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Economic Development Authority Minutes Page 2 <br /> May 18,2020 <br /> ----------------------------- <br /> S. Open Forum <br /> No one appeared for Open Forum. <br /> 6. Public Hearings <br /> There were no public hearing items. <br /> 7.1 EDA Strategic Plan Update <br /> Ms. Othoudt presented the staff report. She introduced Tom Leighton,Economic <br /> Development Specialist, Senior Urban Planner from Stantec Consulting. <br /> Mr. Leighton reviewed his background experience. He also reviewed the work plan <br /> and the Authority's involvement in the plan as shown in his presentation. <br /> Commissioner Blesener asked for more elaboration on Item 1.4 Focus Group <br /> Sessions and Item 4.2 Business Community Workshop (Optional Task). He felt all <br /> these audiences were important to the conversation and asked about the strategy to <br /> engage people. <br /> Mr. Leighton stated the focus group sessions are designed to get differing viewpoints <br /> and would include audiences such as business.owners and other groups He stated <br /> Stantec has been developing alternative mechanisms for outreach due to COVID. <br /> Commissioner Blesener asked if Stantec had a profile of the focus groups the <br /> Authority should be considering. <br /> Vok <br /> Mr. Leighton stated it's a collaborative effort. He said the Authority should not <br /> worry about these being statistically representative, but he would want to make sure <br /> key perspectives are at the table and provided examples related to manufacturing and <br /> downtown. <br /> Ms. Othoudt provided examples of other groups such as the school district,the <br /> downtown business association, chamber of commerce,industry, service-related <br /> businesses, developers,realtors, and brokers. <br /> Mr. Leighton stated the Business Community Workshop would require an additional <br /> budget allocation if the Authority wished to pursue it. He discussed the SWOT <br /> analysis related to Elk River. <br /> The Authority asked for informational material prior to the next meeting. <br /> 7.2 COVID-10 Small Business Emergency Microloan Program <br /> Ms. Othoudt presented the staff report. She introduced city attorney Gina Florin. <br /> UREJ <br />