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10-15-2018 EDA MIN SPECIAL City of Elk * Special Meeting of the Elk River River Economic Development Authority Held at the Elk River City Hall Monday, October 15, 2018 Members Present: President Dan Tveite, Commissioners Jerry Olsen,Matt Westgaard, Nate Ovall,Jennifer Wagner, and Charlie Blesener Members Absent: Commissioner Bryan Provo Staff Present: Economic Development Director Amanda Othoudt, Economic Development Specialist Colleen Eddy,and Records Specialist Katie Porath I. Call Meeting to Order Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River Economic Development Authority was called to order at 4:32 p.m. by President Tveite. 2.1 Review Developed Goals and Strategic Plan Ms. Othoudt presented the staff report. • Ms. Othoudt distributed a pamphlet on How to Site your Business in the City of Elk River for the commission to review. It was a document developed in 2001 and the commission was asked if they wanted to re-implement it as a communication tool. President Tveite stated a goal of the commission should not just be gathering data from customers but ensuring the process is streamlined and as easy for customers as possible. Perhaps a single point of contact in the city could act as an advocate to shepherd the process through the city departments on their behalf. Commissioner Blesener added a flow chart may be helpful to show what we are doing now. The city currently asks the client for their point of contact, shouldn't the city also provide one point of contact for the client?He also asked if there was a similar pamphlet focused on residential development. Ms. Othoudt responded that there are flow charts available on our website. She also stated there is currently not a document created for residential development. Commissioner Westgaard added that residential development included the addition of platting. Commissioner Blesener asked if the Goals for Year 1 included residential development as well as commercial/industrial development. • President Tveite mentioned there are synergy's with both residential and commercial development. Economic Development Authority Minutes Page 2 October 15,2018 Commissioner Wagner spent time with the Elk River High School DECA group. • The students were tasked with opening a business in Elk River and went through the process of how to do it. She suggested developing materials in which high schoolers could understand. The process should be simple and make sense. Commissioner Blesener thought the current document was a good starting place. President Tveite added that he liked the time table at the bottom of the pamphlet. Applicants often come in with the best case scenarios and get frustrated when it doesn't go as quickly as they had hoped. Commission Blesener said people applying for businesses cannot do what they want wherever they want, there are constraints.There should be some sort of litmus test they must satisfy to proceed with their business planning. Perhaps the documentation could be geared toward a"Starting a Business 101"level including such things as zoning districts. New business development is welcome as long as it complies with zoning. Ms. Othoudt shared that Sherburne County is currently developing a public GIS program for identifying parcels within Sherburne County and their corresponding zoning district which would direct customers to the appropriate zoning code. President Tveite asked if an online questionnaire could be developed so that once • you have entered simple information in regards to your business,would show you spots that would work for your business needs. Ms. Othoudt commented that may be something they could work on with their website developer, Golden Shovel Agency. Ms. Eddy added that what the commission was describing seemed similar to a program called Open Counter. It would be nice to have a tool that could inform the business developer who gets an idea at 2:00 a.m. Commissioner Westgaard asked staff to research the interactive software Open Counter. He also said it was important to have electronic copies of information available on the website as well as printed copies. Ms. Eddy said some of the departments, such as Planning and Engineering,currently have short videos created to outline how their process works. Commissioner Blesener wished for information on what"hoops" applicants have to jump through while working with Planning,Economic Development, Engineering, Fire, and other departments. Commissioner Westgaard is interested in soliciting more input from the development community. How can the city make the process better and clearer? Is it • currently part of the process to survey businesses after they have moved to town to IrPowEREI R � NATURE Economic Development Authority Minutes Page 3 October 15,2018 • receive feedback on theprocess?Most people will onlyopen a business once in their P P P lifetime. Ms. Othoudt said the Chamber of Commerce is currently working on a business survey. Debbi Rydberg, Elk River Chamber of Commerce,indicated 130 surveys have been sent to contractors,business owners, and those whom have developed in the past six months to five years. Ms. Othoudt felt it was advantageous that the survey had come from a neutral third party rather from the city. President Tveite said goals must be measurable and debrief at the end of the process could help determine if anything had been missed. Commissioner Westgaard agreed that it was important to take a moment to check results,get feedback, and follow up. Commissioner Blesener said it was a good process,when goal setting, to break things into