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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-17-25 EDC Minutes CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION SEPTEMBER 17, 2025 7:30 A.M. – ARDEN HILLS CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Present: Chair Jud Murchie, Commissioners Bobby Bonine, Kristine Poelzer, Jess Daniels, Kyle Sorenson, Julie Gronquist, Ted Brausen, Ishan Isak, and Youth Commissioner Kayleigh Shrom Absent: Council Liaison Emily Rousseau Also Present: Senior Planner Elena Fransen, Community Development Director Jake Reilly Community Development Director Jake Reilly introduced himself and the commission members introduced themselves. 1. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA Chair Murchie called the meeting to order. A motion was made by Commissioner Poelzer and seconded by Commissioner Brausen to approve the agenda. Motion passed unanimously. 2. UNFINISHED AND NEW BUSINESS A. Business Event Updates Senior Planner Fransen said in the agenda packet she broke down the different discussion items. The flyer has been finalized. She will reach out to the commissioners who have requested copies and get them the number of flyers they want. She will send a PDF to the whole group. She said she emailed the flyer to 158 email addresses from the business registration list. There were about 18 bounce backs. She is already seeing RSVPs. She said the flyer will also be available at the State of the City event. Social media posts will be shared, as well. Senior Planner Fransen wanted to check in on the script for the event. She asked if there were any updates. Chair Murchie said there are two things that need to be finalized. Who will be the facilitator of the Council conversation? He said Commissioner Gronquist said at the last meeting that she may be okay facilitating it. He said that Commissioner Brausen will speak first with Dan, the owner of Flaherty’s, to share some history of Arden Hills and their perspectives of being a long time ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – SEPTEMBER 17, 2025 2 business owner here. Commissioner Bonine will facilitate the conversation with the Sheriff’s Department. The question is if Commissioner Gronquist wants to participate with Councilmember Rousseau with a third person facilitating the segment or would Commissioner Gronquist just want to lead that conversation between the two of them. Commissioner Gronquist remembers discussion being that she would introduce Councilmember Rousseau, who would give a City-update and then Councilmember Gronquist would give an update about the EDC. Then she was going to transition the conversation into the group discussion at the tables. She didn’t think she would be answering questions. Chair Murchie said he thought it would be a nice combination for a business owner and a councilmember to sharing stories. He said there doesn’t need to be anyone facilitating it. Commissioner Gronquist said she is fine with either scenario. She just wants to know what is expected of her. Senior Planner Fransen said Councilmember Rousseau will implement some of the information provided in the Community Development slides from the State of the City event into the talking points for this event. Her plan is to connect with Commissioner Gronquist after that event to see what their conversation will look like. She said they can figure that out and then share what they decided with the rest of the group. Commissioner Bonine said there is a healthy amount of time for each of these sections. The Q&A portion seems to be targeted toward the table conversations. He said if we get through everything early, it will be okay to end the event early. Business owners are always happy to have some of their time back. We don’t have to fill every minute. Senior Planner Fransen said she and Commissioner Brausen met with the owner of Flaherty’s in the event space. The space will be great and the technology will allow us to share slides. There are no events following this one, so anyone who wishes to stay after and continue conversations or to make connections, the space is available. Chair Murchie said he will send out invitations the first week in October to do a prep call. He said part of the opening remarks should set the event up as us wanting to learn and hear from business owners. He asked if everyone agrees that the focus is the table time at the end. The Commissioners agreed, depending on attendance. Discussion ensued that it wouldn’t make sense for a member to be at each table if there were just one attendee at the table. The tables should be grouped with a minimum of four attendees at each table. We can have more than one EDC member at the table. Further discussion on the types of tables and how the room should be arranged ensued. Commissioner Daniels asked if the questions that are on the agenda are the actual script for the event. Senior Planner Fransen said there are two attachments with questions, as well as a handout provided at the beginning of this meeting. Commissioner Gronquist said Attachment B would be at the door when attendees come in and we will request that they complete that. That form is requesting their basic business information. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – SEPTEMBER 17, 2025 3 When they turn that in, they get entered for the raffle drawing. She said Attachment C is a quick check-box survey that will only take a minute to complete at their table. The handout that Senior Planner Fransen passed out today will help facilitate the table discussions. Senior Planner Fransen said the table discussion questions are intended to gather more qualitative information and generate a conversation. She asked if anyone had any comments about the questions. Commissioner Daniels said as we are trying to create connections and a sense of community, she thought the questions were more informative, rather than a tool to get everyone talking amongst themselves. She wondered if there is a way to make a stronger connection or build comradery. Senior Planner Fransen said the intention was for everyone to introduce themselves and answer the questions. That could lead into the larger discussions. She asked what types of questions will make that connection. Commissioner Bonine said it can be as simple as asking “what brought you here today?” after the introductions. As moderators, the EDC Members need to be ready to keep engaging, once the attendees open and ask follow up questions. He thinks commissioners sharing why we joined the EDC and our experiences, will drive conversations, too. Commissioner Daniels said it would be good to ask questions that make it clear that the people at the tables are a resource for them. Chair Murchie asked if it would be helpful for the commissioners