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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-07-15 EDA Meeting Minutes - Approved CITY OF CENTERVILLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, July 15, 2020 6:30 p.m. Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the City of Centerville held a regularly scheduled Economic Development Authority meeting on July 15, 2020 via videoconference. I. CALL TO ORDER President Hanzal called the meeting of the EDA to order at 6:30 p.m. II. ROLL CALL* PRESENT: President Jeff Hanzal Commissioner Jim Weatherhead Commissioner Michael Giovinazzo Commissioner D. Love Commissioner Tom Wilharber STAFF: City Administrator, EDA Executive Director, Mark Statz *Note that “present” is construed to mean that the noted individuals were visibly and audibly present on the videoconference call. III. APPROVAL OF AGENDA President Hanzal presented an opportunity to add any items to the agenda. Motion by Commissioner Love, seconded by Commissioner Giovinazzo to approve the agenda as presented. A roll call vote was taken. All in favor. Motion carried. IV. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. June 17, 2020 EDA Commission Meeting Minutes President Hanzal provided an opportunity for modifications to be made to the June 17, 2020 meeting minutes. Motion by President Hanzal, seconded by Commissioner Wilharber to approve the June 17, 2020 EDA meeting minutes as presented. A roll call vote was taken. All in favor. Motion carried. City of Centerville EDA Meeting Minutes July 15, 2020 V. BILLS AND COMMUNICATIONS 1. Bills (a) Check Detail List Executive Director Statz presented the check detail list and explained that payments no longer needed to be approved by City Council. An explanation of a payment made to Michele Koch, Main Street Marketers was also given. Motion by Commissioner Weatherhead, seconded by Commissioner Giovinazzo to approve the payment to Main Street Marketers. A roll call vote was taken. All in favor. Motion carried. 2. Communications (a) Carbone’s Pizza (b) Wiseguys Executive Director Statz explained that he had received an email from Carbone’s Pizza stating that a restaurant had to be able to seat at least 20 people in order to be advertised on the blue highway signs. Mr. Statz also received an email from Todd Steffan, of Wiseguys and Korner Express, stating that he would be interested in the Blue Logo Sign Program. VI. Reports 1. Administrator’s Report City Hall remains closed to the public. It was determined that an employee’s spouse had tested positive for Covid-19. The person’s spouse had an initial test which was negative, but then tested positive one week later. Because the employee had been in city buildings, City Hall was closed for voting for the rest of the week and the buildings were sanitized. Michele Koch, Main Street Marketers is making sure that social media sites are coordinated - that when things go out on Twitter, they go out on Facebook at the same time, and when things are posted on YouTube, we coordinate those also. Commissioner Weatherhead gave a presentation of the EDA’s strategic plan to the Parks and Rec Committee and felt that it went well. Commissioner Gionvinazzo will give a presentation to the Planning and Zoning Commission on August 4, 2020. Our first email blast to Centerville businesses was to inform them of the Small Business Relief Grants being offered by Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). The $10,000 grant was offered to businesses with less than 50 employees who could Page 2 of 5 City of Centerville EDA Meeting Minutes July 15, 2020 prove they had a loss due to Covid-19. The awards will be announced in mid-July. The program will probably be used as the framework for other funds being offered and be mirrored by counties and cities. Anoka County Regional Economic Development (ACRED) is still planning on several events this fall, and some are being offered as virtual events. The Minnesota Commercial Association of Real Estate/Realtors (MNCAR) Expo has been converted to a virtual event. Business 4 Business program is starting to roll out. The program is a non-governmental program where large businesses donate money to be redistributed to smaller businesses. The city council made a change to our fund balance policy. The language now says that we try to have 40-50% of next year’s expenditures which includes transfers out, in order to reflect money that is put in our capital fund. We should be receiving Covid-19 relief funds soon. We will receive $304,000.00, and our goal will be to find qualifying expenses by November 15, 2020 such as hand sanitizer, Plexiglas, face masks and some fire department expenses. Money that is left will go to our business relief program. The city has been in contact with the owner of 7241 Main St, who would like to split the lot into two or three separate lots. We have not heard anything new regarding Block 7. Executive Director Statz spoke to Apollo Development and let them know that the conversation with Trident has come to a halt because TIF will not be used. They have also found that they are unable to attract investors with a building that has less than 100 units. A developer is looking at building an apartment complex on a lot near the interstate, and another developer is looking at putting up retail space there. The Planning Commission is looking at driveway regulations and what can and can’t be left in the yard. Alex’s Lawn and Turf has had a mediation session with the neighbors, and the city has also undergone mediation with neighbors. We will try to set up mediation between the city and Alex’s Lawn and Turf in order to “close the loop”. City Council has voted to construct a fence around the water tower property. 