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City of <br /> Elk Special Meeting of the Elk River <br /> River Housing and Redevelopment Authority <br /> Held at the Elk River City Hall <br /> Monday, April 12, 2021 <br /> Members Present: Chair Larry Toth,Denny Chuba (4:30 p.m.), Commissioners Nate Ovall (via <br /> Zoom),Jayme Swenson,and Jennifer Wagner <br /> Members Absent: none <br /> Staff Present: City Administrator Cal Portner,Planning Manager Zack Carlton,Economic <br /> Development Specialist Colleen Eddy, and Sr. Admin. Assistant/Recording <br /> Secretary Jennifer Green <br /> I. Call Meeting to Order Joe <br /> Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River Housing and <br /> Redevelopment Authority was called to order at 4:03 p.m. by Chair Toth. <br /> 2. Main and Gates Redevelopment Discussion and Downtown Discussion <br /> Ms. Eddy presented the staff report, <br /> Chair Toth began the discussion by stated he had a brief conversation with a downtown <br /> business owner who stated they wanted the downtown to remain as is and"historic." <br /> Commissioner Wagner states she continues to have conversations with downtown business <br /> owners and visitors. She stated she knows the downtown business association members <br /> support growth and progress if it makes sense. She explained hearing about residents and <br /> their feeling of a `historic downtown'but the buildings are not registered as historic. She <br /> outlined the takeaways she gathered from the public forum,which included improving <br /> pedestrian accessibility to downtown, especially across Highway 10, traffic flow through <br /> downtown, and improving river access. She suggested a traffic study to determine what <br /> changes can be made. She wants to continue looking big-picture at this area. <br /> The HRA discussed the big vision of the downtown and the commissioners brainstormed <br /> on what short- and long-term areas to tackle. <br /> Commissioner Ovall commented there was no initiative generated by the city to redevelop <br /> downtown Elk River,it has been situations presented to the city. He explained that when the <br /> school district building went up for sale,it triggered a series of events for the city to consider <br /> purchasing the building. Discussions with the HRA and EDA determined the EDA did not <br /> want the building but the HRA explored the possibility of creating a TIF district to include <br /> the building and other buildings in the block. To do so, the HRA had to assess the potential <br /> eligibility and conditions of buildings to determine if a certain percentage were substandard, <br /> which would allow a redevelopment to occur. He stated these were all exploratory options. <br /> Jesse Hartung then presented his vision and proposal to the city without any request by the <br />