Sport’s Authority won’t come without another big box retailer. Commissioner DeBettignies gave an update on the investment group he has been working with; the group might be interested to meet with City about some financial interest in a hotel based on the Market Study. Chair Weisensel agrees that Buxton isn’t working out but doesn’t want to wait and do nothing. He wants to continue to pursue opportunities and not miss out on new commercial development for 2017 and beyond. Lindquist clarified that she doesn’t think hiring another firm is the way to go but need to keep working our connections locally, meaning in the entire Metro area. Weisensel stated that we should still check out other options. Commissioner DeBettignies stated that the businesses that he met at ICSC weren’t that different than Buxton. ROSEMOUNT PORT AUTHORITY REGULAR MEETING PROCEEDINGS JANUARY 19, 2016 Administrator Johnson stated that Retail Strategies has only been in business since 2011 and has only done business in the southeast, in the Georgia and Alabama area, and only gone as far north as Moline, IL. Chair Weisensel stated that no major retailers are going to show up in Rosemount on their own. He asked if others thought another RFP should be done and if we needed to be more diligent on our part. Lindquist stated that no RFP was done for Buxton. Weisensel thought there were two options they chose from. Administrator Johnson mentioned that the Port Authority also needs to talk about attending ICSC again. Commissioner DeBettignies stated that most of the people that would talk to him already had info on Rosemount and noted the issues with Rosemount; fringe of metro, proximity to other retail and market doesn’t fill their need. Commissioner Droste stated that we don’t need to fly to Vegas to connect retailers. Commissioner DeBettignies stated we need a Target/Wal-Mart/ Lowes to drive traffic. He stated that a Hotel is needed and proven by the study but won’t drive a large retailer in. Lindquist stated that UMore is an issue because it is undeveloped making commercial development less interested in locating near there. There is a question as to whether anything will develop there. Commissioner Droste stated we should send notice sooner than later to Buxton. Motion by Droste. Second by Wolf. Motion to Opt out of the Contract with Buxton. Ayes: Droste, Wolf, Luing, Weisensel, Smith, DeBettignies Nays: None. Motion carried. NEW BUSINESS 5.a. Business Appreciation Lunch Community Development Director Lindquist stated the Business Appreciation Lunch has been scheduled for February 10th. Ms. Lindquist invited input regarding speakers for the event and gave ideas. The event will take place at the new Activity Center. Commissioner Luing inquired if there will be info at the luncheon on the small business classes that will be offered at a later date. Lindquist stated that flyers will be ready for the luncheon. Laurie Crow from Open to Business and Bob Voss from DCTC will be running the classes, there will be two sessions. 5.b. Comprehensive Plan Schedule ROSEMOUNT PORT AUTHORITY REGULAR MEETING PROCEEDINGS JANUARY 19, 2016 Community Development Director Lindquist stated that staff is starting to update the 2040 Comp Plan. There will be three small neighborhood study areas; downtown, north central and the south east side. The Port Authority will coordinate the update on the Downtown Framework. Some of the update will be used for the economic development section of the Comp Plan. The city has already applied for RIG grant to update the market study for the Downtown Framework. CHAIRPERSON’S REPORT Chair Weisensel discussed a retail 1-2-3 local guide, will pass around, what other cities have done to drive in new retail. DIRECTOR’S REPORT Mentioned the upcoming events listed in the packet. REPORTS FROM PORT AUTHORITY COMMISSIONERS None ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Port Authority and upon a motion by DeBettignies, second by Luing, the meeting was unanimously adjourned at 6:48 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Amy Roudebush, Recording Secretary