smaller chunks.Write up a measurable objective and relate it to achieving the goal. • Ms. askedcommission reviewYear3goals. In addition to Othoudt the comriuss o to the identifying properties,how does the EDA want to partner with property owners? Does the EDA want to obtain site control or no site control over future industrial property? President Tveite stated pieces of the gravel mine should become available in the next few years for developers. Commissioner Blesener asked about the current capacity of property in the east and west for development. He asked about the current development of the Metropolitan Urban Service Areas (MUSA) line. Commissioner Westgaard listed some of the property he could think of including wastewater property,property from Cargill, and the Specht farm as well as north toward the landfill, commercial reserve and transition districts. Ms. Othoudt asked how the EDA wishes to tackle the goal. Commissioner Westgaard stated now that a timetable for the Highway 169 Redefine project has been established,it is easier to know what to prepare for. Prospectors will know and have done their homework far in advance of the interchange being completed.The EDA needs to determine what they want to see in which area and • share with prospectors what our vision is. i t ii E R R / NATURE Economic Development Authority Minutes Page 4 October 15,2018 President Tveite said it was bigger than the gravel mine area, there are other large • pieces of property. The EDA should work to determine what they are currently zoned for,what their limitations are,and how to make them viable for development. The city should begin to look at how to run urban services to these areas since this is an issue that will come up when development is starting to occur. Commissioner Blesener agreed the city and the developer will have to pay for urban services. The city should begin an analysis of the ease urban services can be added to certain undeveloped areas. Ms. Othoudt indicated that the Gravel Mining Plan,approved in 2015 identified utility connections in that specific area. President Tveite said the goals for Year 3 look like they may need to be more freeform than structured.There should be a planning exercise including pinpointing what areas are currently zoned for and what areas would be zoned for if urban services went there.There should be a"what if" analysis on some of the available or soon to be available parcels. Commissioner Westgaard said the goal should start with an internal assessment of what is realistic.Would it be easier to extend services to the east or to the north? Ms. Othoudt said an internal assessment could be conducted and the results brought 1111 back to the committee including wastewater,Elk River Municipal Utilities,and Engineering in the discussion. Commissioner Westgaard discussed the current development of the Leachate pipe up the Woodlands Trail area. Ms. Othoudt asked the commission to examine their goals for Year 5. Commissioner Wagner asked questions about the Leachate line and water lines. Would it make sense to run this line along Highway 169 as part of the develop process. Commissioner Westgaard said a major expense would be adding a lift station. Commissioner Blesener said the Leachate line is totally committed to the landfill and it would be expensive to run sanitary sewer from any type of development. Commissioner Blesener said that many of the Year 5 goals were related to what happens in Year 3. Commissioner Westgaard suggested reviewing preliminary concepts for the Highway 169 Redefine project that the state produces and further defining the goals after seeing the initial concepts. • P / NEREI 1 / NATURE Economic Development Authority Minutes Page 5 October 15,2018 • Commissioner Westgaard asked to return to the Year 3 goal. He wondered about the use of the word"partner" and asked how the city staff and commission feel about it. Does partner mean that the staff/city control the parcels and development or let the developer come in and decide on a plan to present to the city and commission. Is the city the controlling factor?Will it not take more resources if we are the controlling party versus a developer buying property and then approaching the city with a proposal? President Tveite felt it isn't necessary to control the development of properties. This is not the expertise of the commission and may put tax payers at risk if the property sits idle.The commission should lay out a plan and the developer can come in and comply with it. Commissioner Westgaard said he thought it was fine if a developer comes in with a grand scheme plan that the city is okay with. Ms. Othoudt added the developer would still have to go through the planning commission and city council process. The consensus of the commission was to not necessarily obtain site control for new industrial property. Commissioner Westgaard agreed that the process needs to be followed. He asked if the city should take an active role in pulling all of the necessary information together versus a developer coming in to take care of it. Ms. Othoudt is open to either option. She stated that staff asks developers how they could help them and the developer could offer feedback. Commissioner Blesener asked when the MnDOT plans for the Highway 169 Redefine project may be completed.The proposed time period is early spring 2019. 8. Adjournment There being no further business,President Tveite adjourned the meeting of the Elk River Economic Development Authority at 5:29 p.m. Minutes prepared by Katie Porath sue_ Dan Tveite,EDA President 11111 Tina Allard, City Clerk POIEREI IT NATURE