to start off with that, during their introductions at the table discussions. Commissioner Daniels thought yes. The follow-up prompts can be to ask if they know anyone experiencing similar situations. She hopes people walk away feeling like they got to know other business owners in Arden Hills or even learning about a business they didn’t know about before. They can make those connections so if they have a similar issue, the will know who has been in a similar situation and can learn what they did. Senior Planner Fransen said the goal with having a set number of questions is that we have a similar discussion happening at each of the tables. She asked if there were any questions that should be added. Commissioner Bonine said after the intro, it would be good to have simple questions that give the attendees a chance to talk about themselves. A question like “Where are you from?” can lead to a story that details how they are tied to Arden Hills. That along with “What brought you here today?” will go well with the structured questions regarding topics discussed earlier in the event. It can help connect everyone and humanize the situation. Chair Murchie said the commissioners just need to be prepared to facilitate the intro. Commissioner Daniels agreed. She said if commissioners prescriptively read through the questions, it won’t be fun or help with community building. Chair Murchie said he will connect with Senior Planner Fransen to discuss how we can shape the script for the opener of the conversations. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – SEPTEMBER 17, 2025 4 Senior Planner Fransen confirmed. There will be emailed communication between this meeting and the event, since there are no scheduled meetings before the event. Chair Murchie asked if it would be helpful to schedule a virtual meeting before the event to touch base with everyone. Commissioner Bonine said we can determine if that is needed as the event gets closer. A 30- minute call can be thrown together at the last minute, if needed. Commissioner Poelzer thought the commission could gather for a meeting after the event. She is wondering if having the opening speakers outline that the EDC wants to know more about them and that we want to encourage networking. That would help puff up the stage, implying more to come. Senior Planner Fransen said she planned to put together some talking points for the opening presenters to include their “why” for being in Arden Hills and sharing the history of Main Street. Commissioner Poelzer thinks it will be good for newer businesses to know the established businesses are also looking to do some networking and are interested in learning about resources. Senior Planner Fransen asked for any other input on the questions. The commission agreed the question list is good. Commissioner Bonine asked if the commissioners should be taking notes at the tables. Senior Planner Fransen said that segways perfectly into confirming facilitators and note takers. She said if we have our full commission of EDC members, we will have eight. It could be four tables that has a facilitator and a note taker. We could split off to more tables if the turnout is high. Commissioner Bonine said if something tangible comes up, we will plan to follow up with the businesses. He would like there to be some paper at the table with columns where the facilitator can list who spoke, what action they are seeking, and noteworthy info. He thinks if someone is looking down at the paper taking notes, it can make it feel like we aren’t connecting. He’s happy to take notes but they won’t be detailed. Having a form with some columns to capture the basics of the conversation would be helpful and allow for follow up after the event. Discussion ensued about a note sheet that somehow connects to who answered the survey questions at the table so we can connect the business with the notes. Commissioner Poelzer said we can provide bullet points of what we are hoping they will tell us. Commissioner Bonine said there will be a time to follow up on more in-depth questions. This event is trying to identify who is interested in engaging. If someone is asked a bunch of technical questions they may be less likely to engage. It would be good to have an idea of what we are hoping to take back, so all facilitators know to lead the discussion toward those answers. How it is documented should be consistent with the other tables. Chair Murchie said he will work with Staff to create an abbreviated note structure. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – SEPTEMBER 17, 2025 5 Commissioner Daniels said it would be nice to get feedback after the event to learn if a business owner thought this was productive for their business. She hopes everyone will bring business cards and share with each other. Commissioner Sorenson said that is what will bring people back. The intentionality of this event is not necessarily to gather the information. That’s the cherry on top. The intention is to get everyone together to share their experiences and feel connected. Gathering the information is valuable but this is about making those personal connections. Senior Planner Fransen said the EDC is hosting the event and the attendees are engaging with us. We can follow up after the event by using the information they share on the first intake form. Commissioner Poelzer said sometimes people will stop in to see if there are brochures or information to pick up. She thought having the page describing how the business license/registration process works may be helpful. She would also like to have the list of businesses who are registered available, too. People may be interested in reading it later. We want to grow that list. She thought we could also let the business owners know about the sponsorship policy the Council just adopted. Senior Planner Fransen said there is a policy to allow sponsorships. The brochure is not ready to be distributed yet. She said she will look to see what kind of handouts may be available. Commissioner Sorenson said as a business owner, he thinks the sponsorship brochure would be good to have available. It’s an opportunity for a business to brand itself. Chair Murchie asked if there were any other comments or questions. Senior Planner Fransen said everyone should be prepared to act as a facilitator at a table. She thinks we discussed all of the items on her list. She noted that she will try to plan for a pre-event meeting. Commissioner Gronquist asked if the flyers will be mailed. Senior Planner Fransen said it will just be an email. She can print copies of the flyers if people want to do in person invites or if businesses want to have some at their location to hand out, as appropriate. Commissioner Gronquist asked if the businesses that already received the email, but haven’t sent an RSVP can receive another email. As a business owner, she gets so many emails and sometimes things get missed. Senior Planner Fransen said she can send an email in advance of the October 1 RSVP cut-off. Community Development Director Reilly asked if there was a plan to follow up with those who don’t attend or try to track down a good email for the ones that bounced back. Senior Planner Fransen is tracking the bounce back emails. She can keep a list of who was contacted and send an email after the event. We can thank those who attended, share photos of the event and tell them to stay tuned for future events. