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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-17-2025 EDC Agenda Packet Chair: • Jud Murchie Commissioners: • Ted Brausen • Julie Gronquist • Bobby Bonine • Jessica Daniels • Kyle Sorenson • Kristine Poelzer • Ihsan Isak • Kayleigh Shrom Council Liaison: Councilmember Emily Rousseau Arden Hills Economic Development Commission Meeting December 17, 2025 1245 W. Highway 96 Arden Hills, MN 55112 651.792.7800 www.cityofardenhills.org City Vision A strong community that values our unique environment, our fiscal soundness, and our tradition as a desirable city in which to live, work, and play. Agenda Regular Economic Development Commission Convenes 7:30 AM Call to Order 1. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. November 5, 2025 3. UNFINISHED AND NEW BUSINESS A. 75th Anniversary Update B. EDC Work Plan C. 2026 Meeting Schedule 4. COMMENTS AND REPORTS A. Report from the City Council B. Economic Development Commission Comments 5. ADJOURNMENT A quorum of the City Council may be present at this meeting. Meeting materials are available online at: http://www.cityofardenhills.org/agendacenter CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA Special ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION NOVEMBER 5, 2025 7:30 A.M. – ARDEN HILLS COMMUNITY ROOM CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Present: Chair Jud Murchie, Commissioners Kyle Sorenson, Ted Brausen, Kayleigh Shrom, Kristine Poelzer, Ihsan Isak Absent: Commissioners Bobbie Bonine, Jess Daniels and Julie Gronquist Also Present: Senior Planner Elena Fransen, Community Development Director Jake Reilly, Council Liaison Emily Rousseau 1. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA Chair Murchie called the meeting to order at 7:38. A motion was made by Commissioner Brausen and seconded by Commissioner Poelzer to approve the agenda as amended. Motion passed unanimously. Commissioner Poelzer had a point of information. She thinks the newsletter should not state it’s only for residents. She said the Arden Hills Notes has a line that says “The Official City Newsletter for Arden Hills Residents” and she believes the word “residents” should be removed so it’s inclusive for businesses. Senior Planner Fransen will work with communications to see if this is an option. The commission agreed this was a good idea. Discussion ensued regarding featuring businesses in the newsletter and Staff said an article about the business event will be included in a future newsletter. 2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. September 17, 2025 B. October 8, 2025 A motion was made by Commissioner Sorensen and seconded by Commissioner Brausen to approve the September 17, 2025 and October 8, 2025 minutes, as written. Motion passed unanimously. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – NOVEMBER 5, 2025 2 3. UNFINISHED AND NEW BUSINESS A. Business Event Debrief Chair Murchie asked for Commissioners to report what they thought of the business event. Commissioner Sorenson thought it went well. He thought there was open communication between businesses. He noted that some of the attendees were really excited to make the connections. Commissioner Brausen said the next one will be better. He said people stayed around after and he thinks that’s a good sign. Senior Planner Fransen thought everything went well. Pivoting was essential. That led to spontaneous connections. She thought the commissioners did a great job engaging with all the business owners. Respondents of the survey show that people want to do this again, either two or four times a year. Council Liaison Rousseau would love to see the full survey results. Senior Planner Fransen said there were 14 respondents. All indicated they are interested in attending another event. Suggestions included quarterly events or two times a year. There is opportunity to try to gather folks in a less formal setting. Council Liaison Rousseau asked how this is different than a Chamber of Commerce event. Senior Planner Fransen said they are similar in that they have speakers. There are more cities included for Chamber meetings. There has been a change in leadership that is considering programming changes to increase participation and to be more inclusive. Council Liaison Rousseau said she thinks quarterly EDC event might be competing with other entities. How can we differentiate ourselves? Senior Planner Fransen said there is opportunity that Arden Hills could partner with the Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber changes locations. We can try to help promote the events held in Arden Hills. Commissioner Brausen thought an EDC event twice a year is good. Chair Murchie said there could be an opportunity to work with Shoreview to give an announcement during those events. We can figure out a way to have an informal thing where businesses can show up and share perspectives that will be valuable to each other. He thinks people are looking for community. That’s how we can be a bridge. Commissioner Sorenson thought two Arden Hills business programs and an Arden Hills happy hour might be a good option. We found out we don’t have to do so much. We can have just two speakers. The Chamber events can be dull and monotonous. This is more focused. Being local will set us apart. