06-20-07 EDC Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

~ ~HILLS Approved: July 18, 2007 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION JUNE 20, 2007; 7:30 AM CITY HALL -- 1245 WEST HIGHWAY 96 I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER Chair Kunkel called the meeting to order at 7:35 a.m. II. ROLLCALL Present: Chair Bruce Kunkel, Ed Van Holtum, Rob Davidson, Community Development Director Karen Barton, Dale Beane, Ed Werner, Chris Ashbach, Ray McGraw, City Planner James Lehnhoff. Absent: Nancy Kneeland, Jim Paulet. III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - MAY 23. 2007 The minutes from the May 23 meeting were approved as printed. IV. CHESAPEAKE PRESENTATION Chesapeake representatives indicated their development will now be known as the Traverse Business Center and they provided the group with a review of how they acquired the property, and presented future plans for the property. They also indicated their desire to use TIP funding to make the project more economically feasible for the possible future tenants, and indicated they hoped part of the TIP dollars could go toward Round Lake Road improvements and expansion of the storm water retention pond in the area. Chesapeake also noted that the existing railroad bridge will not be utilized and the latest news from the railroad that owns the tracks that it will be taken down. Karen noted the Chesapeake planned unit development application will go before the Planning Commission on July II, and before the City Council on July 30. V. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIC PLAN Ed Von Holtum recapped the EDC plan presentation to Council. He noted he thought the Council was asking the EDC to change their priorities and perform a complete assessment of Arden Hills businesses. He indicated he understood that the Council has not set aside any money for the plan at this point. In light of the Council direction to perform an assessment on Arden Hills businesses, he thought the Council should be designating staff time and resources to perform this assessment. Ray McGraw thought the presentation was flawed because it did not tell the Council how the plan was going to be accomplished. He expressed he thought the Council appears to have their plates too full right now to be deal with the EDC plan. He thinks the group needs to change their method of operation by focusing redevelopment efforts on specific sites within the City and find a specific developer for the designated areas. He believes the EDC plan budget should have been broken down more. He said he also believes because the Council does not have business ownership in their backgrounds that they might not fully understand the plan.