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City Council - 12/05/2005 - Workshop APPROVED MINUTES JOINT MEETING OF THE EDEN PRAIRIE CITY COUNCIL AND EDEN PRAIRIE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE & OPEN FORUM/OPEN PODIUM MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2005 CITY CENTER 5:00—6:25 PM, HERITAGE ROOM II 6:30—7:00 PM, COUNCIL CHAMBER CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Nancy Tyra-Lukens, Councilmembers Brad Aho, Sherry Butcher, Ron Case, and Philip Young CITY STAFF: City Manager Scott Neal, Police Chief Dan Carlson, Fire Chief George Esbensen, Public Works Director Eugene Dietz, Parks and Recreation Director Bob Lambert, Community Development Director Janet Jeremiah, Communications Manager Pat Brink, Assistant to the City Manager Michael Barone, City Attorney Ric Rosow, and Recorder Lorene McWaters CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Pat MulQueeny, President; Directors Joe Smith, Tim Samuelson, Shirley Lye, Greg Olson, Dave Ward, Melissa Krull I. CURRENT AFFAIRS AT THE CHAMBER A. CHAMBER BOARD MEMBERS Pat MulQueeny reviewed current board membership, and members coming on to the board in January 2006. B. GROWTH IN CHAMBER MEMBERSHIP MulQueeny said there were 373 active members when he became president of the Chamber three years ago; today there are 465 active members. Last year, 101 new members joined; and they are just seven members short of 100 new members for this year. MulQueeny said the Eden Prairie Chamber is the twelfth largest in metro. He noted that all other larger Chambers, with the exception of Burnsville, represent more than one community. C. COMPOSITION OF CHAMBER MEMBERSHIP MulQueeny said professional services entities make up the bulk of the membership. Restaurants make up the largest single group. Chamber membership represents 25,000 area employees. II. CITY PARTICIPATION IN THE CHAMBER MulQueeny noted that a number of City employees serve on Chamber committees and contribute to other Chamber activities. David Lindahl has been a member of the Business Development Committee of Chamber for three years, Mary Keating is on the Education Committee, and Molly Koivumaki is on Recognition Committee. Rod Rue has participated on the Transportation Committee. Lindahl said he has seen the relationship between the City and the Chamber blossom over the last several years. He said that even when the two organizations have different positions, the channels of communication have remained open. Council Workshop December 5, 2005—page 2 III. CHAMBER DISCUSSION ITEMS A. POSITIONS/ISSUES 1. Vikings Stadium MulQueeny said the idea of the joint Chamber/City stadium proposal grew out of a casual conversation about whether or not Eden Prairie had a site for a stadium. MulQueeny said the stadium proposal was his first major project at the Chamber and, although we dropped out of the process, it helped solidify the relationship between the Chamber and the City. 2. Flying Cloud Airport In August 2004, the Chamber Board approved a resolution supporting extension of the runway at Flying Cloud Airport. The Chamber feels the airport is an area of economic development. Although the City and the Chamber have different positions on the airport, Board Member Dave Ward said he feels the City and Chamber have dealt with each other well on the issue. 3. Farmer's Market MulQueeny said the Chamber did not take a position on a farmers market; however, when the issue was being discussed at the City, the Chamber wanted to ensure local businesses were represented. He said the Chamber was also in favor of minimal rents for the use of City property. 4. Transportation Advocacy MulQueeny said the gas tax increase was source of significant debate on Chamber's Government Committee. He believes the Chamber will continue to support the gas tax in the future. Mayor Tyra-Lukens asked about the constitutional amendment that is to be on ballot next Fall for transportation. She asked whether or not the Chamber will take a position. MulQueeny said transportation is a key issue for most Chamber members, and the Eden Prairie Chamber is meeting with the Edina Chamber on the issue next week. One meeting topic will be raising funds for a publicity campaign. Tyra-Lukens said dealing with the wording of the amendment, which is not clear, will be challenging. She would like to see the Chamber provide active education for their members on it. 5. Healthcare Costs A Chamber goal has been to educate chamber members on the overall health care system. Senior Executives from Allina, Ridgeview Medical, the Minnesota Chamber, and a state legislator presented to the Chamber on how companies can control costs. This will be a continuing effort. Council Workshop December 5, 2005—page 3 B. PROGRAMS 1. Leadership Eden Prairie Eden Prairie staff have worked on with Chamber on the program and participated in the program. The program will probably continue to be offered every two years,but it may be revamped based on participant input. 