2. CenterStage – Review Program Progress to Date Executive Director Statz shared statistics regarding impressions and engagements on CenterStage videos. He defined an impression as someone scrolling past a video, and an engagement as a video being clicked on or “liked”. He said that Twitter has a lot of impressions, but not as many engagements as Facebook has. Numbers are showing that every time we post something, at least 300 people see it on Twitter and Facebook. On Facebook, 106 people stopped on the Wiseguys video, and it was viewed 159 times on YouTube. Mr. Statz will ask Michelle Koch to attend next Page 3 of 5 City of Centerville EDA Meeting Minutes July 15, 2020 EDA meeting in order to discuss her insights and strategies. There was also discussion on sharing the results with businesses. 3. Blue Logo Sign – Review Program Progress to Date Executive Director Statz received an email from the owners of Carbone’s stating that in order to participate in the Blue Logo Sign Program, a food venue had to be able to seat at least 20 people. Mr. Statz also clarified that the yearly cost for the program was $720.00 for one way, not both. Commissioner Weatherhead spoke with the program administrator at Minnesota Department of Transportation, and was told that they had limited space available on the existing sign without installing a second one. It would take 6-8 weeks to get the logos on the existing sign, and 3-4 months if a second sign is needed. There is no extra cost for a second sign. Executive Director Statz gave details on the potential cost for the program, which would be a maximum of $5400.00 if there is participation from both restaurants (Wiseguys and Kelly’s Korner), both gas stations (CenterMart and Korner Express) and the Wargo Nature Center for both directions, at 75% cost share. 4. 2020 Budget Status Review Executive Director Statz showed a spreadsheet reviewing the 2020 budget. He highlighted different items and explained money spent and what was left over after commitments have been met. There was discussion on “wish list items” such as flags for Main Street light poles. Mr. Statz stated that he would bring pricing for flags to the next meeting. VII. Old Business 1. 7087 Centerville Road - Grant Application A grant application was submitted for decorative concrete, patio seating and a possible handicapped ramp. Executive Director Statz cautioned that there are some complications with putting a restaurant on this site as far as building code is concerned, and significant investments would have to be made in order to open as a restaurant. He said there is potential that this does not turn into a restaurant, however staff is recommending that the grant be approved for $5,000, because improvements to the site are exactly what this grant program was meant for, and there would be a stipulation that the concrete must be decorative. Additional discussion was had regarding the barriers to putting a restaurant on the site, including building codes, fire codes, accessibility and parking. Also discussed were terms of the grant such as requiring decorative concrete and a decorative wrought iron or other weatherproof railing with architectural elements. Page 4 of 5 City of Centerville EDA Meeting Minutes July 15, 2020 Motion by Commissioner Weatherhead seconded by Commissioner Wilharber, to support the grant amount up to $5,000.00 at a 1:1 match to cover decorative concrete in front of building. If the project includes a ramp, the railing needs to be wrought iron or other ornamental railing with architectural elements and weatherproof coating. All in favor. Motion carried. 2. Resolution #EDA 20-05 Establishing a Newspaper Advertising Campaign to Support Local Businesses. Discussion took place regarding ads in the local newspaper and running two ads side by side to advertise local businesses with the Centerville and CenterStage logos. Executive Director Statz was told that if the ads were to run on a regular basis, the paper would place them “above the fold” as opposed to at the bottom of the page. It was agreed that the name Centerville CenterStage should be advertised as a way of giving the city’s name more recognition. Also discussed was how to keep up a two-ad-per-week pace when CenterStage advertising is already stressed. Executive Director Statz said that he would discuss this with Michele Koch of Main Street Marketers. The options of a color ad or a black and white ad were also discussed. The commission decided to use black and white ads to get better use of their money. Motion by Commissioner Giovinazzo, Seconded by Commissioner Weatherhead to approve Resolution #EDA 20-05 establishing a newspaper advertising campaign to support local businesses with one weekly 4”x6” ad. A roll call vote was taken. All in favor. Motion carried. VIII. New Business 1. Business Assistance Grant Program (CARES Act Funds) Executive Director Statz explained that the Federal Cares Act allocated money to states for Covid relief. Federal guidance was that 45% of it should to go directly to cities. The City of Centerville will receive $304,000. Mr. Statz stated that he would like to purposefully leave some of the money to help local businesses. Mr. Statz also explained that under the Business Assistance Grant Program, if a business got a grant from Minnesota Department of Economic Development (DEED), then they cannot get this grant, according to federal guidelines. Commissioner Love raised the question of how to know which businesses got the DEED grant. Executive Director Statz proposed the idea of an email blast with a survey asking various qualifying questions. He also talked about having a lottery system much like DEED to qualify for funds, or should we allocate funds by dividing it evenly by the number of applicants. Motion by Commissioner Weatherhead, seconded by Commissioner Giovinazzo to adjourn the meeting at 8:41 p.m. A roll call vote was taken. All in favor. Meeting adjourned. Page 5 of 5