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ARDEN HILLS EDA MEETING – JANUARY 25, 2016 3 <br /> <br />EDA President Grant requested Mr. Weinhagen investigate the jobs data received from <br />Northwestern further. He indicated that Northwestern’s address was in Roseville, but a portion <br />of their property was located within Arden Hills, which would increase the educational services <br />jobs numbers. He discussed how the Pine Tree Drive location for Bethel University would also <br />increase the educational services located in Arden Hills. <br /> <br />Mr. Weinhagen stated that he would investigate the educational services further and would <br />report back to the City Council. He reviewed the large number of jobs within the community <br />and the importance of mass transit. <br /> <br />Commissioner Holden believed it would be valuable to have additional information on how <br />many employees were visiting local restaurants in the lunch hour, versus those that ate within <br />their corporate campus. <br /> <br />Executive Director Hutmacher reported that the Red Fox area had its peak traffic counts <br />during the lunch hour. <br /> <br />Mr. Weinhagen discussed the number of employees that come into Arden Hills on a daily basis, <br />and noted the number of Arden Hills’ residents that work within the community. He explained <br />that the City of Arden Hills was unique given the high number of employees that came into the <br />community on a daily basis. He reported that there was a growing trend for employees to live <br />closer to their work and commented on how this would impact employee populations. He was <br />proud to report that the business community ranked Arden Hills as having an excellent quality of <br />life. He congratulated the Council for setting the proper culture within the business community. <br />Another positive indicator for local businesses was that they are growing, which also grows the <br />employee population. <br /> <br />Mr. Weinhagen indicated that the City did have the opportunity to grow its public transit. He <br />discussed how this would positively impact local businesses and their employees. He <br />encouraged the Council to dig into this further, and possibly pursue the extension of the A Line <br />to TCAAP. He then provided comment on the importance of a skilled workforce. <br /> <br />Commissioner Holden questioned how the City could get involved in growing the local skilled <br />workforce. <br /> <br />Mr. Weinhagen stated that he believed that the City should work to have the right resources and <br />relationships established and in place to point companies in the right direction to find skilled <br />laborers. The City should work to leverage employees for its local businesses. <br /> <br />Commissioner Holden saw the importance of extending the A Line up Lexington Avenue and <br />not just to TCAAP, given the number of major employers in Arden Hills. <br /> <br />Executive Director Hutmacher stated that staff and the Chamber have been involved in <br />conversations about extending the A Line up Lexington Avenue to service these companies and <br />their employees.