2. Home, Landscape and Garden Expo This will be the fourth year for the Home, Landscape and Garden Expo. This is a showcase for local businesses and the Chamber hopes it will continue to grow. 3. Maps The Chamber worked with Pat Brink on the City map. The City and Chamber have gone through 10,000 copies of the map in nine months, and a new one is in the works. The Chamber distributes the maps through hotels and the City provides it to new residents and businesses. Neal said the City and the Chamber used to do their own maps; now the Chamber produces the map and the City buys into it. Neal said this has been a good cooperative venture. IV. CITY DISCUSSION ITEMS A. MCA FEEDBACK AND SURVEY RESPONSES Jeremiah distributed survey responses from the Chamber Luncheon at which she and Scott Neal presented on the MCA study. Jeremiah noted that four of five top concerns for Chamber members were the same as those listed by residents; however, while Chamber members felt regional access was a top element, residents listed sidewalks as critical. Neal said the City has appreciated working with the Chamber on the study and thanked them for their continuing participation. Aho asked what sort of feedback the Chamber has heard from its members regarding the MCA study. MulQueeny said a lot of the comments are about the unknowns. It is a large project and not everyone fully understands it. The plan appears to include some drastic changes, and there are concerns about the timing of transitions, etc. Board Member Joe Smith said he has heard concerns about funding. There is apprehension about costs to businesses. B. CONVENTION & VISITOR'S BUREAU Neal said in 2003, the City and the Chamber explored forming a CVB with funding from a proposed hotel/motel tax. The City's position was that we would not impose a CVB on the hospitality community if they were against it. There was not unanimous support for a CVB among the hospitality industry. Lindahl said quite a few hoteliers were interested; however, two of the largest hotels were Council Workshop December 5, 2005—page 4 vehemently opposed to a tax. More recently a group has been looking at converting a floor of the old Mervyns store into a conference center, along with formation of a CVB to help market it. Lindahl said the same two hotels again have expressed that they do not see the benefit of such a plan. Lindahl said if C.H. Robinson ever decides to vacate their lease at City Center,he would encourage Council to look at possibilities for a conference center or incubator for that space. C. REDEVELOPMENT IN EDEN PRAIRIE & CHAMBER ROLE IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Neal and Mulqueeny have discussed the Chamber's desired role in this area. Mulqueeny said the Chamber has a strong relationship with City in this area, and they would like to continue to expand on it. One possibility is a joint open house of available business spaces. MulQueeny said the Chamber will gladly continue to work with the City on joint ventures of this type. Lindahl said every new business in Eden Prairie receives a welcome packet from the City along with Chamber information. MulQueeny suggested inviting new businesses to a welcome meeting put on cooperatively between the City and Chamber. Tyra-Lukens asked about commercial vacancy rates, particularly in the Golden Triangle. Lindahl said they have improved tremendously. He noted Wells Fargo has moved into the ADC building, and Research Inc. was purchased by Starkey Labs. Physical Electronics has been purchased and will likely be redeveloped. The new owner of the old Best Buy headquarters is in discussions with Wal-Mart. There is a possibility Wal-Mart could relocate there. OPEN FORUM A. FLAG POLICY—JOHN MALLO Mr. Mallo thanked the City for instituting the new flag policy. B. HISTORIC PRESERVATION—JAN MOSMAN Ms. Mosman addressed Council on the positive economic aspects of historic preservation. C. BENT CREEK GOLF COURSE— STEVE CHELESNIK Mr. Chelesnik said residents continue to unearth important information about the Edenvale PUD. He said the group's primary purpose is to save Bent Creek and preserve open space. Councilmember Case asked for a discussion of the issue to be scheduled for an upcoming meeting. Councilmember Young asked staff to prepare a summary of key issues and inquired into the legalities of discussing the issue before any formal submittals have been made. City Attorney Ric Rosow Council Workshop December 5, 2005—page 5 said he advises the Council not to take a position on any issue before a public hearing takes place. City Manager Scott Neal suggested that the issue be added to the January 3 Council Meeting agenda. III. OPEN PODIUM IV. ADJOURNMENT