7.1. EDSR 09-21-2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Economic Development Authority Minutes Page 2 May 18, 2020 ----------------------------- Motion carried 7-0. 5. Open Forum No one appeared for Open Forum. 6. Public Hearings There were no public hearing items. 7.1 EDA Strategic Plan Update Ms. Othoudt presented the staff report. She introduced Tom Leighton, Economic Development Specialist, Senior Urban Planner from Stantec Consulting. Mr. Leighton reviewed his background experience. He also reviewed the work plan and the Authority’s involvement in the plan as shown in his presentation. Commissioner Blesener asked for more elaboration on Item 1.4 Focus Group Sessions and Item 4.2 Business Community Workshop (Optional Task). He felt all these audiences were important to the conversation and asked about the strategy to engage people. Mr. Leighton stated the focus group sessions are designed to get differing viewpoints and would include audiences such as business owners and other groups He stated Stantec has been developing alternative mechanisms for outreach due to COVID. Commissioner Blesener asked if Stantec had a profile of the focus groups the Authority should be considering. Mr. Leighton stated it’s a collaborative effort. He said the Authority should not worry about these being statistically representative, but he would want to make sure key perspectives are at the table and provided examples related to manufacturing and downtown. Ms. Othoudt provided examples of other groups such as the school district, the downtown business association, chamber of commerce, industry, service-related businesses, developers, realtors, and brokers. Mr. Leighton stated the Business Community Workshop would require an additional budget allocation if the Authority wished to pursue it. He discussed the SWOT analysis related to Elk River. The Authority asked for informational material prior to the next meeting.