12-03-2008 EDAMEDA Board of Directors
Meeting Minutes
12:00 PM Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008
(November Meeting)
Members present in bold print:
Members
Tim Ulrich Diane Gordon Steve Jansick
Casey Stotts Jim Haugen Mike McGraw
Staff
Miles Seppelt, EDA Director
Mike Solinger, EDA Assistant
Call to Order
Mike McGraw called the meeting to order at 12:04 PM.
II. Approve Agenda
No action.
III. Review Meeting Minutes
A. October 29 Board of Directors
Marc Vaillancourt
M /S /P: Vaillancourt, Gordon to approve the October 29th EDA Board minutes as written.
Passed unanimously.
B. October 22nd Finance Team
M /S /P: Jansick, Haugen to approve the Finance Team minutes of October 22nd meeting
as written. Passed unanimously.
IV. Review October Financial Statements — Miles Seppelt, EDA Director
• As of October 31 st, the EDA had $36,577 in cash available for operations.
• Rental income of $500 was received from the Wetherell Property.
• Year -to -date improvements to land is $6,493, will most being dispersed for a drainage
swale for the Stritesky Property.
• The Economic Development Loan Fund currently has $103,010 in cash available. Loans
to Warrior Mfg. and Ashwill Industries are performing as required.
• Discussion was held about the possibility of writing off the Allied Mechanical Loan. A
decision will be made at year end.
• The Downtown Revolving Loan Fund currently has $292,234 in cash available and holds
mortgages totaling $775,198.
• Total loan repayments and distributions to date are $91,781 and $176,404 respectively.
To date, grant payments total $39,602.
• The MIF Loan Fund has cash available of $48,306.
u
VI
VII
M /S /P: Vaillancourt, Gordon to approve the EDA Financial Report as presented. Passed
unanimously.
Director's Report
A. Cenex Project
• Monitoring wells will be distributed throughout the property to track further site
pollution. .
• The 1St reimbursement to Cenex from the State Ag Program has been disbursed. A
second reimbursement will be in January.
B. Customer Elation Call Center BR & E Visits
■ Mr. Seppelt will disburse the final loan payment to . HTI
the call center this afternoon of December 3�d. ■ Phoenix Solutions
■ Target
C. County EDA
• Nominations to the County EDA Exploratory
Committee have been delayed.
• The County Board will hold a workshop to discuss this committee.
D. Business Incubator
• Ridgewater College seems to be loosing interest in the Incubator Project.
• Mr. Ulrich made a suggestion to the Board that the EDA should explore the idea of
leasing space in Ridgewater East and renting that space out to companies to
incubate. Discussion followed.
E. Industrial Park Acquisition
■ The City is waiting for Mr. Hackbarth's attorneys to sort out the legal details of the
arrangement. This language is vital for moving the acquisition forward. The city
would like to have the deal done by year end.
Recommendation for reappointment of Tim Ulrich to EDA Board.
M /S /P: McGraw, Jansick to approve the recommendation to the City Council for the
reappointment of Tim Ulrich to the EDA Board. Passed Unanimously. Ulrich abstained
from vote.
Update of Business Subsidy Policy
Mr. Seppelt filled the Board in on updates made to the Business Subsidy Policy. The
following updates were made:
• Business Subsidies do not include assistance of less than $150,000, and do not include
business loans or loan guarantees of $150,000 or less.
• The Minimum Wage has changed for retail to $7.25/hr and commercial to $9.06 /hr.
M /S /P: Vaillancourt, Gordon to approve the updated language of the Business Subsidy
Policy. Passed Unanimously.
VIII. Consideration of Equipment Loan Program
■ In order to simplify the EDA Loan Program, Mr. Seppelt brought forth to the board this
loan program that will allow businesses to borrow up to $40,000 to finance equipment.
M /S /P: Gordon, Vaillancourt to approve Equipment Loan Program with a borrowing limit
of $40,000. Passed unanimously.
IX. Ashwill Industries Loan
• Tony Ashwill has brought forth a request to pay off his current loan in full and apply for a
new loan. This new loan will be used for working capital to reduce utility costs.
• Discussion followed and upon Mr. Ashwill submitting the necessary paperwork to the
Finance Team, the EDA Board will make a decision.
X. Consideration of 2009 Projects
The Board did not yet have any more suggestions for 2009 projects.
XI. Grant & Loan Applications
Sign and Awning Grant Program
Wild Prairie Coin — Glen Kashuba
122 Main St. N
$1,537.67
M /S /P: Jansick, McGraw to approve the Sign Matching Grant in the amount of $1,537.67.
Passed Unanimously.
Hairy Edge — Elizabeth Painschab
6 Main St. N
$1,986.23
M /S /P: Gordon, McGraw to approve the Sign Matching Grant in the amount of $1,986.23.
Passed Unanimously.
XII. Other Business
■ Mr. Seppelt, Mr. Vaillancourt, and Mr. Corby met with Senator Amy Klobishar to discuss
rural economic development. The group shared areas of emphasis and gave input on the
need for infrastructure in the areas industrial parks.
XIII. Chamber Update
Mr. Corby updated the Board on the current activities of the Chamber of Commerce
XIV. Set Next Meeting
Due to the holiday season, the December meeting will be moved to Wednesday, January 7th
XV. Adjourn
With no further business to attend to, the meeting adjourned at 12:59 PM.
Respectfully Submitted,
Mike Solinger
EDA Assistant