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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/25/2010 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY City of Apple Valley Dakota County, Minnesota January 25, 2010 Minutes of the special meeting of the Economic Development Authority of Apple Valley, Dakota County, Minnesota, held January 25, 2010, at 4:30 o'clock p.m., at the Apple Valley Municipal Center. PRESENT: President Severson; Commissioners Bergman, Goodwin, Grendahl, Hamann - Roland, and LaComb. ABSENT: None. Staff members present were: Executive Director Lawell, Deputy City Clerk Murphy, City Attorney Dougherty, Associate City Planner Bodmer, Associate City Planner Dykes, Finance Director Hedberg, Parks and Recreation Director Johnson, City Planner Lovelace, and Community Development Director Nordquist. President Severson called the meeting to order at 4:31 p.m. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: of Goodwin, seconded by Grendahl, approving the agenda for today's meeting as presented. Ayes - 6, Nays - 0. APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS MOTION: of Hamann- Roland, seconded by Bergman, adopting Resolution No. EDA -10 -1 appointing 2010 officers of the Economic Development Authority as: President - Severson, Vice - President - Goodwin, Secretary - Gackstetter, Treasurer - LaComb, and Assistant Treasurer - Gackstetter. Ayes - 6, Nays - 0. MINUTES MOTION: of Goodwin, seconded by Bergman, approving the minutes of the special meeting of October 13, 2009, as written. Ayes - 6, Nays - 0. EXPANSION OF MASTER DEVELOPMENT DISTRICT Mr. Nordquist discussed the existing Master Development District within the City. The Master Development District (MDD) simply defines the geographic boundaries in which TIF Districts can be created and TIF resources used. Ms. Dykes presented three scenarios for the expansion. She stated that Scenario 1, which would include the entire City, gives the MDD the most flexibility and allows the City to use pooled increment to fund qualified projects anywhere in the City. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY City of Apple Valley Dakota County, Minnesota January 25, 2010 Page2 Ms. Dykes presented Scenario 2 which would include all commercially zoned property in the City, as well as the property 1/8 -mile from Cedar Avenue and some major right -of -ways. This is a more limited district, but it includes those areas where eligible pooled increment is most likely to be needed in the near future. The boundary of the MDD includes the Cedar Avenue corridor, where funding could be used to make connections from neighborhoods and commercial areas to Cedar Avenue corridor improvements. It does not include potential transit oriented development (TOD) areas beyond 1/8 -mile. A 1/2 -mile distance from a major transit corridor is the preferred distance for TOD. Ms. Dykes presented Scenario 3 which includes only the commercial nodes and the Cedar Avenue corridor as described in Scenario 2. This would focus the increment in the commercial zones and exclude the potential ROW improvements described in Scenario 2 beyond Cedar Avenue. Commissioner Hamann- Roland asked if the residents would see an increase on their property taxes. Mr. Lawell stated it does not affect the property tax for the residents. Commissioner Bergman stated he likes Scenario 2 because it keeps TIF Districts in the commercial district and business corridors. He was concerned about expanding out too far on the map and questions if the City really needs to go that way yet and include the entire City. Commissioner LaComb expressed interest in Scenario 1 because she feels maximizing would bring everything up to speed and that is the direction technology is moving. Commissioner Goodwin feels that Scenario 1 (including the entire City) could be a public relations issue. He stated that a small number of homes get included in Scenario 2 and that may be an area for concern. He feels if you disregard some areas of the City, then the public can get concerned if some residents are not receiving options other residents are receiving. Commissioner Grendahl asked if the City talked to the Chamber of Commerce about expanding and how this would affect businesses along Cedar Avenue. Mr. Lawell said that the City staff has not met with the Chamber regarding this issue. Commissioner Grendahl expressed interest as to what the Chamber thinks if the City would be taking businesses away. Commissioner Hamann- Roland does not believe the City would be taking something away from the businesses. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY City of Apple Valley Dakota County, Minnesota January 25, 2010 Page 3 Interest by the commissioners was for staff to meet with the Chamber of Commerce to receive input and then for the EDA to schedule another meeting in the near future. MOTION: of Hamann- Roland, seconded by Bergman, to accept a modified Scenario 2 with provided boundaries to 1/2 mile on either side of Cedar Avenue subject to input from the Apple Valley Chamber of Commerce. Ayes - 5 - Nays - 1. (Goodwin). KELLEY PARK UPDATE Mr. Johnson stated that Kelley Park has become one of the most popular parks in Apple Valley. The City has an opportunity to obtain additional land to expand the park from the current three acres to five acres. Funding for acquiring this property could come from the Park Dedication Fund, the 2007 Park Bond, or other sources. The cost for the land is undetermined. It would be established through the City Planning Department by using an appraiser and negotiating with the current owner. It has been recommended by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee to pursue the purchase of the additional property to expand Kelley Park to five acres. The additional land would include two parcels west of the current Kelley Park and one parcel on the east side. He stated there could be parking on the west side as well as the east side of the park. The park could have the potential for more art fairs or farmer's markets. Commissioner Hamann -Roland stated she is in support of the land purchase because a five acre park is consistent with the City's original goal. Commissioner Grendahl supports the expansion but questions the need to expand both ends. She sees this as another potential parking problem. She is in support of the expansion to help the businesses in the area around the park. Commissioner Bergman agrees that parking will be an issue. He stated the idea of Kelley Park was for people to get out and walk to the park. He does support the idea of expansion. Commissioner Goodwin supports the purchase of the three parcels. He agreed that the park was near the townhomes and people could walk to the park and that popularity of the splash pad has increased the use of this park. Commissioner LaComb is in favor of acquiring the land. She expressed concern for Friday night traffic and if this has been addressed if the City would be looking at concerts being held at the park. She asked if the City would need to acquire more land for the parking. Mr. Johnson stated that when the Arts Foundation had a concert there, they had approximately 200 people. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY City of Apple Valley Dakota County, Minnesota January 25, 2010 Page 4 Commissioner Goodwin stated that if you have community arts in the park the attendance will be more than 200 people. He feels the City needs to look at the future if concerts were to get too large. He doesn't feel the City needs two concert areas in the southern part of the City because there is an area set aside in the Cobblestone Park MOTION: of LaComb, seconded by Goodwin, to purchase at the assessed value and give authority to the attorney to negotiate. Ayes - 6, Nays - 0. MOTION: of Bergman, seconded by Grendahl, to adjourn. Ayes - 6, Nays - 0. The meeting was adjourned at 6:02 o'clock p.m. Respectfully Submitted, 6, 1 , Jo e Murphy, Deputy : ty Cl: Approved by the Apple Valley Economic Development Authority on 2- 2G - 1 0 .