Minutes

New Brighton Economic Development Commission

Regular Meeting - August 11, 1998

7:30 a.m.

Roll Call

Present:	Rakesh Argawala, Mayor Bob Benke, Carol Frey, Linda Harmon, Ann Hoffman, Ken Johnson, John Kaufhold, Maxine Pierson, Dean Tollefson

Absent:	Eugene Delaune II

Also Present:	Jill Bishop, Economic Development Specialist

Matt Fulton, City Manager

Kevin Locke, Community Development Director

Approval of Minutes

The minutes of the July 14, 1998 Economic Development Commission meeting were approved with the revision of the last sentence concerning the Jones Lake discussion to state, "The EDC responded positively to the concepts discussed."

BCP II Neighborhood Retail Center

Bishop explained the three phases of the approximately $11,000,000 project. These are the key elements of the project:

A convenience store close to the road and designed to shield the canopy from the residential homes to the east.

A car wash is included with the convenience store. The EDC expressed major concerns over the accompanying noises and request careful attention given to minimizing the impact to the surrounding neighborhood.

The building at 6th Street and 5th Avenue will house a 3,000 square foot restaurant and 6,000 square feet of office use.

The two corner buildings on the west side of the project will be two stories with underground parking. A bank, a day care, and retail uses will occupy the space.

A traffic study, which SEH completed, would be incorporated into the current scheme.

The project would be completed in three phases as outlined in the financial analysis handout.

Motion by Tollefson, seconded by Pierson, to support the current scheme. The motion passed unanimously.

Railroad Wye

Bishop provided an update of the project.

The current coal contract with Wisconsin Utilities runs until 2001.

The Union Pacific (U.P.) is exploring alternative routes for the coal trains.

Several measures have been taken to minimize the time they block the streets.

The U.P. Railway cannot justify the investment of building a wye at this time.

Fulton stressed that the City views this as a continuing problem and will be vigilant in using available resources to manage the situation.

The owner of the property of the proposed wye site is working under severe time constraints and needs an answer as soon as possible. The window of opportunity for a "willing seller" project may not exist when the property is sold later this fall.

Participants will go back to their respective railroads and discuss the alternative suggestion of obtaining an option of the easement for the wye site. Decisions will be made by August 14.

Minar Ford/ McDonald's Project

Locke explained that McDonald's proposed new building scheduled for this fall. Minar Ford and McDonald's will swap land to make the McDonald's parcel square and allow Minar Ford access to their property from Palmer Drive. The Commissioners were supportive of the new arrangement. A question was raised about the Silver Lake Road access to McDonald's from the northbound lane. There was a concern that it would cause traffic problems because it would be close to the corner.

Other Business

The Commissioners were invited to participate in the neighborhood planning sessions scheduled for Wednesday evening in the local neighborhood parks.

Adjourn

The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 a.m.