04-23-25 EDC Agenda Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – FEBRUARY 26, 2025 7 Commissioner Brausen said a change in City Council affected it. A former mayor was very business driven. She would plan the breakfasts. It fell off the radar when new leadership took over. He is sure Flaherty’s would let us use their space, if it were to start up again. Council Liaison Rousseau wondered if Commissioners thought business owners would be more likely to attend an event like that if the EDC member that did the in-person visits did a follow up and invited them to a business breakfast. Chair Murchie thought using the survey as a reason to reach out, but also collect the survey from those who didn’t have a chance to respond. Commissioner Daniels said that is a great way to “close the loop”. Senior Planner Fransen shared the public event response from the survey results. Fourteen of the 21 survey respondents said they would attend a public event that features businesses. When asked about being featured in a newsletter article, 18 of the 21 respondents said yes. When asked about having their business listed on the Arden Hills website, 19 of the 21 respondents said yes. The respondents were asked if they were open to receiving future communications from the EDC, 17 of the 21 said yes. There were 8 respondents who indicated they were open to attend an EDC meeting in the future. Senior Planner Fransen asked if anyone had questions or comments regarding the results she shared from the survey. Commissioner Gronquist said nearly everyone she talked to was open to future participation. She said there could be interest in attending an event, as long as it was not too frequent. Chair Murchie asked the business owners on the commission if there were a breakfast, what would they want to be covered at such a gathering. Commissioner Brausen said it would be nice to see the Mayor and some City Council members attend. Commissioner Gronquist thought establishing a regular schedule, if there is interest, would be a way to share these survey results and capture additional survey information from those who haven’t had the chance to respond yet. There could be a laptop or paper surveys available. She said newer business owners are going to be interested in networking. Established business owners may have other priorities beyond networking. She thought it would be important to provide an introduction to highlight the EDC, the community support and city leadership. Council Liaison Rousseau thinks it would be interesting to share the sign code work that has been done over the past year. The Planning Commission is currently working on code updates and zoning in business districts. These meetings could be informative and update business owners on what’s happening in the City. She would like to make businesses aware of our Adopt-A-Park program. We are looking for businesses to adopt the parks. We can inform them about the Gateway Visitors Bureau to help facilitate events at their location. The Chamber can be highlighted. It will open a line of communication for businesses to let the City know what would be helpful in maintaining their success.