04-23-25 EDC Agenda Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – FEBRUARY 26, 2025 9 Senior Planner Fransen said the Business Council title implies membership, importance and elected members. Some people may be turned away by that because it doesn’t sound like it includes them. She thought it would be a good topic to workshop what the event may be called. Commissioner Brausen thought “Breakfast with the Mayor and Councilmembers” Chair Murchie wondered if it would be better not to mention City Council. Commissioner Poelzer has career experience in human services administration and resource development. One of the best ways to bring people together is to provide food. Breakfast, gives a time of day and lets the invitee know they will get food. Commissioner Poelzer asked if she should be providing the information on how to receive the electronic version of the newsletter. The nice thing about an electronic version is it doesn’t cost any more money. Commissioner Gronquist said it’s very easy to find on the website and you can see the old ones and sign up for whatever list you want. It’s well done. Commissioner Sorenson said the access is there. The point of this breakfast is to give an update on what is happening, and then let business owners know where these resources are. He said going on the website as a new business owner is a lot. There are a lot of tabs, lots of pages it can be difficult to navigate what’s important for him. Chair Murchie offered that he could pull together some information for the April meeting. He will identify a framework for what an event may look like. There were a lot of good ideas discussed today and he will consolidate the ideas for discussion. That should still leave enough time to pull an event together by September. Senior Planner Fransen thought that was great. She asked if any other Commissioners wanted to be a part of planning. She noted Commissioner Brausen has attended these types of events. Commissioner Brausen said the events he attended were sponsored by businesses. He doesn’t think the City should pay for it. Commissioner Sorenson asked if businesses sponsor a table or the entire event. Commissioner Brausen said a business would sponsor the whole breakfast. The sponsor rotated. Flaherty’s prepared the breakfast but the sponsoring business paid for it. He said the owners are nice and they’ve been in the city for a long time. He is certain they would host the events again. Commissioner Daniels said if this is going to be an ongoing event, it’s important to have that consistency. Commissioner Brausen agreed. It has to be predictable. Certain dates, same location. Commissioner Daniels thought the Anderson Center at Bethel University could maybe offer space. There is easy access and parking.