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Home My WebLink About04-19-06 ,ARZEN HILLS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 2006 7:30 a.m. Upstairs Conference Room, Arden Hills City Hall I. CALL MEETING TO ORDER II. ROLL CALL III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES IV. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLAN—Karen Barton A. Update . B. Overview of Process C. Initial Tasks: • Contact information for the 10 people we want DeSCo to interview • Up to six communities we'd like DeSCo to compare Arden Hills against for a competitive analysis. • The 12 characteristics you'd like DeSCo to use for the comparative analysis • Preliminary list of stakeholders in our community. (People directly or peripherally involved in economic development) V. BUSINESS OUTREACH AND RETENTION—Bruce Kunkel A. Arden Hills Business' list—Dale Beane B. Next Steps—Bruce Kunkel, Karen Barton VI. ADJOURN AND SET NEXT MEETING DATE • City of Arden Hills 1245 West Highway 96•Arden Hills Minnesota 55112 Phone 651.634.5120•Fax 651.634.5137 www.ci.arden-hills.nm.us 1 1,a Ov i J f, !1 AL L 4,, r� el'b 41 �?1 n pc ,, � aa{ � • �i� r t ingg �� 5 t �� I � til 2J ICA .. r a+r +}y i' f% I(v � ` I V �` W � <r• %o � V alt S UAMVZ/t V`' k- GGA---- �-�" `�'�--o►y�-ems'- �-S 1 V 1 Sig l oft .5 IG'LJ�-�^ '• IsZo b �w�'��y 1,Cww) pi,.emqk t-hswn� 7--v4 AQOQo c1� � N 1 -� �-�,,��q� � � � � d s�� - •-�,�"� '-�MLS , C !I Ii 11 i A � i r � E • it I��. • � � ; � �� II�� • Economic Development : 7 February 2006 Page 7 of 17 Anticipated Timeline DeSCo anticipates this project to execute in the following manner. Task Number Februa March A ril Ma Number Title 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1.1 Research 1.2 Project Kick Off Meeting 1.3 Key Leader Interviews 1.4 Progress Report 2.1 Community Selection 2.2 Key Parameters 2.3 Competitive Analysis 2.4 Progress Report 3.1 Survey Development 3.2 Survey Approval 3.3 Stakeholder Input 3.4 Resident Input 4.1 Draft Report 4.2 Committee Presentation 4.3 Written Report 4.4 Community Presentation 5.1 Resources and Revenues 5.2 Draft Document 5.3 Final Document 6.1 Support Phase Legend =Task Executions = Meetings = Reports The timeline is based upon an estimated start date and the relative time frames to accomplish each task. Actual times may differ depending upon start date and progress throughout the engagement. • Confidential and Personal for the Arden Hills Economic Development Department. Public circulation or unauthorized reproduction of this document is expressly prohibited. DeSCo 831 E. Lincolnway, Valparaiso, IN 46383 ■ descosolutions.com ■ 219.548.9999 'It EN HILLS CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION March 15, 2006 7:15 A.M. CITY HALL COUNCIL CHAMBERS-- 1245 WEST HIGHWAY 96 Mayor Aplikowski called the meeting to order at 7:20 a.m. Those in attendance: Dale Beane, Rob Davidson, Kevin Kelly, Ray McGraw, and Mayor Aplikowski. Staff: Community Development Director Karen Barton Minutes from the January meeting were presented for approval. Ray McGraw moved to approve the minutes. Dale Beane seconded. No Discussion. Motion carried. Economic Development Plan Presentations The first presentation was made by Kirsten Barsness and Kathy Bennett of Barsness Consulting. Barsness highlighted the use of an EDC worksheet, minimal citizen input(primarily through commissions), incorporating key businesses,performing a SWOT analysis, developing a marketing plan, operational strategy and implementation plan to focus on tangible goals and intangible goals, including retention, exposure, image enhancement, and setting a foundation for . Arden Hills' future. Barsness closed their presentation by stating that they should be selected because they know the area,having lived and worked here, and opened the presentation for questions. Rob Davidson asked Barsness if they felt Arden Hills has similarities to other communities? Barsness responded that they felt Arden Hills had a number of similarities to other local communities. Ray McGraw asked how Barsness would get Guidant and other businesses to give them information? Barsness responded that it would be through participation,that they "rely on others to gather the information." For example, by having the Mayor call a business to open the door. Mayor Aplikowski asked, in their estimation, what is Arden Hills' biggest challenge? Barsness responded that it was TCAAP. Rob Davidson stressed that we need to establish goals that people can buy into. Ray McGraw asked Barsness to discuss in further detail how they would conduct the SWOT analysis. Barsness stated through individual reviews, analysis of all input, and then setting priorities. Barsness were thanked for their time and effort. The next presentation was given by Mr. Jim Mooney of DeSCo Solutions, Inc. Mr. Mooney's presentation highlighted DeSCo's credentials and experience, as well as their ability to develop a comprehensive economic development plan for Arden Hills. Mr. Mooney stated that DeSCo would ask to review and studies and/or reports that had been prepared in the past three years to get up to speed quickly and avoid duplication. DeSCo would then take a three-phase approach as follows: DeSCo would request a list of 10 to 15 prominent people in the community that we feel should be interviewed for the SWOT analysis, would review six competitive communities through a 12-point analysis, and would conduct survey's through our web page in a phased manner to ensure all stakeholders had an opportunity to provide input into the development of the plan. Mr. Mooney opened the presentation up for questions. Mayor Aplikowski asked if the EDC would be involved in the information gathering? Mr. Mooney responded that he would ask that they help get the word out about the survey. Mayor Aplikowski asked Mr. Mooney what he felt was Arden Hills' biggest challenge? Mr. Mooney responded that that would be information he would determine through the SWOT analysis. Rob Davidson asked how Mr. Mooney would deal with everything from such a distance? Mr. Mooney responded that he was confident that distance would not be an issue. • Ray McGraw inquired about surrounding city competition and how Mr. Mooney would address it? Mr. Mooney stated that he would incorporate factors into the analysis that we felt were important. Dale Beane asked Mr. Mooney if he felt that the timeline he proposed was realistic, especially given the survey process. Mr. Mooney responded that he did believe the timeline to be realistic, stating that DeSCo is aggressive. Mayor Aplikowski asked how DeSCo would deal with resistance? Mr. Mooney stated that they would provide one on one time to address concerns and issues. Mr. Mooney asked the EDC what they are hoping to achieve with the development of this plan? Ray McGraw stated that we are hoping to have a redevelopment plan that will help upgrade the community. Mr. Mooney was thanked for his time and effort. General Discussion Ray McGraw stated that initially he was opposed to hiring a consultant for this process,but after hearing DeSCo's presentation, he is all for hiring DeSCo. is Mayor Aplikowski stated that we are all too busy to do this on our own. Dale Beane added that he really liked the outside/neutral perspective that DeSCo would bring. Ray McGraw indicated that he too likes the idea of an outside firm. • Kevin Kelly said he felt DeSCo would develop a strategic plan that we could use. He felt that Barsness' presentation was too much fluff. Mayor Aplikowski stated that in either case, we will have to be heavily involved. Rob Davidson inquired as to whether DeSCo would be able to get the response needed through a web survey. Ray McGraw made a motion to hire DeSCo. Kevin Kelly seconded. No further discussion. All in favor; motion carried. Karen stated that she would need to bring this to Council for final approval and would do so prior to the next EDC meeting. Next meeting will be April 19, 2006 at the City Hall at 7:30 am. •