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11-09-2020 EDA MIN SPECIAL\- t. 2. Meeting of the Elk River Economic Development Authority Held at the Elk River City Hall Monday, November 9, 2020 Members Present President Dan Tveite, Commissioners Garrett Christianson, Nate Ovall,Jennifer Wagnet, Jeff Hartwig, and Chatlie Blesenet Members Absent Commissioner Matt Westgaard Staff Present F::;:ff,:;"J3',n:Ttrff$ilff1::" Eddv and citv Administrator car Call Meeting to Order Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River Economic Development Authodty was called to otdet at 5:30 p.m.by President Tveite. Strategic Plan Tom Leighton, Stantec Consulting Services, Inc., asked the Authodty which topics they would like to focus on and what they found interesting in the report. The Authority noted the following: . Highway 169 and gtavel mining atea combined. ! Downtown Elk River. . Business Friendly. / If hold people to design standards, need to explain the why' r' Better segmentation of zoning and business disuicts. Menu of options for differing need levels. r Energy City branding has gotten muddy ovet the last few yeats. Confusion over where powff comes ftom and why reliable. r Suppoting local businesses through Covid 19 and the upcoming Highway 169 Redefine. . Land availability. r Have a plan/vision for future development of the Great fuver Energy site (17845 Highway 70) atea. ' Wayfinding/advocacy / communication. Commissioner Ovall questioned what made Elk River Municipal Utilities energy mote reliable than elsewhere. He thought Gtett River Enetgy (GRE), who is leaving Elk River, was a reason. Mr. Portner clarified the city does not get energy from GRE. He explained the RP3 program and rating system. He further explained how ERMU puchase power ftom Minnesota Municipal Power Agency. He noted GRE has stated they will condnue to operate at their site and maintain the facilities. He stated the parcel with the sorting facility (off 165s Avenue) recently sold to Malatk Logistics. Mr. Leighton sated they will create a workplan for each topic discussed and wants to focus the Economic Development Authority Minutes Novembet 9,2020 Page 2 convetsation on what the Authodty feels is important Hiohwav 169 Redefine - John Shatdlow, Stantec Consulting Services, I T.C., reviewed the following: r Transportation projects. Two competing interests: mobility and local access' ' City's aspfuations for the highway' ' Design enhancements and buffering. The Authority discussed the following: . Perception is the city's ability to drive changes into the design is somewhat limited and how do we get a seat at the table. r Not sure if usefrrl to be at the table unless we have a unified view and consistent messzge. Mr. Portner noted MnDOT is bringing design standatds and cost esdmates to the city fot input soon. Commissioner Ovall feels the Authority's focus should be staying ahead of construction by focusing on the following: t Messaging ' Impact to businesses t What Authority can,/wants to do, such as signage, accessibility, matketing, and inftastructure .1 ' Access to other Progtamsr Funds to help businesses Mr. Shardlow stated MnDOT has infrasttucture/tesources to maintain communications and will be required to maintain local access. Mr. Leighton summarized a draft policy satement as follows: 'Cig cans about enhancements, mitigating inpacts to existing buinesses, pmriding tenporary ffictiae wayfinding duing conshaction and phlsical access." There was Authority consensus on the statement with the addition of having permanent wayfinding for zrez businesses aftet the project is completed. Commissioner Blesener expressed concefil with the wotd "enhancement" and whether it would i-ply additional funding ftom the city' Commissioner Wagner noted initial design concepts wete discussed at previous Council meetings and MnDOT would be assisting with permanent wayfinding once construction is completed. She exptessed more concern with slgnage and access during construcdon. Gtavel Minino Mt. Leighton stated the gravel mine phasing plan must be updated noting the city needs mole industrial land and the market has changed so a review of land uses would be beneficial. He suggested a focused master plan for the area, noting part of atftacting developers to land is to show tnt! tt \-. Economic Development Authority Minutes November 9,2020 Prye3 it is ready for build out by teeing up road alignment, zoning, utilids5, .1.. Mr. Shardlow stated because of the large invesunent in the Higbwry 169 Redefne proiect he would have the mining company assist as they have successfuI expedence with end use plans. He suggested inviting Tiller Cotporadon in as a partner because they would have a murual interest/benefit to maximize the site for development. Ms. Eddy noted staff has begun some initial discussions to get the conversadon started with Tiller and they seem receptive. Ptesident Tveite stated the actions and strategies in the Plan are accrrate. Commissioner Ovall stated it is like the chicken and egg with all the plans and projects the city has happening and questioned which comes first. He questioned if city saff would develop recommendadons to bring forth on the comptehensive plan. Mr. Carlton discussed the phases, community feedback, and timeline for the comprehensive plan. He