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<br />City of Arden Hills <br />Economic Development Commission June 4, 2014 <br /> <br />Page 3 of 3 <br /> <br />The benefit of this approach is that the City was able to tailor the BRE program to the specific <br />needs of their community and the capacity of their staff. By developing a list of priority <br />businesses, the City was also able to focus its limited resources on companies that were more <br />likely to participate in this type of initiative. However, potential drawbacks of this approach may <br />include the additional staff time required to design and implement the program and that the data <br />collected from the business interviews is not as detailed or comprehensive as what is gathered by <br />communities that use the Extension’s Business Retention and Expansion Strategies Program. <br />Discussion Questions <br />1. What are some of the potential benefits and drawbacks associated with these two <br />different approaches to organizing a BRE program? <br /> <br />2. Based on the overview provided, is there one approach that the EDC views as being a <br />more viable option for Arden Hills? <br /> <br /> <br />Next Steps <br /> <br />Based on the direction provided by the EDC, staff will continue to research these two <br />approaches. Additional information is needed on how cities go about initiating the process of <br />working with the University of Minnesota Extension on a BRE program, the estimated costs <br />associated with hiring the Extension as a consultant, and the businesses and entities in Arden <br />Hills that may be interested in sponsoring a program. <br /> <br />If Arden Hills decides to pursue a city-initiated program, staff would like to meet with the City <br />of Shoreview to learn more about their experience with implementing a local BRE program. <br />Taking this approach will also require further discussion with the EDC on the types of strategies <br />the City would adopt in undertaking its own BRE program. <br /> <br /> <br />