Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutEDA MIN 11-03-14 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (EDA) MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF NOVEMBER 3, 2014 IN CONFERENCE ROOM 1 The meeting was called to order at 6:30 pm by Chair Peterson. Members Present: Bruce Nawrocki, Donna Schmitt, Gary Peterson, Marlaine Szurek. Tammi Diehm, and Bobby Williams. Members Absent: Gerry Herringer Staff Present: Walt Fehst, Joseph Hogeboom, Loren Wickham, Elizabeth Holmbeck, and Shelley Hanson. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE- RECITED 3CONSENT ITEMS . 1.Approve the Minutes from September 2, 2014. 2.Approve the Financial Report and Payment of Bills for August and September 2014 on Resolution 2014-013. Questions by Members: There were no questions from members. Motion by Diehm, seconded by Williams, to waive the reading of Resolution 2014-13, there being an ample amount of copies available to the public. All ayes. MOTION PASSED. Motion by Diehm, seconded by Williams, to approve the consent agenda items as presented. All ayes. MOTION PASSED. EDA RESOLUTION 2014-13 RESOLUTION OF THE COLUMBIA HEIGHTS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (EDA) APPROVING THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT FOR AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER 2014 AND PAYMENT OF BILLS FOR THE MONTHS OF AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER 2014 . WHEREAS, the Columbia Heights Economic Development Authority (EDA) is required by Minnesota Statutes Section 469.096, Subd. 9, to prepare a detailed financial statement which shows all receipts and disbursements, their nature, the money on hand, the purposes to which the money on hand is to be applied, the EDA's credits and assets and its outstanding liabilities; and WHEREAS, said Statute also requires the EDA to examine the statement and treasurer's vouchers or bills and if correct, to approve them by resolution and enter the resolution in its records; and WHEREAS, the financial statement for the month of August and September 2014 has been reviewed by the EDA Commission; and EDA MINUTES Page 2 November 3, 2014 WHEREAS, the EDA has examined the financial statements and finds them to be acceptable as to both form and accuracy; and WHEREAS, the EDA Commission has other means to verify the intent of Section 469.096, Subd. 9, including but not limited to Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, Annual City approved Budgets, Audits and similar documentation; and WHEREAS, financials statements are held by the City’s Finance Department in a method outlined by the State of Minnesota’s Records Retention Schedule, NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Commissioners of the Columbia Heights Economic Development Authority that it has examined the referenced financial statements including the check history, and they are found to be correct, as to form and content; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the financial statements are acknowledged and received and the check history as presented in writing is approved for payment out of proper funds; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED this resolution is made a part of the permanent records of the Columbia Heights Economic Development Authority. Passed this 3rd day of November, 2014 MOTION BY: Diehm SECONDED BY: Williams AYES: All ayes __________________________________ President Attest By: ______________________ Shelley Hanson, Secretary NEW BUSINESS 3.Proposal for Retail Market Analysis for Central Ave-James McComb, McComb Group Hogeboom explained that James McComb, President of the McComb Group, has approached the Community Development Department to provide services to the City that would involve a market analysis to identify retail market demand for stores, restaurants and services that could potentially occupy the former Rainbow Foods store and other locations along Central Avenue. Enclosed is a proposed work plan from the McComb Group outlining what would be offered as part of this service. Ultimately, if the Economic Development Authority were to authorize this project, the City would be presented a report that would contain the McComb Group’s findings, conclusions and recommendations on what type of businesses Columbia Heights could possibly attract and sustain. This report could then be used to aid in marketing Columbia Heights to the Twin Cities retail and business community. EDA Minutes Page 3 November 3, 2014 The proposed cost of this project is $16,000. Currently, there are no budgeted funds for a retail marketing analysis. If the Economic Development Authority chooses to pursue this project, a funding source would have to be identified. Therefore, staff seeks further direction from the EDA regarding whether or not to pursue this project. Mr. McComb was present at the meeting to answer questions from the members. He said this all started when he read about the closing of the Rainbow Foods Store and became aware of other vacant business th sites as well as the property on 39 and Central that is ready to be developed. He would try to identify potential businesses that may be interested in these sites. He told members that the market area for Columbia Heights is not the standard circular ring, but instead it is the north/south corridors due to the traffic patterns of residents and commuters because of our location as a first ring suburb that is so close to downtown Minneapolis. McComb went on to say that Super stores such as Target and WalMart are taking their toll on grocery chains such as Rainbow and Cub. Rainbow’s annual sales were only half of what was needed to sustain itself. He said he believes it