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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAd Hoc Business Park Planning Committee - Minutes - 1/13/20211 Bayfield County Administrator 117 E 5th Street, PO Box 878, Washburn, WI 54891 Ph: 715-373-6181 Fx: 715-373-6153 Mark Abeles-Allison, County Administrator Kristine Kavajecz, Human Resources Director Paige Terry, Clerk III Minutes of the: Bayfield County Ad-Hoc Business Park Planning Committee Wednesday January 13th, 2021 – 2:30 p.m. Meeting Held Remotely BAYFIELD COUNTY AD HOC BUSINESS PARK PLANNING COMMITTEE Cole Rabska, Chair Mike BeBeau Mark Abeles-Allison, Marty Milanowski Leo Carlson, Vice-Chair Preston Mikula 1. Call to Order; The Bayfield County Ad Hoc Business Park Planning County was called to order at 2:31 p.m. A roll call was taken by Chair Cole Rabska, as follows, present: Chair Cole Rabska, County Administrator-Mark Abeles-Allison, Vice-Chair Leo Carlson, Preston Mikula, Marty Milanowski. Absent: Mike BeBeau. Total: 5 present, 1 absent. A quorum was present to conduct business. Also present: Clerk III–Paige Terry; Supervisor Fred Strand 2. Public Comment; None. 3. Election of Officers; Committee Member Milanowski nominated Cole Rabska to serve as Business Park Planning Committee Chair, Abeles-Allison seconded the motion. Chair Cole Rabska asked for any other nominations 3 times. Motion Carried, 5-0, 1 absent. Chair Rabska nominated Marty Milanowski to serve as Business Park Planning Committee Vice- Chair, Carlson seconded the motion. Chair Cole Rabska asked for any other nominations 3 times. Motion Carried, 5-0, 1 absent. 4. Minutes from January 15th, 2020; Motion by Milanowski seconded by Rabska to adopt the minutes of the January 15th, 2020 Bayfield County Ad-Hoc Business Park meeting as presented. Motion carried, 5-0, 1 absent. 5. Update Regarding KV Tech Groundbreaking; 2 Milanowski informed the committee that he was under the assumption that all the permits were in order. Rabska reported that he had a discussion with Isaac from KV Tech and learned that construction is looking to begin in April 2021 and they have switched to a new plumber due to difficulties securing a sanitary permit. The only issue being faced at the moment is the sanitary permit, which is expecting to be pulled together by the end of February 2021. Rabska explained to the committee that he believed they were going to be entering a holding tank situation and is unsure of the sanitary permit issues. Abeles-Allison questioned Rabska if he wouldn’t mind giving KV Tech a call to tell them that the Bayfield County Planning & Zoning Department would be able to walk them through steps they may need to take, whether it is septic or sanitary specific. Rabska informed the committee that KV Tech had been busy with the project all Summer and Fall. Their issues aren’t a matter of money, but a matter of time available to work. 6. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Xcel Energy Lease of 12 Acres; Abeles-Allison reported that Xcel Energy is getting ready to work on the 2nd circuit line between Hwy 2 and Bayfield. The project is estimated to take 2+ years. Xcel has asked for a yard where they may be able to store equipment and materials. Abeles-Allison reported that Xcel has inquired into a 12.4 acre parcel located South of Superior Sauna and North of Arganbright Road. Abeles- Allison informed the committee that the Bayfield County Planning & Zoning Department had already approved conditional land use on the parcel, the County Board had also approved it. Abeles-Allison shared the terms that have been shared with Xcel Energy: a) Start Date; originally December 1, 2020, 24 months, ends Nov 30, 2022 b) $ amount of Lease. 12.4 Acres a. Approximately $30,200 total b. Abeles-Allison reported that the terms have been shared with Xcel, but no response has been heard. Xcel Energy has stated any changes made to the site, it is Xcel’s desire to return the site to its previous condition based on PSC rulings. c) Insurance Certificate d) Ground Protection shall be exercised so as not to overly compact lands a. Xcel would be placing netting and wood mats in area without equipment on it. Other areas where mats would be placed, Abeles-Allison explained that Xcel would be moving topsoil into a pile to return it to its original place afterwards. e) Any type of environmental event, county to be notified as soon as possible but not less than 8 hours f) Improvements; Culverts, entry drive a. Abeles-Allison reported that one culvert would be located off of Arganbright Road and the other would be located off of State Park Road. g) Protect wellhead a. Abeles-Allison informed the committee that Xcel was asked to put up a barrier to protect the wellhead located on the parcel. h) Maintain good neighbor relations with the home as well as Ashland Ford and Superior Sauna i) Electrical Service a. Abeles-Allison explained that any electrical service extensions that are created would be beneficial if they were made permanent. j) Gas Service a. Abeles-Allison reported that he had asked Xcel if they were willing to extend gas to the site. 3 Abeles-Allison explained that a final lease has not been reached yet, but he is under the assumption that the project is a go. Carlson asked Abeles-Allison if there were any need for Internet on the location. Rabska replied saying that he didn’t believe they did as they will be mainly using the site for cold storage and placing a couple of job trailers. Carlson questioned if they were going to be needing video surveillance or any other type of surveillance. Abeles-Allison stated that he would ask Xcel. Rabska informed the committee that the site in question is only approximately 10 feet away from the Bayfield Electric Base; however, Xcel is well aware of the situation. Abeles-Allison asked if action should be taken to support the proceeding and executing of the agreement with Xcel Energy. Abeles-Allison asked Mikula if he had any concerns. Mikula stated that he had to concern. Motion by Milanowski seconded by Abeles-Allison to proceed with the Xcel Energy Lease Agreement on the 12.4 acres. Motion Carried, 5-0, 1 absent. 7. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Hazelnut Trial Land Lease; Abeles-Allison informed the committee of the State of Wisconsin Hazelnut Program trial that is being proposed by UW-Extension Agricultural Agent Jason Fischbach and reviewed the timeline of the trial. Approximated costs of the trial are around $10,000, which would be put towards the planting, upkeep, fencing, and maintenance of the hazelnuts. The UW-Extension Committee has yet to meet and discuss the allocation of funds. Abeles-Allison shared photos of the proposed location and discussed the location compared to neighboring land occupants. Abeles-Allison reminded the committee that Bayfield Foods does have the option of 5 additional acres south of their current buildings. Abeles-Allison reviewed the two land options available for holding the hazelenut trial, the first involving land closer to the road and the second involves utilizing land towards the inside of the parcel and away from the road. 2:56 p.m. – Rabska reported that he would be jumping back and forth between Items 7 and 8 because the topics related to each other. 3:04 p.m. – Rabska returned to the topic of the hazelnut trials. Committee members reviewed the flexibility of changing the location of the hazelnut trials if need be. 8. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Superior Sauna Inquiry; Rabska informed the committee of a conversation carried out between himself and Chuck Porter from Superior Sauna, whereas Porter expressed a desire to Contact Dave Martinson in regard to the possibility of expanding in the future. Rabska explained that Superior Sauna is potentially thinking of adding more buildings in the near future. Rabska reported that Porter is feeling the option of expanding being more viable at this point in time; however, Porter would not divulge any more 4 information. Rabska stated that he was in support of the hazelnut trials but was unsure what Porter’s plans were moving into the future. Rabska informed the committee that he was unaware if Porter was looking to expand to the North or to the East. Committee members viewed maps of the area and speculated potential options to satisfy parties looking to acquire land and/or expand. Abeles-Allison asked Rabska to clarify what he means by “expand.” Rabska stated the expansion of adding more buildings. Rabska informed the committee that he would be attempting to gather more information from Porter regarding his plans so he may bring it forth to the committee. 9. Discussion and Possible Action Regarding Sign Project; Rabska informed the committee that he is no longer able to get ahold of Shawn and speculates that he is no longer employed. Mikula confirmed that Shawn is no longer employed. Rabska reported that there was now a need to find someone to create a sign. Rabska informed the committee that poles for a sign are up, and he is unsure if he has any quotes from other businesses. Rabska explained that he may have had a quote from Signature Sign, but he may need to reach out to them for another estimate. Rabska informed that there is a purple banner to advertise the site, which will be put up in Spring. The banner will be kept on Hwy 2. 10. Marketing Discussion Plans for 2021; Rabska reported that BCEDC has hired a marketing firm to handle social media, which has posted about the business parks. Facebook posts are made semi-regularly for advertising. Abeles-Allison reminded the committee that there were two other marketing ideas originally planned for the past year that didn’t happen. First was the naming of Arganbright Road, second was the ribbon cutting. Milanowski stated that the COVID-19 numbers weren’t looking too promising for holding a ribbon cutting this year. Abeles-Allison suggested that a virtual ribbon cutting take place by recording the ribbon cutting and offering the material to the BCEDC to use for social media posts. Abeles- Allison suggested a potential live ribbon cutting take place in 2022 after the virtual ribbon cutting. Abeles-Allison stated that a ground-breaking ceremony will need to be help when ground is finally broken. Milanowski informed the committee that the road near the location is being kept open for individuals to feel free to drive down and view the land. Rabska explained that it would be nice to have some dignitaries present for the road naming and the ribbon cutting may be possible since it will be held outside and there would be more space to have people stand further apart. Rabska stated that these two events would be good for the County to show residents that there are good things happening in the county, even in the middle of the pandemic. Milanowski questioned if it would be possible in the future to incentivize people acquiring land by offering to give them the land to get started rather than having them purchase it. Milanowski stated that this option may not be fair to those parties that have already purchased land; however, times are changing. 5 Abeles-Allison stated that there may be utility issues on the site. However; Abeles-Allison has had discussions with the Northern Great Lakes Visitor’s Center regarding the potential of upgrading their line to connect with the business park. No decisions had been reached yet. Rabska informed the committee that the area has plenty of fiber and power, but sewer is the main issue with the location. 11. Other Business Park Activity Report and Potential New Business Prospects; and 12. Updates from Members; Rabska reported that he did hear back from Brian Klmetz from Bayfield Foods and heard that everything is going good with the business as it has experienced a 60% growth in sales last year and are anticipating the growth to continue. Bayfield Foods’ CSA season is about to launch. The renovation of the large pole barn into a larger aggregation center was put on hold in 2019, but they are now expecting to renew infrastructure improvements to the facility. The choice of what to address next will depend upon the year end numbers for 2020, but they are anticipating work on a new cooler and beginning work on a new freezer. Abeles-Allison discussed the topic of the Community Development Block Grant that was brought up at the previous BCEDC meeting, which is geared towards low to moderate income individuals. Abeles-Allison explained that the Grant is for businesses addressing COVID-19 related issues. Abeles-Allison suggested also focusing some of the funds on business parks and encouraging businesses to complete applications. Grants could be distributed for $5,000 - $10,000. Discussions are also taking place with local banks to come up with incentives that banks may also provide to make businesses more resilient in light of COVID-19. 13. Adjournment. The next meeting for the Business Park Committee will be: Wednesday March 10, 2021 at 1:30 p.m. via remote. There being no further business to come before the Bayfield County Ad-Hoc Business Park Planning Committee, the meeting was adjourned at 3:27 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Paige Terry Paige Terry, Clerk III Bayfield County Clerk’s & Administrator’s Offices