stated the Economic Development Strategic Ptan will be submitted to the comptehensive plan consultants. He stated this will not be a plan created by staff, but tather a community developed plan with final review and approval of the City Council. Consensus of the Authodty on the policy satement outlined in the Plan in regard to gtavel mining. Downtown Elk River Mr. Leighton reviewed the policy statement. Commissioner Wagner noted the Mississippi Rivet Connecdons Plan is 10 yeats old and thete is a parking perception problem. She questioned the best way to address Parking concems in messaging. Mr. Leighton stated the plan should show there are alot of opinions about patking and the city is open t;discussion. He agteed the answer is not to create more parking but to consider how to ,i.o*modate peak prrt irg times. He furthet stated the plan should outline how much patking is wanted, whete and *t y, ,otlrg there is no petfect solud,on, but rather a balance of needs. Mr. Shardlow stated this is a cofirmon coflcem among all downtowns. He suggested thinking of it as a parking fnanagement issue versus a parking shortage issue. He further suggested a coordinated effort o, tf,. p*f.irrg policy, such as agreement that employees and business ov/ners park in back, having shuttlis for larger events, which would cost less than a Parking ramP. He further noted a patking tamp will not have rJr-.e Elk Naer quaint feel to it. Commissioner Christianson quesdoned the consultants on what they petceive fot Item 8a in the plan which calls for creating a plan for downtown that honots a special role. Mr. Leighton stated it is the heart of the town. Mr. Shardlow stated it is the antithesis of the big box stores and more about being local and r0ttltt ll \- \- Economic Development Authority Minutes November 9,2020 Page 4 walkable. Ptesident Tveite disagreed on it being the heart of the city but felt it meant a quaint, intimate, niche q?e sPace. Commissioner Ovall sated he struggles with the location of downtown as it is shoehorned between Highway 10, the raikoad, and the rivet. \U7hy can't western Elk Rivet improve and be included. He noted Main Street on the north side of the railtoad tracks is ripe for tedevelopment and will be challenged to have the downtown connecdon because of the tracks. Mr. Leighton feels adding more housing adds mote vibrancy and use to the area. Hestated this Iocation may always be a stnrggle fot Elk fuver. Commissioner Wagner stated aplan for downtown will be complicated and require a lot of feedback. She noted there is curently a developer who wants to move forward quickly. She stated it should be broken into short- and long-term plans. She stated in the short term the city should reviewJackson Avenue as a one-way or pefinanent closure, which would add more parking and help businesses on the east side of the steet. The Authority concured with Commissioner Wagner's statement. Commissioner Blesenet further noted there are some policy changes that could happen concurrently. Land Availabilitv Mr. Leighton oudined four action steps in the plan Mt. Shardlow stated his son, who works for government relations in Cargill, reached out to othets in the company who said they would be eager to meet with the city. He stated his daughter also works for Cargill and they have sevetal significant initiatives which may have some synergies to Elk River progtams, and he would be willing to set up a meeting. Mt. Leighton stated the discussion with Cargill can go beyond land acquisition noting thete could be partnership opportunities for other initiatives. Commissioner Blesener stated it would be an exciting opportunity to explore. Commissioner Christianson feels development of the mining area is quite a few years down the road and it may be too eady to update the mining plan because there ate a number of other items to vet out, nodng it can be expensive to expand city services. He stated the needs of the city can change quite a bit in 8-10 years. Mr. Leighton noted the fust gravel plan was completed n 2015 and it stated the fust phase would be completed n 2020. This did not occur but could be needed as eatly as 2022 and the city should plan for it. Mr. Shardlow stated it is never too soori to create a long-tange use plan. He stated basic 0 NA 1 1 \- \-, 3. Economic Development Authority Minutes November 9,2020 Page 5 infrastructure and funding can be complicated and take some dme to determine. Mr. Portnet stated property owners requested the initial plan to understand what would happen around them. He stated the original plan was meaflt to be flexible because the timeline was far out but noted the recent sewef extensions creeping closer. Next Stens Mr. Leighton stated based on everything compiled to date he would draft an economic development strategy for the city He stated the intent fot the document is to be simple and not have a lot of explanation for the policies. He stated it will be a struggle balancing with the policy detail. Commissioner Blesener sated the consultant is expedenced and knows best practices and would expect honest commentary on what is needed. Adjournment There being no further business, President Tveite adjourned the meeting of the Elk fuver Economic Development Authority at7:34 p.m. ?0ttltl !t FV-s>- Dan Tveite, EDA Presi&4t \-