is a good site with decent visibility. He compared it to Central Plaza Mall in Hilltop which has poor visibility, but has good occupancy since the size of each business site is more marketable to small businesses. He said one idea might be to divide that space for several smaller businesses and that a smaller sized grocery store could be part of that plan. Hogeboom explained that it has been hard for the City to do anything with this site as we don’t control it in any way. He has reached out to several businesses to invite them to consider the site, but no one has shown any real interest. He has also reached out to the owners of the mall, but to date they haven’t been very responsive. McComb said that Brixmoor Properties are owners and not developers, and therefore they are not out there marketing the site with any real effort. He said they owned another similar mall in Brooklyn Center and basically sat on the partially empty mall there also until such time that the City decided to purchase it for redevelopment. Nawrocki stated that he didn’t think the study would accomplish much if the owner isn’t interested in ideas to fill his building. We’d be wasting our money. He stated that there are three competent people on staff in Community Development that should be able to provide the EDA and City Council with the same information. Williams thinks we should do something, and suggested taking the funds from the Liquor Store proceeds. Hogeboom was then asked if anyone had contacted the owners of the mall to see if they would be willing to finance some of the study. He said staff has not asked them yet as he was waiting to see if the EDA thought this study was worth pursuing. Fehst said we should ask them to contribute something towards the study and suggested that the City’s portion of the study could be taken from a combination of the Liquor funds and the Cell Tower Special Projects fund. Schmitt asked McComb if he thought something the size of Almstead’s Groceries in Crystal would work. He said something on that order may work in this area. She also asked what other sites he would focus on. He said he would look at the Mady’s-Burger King site and the Grand Central commercial piece. McComb stated it is important that other properties also be included so Brixmoor doesn’t get the idea we’re doing this for them, but rather to find businesses for all the Columbia Heights sites which will give them reason to get involved and do something since there could be competition for locations. EDA Minutes Page 4 September 2, 2014 Szurek said she has no idea what would work and would welcome suggestions from an independent party who is aware of market and business trends. Diehm said it may be important for us to do something since the owners don’t seem to be doing anything to market their own site. This is a large, visible site in the heart of our City that residents throughout the community are concerned about based on the feedback received from recent community events. Fehst agreed with Nawrocki that we have good staff, but the government can’t do everything. However, he believes we should be proactive to find uses for our retail businesses especially along our main corridor. Fehst said he thinks McComb is the right business person to compile this information for the City. He said a study similar to this would need to be done eventually for any type of development to satisfy financing agencies to substantiate the need and marketability of future projects. Peterson agreed and said by initiating the study it would help show residents and developers that we’re working to improve the community. Peterson asked what the time frame would be to get the completed study. McComb told members it would take about eight weeks once it is authorized. Schmitt asked what impact a Farmer’s Market would have in attracting other businesses to the Rainbow Mall site. McComb said a grocery store probably would not welcome a Farmer’s Market on site as it would be in direct competition with them. Hogeboom told members that the owners are only interested in a temporary month to month arrangement for a Farmer’s Market at that site because they hope to lease it out and want to keep their options open. Hogeboom told members if they want to proceed with the study he could check out possible funding sources and reach out to Brixmoor and bring this back to the City Council for final approval at a later meeting. He noted that the City Attorney still needed to review the agreement. Motion by Williams, seconded by Diehm, to enter into an agreement with McComb Group to do a Retail Market Analysis for Central Avenue, as proposed, for an amount not to exceed $16,000 contingent upon approval by the City Attorney. Ayes: Diehm, Schmitt, Szurek, Williams, Peterson Nays: Nawrocki MOTION PASSED. Community Branding and Communications Campaign- Phase 2 4. Selection of the Brand & Next Steps- Wickham gave an overview of the project thus far. He reminded members that Replace Design presented their initial concepts for the branding campaign to the City in August. Replace had a booth at our Heights Gateway event where the public was able to provide feedback and vote on their favorite brand. Staff also setup a survey on our website and voting booth at City Hall for the public to continue to provide feedback and vote on their favorite brand. Jeff Johnson from Replace was present at the meeting to go over Phase II and the remainder of the project. Staff recommended the EDA narrow down a preferred brand and tagline so Replace can proceed with Phase 2 of their proposal. Page 5 Holmbeck gave members the results of the voting for the brands considered. She explained that 301 votes were received and Option #5 was