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ARDEN HILLS SPECIAL EDA MEETING – MARCH 28, 2016 2 <br />A. Business Retention and Expansion Program <br /> <br />Senior Planner Bachler stated that the Economic Development Authority (EDA) reviewed the <br />Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) Program Report completed by the St. Paul Area <br />Chamber of Commerce (SPACC) on January 25, 2016. The EDA requested that the data related <br />to the NAICS industry categories be reviewed to ensure that the number of educational service <br />jobs in the City was accurately represented. Additional revisions to the report included an update <br />to the employee migration data and the inclusion of sources for the data used. Staff is requesting <br />that the EDA review and adopt the final draft of the BRE Program Report. <br /> <br />Senior Planner Bachler indicated that the Economic Development Commission (EDC) <br />discussed the recommended next steps in the BRE Report at their meeting on March 2, 2016. <br />Based on the feedback provided by the EDC, staff worked with SPACC to identify the priority <br />projects the City may want to focus on over the next several months. Staff is requesting that the <br />EDA review the draft implementation plan for these projects and provide comments. Staff <br />expects to begin working with the EDC on the projects at their next scheduled meeting in May. <br /> <br />Jonathan Weinhagen, Vice President of SPACC, presented the BRE Program Report and the <br />draft Priority Projects Implementation Plan in further detail with the EDA. He drew attention to <br />the changes that were made to the report regarding jobs and job changes in Arden Hills. He <br />provided comment on his findings regarding educational service jobs. He reviewed the feedback <br />received from the EDC. <br /> <br />EDA President Grant understood that education and health services were tied together. He <br />questioned if these two sectors could be separated. <br /> <br />Mr. Weinhagen indicated that SPACC could work to break down this information into <br />subsectors and micro datasets. <br /> <br />EDA President Grant indicated that 24 companies were visited to assist with the drafting of this <br />plan. He asked if the City would be keeping in touch with any of these businesses based on their <br />needs. He commented that he did not want the City to be dealing with another Smiths Medical <br />situation. <br /> <br />Mr. Weinhagen stated that this would be an ongoing discussion of how the City continues to <br />engage with businesses and how it can identify sustainable businesses going forward. <br /> <br />Commissioner Holmes requested further information from staff on the recommendations being <br />made at this time. <br /> <br />Senior Planner Bachler explained that the BRE Report included recommendations for four <br />projects the City could work on: continued engagement in transit improvement conversations; <br />fostering relationships with local colleges to address workforce training; tracking companies that <br />are planning or positioned for growth; and establishing a plan for ongoing BRE visits. He noted <br />that as a follow-up to these formal recommendations, SPACC has prepared a draft