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – NOVEMBER 5, 2025 3 Chair Murchie said having a happy hour will create space for people to build community. Commissioner Brausen thought the program was good. He thought we should send thank you notes. Chair Murchie said if we did happy hour, he will work with Commissioner Sorensen to pick a date and location that may work. Commissioner Isak said he likes the happy hour idea. He likes the idea of keeping the Arden Hills only events twice a year. Shoreview is a larger city so the intimate Arden Hills event will stand out. Commissioner Poelzer said it was interesting that we said 7:45 check in and start at 8:00. That happened. People showed up on time and were ready for the event. Chair Murchie took a look at what was happening and he pivoted. He acknowledged that the program was changing. Everyone was comfortable with it. Chair Murchie wanted to be respectful of attendees’ time and said the program was over and people were welcome to leave or they could stay to continue talking. Everyone stayed and were interacting. She was hoping there would be more interaction with the Council members in attendance. She thought the event was good. Chair Murchie thought a thank you email should be sent to all attendees. He asked the commission what didn’t work. Commissioner Sorenson said don’t over program. Two speakers would be great. Commissioner Brausen said it was a great sign that so many people stayed late. Commissioner Shrom said the giveaways were fun. People were talking about that. It kept everyone engaged. Commissioner Isak thought the discussions were valuable and fostered good connection building. His dad will be moving his business to Arden Hills soon and he wants to be a part of these events. Commissioner Poelzer appreciated the Sheriff. She thought maybe giving speakers a time limit would be better. She thought having print outs or links to the presentation may also be a good idea. We know now we have to plan time to change presenters and hand over the microphone. She would like to see the EDC members up front at the start for introductions and then the members can disperse to the seats. Discussion ensued regarding having commissioners up front or at the tables. Handing the microphone and possibly mingling with everyone before. The Youth Commissioners are happy to be participating and their perspective is valuable. Commissioner Sorenson said we can solicit future sponsors from attendees of the first meeting. Community Development Director Reilly asked for EDC members and the businesses who attended to let Council know it was a good experience. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – NOVEMBER 5, 2025 4 B. EDC Work Plan Senior Planner Fransen said strategic planning was done at the Council level. There is interest in the EDC developing a work plan and documenting what this group wants to work toward. She summarized what we have done and asked for ideas for how the EDC role will take shape. She shared some ideas in the agenda packet. There can be a subcommittee to draft the work plan so we can discuss it at the meeting and decide what we want to bring forward to Council. Community Development Director Reilly said there are several things that the EDC can do that will align directly with the strategic plan. He wanted commissioners to think about the goals. The expansion of the Adopt-A-Park would be a good opportunity for businesses to get involved. We are assessing communications and working to improve them. The strategic plan outlines a goal of 25 businesses participating. How the city does business can be looked at to see how we can communicate better with businesses. The work plan will overlap the strategic plan. Commissioner Brausen said we should focus on how Arden Hills is different from Shoreview or New Brighton and this is a strength, not a shortcoming. Maybe we can promote businesses. It would be good to differentiate ourselves. We want to be different than Shoreview. We’re smaller and closer knit than the larger surrounding communities. Chair Murchie discussed being the bridge between the residents, businesses and the city. Building a sense of community and creating regular spaces will be great. When new businesses are in town, an EDC member can reach out and invite them to an event. We can intentionally create events that will foster that community. We can hear the feedback from new businesses and connect them to established businesses to bridge that gap and be inviting. We just have to create that space and he thinks we can differentiate ourselves from other cities. Council Liaison Rousseau said Shoreview has signs or decals in businesses that identify them as Shoreview businesses. There is opportunity to promote Arden Hills businesses that way. We can ask owners to donate to nonprofits. Commissioner Brausen said they already do that. Shop in Arden Hills. Commissioner Poelzer said the key is people knowing where Arden Hills is. She doesn’t know if all residents even know what our boundaries are. For the 75th anniversary it would be nice to have flags along County Road E and on our side of Lexington. That will identify us. Commissioner Brausen liked that idea. He said we can promote the small town feel and the flags were sharp looking. Senior Planner Fransen summarized the items she heard. Commissioner Brausen said businesses should be hooked in to promote the 75th. Chair Murchie said there can be a boundary historical piece in the newsletter. We can be prepared to promote the July celebration during an EDC event in May, if we have one. Council Liaison Rousseau thought we can use Gateway funds to create decals or something. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – NOVEMBER 5, 2025 5 Commissioner Poelzer said rather than waiting for people to find the newsletter sign up, we could send an electronic version of the newsletter. Or send an email asking them if we can add them to receive it automatically. They’ll see the information and the planning. Senior Planner Fransen said they have to opt in. She can enter an email but they will be sent an email that they will still have to click on a link and opt in. Commissioner Isak said an automatic Newsletter entry could be a good requirement. Commissioner Sorenson said it could be a check box on the registration form. Senior Planner Fransen said the current newsletter is an address drop. Commissioner Poelzer thought residents got a welcome packet. It would be nice to have something like that for new businesses. Chair Murchie said we can add a box on the form saying they are open to being contacted by the EDC. He said prior to the next meeting he can meet with Senior Planner Fransen to draft a work plan based off of today’s discussion. Senior Planner Fransen said she would do that. She described that a new business process could be developed so new business owners know the requirements. Discussion ensued regarding how businesses could contribute and participate in the 75th anniversary. Commissioner Sorenson thought we could have tables for businesses. Commissioner Poelzer asked if the sponsorship program is up and running. She asked if the printed items are ready. Senior Planner Fransen said the policy is established and adopted. The Senior Communications Coordinator is finessing the brochure. An update will be provided at the next meeting. Commissioner Poelzer said using the sponsorship could be a way for businesses to purchase a flag. It could include a business name and when they were established. Commissioner Brausen said businesses donated to the cost of flags in the past. Discussion ensued that a lot of people don’t know the Arden Hills boundaries. Having flags would establish that boundary. Further discussion regarding how long certain businesses have been in town ensued. Senior Planner Fransen said next steps are people should start to think about if there were areas they would like to participate in if the EDC were to create sub groups. The work plan can be built for that. Chair Murchie said they can pull together a plan and identify some subgroups and suggest who can be in each group. He will work with Senior Planner Fransen to structure the work plan before the next meeting. 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. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION – NOVEMBER 5, 2025 7 5. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Commissioner Poelzer and seconded by Commissioner Brausen to adjourn at 9:01. Motion passed unanimously The meeting adjourned at 9:01a.m. Page 1 of 1 EDC AGENDA ITEM – 3A MEMORANDUM DATE: December 17, 2025 TO: Economic Development Commission Chair and Commission Members FROM: Elena Fransen, AICP, Senior Planner SUBJECT: 75th Anniversary Update A verbal update will be provided at the Economic Development Commission Meeting. Page 1 of 2 EDC AGENDA ITEM –3B MEMORANDUM DATE: December 17, 2025 TO: Economic Development Commission Chair and Commissioners FROM: Elena Fransen, AICP, Senior Planner SUBJECT: Economic Development Commission Work Plan Requested Action Consider work plan ideas for the EDC. Background The City Council’s Strategic Plan includes the adopting of an Economic Development Commission work plan. In 2026, the City Council is tentatively scheduled to review the work plan at an April 2026 work session and adopt the work plan at a City Council meeting in June 2026. Following the EDC business event in October, the EDC discussed ideas and themes for a work plan in November. Staff took notes from this discussion and prepared an initial draft of ideas. Next steps for preparing the work plan include prioritizing the goals and themes, identifying resource needs from City staff and members of the EDC, budget requests, and standard operating procedure needs. Metrics and a timeline must also be established. Discussion Staff asks the EDC to review the updated goals and line items in the draft work plan and discuss the following topics: Duties and goals - Are these reflective of the EDC mission? - Is there anything missing the EDC would like to consider? Ranking/Organizing of duties and goals - Based on level of importance to the EDC mission - Based on the available resources required of staff and members of the EDC - Based on new budget needs (to be identified) - Based on need to identify and create a standard operating procedure Page 2 of 2 Next Steps Staff will use the discussion to add more detail regarding the approach to commission-identified priorities. For items that require additional standard operating procedure details, staff will work on details for prioritized items. Below is a tentative timeline for the EDC work plan. Timeline (tentative) January EDC Meeting Review draft work plan; coordinate next steps for drafting SOPs February EDC Meeting Review draft SOPs for prioritized items March EDC Meeting EDC confirms draft to be shared with the City Council April CC Work Session EDC and City Council discuss draft EDC Work Plan April EDC Meeting EDC reviews Council feedback about the Work Plan May EDC Meeting EDC review updated Work Plan for consideration at Council June CC Meeting City Council adopts EDC Work Plan Attachments A – Draft EDC Work Plan for discussion B – Work Plan Ranking sheet Economic Development Commission (EDC) 2026-2027 Work Plan (Draft) EDC Purpose and Mission The mission of 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 Economic Development Authority on economic development, redevelopment, and related