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Discussion The SPACC serves many communities in suburban Ramsey County, including Arden Hills, and has a long history of providing BRE services. As a founding member of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce “Grow Minnesota!” program, they have helped contribute to more than 8,200 business visits which have resulted in direct assistance to over 1,200 companies. A significant advantage to working with the SPACC versus the University of Minnesota is that the chamber has an established relationship with many businesses and other stakeholders in Arden Hills and will be better positioned to carry out the business outreach efforts. The proposal from SPACC would implement several of the BRE goals and priorities identified by the EDC. First, the chamber would be able to leverage its existing databases to compile a comprehensive list of businesses in Arden Hills and prioritize companies to visit. A concern of the Commissioners was the number of meetings that would be required of the Task Force volunteer group. SPACC anticipates that it will be able to complete much of the Task Force training in a single one-hour session. The BRE program would rely on a survey instrument developed by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and Greater MSP. This survey is relatively short and direct in comparison to the one used by the Extension. Additionally, SPACC would be able to compare the data collected on Arden Hills businesses with data collected by the Minnesota Chamber and Greater MSP using this survey in other communities. A final important component of the chamber’s proposal is putting in place a sustainable approach for on-going BRE efforts after the first round of business visits. This will entail identifying “Landmark” and “Emerging” companies in the City and developing a regular visitation cycle. Requested Action Review the Business Retention and Expansion Service Proposal submitted by the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce (SPACC). Staff is recommending that the Economic Development Commission (EDC) make a formal recommendation to the Economic Development Authority (EDA) that the City contract with the SPACC to implement a Business Retention and Expansion program in 2015. Any recommendation made by the EDC would be presented to the EDA at their meeting on October 27, 2014. Attachments A. Saint Paul Area Chamber of Commerce – Business Retention and Expansion Service Proposal City of Arden Hills Economic Development Commission, October 1, 2014 Page 2 of 2