02-22-2021 CCM EDA HRA JOINT SPECIAL

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J City Council Minutes February 22, 2021 Page 5 Councilmember Beyer echoed Councilmember Wagner's comments and noted he is a 15-year resident of Elk River. Councilmember Westgaard stated he appreciates the input and guidance, noting it is "your" community and how do you want to guide it. He stated accessibility is crucial. Commissioner Tveite noted he is a 30-year resident, and it is important to keep downtown viable. Commissioner Toth expressed his thoughts as noted in the record. He stated there is a need to have a combination of old and new and be respectful of each of them. He stated downtown needs to be a place people want to go rather than must go. Commissioner Ovall stated, as a banker, he deals with viability and business models noting it is a balancing act with what is wanted versus what we can get. He noted most businesses don't need another loan to get by, but rather need the traffic, incentive programs, and grants. He stated he is interested to hear more about how people feel about this. He noted the city has pools of money that is tax levied and available, but we may need to look at different methods to utilize those funds more effectively. Mayor Dietz read off a list of business no longer existing in the downtown. He stated maintaining parking is essential and businesses survive by having spaces. He suggested making small improvements to the parking lot with amenities to make it look better and help with the not enough parking perception. He noted the city has spent a lot of money for additional parking. He likes the vintage aspect and cautions we don't need to make changes just to make changes without reasons. He stated DERBA has a lot of excellent suggestion to make the downtown more attractive and relevant. He is not in favor of disrupting businesses as they've had a very difficult time over the last year due to the pandemic. He questioned if there were businesses that would like to make improvements, noting the city can assist with this. He stated the parking lot north of Highway 10 is one of the most unused properties and before building a pedestrian bridge, we would need MnDOT's plans for Highway 10. He stated the city is making attempts to try and draw more people downtown. He loves when its crowded and is heavily invested in downtown. S. Adjournment There being no further business, Mayor Dietz adjourned the meeting of the Elk Tina Allard, City Clerk at 6:30 p.m. P011RE0 0r NATURE]