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05-28-2004 EDAMHutchinson EDA Board of Directors Minutes of Meeting Friday, May 28, 2004 at 7:00 a.m. Members present in bold print: Members: Tim Ulrich Bob Windel Jim Haugen Don Walser Duane Hoversten Keith Fischer Casey Stotts Guests: Tina Vorlicek Staff: Miles Seppelt, EDA Executive Director Susan Rolander, EDA Intern 1. Tim Ulrich called the meeting to order at 7:00 a.m. 2. Welcome back Miles 3. Review minutes of April 23rd, 2004 EDA Board meeting. M/S /P: Walser, Haugen to approve the EDA Board minutes of April 23rd, 2004 as written. 4. Review Minutes May 19th, 2004 Finance Team meeting. M/S /P: Fischer, Walser to approve the minutes from the April 21st, 2004 meeting as written. 5. Review minutes of May 25th Industrial Park Team meeting. M/S /P: Windel, Haugen to approve the minutes from the May 25th, 2004 meeting as written. 6. Review April Financial Statement. Miles reviewed the April Financial Statement for the Board. The EDA has $112,279 in cash available, as listed on page 1. Miles directed the Board to look at the Economic Development Loan Fund on page 4. Allied Mechanical Systems, Inc. is delinquent on their loan payments. Miles visited the company this week, which is still operating. He has been working with the City Attorney to determine how to proceed. Miles sent a letter to the company and requested that they contact him right away. At the Finance Team meeting, it was determined that the UCC had not been filed; steps have been taken to remedy this issue. Miles hopes to meet with someone from Allied Mechanical next week to discuss options for payment. M/S /P: Walser, Fischer to approve the April Financial Statements. 7. Directors Report Miles Seppelt gave the following report: Wetherell property: The preliminary plat has been approved. Utilities will be extended to the property by the end of August. The lift station is being constructed and should be completed by the end of July. Stritesky property: Miles stated that the Hassan Valley Township Board is objecting to the annexation, although the Planning Commission approved annexation of the Stritesky property. Their reason is listed as loss of prime agricultural land and that they do not want to lose it to the proposed use by Creek Side Compost. The issue will now go to the State Board of Boundary Adjustments. The Board talked about access to the Stritesky property. Miles stated that Steve Madsen took him on a tour of Creek Side Compost. Discussion about the current Creek Side site took place, specifically about the poor appearance. The Board agreed that if Creek Side were to lease a portion of the Stritesky property, that fencing and berms would be required to improve the aesthetic appeal. 8. Cost estimate for Downtown lighting project Miles stated that there is a request for the EDA to provide funding for a Feasibility Study for the downtown lighting and streetscaping project. He explained that John Rodeberg, Director of Engineering /Public Works, has requested that a consultant be hired to complete a Feasibility Study to determine the scope of the project, and provide more firm numbers for the cost. John indicated that the cost of the consultant was not to exceed $10,000. Miles gave a brief description of the project and stated that a minimum of 20 percent of the project cost must be assessed to property owners along Main Street. He added that this project would not only support the Downtown Master Plan, but is also a necessity for safety reasons. The life span of the current streetlights is about 30 years, and they have already been in place for 36 years. The Board discussed the project, and the need for the Feasibility Study to determine firm numbers for the cost of the project. Miles also explained the possibility of the city doing a pilot project on one block of Washington Avenue in front of the Leader office and the Hutch Hotel to show the community what the streetscaping would look like. M/S /P: Walser, Stotts to approve providing up to $10,000.00 from the Downtown Loan Fund to pay for the Feasibility Study for the Downtown Lighting project. 9. Review Sign and Awning grant application Tim stated that Steve Ward of Ward Law Office has applied for a Sign and Awning Grant. Ward would like to remove the Peterson/Paulson awning located at the front entrance, leaving the brackets, and replace it with a similar awning with Ward Law Office printed on it. At the back entrance, he would like to add a rounded awning, also with the name of the business on it. Ward submitted an estimate from Viking Awnings & More. The total cost of the project is $3,466.80, and the requested grant amount is $2,000. The Finance Team approved this request. M/S /P: Windel, Fischer to approve a Sign and Awning grant for $2,000.00 for Steve Ward. 10. Grant program guidelines - subcommittee Miles stated that Don Walser, Steve Jansick, and himself would meet next week to review the guidelines for the grant programs. They will develop some recommendations to present next month. 11. Hutch Hotel update Miles stated that Tom Daggett & Jeff Haag have been in contact with a restaurant, and hope to have it locate on the first floor of the hotel. The Board asked if the issue of a sprinkler system had been resolved, and Miles indicated that it had. Miles said that the owners of the State Theater are working with Historic Hutchinson to plan a grand opening for late in the summer. A new marquee will be installed at the main entrance. Susan will look into contacting the Minneapolis newspaper for publicity for the grand opening. Susan stated that Lisa McClure had requested that the Board be notified of Robert Claybaugh's involvement in the Hutch Hotel project. The Board had requested a more firm number on the cost of consultation. His rate is $100.00 per hour, and indicated that it could take between 6 — 10 hours to meet and draw some plans. He indicated that the Board could request a "not to exceed" number of dollars or hours. The Board discussed this option. M/S /P: Walser, Windel to approve providing up to $1,000.00 to fund historical architectural consultation by Robert Claybaugh for the Hutch Hotel project. 12. Downtown project update Miles stated that downtown issues had been discussed in other agenda items. 13. Industrial Park Team update Miles stated that the Industrial Park Team has been discussing covenants /declarations for the spec building to be constructed on the Wetherell property. An RFP is also being developed. The Board discussed Raske Builder's involvement. The declarations were forwarded to Raske's and Dick McClure for suggestions. Miles stated that if the spec building were EDA- owned, it would be easier to govern its appearance and business activities. Miles will finish drafting the RFP and have the Industrial Park Team review it before sending it out. 14. Chamber Update Tina Vorlicek stated that the EAP program is in place, although no one has signed up at this time. If anyone is interested, contact Tina for more information. Sue Mortenson has been hired at the Chamber Office for part time office help. Dairy Days will be held Friday, June 4`h in Library Square. Music in the Park will begin on Monday, June 141' 15. Other Business Miles stated that Susan has spoken with an artist about painting a mural downtown. Possible locations include Econo Foods, Shopko, or Ace Hardware. He and Susan would research funding sources for the project. 16. Set next meeting The next meeting was set for Friday, June 25th at 7:00 am. 17. Adjourn The meeting adjourned at 7:56 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Susan Rolander EDA Intern