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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-25-25 EDC Minutes CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION JUNE 25, 2025 7:30 A.M. – ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Present: Chair Jud Murchie, Commissioners Ted Brausen, Bobby Bonine, Kyle Sorenson, Kristine Poelzer, Julie Gronquist Absent: Commissioners Jessica Daniels, Deborah Fellows and Youth Commissioner Vincent Meyer, Council Liaison Emily Rousseau Also Present: City Administrator Jessica Jagoe, Councilmember Tena Monson and Senior Planner Elena Fransen 1. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA Chair Murchie called the meeting to order. A motion was made by Commissioner Brausen and seconded by Commissioner Gronquist to approve the agenda. Motion passed unanimously 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. April 23, 2025 Commissioner Poelzer corrected that on Page 6 she is quoted as saying Boston Scientific paid for the dog park. They paid for the agility equipment at the dog park. A motion was made by Commissioner Gronquist and seconded by Commissioner Brausen to approve the minutes, as amended. Motion passed unanimously 3. UNFINISHED AND NEW BUSINESS A. EDC Work Plan Senior Planner Fransen said the EDC did a lot of great work in 2024. Several strategies were implemented. She wanted to discuss the items on the list and make sure the goals are still aligned. Some of the work plan ideas included a business survey, a business directory with a map, business highlights in the City newsletter, a business welcome packet, community event for business networking, community event for residents to learn about local businesses. Staff has started to 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 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – JUNE 25, 2025 3 businesses need to be supported. The only way to do that is to get more information and the best way to do that is through a formal process. Chair Murchie agrees. That is one of the reasons for the business event. The survey was limited. If we can put together a brunch or breakfast then we can incorporate the scope of work that the commission is working on. We can leverage those businesses at the tables to gather information and use it as a first place to expand to a larger sample. The plan would be, by the end of the year to be able to address some of the things that City Administrator Jagoe shared. If we want to do business outreach, communication and marketing, we can focus on those for the event in the fall. As we plan for next year, we can take that information and say what is needed from Staff and from a budgeting perspective. That will give us more well-sourced information. Commissioner Bonine asked how we ensure the event is well attended. Chair Murchie said that is a big part of today’s conversation. What are we able and willing to do to make sure that we get outreach to the businesses that will attend the event? Commissioner Bonine asked if this is the most effective way to determine what the business owner’s needs are. Chair Murchie said we tried the survey and that was not effective. Given that there has been a history of events like the business brunch, if we can get something started up again that may be the most efficient way to get people together. Commissioner Gronquist said part of the packet is the list of the licensed businesses. Her vision would be to send out invitations to the list. That would be a great place to start. Commissioner Brausen said we don’t know how many people will come to the event but we have to try. Commissioner Sorensen asked what the purpose of the breakfast is. If it is to gather the needs of the businesses, how do we do that at the breakfast. Chair Murchie said it has been discussed that maybe there could be a commission member at each of the tables. We could have a couple of discussion questions and we could take 5-10 minutes to talk about what people are looking for. We don’t want to create an event that either no one shows up to or that Staff has to be responsible for. We will have support, but if we are going to implement aspects of the work plan, it’s on the commission to implement these strategies. Commissioner Poelzer said part of our strategy is to follow through on what the EDC main duties are. She thinks the work of the EDC benefits from both the resident and business owner commission members. We have three main duties. We won’t be in control of how many people attend. She can control who is invited and make sure that they are contacted by a commissioner. The list is helpful for her. She thought one strategy that we could implement is when there is a new license application, the EDC can be notified that a new business has applied. We know from the respondents of the survey that the in-person business visits were the highest ranking and had the highest interest. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – JUNE 25, 2025 4 Senior Planner Fransen clarified that the ranking was done by EDC members, not respondents of the survey. It was to determine work plan strategies and what follow up was needed and which steps to focus on next. Chair Murchie added the rankings were based on what the businesses would like us to do to support them. We all thought the meeting with the businesses would be a key part with helping to identify what businesses want. Commissioner Poelzer asked what we learned from the survey. Senior Planner Fransen said attachment D in the packet contains that information. Commissioner Bonine said there wasn’t a lot to go off of from the survey. Chair Murchie said 70-80 percent of the people we did make contact with said they would like to attend an event. City Administrator Jagoe said she is hearing that the survey maybe didn’t give us the results we were hoping for. She said the event is the next opportunity to still collect those data points that will go into the work plan. Once this event takes place, she would want the commission to come back to the work plan