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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-27-26-EDAApproved: September 14, 2026 CITY OF ARDEN HILLS, MINNESOTA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY MEETING DULY 27, 2026 5:00 PM CITY HALL CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, EDA President Grant called to order the Economic Development Authority meeting at 5:00 p.m. Present: EDA President David Grant; EDA Commissioners Brenda Holden, Emily Rousseau, Tena Monson, Kurt Weber, Ted Brausen and Kyle Sorenson Absent: None Also present: EDA Secretary Jessica Jagoe, Public Works Director/City Engineer David Swearingen, EDA Executive Director Jake Reilly, and Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Julie Hanson 1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: EDA Commissioner Rousseau moved and EDA Commissioner Weber seconded a motion to approve the EDA meeting, a<,enda as presented. The motion carried unanimously (7-0). 2. OATHS OF OFFICE Assistant to the City Administrator/City Clerk Hanson administered the Oath of Office to new EDA commissioners Ted Brausen and Kyle Sorenson. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A. October 27, 2025 EDA MOTION: EDA Commissioner Weber moved and EDA Commissioner Monson seconded a motion to approve the October 27, 2025 Economic Development Authority Meeting, Minutes as presented. The motion carried unanimously (7-0). ARDEN HILLS EDA MEETING — July 27, 2026 2 4. NEW BUSINESS A. EDA Orientation Executive Director Reilly welcomed new EDA Commissioners Brausen and Sorenson. He stated he would provide an overview explaining what an Economic Development Authority (EDA) is, its relationship to the City Council, what its roles and responsibilities are, and what the EDA can do (statutory powers) and welcomed questions. Executive Director Reilly explained there are two tools that have to do with the tax base, Tax Increment Financing (TIF) and tax abatement. Commissioner Holden stated that there are a lot of rules. Executive Director Reilly agreed that TIF has a lot of rules and noted that at baseline, the tax increment is the delta between what property taxes are generated now and what the tax revenue could be. He went on to explain how tax abatement differs from TIF and provided a brief example, noting there are also many rules for tax abatements. Executive Director Reilly stated the City Council sets the rules for how a city operates (zoning changes, comprehensive plan, PMP projects, Capital Improvement Plan and budget). He touched on the topic of a housing and redevelopment authority. Executive Director Reilly indicated an EDA can enter into development agreements, fund the planning for a development or even fund the development itself, but ultimately having an EDA is a way to separate the decision making from what a City Council's decision can do, which are very broad. The EDA's decision allows for the focus to be purely on economic development challenges in a municipality. He went on to explain what an EDA cannot do. Executive Director Reilly also gave a brief history of the establishment of the Arden Hills EDA. He referenced that the Arden Hills EDA bylaws are included in the packet and noted these bylaws are similar to EDA bylaws elsewhere. He discussed the EDA's member composition and the process of amending the bylaws. Executive Director Reilly discussed the currently established meeting cadence, which is quarterly and noted the EDA can amend the meeting schedule in the bylaws. Executive Director Reilly explained the EDA could discuss its current fund balance and budget. He also referenced the recent 2026 allocation of Local Affordable Housing Assistance (LAHA), which is an allocation from the State legislature resulting from the 2023 Legislative session. Arden Hills previously did not qualify but because the State demographer estimates the Arden Hills population at just over 10,000, Arden Hills now qualifies for this funding. LAHA funds can be used only for affordable housing. EDA President Grant asked how much LAHA money was allocated. Executive Director Reilly estimated between $83,000 and $86,000. ARDEN HILLS EDA MEETING — July 27, 2026 3 EDA Secretary Jagoe asked for clarification of how the LAHA funding is directed in absence of Arden Hills having a Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA) Executive Director Reilly stated the funds could go directly to the City's EDA fund or to the General fund. There are two deposits that will be made — November and June. A short discussion ensued regarding operation of the EDA fund and EDA Secretary Jagoe requested the topic of the LAHA dollars be reviewed and confirmed during a future discussion. EDA Commissioner Rousseau indicated that last year during the budgeting cycle the City Council reduced the EDA funding by about $50,000. She requested the EDA discuss the funding in order to plan for the future. She also noted the Financial Planning and Advisory Committee was recently reestablished and requested that group be kept in the loop. EDA Commissioner Brausen asked what the current balance is. EDA President Grant responded approximately $839,000. A discussion ensued regarding EDA funds and gateway signs. Executive Director Reilly commented the EDC would be discussing gateway signs at its upcoming meeting. EDA Commissioner Rousseau stated she would like to review the bylaws as it's her understanding it is not statutorily required that the Mayor be President of the EDA. In her four years on the Council the only thing that has really been talked about was gateway signs and the EDA hadn't done much work until she was part of the group. Her preference was to allow other members of the EDA to be the President or Chair of the EDA and really run with things. She indicated Council has other priorities to discuss such as the budget or the number of one-off items that come up which distracts the Council from being