2017-08-23 CC Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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The City's Economic Development Authority had been dormant for several years due to the past economic downturn. City Council Members had previously served as the Board of Commissioners for the EDA. However, the Council desired to invigorate growth and retain current businesses by utilizing the tools and powers of EDA's. The Council also sought to give residents and business owners an opportunity to provide new ideas and input about the economic future of the city. The Council adopted an EDA structure consisting of three (3) community members and two (2) members of the City Council serving as the Board. Mr. Roberts researched applicable State Statues, City Code and worked with an outside consultant to draft a notice of public hearing. Subsequent to the public hearing, the City Council adopted the new structure. The City Council identified increasing the use of technology while reducing costs as one of their City Focus Goals for 2017. Several neighboring communities had already integrated tablet computers into their respective City Councils. Mr. Roberts reached out to these communities and researched cost associated with implementing a similar program in Centerville. After which, Mr. Roberts complied a report and presented that information to the City Council. Council not only supported the purchase of tablets for Council but expanded on the idea and purchased additional tablets for the Planning and Zoning Commission and Parks and Recreation Committee. The set up and implementation of tablets for the City Council is now complete and the other groups will be implementing the tablets shortly. Another major project that Mr. Roberts worked on was the Dupre family historical collection. The Dupre family was one of the original families which settled the Centerville area. Over the generations, members of the family had built up a large collection of artifacts, antiques and archelogy pieces from the Centerville area. The City was awarded a grant from the Minnesota Historical Society to hire a professional historical archivist to catalog the artifacts. For 25