and start to outline what steps were taken and what strategies were used. She thinks it’s important to get back to the Council and outline what the work plan will be going forward. Commissioner Bonine asked when the business licenses are processed. City Administrator Jagoe said the fee schedule discussion will be in November. We’ll adopt the fee schedule in December. We will get to the discussion on the licensing piece, but she thinks the work plan will drive the initiatives. Commissioner Bonine asked if the business licensing conversation is a part of the work plan. He thinks that is a precursor to anything else we want to do, with the exception of the business brunch event. He doesn’t know how the EDC will have clarity on their purpose, unless direction comes directly from the City Council. He thinks it makes sense to do the business outreach through the licensing process. City Administrator Jagoe said the topic of business licensing will be a part of a later agenda item, tonight. There may be some updates to the form. That is something that can be taken on at the Staff level. There are a lot of conversation points that can come out of the discussion. We can look at the fee structure. What do we charge? Do we charge every business? She thinks the EDC should get direction from City Council. The EDC should be presenting something that explains what the priorities are and outline why. Commissioner Bonine said it seems to him there are three steps to take. First is the event. It will be a good way to let businesses know we’re here. Second step would be to get input on the information gathering process. Third, once we have the information, we can structure how communications will go out to the businesses to try to gain more information. He thinks the event will keep the momentum going that will get us to fall. He thinks the form itself should be revised/updated by Staff and the Council based on what other cities do. He thinks simplifying and clarifying the process will drive up participation. That will give us more access to the businesses. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – JUNE 25, 2025 5 That’s when EDC would want to have input to say what information we specifically want to know that will help us structure our outreach efforts. Commissioner Gronquist said she agrees. She and Commissioner Bonine have been passionate about making changes to the business license process. The people who show up to an event, will be the ones who are more involved. If we have the event and it’s poorly attended, then we know having quarterly events may not be the best direction to go. It will give us access to the people that we can tap into to get more resources. It doesn’t make sense to put energy into connecting with businesses that clearly aren’t interested in making the connection. Then once the event is over, the focus will shift to business licensing. Staff could attend a meeting and discuss what the process is so everyone has clarity on what we do. They can help the commissioners understand why certain businesses are charged a fee and/or which ones are state mandated fees. That way the EDC won’t be making suggestions that can’t be changed. We can look at the data and say all of the businesses have to pay something, at that point the EDC could possibly have a little bit of that fee to help with the initiatives on the work plan. If there is a way to create a business fund that can be used to help promote businesses then maybe owners would be more inclined to participate. Chair Murchie said for the event we will need volunteers. The key component is the agenda and how we get learnings out of the event. It’s up to us to determine what we want to know from people so that can inform the work plan which will then, inform what we work on next year. Commissioner Bonine suggested EDC should focus on the business event for now and put the business licensing conversation on hold. He asked how many meetings will be required to have this discussion and he wondered how soon before the next round of licensing staff would need the EDC’s feedback. Senior Planner Fransen said if the group wants to say we’re doing the event this year and we can look at the business license process next. Then we can systematically work on those in subsequent meetings. There is the option for EDC to schedule more meetings that may allow us to take those two items and move them forward. She would recommend updating the work plan to highlight the two items the commission want to work on in 2025. Today’s presentation on the Business Licensing is just some background information to get the conversation started. Discussions will be at a future meeting. We can bring back milestones that the group can be aware of for the fee schedule and adoption at the City Council. Commissioner Bonine asked how soon the business licensing feedback would be needed. Senior Planner Fransen said if that City Council conversation takes place in November, then the EDC would have the August or October meetings to discuss. There is the opportunity to add a meeting in July and September, if more time is needed for these agenda items. City Administrator Jagoe said she is hearing interest in looking at the business licensing. That may be fees or the form or any variety of things. We have enough at the Staff level to work with the Council Liaison to try to present something at one of the July work sessions. We can do a quick update to the Council explaining the strategies the commission want to discuss at their August meeting. That will give us a check point. It will help inform the work that needs to be done in November. Commissioners agreed with that strategy. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – JUNE 25, 2025 6 B. Business Event Updates Senior Planner Fransen summarized the history regarding the business event planning. She said Staff asked about October 22. That is an EDC meeting date. Staff wanted to know if this would be a good date for the event. The commission should discuss what food may be offered, agenda items and identifying costs/funding sources. Chair Murchie kicked off the conversation. He summarized the conversation where the EDC was asking if an event is the way to gather some of that information we’re looking for. It may be helpful to cross some items off the work plan like business out reach, building relationships and informing business owners about resources they may be interested in. There was a lot of work put into the survey and we didn’t really get the results we wanted. Initial conversations were had and this event will be a way to double down on those first contacts and learn more. Based on some of the responses, some businesses are interested in hearing from the City, the EDC or another forum like this to build better relationships. The important thing to remember about planning the event is it is up the EDC to figure out. He thinks we start by breaking the event down into different components so each commissioner can work on one part of the event. Adding a couple meetings, as Senior Planner Fransen suggested would allow an opportunity to share the workload. He asked the commission if the event is still what we want to work towards. Commissioners all agreed. Chair Murchie said he talked to Flaherty’s. They have an event space downstairs. In order to host our event there, we would have to block a date. He likes the idea of holding the event during the October 22 EDC meeting time slot. That’s a Wednesday morning. Commissioner Sorenson asked if that would leave enough time to compile the information from the event and have it ready for the fee schedule discussion in November. Chair Murchie said that is a component we’ll have to figure out. Commissioner Bonine asked what was proposed for October. Chair Murchie said to hold the business owner’s event that day. It would be around 8-9:30. Commissioner Bonine said there was a mention of how to pay for the event. He wondered if they should be thinking about potential sponsors to make sure that date works for them. Chair Murchie said that is just one of the functions we need to figure out to get to the event. We need to confirm what date and time works. We have the general idea of direction for the event. We need to figure out the location and sponsors. Commissioner Brausen has offered to sponsor and underwrite some of the event. Flaherty’s are open to working with us to secure the space. It can just be coffee and donuts/Danishes. Once we figure out location and sponsors there is the agenda. How can we use this event to talk about some of the things that we want to know about to plan our work load as a commission? We can have a survey on the tables with additional questions. We need to plan invites and attendees. With those different components, we can have commissioners take responsibility for a component. We can have a meeting in July and update the commission on progress. Over the next month we need to confirm the direction. Who can confirm the date and time? Who will focus on location and sponsors? What food will we serve? There was a draft ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – JUNE 25, 2025 7 agenda discussed in April. How can we take that agenda and turn it into an event that will give us what we need related to the work plan. Commissioner Bonine asked if there is a general idea of how much to budget for this event. Chair Murchie said they didn’t get into the specifics when he talked to Flaherty’s. Commissioner Brausen said Holiday can handle the donuts and cookies. He would just need the amount. Commissioner Bonine asked if the City has funds available to use. Chair Murchie asked what we need the funds for. Commissioner Bonine said he wasn’t sure. He is just getting the conversation started. He said we will probably have to rent the space. Commissioner Brausen said he would be surprised if they charged for use of the space. Commissioner Bonine said if the space and refreshments are covered, what else would we need? He wondered if we were going to partner with Twin Cities Chamber of Commerce for possibly bringing in the sheriff's office and the fire department, as previously discussed. Those are things that a lot of people might be interested in. He wondered if there is a back up date, in case October 22 doesn’t work for everyone. Chair Murchie said that date was selected because there was already an EDC meeting scheduled that day. He thinks from a planning perspective we should shoot for that day. If Flaherty’s isn’t available or we can’t get the majority of commissioners there, then we could discuss. Discussion ensued regarding school break around that date. Commissioners agreed that October 22 is the date to shoot for. Commissioner Gronquist said we still have the QR code for the survey. We can update the questions and have them on the table. Then if someone arrives early they can take the survey. There’s no reason to start from scratch on that item as we already have something in place. Commissioner Bonine asked if attendees will be asked to register for the event. He thinks we could combine the registration with the survey. We can ask name, business and what they are hoping to get out of this breakfast. Chair Murchie said these are all the questions we need to be asking as we start the planning. He thought breaking the tasks up and asking commissioners to come back with an update on their component for the July meeting makes sense. He thought there are three big things that need to come together before the July meeting. First, there have been ideas on speakers but someone can start finalizing those speakers. Second, we need someone to coordinate what we want to learn either from a postcard or maybe it’s discussion topics. And finally how are we going to distribute invites and get attendees in the door? He asked if any commissioners would work towards gathering that information prior to the July meeting. A mailer will cost money to produce and for postage. That needs to be accounted for. