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March 24, 2011 DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE BUSINESS WEEKLY
‘New realities’ present opportunites, challenges Mayor’s State of the City address focuses on keeping Eagan a ‘community of choice’ in uncertain times by Erin Johnson
liefs as housing values will continue to rise and our “We gather today in a children’s generation will time of great change be more prosperous and great uncertainthan ours. ties,” said Eagan “And it suggests Mayor Mike Mawe are entering a guire as he delivnew era of limited ered his State of the resources, economic City address to a disruption, and dispacked City Coun- Mike appearing safety cil Chambers on Maguire nets,” he said. March 17. Eagan’s populaSt. Patrick’s Day refer- tion is growing older, as ences aside, Maguire adopt- are its homes, roads, and ed a more restrained tone other infrastructure. Its tax than in previous years as he base is shrinking, it may see outlined the current state of the elimination of federal Eagan and the many chal- Community Development lenges it faces, as well as Block Grants, and it will opportunities in its future. face increasing pressure to Maguire spoke of upris- cut staff and reduce its level ings in the Middle East and of services. Wisconsin, rising oil prices, But Eagan is well posiunemployment, deficits, tioned to face these changearthquakes and tsunamis, es, Maguire said, thanks all of which contribute to to its fiscally prudent apuncertainty about the future. proach. He talked about the The city follows several “new normal,” which chal- key principles: It offers a lenges such long-held be- limited menu of services DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
done well, never borrows for operations, pays back what it owes as soon as possible, and takes care of the equipment and infrastructure it has. “Today’s users need to pay for today’s problems today without kicking the problem down the road to someone else,” he said. Eagan, he said, is one of only 16 cities in Minnesota with a Triple-A credit rating from Moody’s, and it has among the lowest per capita spending of Minnesota cities with more than 50,000 residents. Every two years, Eagan’s council members work together to form a unified vision of what will advance the city in a way that best serves its citizens, then work to solve problems and overcome obstacles in their way, he said. “We’re not perfect to be sure,” he said, “but those who govern elsewhere
And then there was one Two Cedar Grove businesses have chosen not to appeal court decision; only U-Haul will push ahead
by Erin Johnson DAKOTA COUNTY TRIBUNE
Two of three businesses in the Cedar Grove redevelopment area that sued Eagan over eminent domain have agreed to let the city purchase their properties, leaving only U-Haul to pursue an appeal. The owners of Competition Engines, Randy and Sandy Quam, reached a settlement agreement with the city March 15 after dropping their appeal to the Minnesota Supreme Court. The Quams agreed to sell their current property to the city for $880,000 and relocate their business to the soon-to-be-vacant fire station on Lone Oak Circle, which the city will sell to them for $450,000. The Quams will remain in their current building until the new fire safety campus, which will replace the fire station, is completed this spring. “I’m really pleased we’ve come to an agreement and settlement, in particular with the Quams,” Mayor Mike Maguire said. “They are longtime residents of the city of Eagan, and it is good that they will be remaining both as residents and keeping their business here.” Larson Automotive owner Jerry Larson has also agreed to withdraw his ap-
peal and allow the city to buy his property. He has since closed his business and has no plans to relocate. That leaves U-Haul as the only remaining business continuing with an appeal to the state’s highest court. The Supreme Court already ruled in favor of the city last August, but then sent the case back to the appeals court, which it said had failed to rule on all of the issues. The appeals court ruled in favor of the city in December, prompting the three businesses to again appeal to the Supreme Court. Now two of the three have dropped their appeals. The Supreme Court determines which cases it hears, and it has not yet announced whether it will hear U-Haul’s petition. Quam said for his part, settling with the city has been a relief. “I feel like a giant weight has been lifted from me,” he said. “I’m just happy that we’re going to be able to stay in business and stay in Eagan.” Quam said he’s glad the fire station became available, because he was having trouble finding a location within Eagan that could accommodate an automotive shop. “The big problem wasn’t that I wanted to stay here,
but that I had nowhere else to go,” he said. The station is located in an industrial area and already has garage doors, bays, and floor drains. But it will still need quite a bit of work to turn it into a functioning auto shop, he said. He said he only wishes the building had been available three years ago. “We could have saved a lot on lawyer’s fees,” he said. The three businesses sued the city in 2008 when it initiated a quick-take condemnation of several properties for a planned urban village. An initial court ruling sided with the city, but an appeals court reversed that decision. The city appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which sided with the city, then sent it back to the appeals court, which also sided with Eagan. Maguire said the city is encouraged by the settlements with the two property owners. “We’re hopeful that we’ll be able to come to the same kind of amicable agreement with the one remaining property owner in Cedar Grove and remove the legal uncertainties around that redevelopment,” he said. Erin Johnson is at eagan. thisweek@ecm-inc.com.
