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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1990/02/05 - ADMIN - Minutes - Economic Development Authority - RegularMICROFILMED MINUTES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY ST. LOUIS PARK, MINNESOTA February 5, 1990 1. Call to order The meeting was called to order by President Keith Meland at 6:30 p.m. 2. Roll ca 11 l ) J The following commissioners were present at roll call: Bruce Battaglia, Allen Friedman, Lyle Hanks, Larry Mitchell and Keith Meland. Jane Tschida arrived shortly thereafter. Also present were the Executive Director, City Attorney and Director of Community Development. 3. Approval of minutes of Jan 2 and 8, 1990 It was moved by Commissioner Hanks, seconded by Commissioner Battaglia, to approve. The motion passed 6-0. 4. Approval of agenda for Feb. 5, 1990 It was moved by Commissioner Friedman, seconded by Commission Battaglia, to approve the agenda for Feb. 5 with the fo 11 owing addition: add M IDA. The motion passed 6-0. 5. Reports a. Presentation by Wilkins Pontiac - John Lundquist, representing Wilkins, addressed the authority. It was his intent to identify the major business or deal points and achieve some sort of consensus on those; thereafter he and staff can sit down and hammer out the language of an agreement. It was moved by Commissioner Hanks, seconded by Commissioner Tschida, that the item be turned back to staff and Wilkins to discuss the items contained in staff's report with the hope of drafting an agreement. The motion passed 6-0. 5b. Environmental evaluation: Excelsior Blvd./Park Center Blvd. - The Executive Director said the next step in this process is to complete a review of existing data; recommend supplemental investigative activit ies if required; and prepare a position statement relative to the site's condition. Commissioner Battaglia suggested factoring into the report costs to clean up the site should that be necessary. Commissioner Friedman was concerned about the Cit y proceeding on its own wit h this evaluation - sort of moving along without a roadmap. Commiss i oner Mitchell interpreted the report as going out fo r proposals, none of which had to be accepted. He felt the cost of doing any site cleanup, etc. would be factored into such proposals. He felt that this type of assessment would have to be done, that a letter from the MPCA saying the site was developable was not sufficient. Commissioner Battaglia wondered if two parallel paths could not be followed: one being going out for proposals to see what it would take to correct any soils problem; the other going out to financial institutions/developers to see what the Authority needs to do to develop that property. Commissioner Tschida felt the whole picture should be looked at before staff seeks proposals - do we know what we want Excelsior Blvd. to look like. Before marketing this piece, she preferred to wait until the Authority had discussed what was going to happen from France to Meadowbrook Golf Course. to It was moved by Commissioner Battaglia, seconded by Commissioner Friedman/receive the report for filing and do parallel action re the marketability of the site. The motion passed 6-0. 5c. Status report on developers1 interest in Excelsior Blvd./Hwy. 100 site The Citv Manager said that unsolicited staff has received 14 inquiries about the site. He said that the RFP process has been used in the past; however, the downside of that process sometimes is that the most attractive proposal does not have the wherewi thall to get it done. Another alternative might be to look at the credentials of the various interested firms and then look at the ability of the project being financed internally. Commissioner Friedman noted that in the private sector with a piece of property this large a firm would be out marketing it. He asked how long the process of evaluation was going to take before the Authority could even think about getting a project developed on this site. The Executive Director felt that before anything takes place, the Authority needs to have in mind what it wants for the site: intensity, compatibility with adjoining land uses, tax generating ability, etc. Cornmissioner Battaglia felt there was a significant difference between a private and a public owner of property, i.e. the private owner is only interested in the maximum return on his investment; a community has different interests in mind,principally, will the project be compatible with the needs of the community. President Meland said the City had made a commitment to the neighborhood and he would want them involved again. Commissioner Mitchell felt the last go round on this property had been a negative experience. He felt some of the suggestions contained in staff's report should be discussed more thoroughly. Commissioner Tschida asked if it would be possible to piggyback this discussion on the Highway 7 corridor discussion slated for the Feb. 12 meeting. She felt the Authority did not really know where it was going with this site, how it ties in with the whole Excelsior Blvd., Wolfe Park, etc. The Executive Di rector suggested staff contact the two persons coming to speak on Hwy. 7 and ask them to be prepared to comment on this site as well. This was agreeable to the Authority. I ) n J l ) J I O It was moved by Commissioner Hanks, seconded by Commissioner Mitchell, discuss this matter at a Feb. 26 study session. The motion passed 6-0. to 5d. Expansion of redevelopment districts, modification of tax increment financing plans and sale of bonds noted Di rector/ two issues - related but separate - were involved in Redevelopment district expansion/Plan modification and sale of The Executive this report: bonds. It was moved by Commissioner Tschida, seconded by Commissioner Battaglia, that the Authority authorize preparation of amendments to expand the Excelsior Blvd. and Oak Park Village redevelopment districts and to use tax increments to pay "redevelopment costs" anywhere in the area. The motion passed 6-0. It was moved by Commissioner Battaglia, seconded by Commissioner Tschida, that Miller & Schroeder be appointed as financial consultant for the bond issue and that Holmes and Graven be appointed bond consel. The motion passed 6-0. 6a. Highway 7 District redevelopment guidelines It was moved by Commissioner Friedman, seconded by Commissioner Tschida, to defer to March 5, 1990. The motion passed 6-0. 6b. MIDA Commissioner Friedman asked if a member of staff or the Authority will be attending the MIDA meetings. The President said the Authority would need a schedule of meeting times and places which would determine availability of commissioners to attend. 8a. Construction fund financial statement It was moved by Commissioner Hanks, seconded by Commissioner Battaglia, to receive for filing. The motion passed 6-0. 8b. Claims Commissioner Friedman had questions on STS Consultants and ENSR Corp. The Executive Director provided clarification. It was moved by Councilmember Friedman to approve the claims list with the exception of the claim from Popham, Haik. Commissioner Tschida seconded. Comm issi oner H an ks d i d not bel i eve Pop h am , Ha i k sho uld be put off fo r another month. He would support the motio n if the Authority could consider Popham , Haik 's statement on Feb. 20. Commissioner Friedman was agreeable . The motio n passed 6-0 . 9. Adjournment It was moved by Commissio ner Battaglia , seconded by Commissio ner Frie dm an, to adjourn the meeting at 7:22 p.m . The motion passed 6-0 . .la=--4 Executive Director )