September 5, 2012 Albert Lea Post Authority Minutes
September 5, 2012
ALBERT LEA PORT AUTHORITY
MINUTES
September 5, 2012
Albert Lea Business Development Center
1. CALL TO ORDER & NOTATION OF ROLL
The Regular Meeting of the Albert Lea Port Authority was called to order on Wednesday, August 1, 2012 at 7:30 a.m. by President Vern Rasmussen. Roll was noted by the Board Secretary.
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Vern Rasmussen, Jr., Al Brooks, Mike Moore, Keith Fligge and Jerry Ehn
COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Nancy Skophammer and Ellen Kehr
EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS PRESENT: Chad Adams, City of Albert Lea representative; Randy Kehr, business community representative; and John Kluever, Freeborn County representative
EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS ABSENT: None
STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT: Dan Dorman, Executive Director; Ryan Nolander, Assistant Director; and Julie Dandrea, Board Secretary
STAFF MEMBERS ABSENT: None
GUESTS: Mike Murtaugh, Freeborn-Mower Coop; Rebecca Gisel, Alliant Energy
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM AUGUST 1, 2012 MEETING
The minutes from the August 1, 2012 meeting were reviewed. Commissioner Fligge made a motion to approve the minutes as presented, seconded by Commissioner Ehn. President Rasmussen asked for any discussion and hearing none, the motion carried 5 in favor; 0 opposed.
3. RESOLUTION PA-12-15 AUTHORIZING PAYMENT OF CLAIMS
The claims were presented for review. Commissioner Brooks made a motion to accept the claims as presented in the amount of $6,802.17, seconded by Commissioner Ehn. President Rasmussen asked for any discussion and hearing none, the motion carried 5 in favor; 0 opposed.
4. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Zumbro River Brand Lease – Their lease expired and they are now leasing month-to-month. There has been interest from two companies on the spec building ZRB is leasing and one of them also looked at the Enderes and Gametec buildings.
Enderes Tool – An aerial view of the two Enderes parcels was handed out. Currently, the state has the title to the property. The Port is working with the county to handle the transfer properly. It is unclear about the ownership of the property inside the building and staff is working with American Bank to resolve the issue.
Knights Inn – The owners paid the delinquent taxes to date and the property was removed from the tax forfeiture sale. Once their taxes were paid, they are able to get a mortgage on the property. The owners have also paid the delinquent CVB tax. They will now be able to apply for a liquor license.
Gametec –We are in negotiations with a company interested in this building. An appraisal is being done. In 2000, the building appraised at $585,000. The old portion of the building may need a new roof. Further discussions will take place after appraisal is finished.
Bridge Avenue – Various maps were handed out showing the area. Kwik-Trip acquired their property, removed the old building and submitted plans for a new facility assuming the existing frontage road would be in place. There was no request for a right-turn in from Bridge at that time. The request for the right-turn in resulted from discussions with Kwik-Trip and others about a possible stoplight at Sykes. This light would likely require the vacation of the frontage road. This discussion led to the right-turn request.
At this time, even with the estimated new traffic from the new Kwik-Trip, the traffic count would not meet the warrant for the use of state and federal dollars to fund the light. It was noted that in other communities, the developer would be required to pay for the light since the warrant for state and federal dollars are not met.
Freeborn Bank Bldg Update – Executive Director Dorman and city officials met with Phoenix Development, a respondent to the city’s RFQ on the building. They had two different plans for the building which included either subsidized or market rate housing. (Commissioner Ehn left at 8:15)
Letters to the Editor – Recently there have been uniformed letters in the newspaper. One referenced the Austin Port Authority. They operate somewhat like us, but are funded by the City of Austin. Other than grants and land sales, the Albert Lea Port Authority’s largest influx of funds came from repayments of a loan to Seaboard Corporation. Staff will take the opportunity when available to do PR and explain what the Port does, how it gets funding, etc. A citizens group came with Commissioner Fligge to a tax meeting here recently and also met with city and county officials collecting information. We had the opportunity to change some of their misconceptions about how the organization operates.
5. EX-OFFICIO UPDATE
Freeborn County – John Kluever, Freeborn County Representative
Kluever reported on the status of the county’s proposed 2013 budget and levy amounts. Each department made cuts. The proposed levy increase is 1.5%, but that may come down. The $10K request by the ALBDC is in the budget. There was a substantial increase in healthcare. The DHS redesign went from 12 to 6 counties. Freeborn County is now opting out of the six county model and sees big changes on the horizon. The wind farm revenue is in the budget with 80% staying with the county and 20% going to the townships. With only one year of revenue, it’s too soon to get a feel of how much this will actually bring in.
City of Albert Lea – Chad Adams, City of Albert Lea Representative
Fire services are being reviewed again and the city is considering two options: Either a five or four- man crew. The city is not looking at a general tax levy increase; however, the debt service increase on the tax levy is up with a 4.65% increase. Capital improvement planning must be done before setting the final tax levy. There may be an HRA levy. The HRA may partner more with the city on rehabbing tax forfeiture properties for affordable housing. (John Kluever left at 8:47)
The city is working on water and sewer rates with assistance from Executive Director Dorman.
There is another public hearing scheduled September 24 on the Streetscapes Project. The timeline for construction is early 2013. A fact sheet on the bump-outs was sent out to the public. The city may save $400K or more by not putting in new traffic signals. Stop signs without the bump-outs would not be visible enough. If the assessments are capped at $30K per building, then the rest would be spread out around downtown.
The city is working with the watershed and county officials on the Stables area. If 1/3 of the cost would be paid by the watershed and 1/3 paid by the city, then possibly the county would do the same. The city is looking for funding from the state based on circumstances in the area. St. John’s Lutheran Home will be giving a timeline on their project within next few weeks.
Chamber of Commerce – Randy Kehr, business community representative
There will be an Energy conservation workshop at Freeborn-Mower Cooperative tomorrow for homes and businesses. A forum is planned for October 6 for the state legislature race. It will be partnered with Austin and held at Freeborn-Mower Cooperative. The Chamber will also organize one for the school board and county and city races.
6. COMMISSIONER ITEMS – none
7. ADJOURNMENT
Commissioner Moore made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Commissioner Brooks. The motion carried 4 in favor, 0 opposed. The meeting adjourned at 8:55 a.m.
Filed and attested September 5, 2012.
____________________________ __________________________
President Board Secretary