able to focus on Economic Development in the city. EDA Commissioner Holden said it wasn't that the EDC, prior to reforming, didn't do anything. A survey was conducted of 94% of the businesses in Arden Hills in order to get ideas to bring forward. With the zip code being 55126 for some businesses, it made them think they are in Shoreview. She went on to say other than small fixes that they wanted, people were very happy, taxes were low, and people could get to work on time as plowing was done. There were no ideas on how to move forward, and then the Community Development person left and we were waiting for a new person to be hired. She said so seven years ago there were no ideas suggested by the group, other than where gateway signs could be. EDA Commissioner Brausen said he has read up on this and it's broad. It depends on the Council and what they want the EDA to do, from negotiating land purchases to just coming to the meetings. He stated he and EDA Commissioner Sorenson would like to get more involved and see what they can do. While gateway was a big opportunity, he recognized there were other needs in the city as well. EDA Commissioner Sorenson agreed and stated there was room for improvement. From what he researched it has been a little stagnant. He felt more information about the budget was necessary. EDA Commissioner Brausen would like to see the funding of $50,000 that was cut last year, come back. ARDEN HILLS EDA MEETING — July 27, 2026 4 EDA Commissioner Holden said a lot of work was put into revitalizing Arden Plaza. She asked for clarification regarding EDA Commissioner Brausen's comment about "gateway", does he mean TCAAP or Round Lake. EDA Commissioner Brausen confirmed he's talking about TCAAP (Rice Creek Commons). EDA Commissioner Holden said a lot of work and negotiation went into it and EDA Commissioner Brausen replied he likes to negotiate; it's his gig in life. EDA President Grant asked from a Council and EDA perspective how TIF and abatement come together. Executive Director Reilly replied this would be a good standalone topic for the group and EDA President Grant said it sounds like that we should have that discussion. EDA Commissioner Monson indicated she liked EDA Commissioner Rousseau's idea about having some change in an EDA President just to have someone keep the ball rolling as she struggles with $840,000 sitting there when this EDA can do so much. She said yes, gateway signs are a piece of things but how do we know that is that the piece that we want to move forward since the EDA hasn't been real active. Her biggest concern is the Pace site. The EDA can help draw what it wants there, but she also understands there are many challenges associated with the site. EDA Commissioner Holden asked how much of the $800,000 can be used for commercial development versus housing. EDA Commissioner Monson said we're restricted, we just don't know how much. EDA Secretary Jagoe replied that was correct. A short discussion ensued about the Pace site, contacting the owner and potential grants for cleanup efforts. EDA President Grant referenced the last EDA meeting minutes and the $839,000 fund balance. He believes a good portion of this money came from the closure of the TIF district for the Cottage Villas. He also said per the State there are requirements regarding usage of the funds. He believed that potentially $600,000 was earmarked for housing but Director Bauman would need to confirm this. EDA Secretary Jagoe asked about meeting cadence, noting the bylaws refer to once per quarter meetings beginning at 6 pm on the fourth Monday of the month or at some other time as scheduled by the EDA. There is agreement on future topics, including a discussion about the bylaws, but she wanted to confirm the meeting cadence going forward. EDA President Grant noted the requirement for at least one meeting a year and that we could certainly schedule quarterly meetings. EDA Secretary Jagoe stated she wanted to confirm the meeting cadence, which would call for the next meeting to occur in October. ARDEN HILLS EDA MEETING — July 27, 2026 5 A discussion ensued regarding options for the occurrence of future EDA meetings. EDA Commissioner Rousseau stated she would like to meet every other month while the group is getting up and running since there is already just one month left before summer ends. EDA Commissioner Monson was fine with every other month but would prefer the meeting not to be held the same night as Council meetings if at all possible. She would prefer the third Monday. EDA Commissioner Holden was fine with quarterly, not knowing what staff has to do. She said changing the bylaws has been talked about and it's nothing personal, but the EDC has had a very slow start. She noted there were not great survey results and a limited number of people that attended the breakfast. She was hoping the EDC could do something so that the EDA could piggyback on that. EDA Commissioner Weber stated he likes every other month meetings. He would like the opportunity to discuss as an EDA its advice to the Council what should be done with the EDA levy ahead of finalizing the budget for the year. With the preliminary levy being due at the end of September, there wasn't much time left to do that. He requested an EDA meeting occur before the end of September. He wants the newest members of the EDA to be able to express their opinion before the Council makes its decision. EDA President Grant asked Executive Director Reilly what limits the EDA has on issuing levies. Executive Director Reilly indicated there are limits but he did not have that information off the top of his head. He noted the Council is who ultimately makes the decision, and so the EDA does not have levy authority without approval from the Council. He said he hears EDA Commissioner Weber saying that he would like this group to meet before the 4th Monday in September in order to provide a recommendation to the Council regarding