10-08-25 EDC Agenda Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – AUGUST 27, 2025 8 Senior Planner Fransen summarized that the program will be updated and she’ll send it out. She said Councilmember Rousseau and Commissioner Gronquist will speak. Council Liaison Rousseau said Commissioner Gronquist could speak about the work the EDC did with the sign code. Commissioner Gronquist said she has updated the questions on the survey and she is looking for feedback. Senior Planner Fransen asked the commissioners to look at those questions and bring feedback to the next meeting. Commissioner Bonine thanked Commissioner Gronquist for her work on the survey. He thought we should focus on we want to learn from them. If we can collect information on how to contact them during check in, then we could shorten the survey and not risk losing their interest. Senior Planner Fransen will follow up on the questions and commissioners will bring feedback to the next meeting. She will work with Chair Murchie on the script. She said everything looks good for meeting the next steps by the September meeting. B. Business Licenses Senior Planner Fransen said the business license and registration topic came up during previous EDC Work Plan discussions. During a recent Council meeting the City Council directed the EDC to provide recommendations on the process. There is currently a distinction between a business license and a business registration. The packet contains an overview of the process and the policy for noncompliance. Some business license types require a fee. When no fee is associated, the business receives a business registration. A certificate of insurance is required for a license or a registration. Staff is seeking ideas on how to make the process better. Commissioner Gronquist asked how much is being collected from licenses. She thinks the City could use this process to generate revenue. We have more registrations than we do licenses. She thought the fee could be lowered on licenses and extended to registrations. Then the dollar amount will be less for each business but the City can collect more money. Maybe a percentage could be set aside for the EDC to put back into the business community. She understands it goes to the General Fund but she wonders how much that is. City Administrator Jagoe said we aren’t allowed, by statute, to generate revenue with this process. The fee is designed to offset administrative costs incurred when processing the licenses. We aren’t allowed to charge additional to create a revenue stream. If there were more licenses, it would be more staff time in processing them. Commissioner Bonine asked why the costs vary so much. Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson said this fee structure was established by the City Council in the early 2000s. It has been consistent since then. The fee schedule is brought to Council every year. It may have been based on what other cities were doing, at the time. Commissioner Bonine said having consistency would be a good optic. He noted that some businesses are required by law, to be licensed. He asked if the City has the choice to charge a fee.