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City Council Minutes <br />February 22, 2021 <br />Page 4 <br />Paula Granlund, 220 Morton Avenue, suggested keeping the core downtown vintage, <br />noting a lot of character has been lost with the removal of the old creamery and <br />courthouse buildings. She suggested moving the Farmer's Market to the Highway <br />169 parking lot (currently Ashley Furniture) She stated the Granite Shores and <br />Jackson Hills developments took away from the old downtown. <br />Caroline Hattell, 19601 Tyler Street, stated she used to live in Colorado and is new to <br />Elk River. She noted there are several towns in Colorado that have gone through this <br />same development experience and may be a good resource. <br />Commissioner Blesener implement a popcorn exercise asking the audience to shout <br />out one to two words describing elements they'd like to see for downtown, which is <br />listed as follows: <br />■ History <br />■ Museums <br />■ Brick buildings, lots of them <br />■ Unique architecture <br />■ River views <br />■ Outside bars <br />■ Lots of trees <br />■ Walkability <br />■ Coffee shops <br />■ Attraction/draw/hook <br />■ Unique independent business <br />owners. Niche <br />■ Currently a lot of space <br />available. Fill this first. <br />• Events: Scarecrow contests. <br />July 4 parades <br />■ Christmas decorations <br />■ Dock <br />■ Town square <br />Ms. Leedahl stated she heard many comments tonight about events we don't <br />currently have which is untrue, so she asked how people are hearing about what is <br />happening downtown. <br />Most people raised their hands for the newspaper with a few for social media. <br />The Council and commissioners thanked everyone for their thoughts and comments. <br />Councilmember Christianson discussed the question (from a survey conducted a year <br />ago) about whether Elk River is an exciting and active place and how the results were <br />mixed. He stated the dialogue must continue and collaboration is needed. <br />Councilmember Wagner stated she looks forward to continued engagement, noting <br />it is the best way to develop for the best outcome when there are many diverse <br />opinions. She noted there are many challenges to overcome, such as the <br />river/highway/railroad/safety. She stated the current tagline for the downtown is <br />Discover the Charm and the hope is people will park and take time to walk around. She <br />stated the downtown wants to know how to connect better. She stated the Council is <br />here and can be reached anytime. She also asked the public to continue to stay <br />informed and engaged. <br />rP 0 1 E N E O B Y <br />INATVR <br />