the levy. EDA Commissioner Weber concurred. EDA Commissioner Brausen said the bylaws are important and while he wasn't sure if the City Attorney has reviewed the bylaws, he highly recommends that the City hire an attorney with experience with EDAs to do this. EDA Commissioner Holden asked if the City was going to become a broker and real estate agency just as St. Paul has the Port Authority. EDA Commissioner Monson stated she understood there is the question about the positions of the EDA, and then she asked for clarification on EDA Commissioner Brausen requesting an attorney review the bylaws. EDA Commissioner Brausen indicated he had read about EDAs and that it is very important that an attorney specializing in EDA be consulted to ensure bylaws are set up correctly. EDA Commissioner Monson said she presumes the bylaws were previously reviewed by an attorney and asked if the City Attorney had reviewed the recent ordinance amendment. ARDEN HILLS EDA MEETING — July 27, 2026 6 EDA Secretary Jagoe replied yes and indicated that any future reviews would go through the City Attorney as well. EDA Commissioner Monson commented that she would not want to spend money on an attorney to review the bylaws for the sake of wholesale review. Rather, the attorney is asked to review a specific idea and this is how this is typically done, though it does not have to be that way. She said the EDA decides the scope of the attorney and would like to use the City's money in a focused manner. EDA Commissioner Holden asked Executive Director Reilly if other than the officers, is there anything else that is not the same or is missing from what other EDAs are doing. Executive Director Reilly stated that in organizations that he was familiar with, those that use their elected officials or body as the EDA do often have someone who is different from the head of the council meetings be the head of the EDA. EDA Commissioner Holden said no, she was talking about anything other than that that is blatantly different. Executive Director Reilly stated no, it's pretty straightforward. A discussion then ensued about when the next meeting should be. EDA President Grant suggested the EDA meet at the September 14 meeting and then anything this group recommends could go to the council at the end of September. EDA Commissioner Monson said she is not a big fan of having the next EDA meeting prior to a work session and is flexible to do another date such as September 21. She asked for clarification about the levy comment. She said yes, this body can decide to have a levy. She asked if EDA Commissioner Weber was referencing a new levy or what the EDA already levies. EDA Commissioner Weber replied that the EDA funds are for the explicit use of this body. Last year the Council, being both bodies, decided to halve that levy. He would like this body with the new members to have a say about what is already levied on an annual basis. EDA Commissioner Holden stated she would like an additional meeting before the final tax levy meeting in December. She noted the EDA hasn't discussed an outline or topics, she doesn't want to pull a number out of the air. She wants to have a discussion to ensure an appropriate amount is levied. EDA President Grant asked if it the same for the EDA in that it could recommend something and could not raise but could lower the levy? Executive Director Reilly replied yes. EDA Commissioner Weber stated if making a decision to increase the existing EDA levy is arbitrary because we don't have tasks then it was equally arbitrary to have cut it in half last year for no reason. The goal for this body now is to try to do something and that will require money. He doesn't think it's arbitrary for this body to come up with goals in the next two months, that is feasible. But without ARDEN HILLS EDA MEETING— July 27, 2026 7 knowing what the amount of money this body will be looking at in future years, how can a plan be made? EDA Commissioner Holden stated she wouldn't view it as we cut the money for no reason, rather we were waiting for the EDC to bring a recommendation forward and they never did. She said the cut was made because we didn't need it in the budget as no purpose existed. She would like to look at this twice as every other committee makes an outline and goals, and this committee should be no different. A discussion ensued about the cadence of the meetings and when should the next subsequent EDA meeting should be following the September 14 meeting. EDA Commissioner Monson asked staff if adding a monthly meeting at this point in time is an effective strategy. Would staff rather work with what was discussed at this meeting and the Chair, and then determine if monthly meetings are necessary. EDA Secretary Jagoe said she would connect with Executive Director Reilly as she doesn't want to commit his schedule if there is another meeting scheduled outside of the regular cadence. She noted the placeholder for a special work session on September 21. She said she was fearful of having an EDA meeting along with the August work sessions as those meetings were already full. She noted she would work with Executive Director Reilly to put together a timeline of what is needed for a concentrated and effective way to move forward. A short discussion ensued and the consensus of the EDA was to meet the third Monday of November. EDA Commissioner Rousseau commented about the ability to attend the meeting remotely. EDA President Grant recapped that the targeted meeting dates for EDA are September 14 and November 16. 5. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. 6. EDA MEMBER COMMENTS None. 7. ADJOURN MOTION: EDA Commissioner Monson moved and EDA Commissioner Weber seconded a motion to adjourn the Economic Development Authority meeting. The motion carried unanimously 2±- EDA President rant adjourned the Economic Developn t Authorit meeting at 5:44 p.m. C\),X-L- J i Hanson David Grant C Clerk EDA President