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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-08-19 EDA Meeting Minutes - Approved A PPROVED CITY OF CENTERVILLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING MINUTES Wednesday, August 19, 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 August 19, 2020 via videoconference. I. CALL TO ORDER President Hanzal called the meeting to order at approximately 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 GUEST: Michele Koch, Main Street Marketers *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. July 15, 2020 EDA Commission Meeting Minutes President Hanzal provided an opportunity for modifications to be made to the July 15, 2020 meeting minutes. City of Centerville EDA Meeting Minutes August 19, 2020 Motion by Commissioner Wilharber, seconded by Commissioner Weatherhead to approve the July 15, 2020 EDA meeting minutes as presented. A roll call vote was taken. All in favor. Motion carried. V. BILLS AND COMMUNICATIONS 1. Bills (a) None 2. Communications (a) Coffee Shop Inquiry Executive Director Statz reported that someone had contacted him regarding opening a coffee shop downtown. He said that he gave them information about potential properties that might be available, and also told them about the Vincenzo’s Catering Building, the building at 1737 Main Street, and the Open to Business program. VI. REPORTS 1. Administrator’s Report Executive Director Statz stated that there was a story in the newspaper approximately one month ago regarding a Mr. Jiles who wanted to start a restaurant in the former Vincenzo’s space downtown. He explained that the tenant would be moving his current business to the space. It is a catering business that focuses on creating individual meals and delivering them. Mr. Statz explained that putting a café in the space can be problematic as far as code compliance goes, and there are significant hurdles to get through in regards to building codes and fire codes. He said that he has discussed this with Mr. Jiles. Mr. Statz also stated that the business owner was awarded a grant to help put in a new patio. 2. CenterStage-Review Program Progress to Date a. Report from Michelle Koch Michelle Koch, Main Street Marketers, explained some of her challenges with CenterStage, mainly skepticism from businesses who don’t believe that the offer for free advertising is real. There was discussion about commissioners reaching out to the businesses ahead of time by phone and in person, to introduce themselves in order to add some legitimacy to the program and to let them know that they would be receiving a phone call from Ms. Koch. Ms. Koch offered to create a flier to drop off at the businesses, explaining what the EDA and the CenterStage program is. She also offered to save the file as a PDF with her contact information so it could be emailed to local businesses. Page 2 of 5 City of Centerville EDA Meeting Minutes August 19, 2020 b. Report on Newspaper Ads Executive Director Statz presented copy of the black and white newspaper ads being printed in the Quad area newspaper. Discussion took place regarding the overall look of the ads. President Hanzal stated that when he visited local businesses to talk about the CenterStage program, it helped to have a picture of the ads to show them. 3. Blue Logo Sign Program Executive Director Statz reported that the two gas stations and two eligible restaurants in town have stated that they want to participate in the program. There is a significant lead time in getting the signs out on the road, and they probably will not be up until next spring. Mr. Statz explained that if the signs were paid for by November 15, 2020, they would be eligible for CARES Act funds. Mr. Statz also said that the Wargo Nature Center has not responded to the invitation to participate. 4. 2020 Budget Status Review Executive Director Statz reviewed the 2020 budget. He stated that funds for the Excipio study on a data center were not included in the previous week’s summary. He explained that the budget for year is spent, if all expenses planned come through. Discussion took place regarding saving money in various ways, including saving the money earmarked for an open house until next year. Mr. Statz stated that there are no capital expenditures in this year’s budget. VII. OLD BUSINESS 1. Resolution #EDA 20-0X Establishing a Business Assistance Grant Program (CARES Act Funds) Executive Director Statz explained that this resolution would establish a CARES Act funding program that mirrors the Anoka County program. He stated that the amount of money to be dedicated to the program has not been established yet, but creating a resolution would create and endorse a grant program with a maximum amount of $10,000.00 per business, and agree to show our books to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). He stated that in order to use CARES th Act funding for the program, the City has to spend the money by November 15. He suggested that the eligibility criteria for the grant be the same as the county’s, and that we use the Anoka County applications in order to keep paperwork for the applicant to a minimum. Mr. Statz explained that some businesses have said that they are overwhelmed with government grant offers that they do not feel that it is worth their time to apply. Businesses also do not want their financial data to be made public. Other businesses such as those that offer food delivery are doing better than they ever have. Page 3 of 5 City of Centerville EDA Meeting Minutes August 19, 2020 Mr. Statz also explained that if a business is awarded a grant from Anoka County, then they will not be eligible for a grant from the city. However he would like to get list of applicants that applied for a county grant but didn’t receive one, so we could then use the county’s applications as applications for city grants in order to make it easier for a business to apply and to stay congruent with OMB and federal legislation. Mr. Statz also suggested that the funds be pre-allocated to a certain amount per eligible business, instead of really large grants where only a couple of businesses receive something. Discussion was had regarding showing the program to the city council before making a decision. Motion by President Hanzal, seconded by Commissioner Weatherhead to table the EDA resolution establishing a business assistance CARES Act Fund. A roll call vote was taken. All in favor. Motion carried. 2. Banners on City Light Poles Along Main Street Commissioner Weatherhead made a presentation on research he had completed installing banners on Main Street light poles. He showed an example of a spring loaded bracket that he obtained from Main Street Designs. The bracket is needed because of the city’s thin-walled light poles. He also showed examples of different types of fabrics, and recommended one that is Main Street Design’s version of a digital print. He said that it is robust and they can print a different design on each side of the flag if we wanted, giving us more design options. Commissioner Weatherhead showed a diagram of where flags can be placed, and said that the typical banner is 18” x 36”, but on some of the poles a 12” x 36” banner is required due to their proximity to the street or bike path. After some discussion, it was decided to wait until 2021 to start installing the banners, possibly in phases due to budget constraints, however the full complement of them will be in the represented in the 2021 budget that is presented to Council. VIII. NEW BUSINESS 1. 2021 Preliminary Budget Executive Director Statz presented preliminary budget for 2021. He explained different line items, and specified that the Newspaper Ad Program cost approximately one third of the budget. He explained that there was no room in the budget for new ideas, and that he wanted to ask some of the partners in the Excipio Tech Corridor project to help with the funding. There was discussion regarding what to do when reaching the end of the business list for the CenterStage program. There was also discussion regarding whether or not to maintain the budget, or to ask City Council for an increase. Page 4 of 5 City of Centerville EDA Meeting Minutes August 19, 2020 Executive Director Statz stated that there was not a need for a formal action right now, but they would need to create a formal request at the September 16, 2020 meeting, because the City Council needs to present their formal preliminary budget at the end of September. 2. Community Engagement Liaisons (a) Anoka County Regional Economic Development (b) Quad Area Chamber of Commerce (c) Hugo Area Business Association Executive Director Statz suggested that the commission assign liaisons to observe what each of these organizations are doing, so that there is a consistent person involved from the city. He also suggested that each liaison present something regarding their assigned group at each EDA meeting. He stated that the liaisons would not necessarily have to attend all the meetings, but just observe and keep track of what the groups are doing. No formal action was taken to assign liaisons at this time, however Executive Director Statz said he will address the topic at a future meeting. IX. ADJOURNMENT Motion by Commissioner Giovinazzo, seconded by President Hanzal to adjourn the EDA meeting of August 19, 2020 at 9:07 p.m. A roll call vote was taken. All in favor. Motion carried. Page 5 of 5