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – JUNE 25, 2025 8 Commissioner Bonine said he thinks Commissioner Gronquist could look at the survey and clean it up or make it more specific to the event. He will take a stab at the agenda and speakers based off of the previous discussions. Commissioner Polzer said sending a save-the-date way ahead of time, is a good idea. Chair Murchie asked if Commissioner Polzer can brainstorm some ideas for how to get people to attend. Commissioner Polzer confirmed she would do that. Commissioner Bonine asked how much time should he budget for, for the agenda speakers. Chair Murchie asked the business owners in the room what they thought was reasonable. Commissioner Brausen said it should be reasonably short. There should be a Councilmember or the Mayor talk for a few minutes. The Sheriff could take maybe 20 minutes. City Administrator Jagoe asked if Commissioner Bonine should be establishing the agenda for the event. Should he be coordinating speakers and topics. She said it would be good to define a focus topic. Chair Murchie said there are some pieces for this that have been discussed. His hope is for the July meeting there will be a proposal for each of the components. At that time, the entire commission can start to refine the details so coming out of the July meeting, we have a good idea what the event looks like and have a good plan to move forward with. Senior Planner Fransen noted that during the May subcommittee meeting it was mentioned that maybe one of the owners of Flaherty’s or Commissioner Brausen could speak to being an established business owner in Arden Hills. Commissioner Bonine said that if any of the commissioners have any ideas for speakers to send him an email and he will incorporate it for the proposal in July. If it needs to be drilled down further there could be a subcommittee meeting after the July meeting, but before the next scheduled EDC meeting, he could do that. Commissioner Gronquist clarified that she will look at the survey and adjust it to fit this event. She is also happy to make a template save-the-date invitation. Chair Murchie said that some people aren’t going to walk in and do the survey. He though the commission should be thinking about how the EDC can still gather information. Senior Planner Fransen said Commissioner Poelzer had expressed interest in a save-the-date. Commissioner Poelzer said she would be happy to touch base with Commissioner Gronquist. She said she wants to define how this is being advertised. Using the word forum implies that there will be some interaction vs. attending a presentation where you listen. We are the ones who want to listen. Her hope is that we can try to do more than one event. She doesn’t expect the first forum will be an overwhelming success. It may have to build over time. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – JUNE 25, 2025 9 Chair Murchie said those were great points. He would be happy to work with Commissioner Poelzer to determine how to get attendees in the door and talk about what are we learning from the event, itself. Is there a follow-up or exit survey? How will we know if this is a one-time thing or if there is an appetite for more forums? Commissioner Brausen said we need an estimate of attendees so he can order the refreshments. He said Holiday gives him a budget to use. He thought we could raffle some gas cards. He thought he could get four (4) $50.00 gas cards. Commissioner Poelzer likes the idea of a drawing. Chair Murchie said we could ask attendees to complete the survey for an entry into the drawing. He said once we have the invite list, we can try to calculate what we think the participation may be. Discussion ensued regarding how to anticipate how many attendees may participate. Commissioner Brausen said the last one he attended was very popular. He understands this is different now. He said there were at least 100 attendees. He thought we may get 50. Commissioner Gronquist said it would be nice to ask them to RSVP but she isn’t sure who would collect the responses. Chair Murchie said if Commissioners Gronquist and Poelzer can figure out the invite template for the July meeting, he will work on how to collect RSVPs. Senior Planner Fransen said we could do a Microsoft form where they can reply. She will send a follow-up email after she meets with Chair Murchie later in the week. She will share the roles that were identified and the steps that should be taken by the July meeting. She is available if anyone wants to run anything past her, or if questions arise. She asked that any materials be provided in advance of the meeting for packet preparation. C. EDC Meeting Calendar Senior Planner Fransen said Staff is proposing to add meeting dates. Additional meetings are proposed on the fourth Wednesday of the month, as is typical for regular meetings with a time 7:30-9:00 am. The proposed additional meetings are July 23, 2025 and September 24, 2025. Other meetings could be added, as well, but these proposed additions would mean the EDC has monthly meetings. This notice is being given at least three weeks in advance, as is the procedure that was adopted at the beginning of the year. Commissioner Poelzer noticed there is no November meeting. She wonders if we can schedule something in November, as well. Commissioner Gronquist said the fourth Wednesday in November is Thanksgiving week. Chair Murchie thought it might be good to have a debrief after the event. Possibly on November 5, 2025. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – JUNE 25, 2025 10 Senior Planner Fransen said these meetings are subject to cancellation if there aren’t any items or updates. There wouldn’t be any harm in putting that on the calendar as a place holder for now, knowing that the usual cadence of the fourth Wednesday won’t work due to the holiday that week. Chair Murchie said there is a good chance he’ll be traveling during the proposed September date. He wondered if everyone would be open to it being on September 17th instead of the 24th. He would be happy to join virtually, if that date doesn’t work for everyone. The Commissioners agreed there will be meetings added on July 23, September 17 and there will be a place holder meeting on November 5. Senior Planner Fransen said Staff will update the dates on the calendar. Commissioner Poelzer asked for confirmation that Youth Commissioner Meyer’s term is ending and we are seeking a new Youth Commissioner. She wondered when that new person would start. Senior Planner Fransen said the term for the new Youth Commissioner would start in September. Commissioner Poelzer said we would want the new Youth Commissioner to be at the forum. Senior Planner Fransen said there was a call for applicants in the most recent newsletter. She had talked about it with a couple of people who showed interest. She anticipates that the first meeting would be in September. Her hope is to interview applicants prior to the school year starting. Commissioner Poelzer said it might be good to discuss the forum with any interviewees. Then the Youth Commissioner can have a heads up that they may be asked to attend. Senior Planner Fransen asked if there was anymore discussion regarding the event. D. Business License Background Senior Planner Fransen said the background information in the packet includes the Business License Application, the Fee Schedule and the licensed businesses list that is on the website. All businesses are asked to complete the paperwork annually. Two notices are sent. Sometimes we don’t have the contact information for the Arden Hills business, as the license application is sent to a corporate office or parent company that may not be local. The list on the website is the structure that has been historically used. The application and the business list are the City’s forms. There could be a different format that includes more/less information. Only businesses who complete their annual license paperwork are included on the list. The list is updated throughout the year as licenses/registrations come in. Senior Planner Fransen said there are business types where the state establishes the fee. Depending on the nature of the business, some are only asked to register and there is no fee. Those businesses are still added to the list. Those businesses that don’t have a fee typically aren’t selling tangible goods. There have been conversations regarding if we want to revamp the fee schedule or the licensing process. The City could consider a general “other” category where all businesses that don’t have a state mandated fee could pay a baseline fee. Commissioner Gronquist has previously suggested that a portion of the fees could be placed in a General Fund. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – JUNE 25, 2025 11 Senior Planner Fransen said after this introduction, Commissioners can think about what other fields may be helpful to add to the application. Commissioners can also look at the website list and determine if other fields should be added to the list. Modifications to the form and list can be made administratively. Any changes to the fee schedule would be a Council decision. Discussion ensued regarding which fees are state regulated and that the current fee schedule cites the statute, if there is one. 4. COMMENTS AND REPORTS A. Report from Staff None. B. Report from the City Council Councilmember Monson appreciated the discussion that took place. She said there is an Adopt- A-Park pilot program this year. There is also a sponsorship program where businesses can sponsor City events. More information will be forthcoming on those programs. Councilmember Monson said 2026 is the 75th Anniversary of Arden Hills. There is a steering committee for that event and residents are encouraged to join. The application closes on June 30. This committee of 10 or so people will help plan an event to celebrate the anniversary. Councilmember Monson shared the zoning code is being reviewed and updated. Councilmember Monson said Night to Unite will be August 5. That would be a great opportunity to reach out to residents and make them aware of the EDC and the work they are doing. Councilmember Monson said this Commission is having great conversations on how to reach out to businesses in the community. There are these programs that the Commission can dive into. The event will be a learning experience. It will probably need to grow, as commissioners have suggested. She likes the short-term goal to fix the business license process. C. Economic Development Commission Comments Chair Murchie appreciated Councilmember Monson attending the meeting and sharing her thoughts. He said the EDC would like to figure out how to support those efforts moving forward. He said a number of businesses are contributing to the Parks Passport Program. The more we can make those connections will help with the Commission’s work. Councilmember Monson said outreach will always be a part of this group. At some point that will evolve into figuring out how to integrate the connections made into programs and events. Commissioner Poelzer said George’s Shoes has been in the City for Arden Hills for 25 years. They recently moved to a new location, still in Arden Hills. They are concerned about people entering the building. They don’t have the funds and the building owner doesn’t have the funds to replace the awnings. They were asking if there are any funding opportunities to assist with that. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – JUNE 25, 2025 12 Discussion ensued regarding if this is anything EDC can help with or if it is a private property matter. Chair Murchie said that is the kind of feedback we can expect from these business outreaches. When we talk to businesses, they are going to share concerns. If there begins to be a pattern or theme on certain concerns, we should talk about them. That’s how the changes to the sign code came up, and the discussion regarding business licensing. We can talk about those things as they come up. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Chair Murchie and seconded by Commissioner Gronquist to adjourn. Motion passed unanimously The meeting adjourned at 9:07 a.m.