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Regular City Council Meeting Monday,August 24,2015 Page 23 Mayor Roe reiterated that this preliminary levy request would come before the City Council for formal action in September. As touched on by the HRA several years ago, Councilmember Willmus noted the current HRA model that provided many functions, including discussion at that time involving port authority, HRA and Economic Development Authority(EDA) models. Councilmember Willmus opined that, the more he considered it, the more he wanted to pursue looking into the EDA model, since it afforded the abil- ity to continue performing as an HRA, but also broadened and allowed it to reach out in a different way to the business community beyond the current business re- tention efforts of the HRA. Councilmember Willmus opined that the EDA would certainly be an extension of that and could facilitate economic development be- yond what was possible under the HRA model. Councilmember Willmus asked if staff could research this further and bring it back to the City Council for their full discussion. Councilmember Laliberte expressed her interest in learning more about the com- mercial properties and industrial areas based on her understanding that there may be some limitations to the current HRA model and their abilities. While admitting she didn't know much about EDA models, Councilmember Laliberte expressed interest in further education about it. Councilmember Laliberte expressed her interest in learning about the broad mod- els, process and availability, noting her consistent support of businesses and providing head of household jobs, and recruitment efforts for businesses that could serve the community as strong employers for those efforts. Councilmember Etten expressed concern in losing the HRA's ability to focus on housing, noting the ongoing needs for diverse housing in the community; ques- tioning how the City Council would have time to focus on some of those efforts while accomplishing what was already on their plate. Councilmember Etten stat- ed that he was always open to learning more,but questioned how the City Council could accomplish its own work and focus on these other details as well. Mayor Roe recognized previous comments as all being valid points to consider. From his personal perspective, Mayor Roe stated that he was intrigued with the EDA side-by-side with the HRA, or an EDA with HRA powers. Mayor Roe not- ed that the potential make-up of an EDA Board hadn't yet been discussed, and there was valuable expertise among community members that would be important to include as part of the process if it went forward. Mayor Roe stated he was open to having those conversations, and if a change was indicated as a result of this broader discussion, further stated that he did not want to lose the important hous- ing component going forward. However, given the historic interest of the City Council to focus on economic development and strategic priority of the City Council going back for some time in making sure the right set of tools was avail-