07-26-25 EDC Agenda Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – JUNE 25, 2025 2 organize these strategies into a template to refocus on the EDC mission. She read the Mission Statement for the Arden Hills Economic Development Commission is “To build lasting connections with and support for the local business community to foster a thriving local economy and to advise the City Council and the EDA about economic development, redevelopment and related community development issues.” This was the statement the group drafted and agreed to in 2024. She outlined the group took the different strategies on the list and gave some priorities. The Sign Code was referred to the EDC by the City Council. Other strategies were discussed by the EDC, trying to determine what is a priority and what will have the best impact on the business community. The strategies that rose to the top of the priorities list are included in the packet. The in-person business visits was the top idea for 2024. Chair Murchie said the work of the EDC is to determine how we can be the bridge between the business community, the residents and the City. This group has a shared knowledge set. The goal of the EDC is that businesses will know how to support from the City and the City knows what businesses are looking for. The first 12-18 months of this commission established the goals. He thinks we’re working toward next steps, now. Senior Planner Fransen agreed. She would like to hear commissioners’ opinions, comments and impressions on where we are right now. Commissioner Poelzer said she is too new to get into much depth. The information she has read has been very good. She thinks it’s a matter of getting the word out to the businesses. She has some ideas of what she would like to see. She said in the June newsletter there is a section that is for Resident Resources. She was hoping, in the future, that there could be a feature for Business Resources with a link on the website. She was telling a business owner that Arden Hills has four different Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Districts. A portion of the taxes generated are for new development to be used for the cost of infrastructure required by the new development. She thought since we are promoting business owners to sign up for the electronic version of our newsletter. It would be nice if we had a feature like that for business owners to easily find that resource page. Chair Murchie said that is in line with the big picture strategy. When we started, it was so clear the Sign Code was critical. We can use the work plan to prioritize as we pivot to different strategies. City Administrator Jagoe said Staff thought the business survey would determine how we move forward. We knew we needed to hear from the business community regarding what resources and communications they want and at what frequency. We did the survey and that was intended to drive the next steps. We needed to get back to prioritizing the direction that is given to Staff. The work plan can be the check in with the Council to say what the business community needs are and learning what the EDC needs in regards to budget and staff in order to meet the vision statement. She thinks the EDC is on the right track. She envisions that by the end of the year, some of the work plan items will be completed. Commissioner Bonine said any effective result will come from understanding who the businesses are. We learned the survey wasn’t the most effective route. He would like to hear the history on the business licensing process. He thinks any time a new business enters the City, there is an opportunity to gain information. We can fold that information gathering into the process. There would be continuity so the group won’t be solely responsible for these outreach efforts, it will be part of the process. We have to know who the audience is before we do anything else. He thinks the networking efforts are fine but if we’re doing outreach and support, we should know how those