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City Council Minutes <br />March 1, 2021 <br />Page 10 <br />Mr. Portner stated the purchase of these properties was an opportunity for the EDA <br />to expand development potential. He asked if there should be a change to the <br />Mississippi Connection Plan area. <br />Mr. Carlton stated the Mississippi Connection Plan includes a very large area <br />encompassing Highway 169 to the Dam, and the Mississippi River to School St. <br />There is also the issue of how to address the barriers of the railroad tracks and <br />Highway 10. <br />Councilmember Westgaard noted the development of Interstate 35 in Duluth which <br />helped with traffic flow despite constraints. <br />Councihnember Beyer stated it would be unfortunate to make improvements only to <br />have Highway 10 improvements destroy them. He urged the council to continue the <br />momentum from the meeting as people will continue to have questions and <br />suggestions. <br />Councilmember Westgaard added, if the HRA, EDA, Downtown Elk River Business <br />Association (DERBA), and city understand each other and the vision it should help <br />in the future when people ask, "what are you doing to us?". <br />Mayor Dietz would like to have further discussion with Deborah Leedahl who spoke <br />at the joint meeting on behalf of the DERBA. He asked Mr. Carlton to find out if <br />the cost of adding the downtown to the Comprehensive Plan would be $60,000. <br />Mr. Carlton will get more details and bring them to a future work session. <br />10.4 Annual Council Retreat <br />Mr. Portner presented the staff report. He suggested bringing in an outside <br />consultant who might run a personality characteristic test and provide input. He <br />asked what things the council may want to cover. <br />Councilmember Westgaard asked for an update on the business survey to see if there <br />were new results and anything needed to be adjusted. <br />Mr. Portner will look at dates in late April and provide those to the council. <br />10.5 Joint Finance Committee Membership <br />Mr. Portner presented the staff report. <br />Currently there are three members of the HRA who also serve on the Joint Finance <br />Committee, making it a quorum. The three members are Larry Toth, Nate Ovall, and <br />Denny Chuba. <br />IPO�EBEd er <br />NATUREI <br />