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Aiik 7.3. Sustainable City <br /> A steering committee for the Sustainable City Energy Showcase has been <br /> designated and is formally named the Action Committee for Energy,or <br /> ACE for short. This will be the group which actually provides the formal <br /> direction of the Sustainable City program in Elk River and includes <br /> individuals from a variety of industry sources including Minnegasco, <br /> NSP,Honeywell, Andersen Windows, and local businesses. ACE will be a <br /> steering committee under the MEI/City partnership. ACE also has four <br /> working groups or subcommittees including Energy Use, Economic <br /> Development, Demonstration Sites, and Marketing. <br /> 7.4. Prospects <br /> Staff is currently working with two potentially good prospects for a site in <br /> the Business Park. One of the prospects is being initiated through a <br /> private Minneapolis-based development company, and the other,is a <br /> developer/business owner in another community. Initial discussions with <br /> one of the prospects have included issues regarding the EDA's ability to <br /> construct a building and lease it back to the developer. Staffs experience <br /> is that positive opinions have been rendered in the past by several bond <br /> attorneys regarding the legal authority for the EDA to sell bonds to <br /> construct a building for a private business owner. This has been done in <br /> • several cities across Minnesota, and is an issue staff will continue to <br /> pursue in concept at this time. The advantage for the business owner is <br /> a lower lease rate due to the low interest rate which the city can obtain on <br /> its bonds, in comparison to conventional financing. A major future <br /> discussion point, should the project proceed, is that the EDA assumes the <br /> risk associated with paying off the bonds if the business owner were <br /> unable to make the lease payments. <br /> 7.5. Anoka/Sherburne County Capital Fund Investor Meeting <br /> City staff is currently working with County Economic Development staff <br /> to initiate a meeting of potential investors in the Anoka/Sherburne <br /> County Capital Fund. As you are aware, the Anoka County Capital Fund <br /> will be changing its name to represent its ability to take part in equity <br /> investments in Sherburne County. At this time however, the fund needs <br /> to be replenished with dollars from investors. The purpose of the meeting <br /> in Sherburne County is to invite local banks, and utility companies as <br /> potential investors in the fund. The fund also is an important aspect of <br /> the city's Business Incubator Program, due to the fact that it provides a <br /> source of equity financing for start-up businesses. <br /> eda\meetings\updates.doe <br />