7.4. EDSR 12-21-2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Stantec Consulting Services Inc. 733 Marquette Avenue Suite 1000, Minneapolis MN 55402-2309 December 16, 2020 Attention: Elk River EDA City of Elk River 13065 Orono Parkway Elk River, MN 55330 Reference: EDA Strategic Plan Dear EDA Members: The attached report is a complete draft of the EDA Strategic Plan. After your review and your requested revisions are made it will guide the work of the EDA and its staff in the coming years. Please note the following. 1. The EDA Strategic Plan is not just a repackaging of the previous report, the Summary of Research and Recommended Strategies. It has been informed and improved by the feedback that came out of the EDA’s workshop session, and further conversations and work sessions with City staff. Another key distinction between the documents is that the Summary of Research and Recommended Strategies took the widest possible view of economic development strategies that would benefit the City of Elk River as a whole, whereas the EDA Strategic Plan specifically focuses on the strategies that fall within the purview of the EDA should lead. Strategies related to creating master plans for redevelopment, or investing in additional quality of life improvements, for example, would likely be pursued by other City leadership. If it wishes, the EDA could certainly make a formal referral of those strategies to the City Council or City Manager. 2. Because the Summary of Research and Recommended Strategies includes a great deal of the research and rationale that support the strategies in the EDA Strategic Plan, and its city-wide strategic view can inform other policy conversations in Elk River, it it is envisioned to be an appendix to the EDA Strategic Plan. 3. We have completed the funding analysis component of our work plan. Led by our funding specialist Heidi Peper, the funding analysis looks at sources of external funding that might be pursued and utilized to advance Elk River’s menu of strategies. That analysis has been incorporated into the Summary of Research and Recommended Strategies as part 3 of that report. The updated Summary of Research and Recommendations is attached.