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Commissioner McGuire thanked the Goff Public team for doing a great job on for Ramsey <br />County. She explained she wanted to see this project funded in the coming year and the County <br />had great advocacy working to achieve this. <br /> <br />Commissioner Monson asked how Goff and County staff started to make moves in preparation <br />for the coming year. Ms. O’Rourke reported she would be happy to include the JDA and City <br />with updates, noting she could also provide assignments. She discussed how complicated some <br />funding projects were, but she indicated legislators were now very aware of the Rice Creek <br />Commons project. She anticipated Senator Marty and Representative Moller would be the chief <br />authors of a bill for 2025. She stated she did not have a hard time getting co-authors to sign <br />onto the bill in 2024. <br /> <br />Commissioner Monson noted the City had spoken to a tournament facility director that was <br />looking for land on TCAAP. She questioned if there was a way to give this project a bump or <br />boost that would be of value. Mr. Willette stated the tournament center would be a great add <br />and he understood cities were competing for these amenities. He stated anything the City and <br />County can do to promote this project would be beneficial. He discussed how well the <br />communications team worked to promote this development. <br /> <br />Commissioner Monson asked how well received the energy vision and sustainability goals were <br />within this development. Mr. Willette stated he believed this was really important to a lot of <br />folks. He indicated these aspects certainly give this project a boost or a differentiator. <br /> <br />Commissioner Frethem suggested the tournament facility not be brought up at this time <br />because it could confuse the ask. <br /> <br />Commissioner McGuire agreed with everything Commissioner Frethem stated. She supported <br />all hands on deck in order to ensure others saw the value of this development. She explained <br />she wanted to be a part of the conversations when it comes to Rice Creek Commons and <br />suggested conversations be held with local business owners, due to the importance of the <br />communities economic base. She commented on how this development would positively <br />impact the economic base for Arden Hills along with the economic base for surrounding <br />communities. <br /> <br />Commissioner Monson stated she was looking forward to the next legislative session. <br /> <br />Chair Wicklund thanked Ms. O’Rourke, Mr. Willette and Ms. Sosnowchik for attending this <br />meeting and for the information they provided to the JDA. <br /> <br />Rice Creek Commons Project Status Update <br /> <br />Ms. Mitchell provided an update on the Development Agreement discussions, including an <br />overview of the other agreements that must be drafted alongside the development agreement. <br />She reported the mass grading and the financing gap has been discussed between Alatus, City,