11-05-25 EDC Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – NOVEMBER 5, 2025 6 Council Liaison Rousseau asked when the work plan will be brought to a Council work session. Senior Planner Fransen said she anticipated it will be right after the first of the year. 4. COMMENTS AND REPORTS A. Report from the City Council Council Liaison Rousseau said Council discussed the EDA membership. Right now it includes the Mayor as the Authority’s president and the City Council members as Commissioners. It doesn’t have to be that way. It can include residents. There hasn’t been much coming out of the EDA for the past few years. There is $800,000 in a fund. She is looking into whether or not the EDC could use some of those funds. The EDA can buy property. Council asked Staff to look into options. Council has an interest in having two members of the EDC, one business owner and one resident, joining the EDA. The EDA meets once a year because we are legally required to do so. It can be more. Commissioner Poelzer asked what the money goes for. She would feel bad asking businesses to purchase a flag, if we have that money. Council Liaison Rousseau said the purchase of flags would be better suited for the gateway grant funds. Chair Murchie said it sounds like the EDA money could be an investment. Community Development Director Reilly said he thinks the EDA is levying that money and now Council is asking the EDC to do more. Some funds will have to go toward that. That conversation has to happen but we aren’t ready for that yet. We’ll know better direction after the first quarter of 2026. Rice Creek Commons is a pending opportunity and we have existing opportunities that the EDC can support. The work plan needs to be established before we can start thinking about money. We’ll get to a point where we’re tying funds to actions. Senior Planner Fransen said the EDC may have some dollars assigned. Chair Murchie said we don’t have a clear vision yet. We can’t just start spending money. EDC is just starting to take form. We can use the 75th as a launch point. That can give us a clear picture of our vision. Council Liaison Rousseau said someone from the event connected with City Administrator Jagoe to possibly use some gateway funds. B. Economic Development Commission Comments Commissioner Poelzer would like the business event attendees to get a thank you card in the mail vs. an email. She wants to acknowledge them with a personal touch.