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ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL WORK SESSION — APRIL 13, 2026 4 Councilmember Rousseau said she is hearing a need for engagement with the larger businesses. She said there is an opening on the EDC. She asked if we have any contacts at the bigger companies that we could reach out to and that Council provide direction to staff to reach out to gauge interest in joining the commission. Mayor Grant asked what the work plan is with the Arden Hills/Shoreview Business Council. Senior Planner Fransen said the Twin City North Chamber of Commerce Business Council has been renamed Arden Hills/Shoreview Business Connect. The opportunities that the EDC identified are to take a more active role in those events. They have seen a lot of growth in attendance. The EDC is strategically considering how to engage with businesses at those events. EDC Chair Murchie said the EDC has members who are established business owners in Arden Hills but also new businesses. The EDC is asking how we can learn from those who have been here a long time and also bring new ideas. One thing we know is business owners are busy. Creating another meeting is not always the best thing. The Business Connect group will help us better engage and meet new partners in an established setting. We can use it to inform our own ideas for speakers. We can have a once -a -year EDC business event dedicated to just Arden Hills businesses. Councilmember Monson said she thinks the EDC is doing a great job and is learning what works and what doesn't from their previous efforts. She thinks the EDC Work Plan looks great. She wanted to highlight how helpful the Council Strategic Plan has been. It gave boundaries and this commission was able to drill down and directly link their work to the strategies City Council identified as priorities. Councilmember Weber said he appreciates what the EDC is doing. He pointed out that some of the survey respondents said "no" when asked if they would like to be contacted. He thinks some of the ideas like highlighting businesses in the newsletter will encourage more businesses to participate. EDC Chair Murchie said the more we engage, the more involvement we will get back. Councilmember Holden said when she was on the EDC years ago, most businesses were satisfied. There wasn't a lot of interest. That's how the EDC died out. She thinks the younger generation wants to be more involved. She said the Twin City North Chamber has a whole segment of their organization for manufacturing businesses. She cautioned about newsletter spotlights. If you highlight a new business, established businesses get upset. EDC Commissioner Brausen said (the City of) Ramsey has a sign that highlights businesses and recognizes milestones, not just new businesses. EDC Chair Murchie said the EDC is trying to understand how many of the businesses we actually know of. Do we have updated contact information? Do we know what that business does? How do we learn who else is out there and how do we reach them? Councilmember Rousseau said, as Council Liaison, she has heard a lot of great foundational conversations asking, "Who are we?" The commission has been very thoughtful about how to bring value to the community. She thinks this work plan will be a great guideline over the next two years.