could do well to note our approach.” While the challenges are many, the city’s goals for the future include seeking fiscal independence from other units of government so as not to be reliant on them, Maguire said. Maintaining property and reinvesting in infrastructure will also be important to keep the city looking good and maintain property values, he said. The city also plans to support an evolving “infostructure” to keep pace with the technology needs of residents and businesses. Attracting a regional data center would create jobs and bring other high-tech businesses to the city, he said. Eagan will maintain its commitment to energy efficiency and environmental sustainability, he said, continuing to implement changes that are not only
good for the environment, but that also save money. For instance, using a federal stimulus grant to convert the Civic Arena to geothermal last year is now saving the city nearly $5,000 a month in natural gas costs. “When you combine that with a lowered electric bill, we’ve decreased total energy expenses nearly 64 percent, reduced our natural gas consumption 97 percent, and conserved an estimated one million gallons of water a year,” he said. Another goal is to maintain a healthy demographic balance so young people continue to want to live and work here, and empty nesters choose to remain, he said. But there are limits to what government can do, he said. Civic engagement is also key to the state of the city’s future, he said. “There are already Eagan
citizens among us making differences big and small. We need more of them,” he said. Maguire said he believes if Eagan holds true to its bedrock principles, it can serve as a model that others may learn from and even aspire to. “If (Eagan) is willing to make the tough decisions, if it is flexible enough to make the mid-course corrections necessary to accomplishing a shared vision, and if we have mutual respect for the different ways to make Eagan the best city in America, we will be that shining example of not only the city that could, but the city that did grasp its future,” he said. Maguire’s full State of the City address can be viewed on the city’s website at ww.cityofeagan.com. Erin Johnson is at eagan. thisweek@ecm-inc.com.
SBA names Minnesota Minority Small Business Champion Annual award recognizes outstanding advocacy efforts Pamela Standing, founder and co-chair of the Minnesota Indian Business Alliance, has been named the Minnesota Minority Small Business Champion of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. The award is presented annually in each state to individuals who assist small businesses through outstanding advocacy efforts on behalf of minority-owned small businesses. Courtney Aitken Gifford, economic development director of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, nominated Standing for this award. As a native woman, Standing is constantly mindful of those who have and continue to mentor her and have taught her the importance of building strong relationships grounded in respect and trust. Through their guidance and influence, they have helped shape the way she has worked in tribal communities for the past 20 years. Standing considers it a privilege and honor to work with others to expand opportunities to native peoples. In 2007, she started the Minnesota Indian Business Alliance (MNIBA)
as a volunteer with no compensation. Prior to starting the MNIBA, she was the executive director the Minnesota American Indian Chamber of Commerce where she actively promoted American Indian businesses, coordinated Business Builder meetings and developed the chapter newsletter to educate Minnesotans of the economic contributions of American Indians in Minnesota. The Minnesota Indian Business Alliance is a statewide all-volunteer organizational collaborative working together to promote an economic environment that supports the sustainable development of American Indian businesses. Since 2007, Standing has recruited over 130 organizational partners statewide, and advocates building relationships with long-term partners in order to achieve more sustainable mission impact through shared resources. Minnesota Indian Alliance partners are better informed and positioned to meet both the unique needs and barriers faced by American Indian entrepreneurs. Standing’s dream for
the tribal communities of Minnesota and Alliance partners is to establish a virtual and rotational business incubator that provides face-to-face contact for entrepreneurship development, access to business development training and tools, cooperative development, credit counseling, training and certification of community trainers, financial application and loan execution, mentorship, professional development, and financial and technical assistance resources that are culturally congruent and community driven. While volunteering her time at the MNIBA, Standing works on her consulting business and tends to her two granddaughters. She is an entrepreneur herself creating gourmet baked goods. Standing received a bachelor’s degree in education in 1973 and a master’s degree in international business in 1987. She serves on the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota Social Change Grant Committee and on the Council of Trustees for the White Earth Tribal and Community College.