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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-09-16 EDA Meeting Minutes - Approved APPROVED CITY OF CENTERVILLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING MINUTES Wednesday September 16, 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 September 16, 2020 via videoconference. I. CALL TO ORDER President Hanzal called the meeting to order at approximately 6:31 p.m. II. ROLL CALL* PRESENT: President Jeff Hanzal Commissioner Michael Giovinazzo Commissioner D. Love Commissioner Jim Weatherhead STAFF: City Administrator, EDA Executive Director, Mark Statz ABSENT: Commissioner Tom Wilharber *Note that “present” is construed to mean that the noted individuals were visibly and audibly present on the videoconference call I. APPROVAL OF AGENDA 1. Call for Changes to the Agenda President Hanzal provided an opportunity for changes to the agenda. President Hanzal requested that a discussion on TIF be added as a new item under Old Business as item #3. Motion by Commissioner Love, seconded by Commissioner Weatherhead to approve the agenda with proposed changes. A roll call vote was taken. All in favor. Motion carried. II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. August 19, 2020 Meeting Minutes Motion by Commissioner Weatherhead, seconded by President Hanzal, to approve the August 19, 2020 Meeting Minutes. A roll call vote was taken. All in favor. Motion carried. City of Centerville EDA Minutes September 16, 2020 III. BILLS AND COMMUNICATIONS 1. Bills a. Claims through 9/11/2020 Motion by President Hanzal, seconded by Commissioner Giovinazzo, to approve the payment to Main Street Marketers as presented. A roll call vote was taken. All in favor. Motion carried. 2. Communications a. None IV. REPORTS 1. Administrator’s Report Executive Director Statz mentioned a housing assistance program, stating that landlords should be reaching out to renters, as it would be a benefit to them. Commissioner Love encouraged residents to submit their email to the city for inclusion on a city- wide email list, to receive regular updates. President Hanzal gave a brief update regarding a Quad Area Chambers event he attended with Commissioner Weatherhead. Discussion was had regarding commercial real estate, and how the City might get a list of existing buildings or land for sale in order to help promote those properties. 2. Year to Date Financials Executive Director Statz gave an overview of the how the expenses are reported and explained that they would be included in the monthly report for informational purposes. 3. Ongoing Programs a. Blue Logo Sign b. CenterStage Executive Director Statz explained that this program and the CenterStage program were tied in with CARES Act funds because they were created in reaction to COVID-19. He said he was working to make sure that the businesses that are interested in the Blue Logo Sign program are spending their funds prior to the November 15, 2020 deadline so that the City can reimburse them under the CARES Act. c. Business Assistance Grant Program (CARES Act Funds) Page 2 of 5 City of Centerville EDA Minutes September 16, 2020 Executive Director Statz explained that a postcard had been sent to all commercial properties and everyone on the EDA’s mailing list to inform them that Anoka County had extended the deadline to apply for grants under the CARES Act program to September 18, 2020. He stated that the County is widely undersubscribed, and had received fewer applications than available funds. Requirements are that businesses had to have 50 full time employees or under, reside in Anoka County and show expenses that are related to COVID-19. He also stated that non-profits are eligible too. V. OLD BUSINESS 1. Revolving Loan and Grant Program – Release of Funds for 7087 Centerville Road. The owner of the former Vincenzo’s Catering building has applied for a grant to do decorative concrete on the patio area. The owner had stated that he planned to install decorative, stamped and colored concrete, but the final project had simple colored concrete and no stamp. Executive Director Statz stated that several concessions had been made to the normal requirements in order to get stamped and colored concrete, such as a quote from the contractor. He stated that the new concrete looked nice, that is was an improvement to the neighborhood and that it was grant eligible, but he was hesitant to release all of the funds because it was not what the Commission agreed to, and that there were several permits that were not complete. Mr. Statz recommended that the Commission make a decision based on the concrete, and to hold all funds until the permits were complete. Discussion took place on whether or not to release the funds, and if so, how and when to release them. Commissioner Weatherhead felt that there was an issue with the height of one of the corners on the driveway, and that it could possibly be tripped over when walking at night. There was also some discussion on preconstruction meetings in order to help prevent this from happening in the future. President Hanzal noted out that the bill that was submitted did not break down what parts of the project were covered under the grant. There was a consensus that while the concrete looked nice, the city was promised something else, and the changes that were made were not discussed with the Executive Director Statz. It was decided to table the discussion until the October 21, 2020 meeting in order to get a breakdown of the costs and to satisfy the permit requirements. Motion by Commissioner Love, seconded by President Hanzal to table discussion on the Release of funds for the grant at 7087 Centerville Road until the October 21, 2020 meeting. 2. 2021 Preliminary Budget Executive Director Statz stated that the preliminary budget had been presented to the City Council, that Council was amenable to the budget, and had a favorable opinion of it. The official preliminary Council budget will be adopted at September 23, 2020 meeting. Mr. Statz said that he would like the EDA to officially adopt their budget request. Page 3 of 5 City of Centerville EDA Minutes September 16, 2020 Motion by President Hanzal, seconded by Commissioner Giovinazzo, to request a preliminary budget for 2021 of $29, 200.00 from the City Council. A roll call vote was taken. All in favor. Motion carried. 3. Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Discussion President Hanzal asked Executive Director Statz for an explanation of Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and how that money is used to fund a building project. Executive Director Statz explained that “increment” is the difference between taxes paid by the new building verses taxes paid by whatever was there before. For example, a vacant lot pays in approximately $4,000 per year. If it is estimated that a new building on that lot might generate $100,000, then the “increment” is $96,000. The increment is what is eligible to be paid back to the tax paying entity. The tax payer will pay $100,000 in taxes, but receives the $96,000 back. The money is tax money, but if not for the incentive the project would not happen. The City needs to weigh the differences: is it more advantageous to create a TIF district even though they would be refunding the taxes for the life of the TIF district, or are they better off not offering incentives and discovering whether the developer will build without it. There are also different kinds of TIF and different TIF arrangements. For example, the TIF district which was proposed for Block 7 was a “pay as you go” arrangement that states that if the city does not collect enough taxes to meet the TIF obligation then they don’t have to pay the obligation. Also if a TIF district is 16 years (as was proposed with Block 7) and it is paid off in 13 years, then the city does not have to pay the additional three years. VI. NEW BUSINESS 1. CenterStage – Review Program Progress to Date a. Newspaper Ad Package b. Main Street Marketers Service Package Executive Director Statz stated that he had contacted Quad Community Press and Main Street Marketers to create one-year service packages for 2021 so that the EDA could use CARES Act funds to pay for those programs. Each vendor has given him a quote and he would like the EDA to approve them. Motion by Commissioner Giovinazzo, seconded by Commissioner Weatherhead to approve the $3,000.00 proposal from Main Street Marketers and the $9,249. 00 proposal from Quad Area Press from the EDA general fund, with potential reimbursement from the CARES Act. A roll call vote was taken. All in favor. Motion carried. 2. Release of remaining 2020 funds Page 4 of 5 City of Centerville EDA Minutes September 16, 2020 Motion by President Hanzal, seconded by Commissioner Giovinazzo to request a transfer of the remaining budgeted funds from the city general fund. A roll call vote was taken. All in favor. Motion carried. VII. ADJOURNMENT Motion by President Hanzal, seconded by Commissioner Weatherhead to adjourn the September 16, 2020 EDA meeting at 7:49 PM. A roll call vote was taken. All in favor. Motion carried. Page 5 of 5