the favorite, followed closely by Option #1. The details of the votes were as follows: 85 votes for Option #5 81 votes for Option #1 61 votes for Option #2 46 votes for Option #3 28 votes for Option #4 The members all agreed with the choice of Option # 5 and Option #1 as the top choices to work with. Presentation: Jeff Johnson from Replace said they will now work with the two options chosen to refine them and incorporate them together to come up with some style designs for a final decision. He will also incorporate the taglines from those that were deemed the favorites thus far. Members seemed to like “Welcome Home”, “Say Hello to the Heights”, and “Discover New Heights” the best. Johnson said he wants the design to be inviting. There will probably be about 200 pages of material in the final guide on suggestions for implementation on signage, newsletters, vehicles, memo and letter formats, business cards, and the website. The goal is to get one common organizational theme. Fehst and the members all agreed it’s important to have everything associated with the city consistent. Hogeboom wants to move this forward as the Chamber is looking at publishing some ads and informational brochures in 2015 and we would like to use the new brand if a decision is made in time. Peterson asked if it would cost more to implement one over the other. Johnson said it probably won’t cost anymore one way or the other as it will probably take up to 10 years to completely change over to the new logo and motto. 5.Heights Gateway Event Wickham told members that the City received an Active Living Grant from Blue Cross/Blue Shield to th host our Heights Gateway Community Gathering event. The event was held September 27 on the former Burger King and Mady’s redevelopment site (now referred to as the “Heights Gateway” site). We used the grant funds to hire Musicant Group to put the event together. The goals were to create a fun event for residents and business owners to gather and to provide input to the city on future redevelopment, showcase local businesses and to introduce a new branding campaign for the city and to get residents feedback on it, including voting on their favorite. The event was well attended with 400+ people and we received valuable feedback from residents and business owners. Enclosed in the agenda packets was a copy of the summary results of the survey from the event and our website. Staff would like to discuss the survey results as well as potential next steps for the site, which would include:  Compile survey results (see attached)  Propose zoning ordinance amendments to the Planning & Zoning Commission based on feedback received.  Market the redevelopment site EDAMinutes Page 6 November 3, 2014 Heights Gateway: Building a Better Block Community Gathering Survey Results 1.Would you like the City of Columbia Heights to hold more community events similar to the Heights Gateway Community Gathering? 87 YES – 0 NO – 1 NO ANSWER – 2.What type of uses, activities and amenities would you like to see at the site next to the Heights Theatre? 37 Library – 35 Coffee Shop – 23 Restaurant – 17 General Retail – 14 Park/Open Space – 11 Grocery Store - 8 Community Center/YMCA – 6 Housing – 6 Farmers’ Market – 5 Brewery – 4 Community Garden – 3 Bowling Alley – 2 Public Art Space/Studio – 2 Mixed Use – 1 City Hall – 1 Dog Park - 1 Rollerskating Rink – 1 Butcher Shop – 3.What are the biggest improvements that you would like to see made along Central Avenue? 15 Fill the vacant Rainbow Foods site – 15 Reduce the number of unsightly and undesirable businesses - 14 Add more green space – 12 Add more traditional American dining and retail options – 8 Enhance transit service to Downtown Minneapolis – 6 Add more mixed-use development – 6 Reduce the number of auto repair/retail shops – 6 Clean up litter and trash along the road - EDA Minutes Page 7 November 3, 2014 5 Add more public art – 5 Add more amenities (benches, street lighting, trash/recycle containers, etc.) – 4 Add a new Library – 3 Reduce crime – 1 Add more community identity – 1 Reduce amount of rental housing – 1 Add higher-end housing – 4.Other Comments  Enhance the city’s logo and website.  Consider offering citywide wi-fi.  Enhance zoning restrictions to prevent new auto uses on Central Avenue.  Reduce rental housing throughout the City.  Put the new Library near the schools.  Make property maintenance rules stricter.  The City needs more community events like the Heights Gateway event.  The new logos are a step in the right direction.  There should be volunteer clean-up activities organized for Central Avenue.  Offer incentives to businesses to improve their curb appeal.  Hold more “non-traditional” meetings like the Heights Gateway event to reach out to the citizens.  Columbia Heights should do more to advertise its proximity to Silverwood Regional Park.  The City should purchase Central Valu Center (Rainbow Foods site).  Parking in future development sites should be located behind buildings.  Having the Library midblock on Central Avenue may encourage people to jaywalk.  Implement design guidelines for new single family homes.  