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – SEPTEMBER 17, 2025 6 Commissioner Poelzer said she is happy to help with getting new information. B. Business Licenses/Registration Process Senior Planner Fransen said she is bringing this back after the discussion at the August meeting. Staff described the difference between licensing and registration. Licenses are issued to businesses required by statute and by those outlined in the fee schedule, based on business type. Other businesses are requested to register. This topic was brought to the EDC to take a look at the process and offer feedback. Senior Planner Fransen said Staff heard the EDC question the fees outlined on the fee schedule. The fees are set at the levels they are based on the fee schedule adopted by City Council every year. The Council is responsible for setting those fees. The comments from EDC were that some of these are out of alignment and sought to find a way to make licensing more equitable for all businesses. Senior Planner Fransen said there was discussion about separating the business license and business registration forms to create two separate forms. This would make it clearer which businesses require a license and which are registrations. Staff has confirmed the forms can be separated. She asked if there are other fields that the EDC may suggest be added to the forms. Chair Murchie asked if business owners would rather have one or two things to fill out. Commissioner Gronquist said it will either be one or the other. Senior Planner Fransen said that staff would separate the list into two separate lists. Then the businesses would get whatever form they are required to, based on business type. The problem is how does a business know when they need to register. If there are two forms, then the ones who are only required to register wouldn’t get hung up on trying to determine if they owe a fee and what that amount may be. Commissioner Bonine said the license form would collect the same data as a registration. But an abbreviated form for businesses who don’t require a license may help avoid some of the confusion. He thinks there are still some questions surrounding fees, but this is a good starting point. Commissioner Gronquist said the sign question would have to be on both since a registered business may still have to pay a sign fee. Commissioners agreed the signs should be on each form. Commissioner Bonine asked what the code is. He thought the fee was based on the type of business. Senior Planner Fransen said renewal of a permanent sign has been incorporated into the license form but it is separate from the license fee. So it can be broken out differently on the form. Someone who is just registering may not realize there is still a fee for a sign. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – SEPTEMBER 17, 2025 7 Commissioner Bonine said if there is a fee that needs to be collected, then we’re back to combining a form. He asked what is the basis for having a sign fee. He assumes that gets missed a lot. Is that a fee we want to still charge on a registration? Senior Planner Fransen said in the past the fee has been collected in case there were any follow up actions if a sign falls into disrepair and it is on the City to remove the sign or abate the issue. Commissioner Bonine asked how often a sign has fallen into disrepair where the City had to step in. He isn’t sure the City needs that level of “insurance” unless that situation occurs regularly. If this is just a revenue driver, fine. He doesn’t understand it. Is this a Council decision or is there a state requirement for it? It makes sense to him to charge an initial fee for a sign, but he’s not sure it should be an ongoing thing. Chair Murchie said it’s not a revenue driver. This is a very small portion of the budget. It’s a way of covering costs for if someone calls to talk to Staff about a sign. Commissioner Bonine said that probably isn’t happening. It feels like a nuisance fee for business owners. Chair Murchie said the way the fees are structured has not been discussed for a while. The fees are intended to cover the cost of Staff time. Senior Planner Fransen summarized that EDC members are looking to have a better understanding of the sign renewal fee on the form. She is hearing them question if this needs to be on both forms or if it is a necessary component to either form. Commissioner Bonine said if we separate the forms, then we should charge $25 for a registration and drop the sign fee. That could also start to create a budget to use for the events we are trying to put together. Commissioner Gronquist said City Administrator Jagoe said that we can’t use it to generate revenue. That confused her even further. Commissioner Bonine assumes the amount of Staff time used is less than the amount of revenue generated. Community Development Director Reilly said the fee schedule will be discussed at an upcoming work session. He will include this feedback in that conversation. Commissioner Poelzer said the EDC is here to help the Council understand how to grow businesses here and keep them here. Commissioner Brausen said there are certain businesses that are pinpointed. His business pays tobacco, service station and about three other things. Commissioner Poelzer said it depends on if we are looking at Arden Hills fees or State or Federal mandated ones. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – SEPTEMBER 17, 2025 8 Chair Murchie said maybe it’s a clarity thing. If a business is paying a license that is State mandated, there is nothing the City can do, except collect the required fee. This will be an important topic to dive into. 3. COMMENTS AND REPORTS A. Report from the City Council Senior Planner Fransen said the State of the City is this Saturday. She provided details on how to attend in person or virtually. Community Development Director Rielly said the Bark Bash is also on Saturday. B. Economic Development Commission Comments None. 4. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Commissioner Poelzer and seconded by Commissioner Brausen to adjourn. Motion passed unanimously The meeting adjourned at 8:47 a.m.