community development issues. Main Duties  Create intentional spaces for Arden Hills business community to connect  Support City business engagement operations  Increase awareness of Arden Hills as a distinct destination for patrons and businesses Meetings • Fourth Wednesday of the month at 7:30 a.m. 2026-2027 Goals Connection: Create intentional spaces for Arden Hills business community to connect - Newsletter – Feature Arden Hills businesses in X issues of the Arden Hills Notes Newsletter - Social Events – Coordinate X social events for businesses - Knowledge sharing events – Coordinate X knowledge sharing events for businesses City Engagement: Support City business engagement operations - Adopt a Park – Promote the program with businesses with the goal to see X parks adopted each _______. - Sponsorships – Identify what can be sponsored by business owners and promote the program with businesses with the goal to see X new business sponsors each year - Business License/Registration – Partner with the City Clerk to facilitate the continued participation of at least X% of Arden Hills businesses year over year - New Businesses – Partner with the City Clerk to contact new businesses about the City’s license/registration processes and other resources or processes relevant to new businesses - Zoning Code Updates – Support engagement and feedback from business community on draft code Arden Hills as a place: Increase awareness of Arden Hills as a distinct destination for patrons and businesses - 75th Anniversary Event – Promote the event and encourage business participation through sponsorship with the goal to recruit X sponsors - Gateway Signage – Develop recommendations for gateway signage within City - City emblem – Explore program to engage local businesses and increase physical representation of City 2026 Timeline (tentative) January EDC Meeting Review updated draft work plan; coordinate next steps for drafting SOPs February EDC Meeting Review drafted SOPs for prioritized items March EDC Meeting EDC confirms draft to be shared with the City Council April CC Work Session EDC and City Council discuss draft EDC Work Plan April EDC Meeting EDC reviews Council feedback about the Work Plan May EDC Meeting EDC reviews updated Work Plan with Council feedback incorporated June CC Meeting City Council adopts EDC Work Plan Draft EDC work plan (December 2025) Duties Tasks Importance to EDC mission Staff/EDC resources Relationship to other initiatives Budget (Y/N) SOP (Y/N) Connection: Create intentional spaces for Arden Hills business community to connect Newsletter – Feature Arden Hills businesses in issues of the Arden Hills Notes Newsletter Social Events – Coordinate social events for businesses Knowledge sharing events – Coordinate knowledge sharing events for businesses City Engagement: Support City business engagement operations Adopt a Park – Promote the program with businesses Business License/Registration – Partner with the City Clerk to facilitate the continued participation of Arden Hills businesses year over year New Businesses – Partner with the City Clerk to contact new businesses about City license/registration processes and other applicable applications relevant to new businesses Zoning Code Updates – Support engagement and feedback from business community on draft code Arden Hills as a place: Increase awareness of Arden Hills as a distinct destination for patrons and businesses 75th Anniversary Event – Promote the event and encourage business participation through sponsorship Gateway Signage – Develop recommendations for gateway signage within City City Emblem – Explore program to engage local businesses and increase physical representation of City Review work plan timeline, update draft work plan Review updated draft work plan, coordinate next steps for drafting SOPs Review drafted SOPs for prioritized items Submit draft to City Council Review and Incorporate City Council feedback Submit final draft to City Council Begin work plan implementation We are here March -Finalize draft work plan April -City Council Work Session May -Finalize work plan June -City Council Adopts EDC Work Plan 10/20/2025 12/9/2025 1/28/2026 3/19/2026 5/8/2026 6/27/2026 8/16/2026 Economic Development Commission Work Plan Page 1 of 2 EDC AGENDA ITEM – 3C MEMORANDUM DATE: December 17, 2025 TO: Economic Development Commission Chair and Commission Members FROM: Elena Fransen, AICP, Senior Planner SUBJECT: EDC Meeting Frequency in 2026 Requested Action The Economic Development Commission to consider the frequency of meetings in 2026 and moving from meeting on the 4th Wednesday of even months to the 4th Wednesday of every month. Background In 2025, the EDC met monthly except at the beginning of the year (January, March, May). Meetings became more frequent as the EDC prepared to hold an event with local businesses in October. The October 8 meeting was partially remote and allowed for two commissioners to join via Microsoft Teams. As proposed, the meeting dates for 2026 are as follows: January 28 February 25 March 25 April 22 May 27 June 24 July 22 August 26 September 23 October 28 November 18 (moved from November 25 so as not to fall on the day before Thanksgiving) December 16 (moved from December 23 so as not to fall on the day before Christmas Eve) Meeting dates may be subject to change depending on agenda topics, other EDC related events, EDC commissioner availability. Page 2 of 2 Options - Adopt the proposed meeting schedule - Amend the proposed meeting schedule Next Steps Staff will take the recommendation from the EDC and update the meeting schedule.