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City Council Minutes <br />August 7, 2017 <br />Page 8 <br />Council recessed at 7:42 p.m. in order to go into work session. Council reconvened <br />at 7:46 p.m. <br />10.1 Proposed Aquaponics Facility Presentation <br />Ms. Othoudt presented the staff report. <br />Akash Haider, Founder and SEO of Stars Hollow — Explained aquaponics and <br />discussed the process for his company, Stars Hollow, start up as outlined in his <br />PowerPoint presentation. <br />Councilmember Wagner questioned if there would be fish odor to the surrounding <br />area. Mr. Haider said no. <br />Councilmember Ovall questioned if project financing has been established. Mr. <br />Haider stated he is working with Vision Bank, Golden Valley, MN. He stated they <br />have 34 produce groups, including grocery stores who want them to start growing. <br />Councilmember Westgaard questioned what infrastructure may be needed by Mr. <br />Haider for his operation. Ms. Othoudt stated none from the city. She stated staff is <br />working on the financing structure but wanted to gauge Council interest in pursuing <br />this project further. She stated financing could be a combination of county, state, and <br />city funding. She stated this is a great idea and is becoming popular around the state. <br />Mayor Dietz stated he liked the employment numbers. <br />Council stated they are willing to pursue the project further as it seems to fit the area <br />and job creation. <br />Councilmember Ovall stated it sounds like a great project but he is concerned with <br />what the city would do with such a large building if the business failed. <br />10.2 Recreational Programming <br />Mr. Portner presented the staff report. He questioned the city's goals for recreation <br />programming. <br />Mayor Dietz stated recreation programming has grown and he did feel there are <br />areas of duplication. He agreed the city should review programming. He noted <br />participation is down 14% since the guide was discontinued. He questioned what <br />other cities do for programming. <br />Mr. Benoit stated the City of Rogers operates through community education with <br />city support. It was noted the City of Otsego has started some of their own <br />programming. <br />P0111E1 81 <br />NATURE <br />