Minutes

New Brighton Economic Development Commission

Regular Meeting - February 11, 1997

7:30 a.m.

Call to Order

Chair Ken Johnson called the meeting to order at 7:35 a.m.

Roll Call

Present:	Robert Benke, Carol Frey, George Gregori, Ken Johnson, John Kaufhold, Mike Olson, Maxine Pierson, Jeff Schopf, Dean Tollefson, Roger Williams

Absent:

Also Present:	Matthew Fulton, City Manager

Kevin Locke, Director of Community Development

Jill Hanson, Economic Development Specialist

Approval of Minutes

The Commission approved the minutes of the January 14, 1997, as written.

New Members Introduced

The new Commission members were introduced to the EDC. The City Council newly appointed John Kaufhold and Dean Tollefson to the Commission and reappointed Maxine Pierson. Carol Frey, recently hired as the new Chamber Executive, will be serving as an ex officio member.

Old Highway 8 Update

The next public meeting on the alternatives for land uses for the Old Highway 8 Corridor will be held on February 20. These are the three alternatives:

The Bridge Core alternative emphasizes the downtown and NW Quadrant areas

The Focused District Concept focuses on a series of districts along key points on Old Highway 8

The Linked Uses Concept disperses uses in the Corridor and links them to Old Highway 8 through a common theme.

Other issues that we will discuss are the extension of County Road E2 and the addition of the railroad wye. The railroad wye would allow an eastern turn and relieve some traffic problems caused by the coal trains blocking roads in the downtown area.

Rice Creek Center

Staff has placed several calls to the current owners of the Rice Creek Center and is still waiting for them to call. Staff will continue to try to reach the Partnership for details on their proposed plans.

Brightondale Expansion

Mike Gould and Allen Black are proposing an expansion of the Brightondale project. The project would include an Alzheimer wing that can serve 20 residents. As the population ages, a greater percentage of the population will experience some form of dementia. This segment will continue to grow over the next few decades. According to a recent study cited by Black, 17,000 seniors live within three to five miles of the proposed site. Of this population, approximately 2,200 has Alzheimer's Disease and approximately 1,700 has other forms of dementia.

The concept was brought before the Planning Commission in January. The proposed density of the combined project would not be allowable under current zoning codes. Parking would also be an issue if an expansion occurred. The EDC recommended that the zoning ordinance may need to be revisited to deal with projects such as nursing homes and assisted living.

Fulton said four issues needed to be dealt with: zoning, project drainage, parking, and the project's interaction with Rice Creek Shopping Center.

Adjourn

The meeting adjourned at 8:42 a.m.