Redevelop the current Library building into a new City Hall. Nawrocki noted that only 87 people filled out the survey out of approximately 400 in attendance. Hogeboom responded that was true, however he felt the feedback staff received from those surveys and those they spoke with was very helpful and insightful. He said many of the participants didn’t want to fill out the survey, but expressed their opinions verbally. Hogeboom told members that those at the event thought the event was a good way for them to have their voices heard and wanted more events like that one held to keep the line of communication open. He said that staff will be pursuing some zoning amendments that may attract a larger variety of businesses that would benefit our community. Hogeboom said the next thing we will need input on is the Comp Plan. Staff intends to reach out to the community in a similar fashion since we had such a good response to the September event. EDA Minutes Page 8 November 3, 2014 6.Resolution 2014-14-Decertification of Sheffield Tax Increment Financing District Hogeboom explained that in 1995, The Sheffield/M8 Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District was established to assist in the removal of blighted and obsolete structures. The District has expired, and is now decertified. This means that no more tax increment is being collected, and that taxes in the District will now flow back to the City, County and School District. An interfund loan of $728,916 from the Sewer and Utilities Fund was given on December 31, 1997 and was paid in full in 2012. The TIF Plan currently does not provide for any additional expenditures beyond the ones that were financed through the interfund loan. The EDA Attorney believes it is a matter of debate whether the EDA may amend a TIF Plan to allow for additional expenditures outside of the district after all of the in-district expenditures have been paid, and recommends decertification of the Sheffield District. It has recently come to staff’s attention that the Sheffield/M8 TIF District should have been decertified in 2013. Decertification requires both a resolution from the EDA, as well as the City Council. Assuming EDA approval, this item will be brought to the City Council on December 8, 2014. Staff recommends that the EDA adopt Resolution No. 2014-14 decertifying the Sheffield Tax Increment Financing District. Questions from members: Schmitt asked if the City will have to pay back any funds since it wasn’t decertified on time. Hogeboom doesn’t think that is the case as Anoka County made the necessary adjustments according to the correct timeline. He said it is a matter of bookkeeping and to provide the Resolution necessary to fulfill the legal requirements. Nawrocki asked staff to find out how much additional money was accrued during the last two years and to verify whether or not the City will be back charged for these funds. Hogeboom said the other thing staff has to research is what funds these properties were purchased with as it may restrict what the City can do with the properties. Motion by Williams, seconded by Diehm, to waive the reading of Resolution 2014-14, there being ample copies available to the public. All ayes. MOTION PASSED. Motion by Williams, seconded by Diehm, to approve Resolution 2014-14, Resolution of the Columbia Heights Economic Development Authority (EDA) Decertifying Sheffield Tax Increment Financing District (No. M8). All ayes. MOTION PASSED. EDA Minutes Page 9 November 3, 2014 COLUMBIA HEIGHTS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY RESOLUTION NO. 2014-14 RESOLUTION DECERTIFYING SHEFFIELD TAX INCREMENT FINANCING DISTRICT (NO. M8) BE IT RESOLVED By the Board of Commissioners of the Columbia Heights Economic Development Authority (the “Authority”) as follows: Section 1. Recitals. 1.01. The City of Columbia Heights, Minnesota (the “City”) and the Authority previously established the Sheffield Tax Increment Financing District (No. M8) (the“TIF District”) within Redevelopment Project No. 1. 1.02. The Authority and City have approved the payment in full of an interfund loan (the “Interfund Loan”) payable from tax increment derived from the TIF District; therefore, pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, Section 469.1763, subd. (b), the TIF District must be decertified on or after the date of payment in full, as there are no additional obligations payable from tax increment derived from the TIF District. Section 2. TIF District Decertified; Filing. 2.01. The Authority hereby authorizes the decertification of the TIF District. 2.02. Following the approval of the decertification by the City Council of the City, the Authority staff is authorized and directed to transmit a copy of this Resolution to Anoka County with instructions to decertify the TIF District, it being the intent of the Authority that any tax increment derived from the TIF District and collected after November 3, 2014 should be redistributed by the County Auditor to the taxing jurisdictions within the TIF District. 2.03. Authority staff is directed to return any remaining tax increment in the accounts established for the TIF District to the County Auditor for distribution to the taxing jurisdictions within the TIF District. Adopted this 3rd day of November, 2014. __________________________________________ President ATTEST: Shelley Hanson, Secretary EDA Minutes Page 10 November 3, 2014 7.Other Business Hogeboom told members that developers came in with their plans for the Blockbuster Building that will go before the Planning & Zoning Commission in December. He said they plan to remodel the site into four retail storefronts and one fast casual restaurant space, plus a stand-alone drive thru restaurant of some kind. Hogeboom then reported that Schuett did not get awarded tax credits for the project at 3989 Central Avenue. He doesn’t know how this will affect the planned closing they had scheduled for later this month. In the meantime, Venture Bank has evicted all the tenants in the building except NE Bank who will stay there through the winter months to our knowledge. The next regular EDA meeting will be Monday, January 5, 2015 at City Hall at 6:30 pm. The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 pm. Respectfully submitted, Shelley Hanson Secretary