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<br /> <br />Housing and Redevelopment Authority Minutes <br />April 1, 2024 <br />--------- <br />Page 3 of 6 <br />approached the city over a year ago. She noted it was at a time when the vacancy rates were zero. She <br />stated they concluded they did not feel it was prudent to support a housing project with TIF when the <br />property would be immediately filled. <br /> <br />Commissioner Caswell asked how that would work with Tax Abatement. <br /> <br />Mr. O’Neil explained how tax abatement was a little easier to get through the process of approving the <br />abatement, but with both abatement and TIF, you use future growth from property tax to reimburse <br />the funds by the new taxes generated from the property. He outlined how TIF brings in the school <br />district and county portion and abatement only brings in the portion for the city. He stated the size of <br />the project also matters and at this point, it's tough to forecast the value of the project without project <br />details. Internally, they can attempt to calculate if it's a strong reimbursement or not. <br /> <br />Mr. Mollan discussed the downtown hanging baskets and recalled last season's flowers were not at the <br />level of anticipation. He stated after speaking to Yardworx about last season's baskets, they were <br />receptive to feedback about 2023's flowers. This season's were still growing in the greenhouse and will <br />be ready by mid-April to mid-May depending on the weather with three colors going into the baskets <br />making them eye-catching. They stated they were seeing weeds in the cracks of the downtown <br />sidewalks and offered an upsell of additional services. He stated Yardworx was passionate about the <br />areas they serve and want it to look great. Mr. Mollan stated the agreement will expire at the end of <br />this year and if the HRA would like to consider renewing their contract, they would like to know <br />around mid-July/August to ensure ordering by fall. <br /> <br />Commissioner Wagner suggested going out to bid to be prudent. <br /> <br />It was the consensus of the HRA to have staff prepare an RFP for bid. <br /> <br />Mr. O'Neil stated the EDA will have a presentation at the April 15 meeting to discuss an interest in <br />operating a hotel in Elk River. He want to mention it as a courtesy to the HRA for possible <br />redevelopment. <br /> <br />Mr. O'Neil stated the PlacerAI software agreement is up for renewal. He stated he and Mr. Mollan felt <br />there’s value to renewing and wanted to adjust the 50/50 cost split with the EDA since they use the <br />information more than the HRA. <br /> <br />Mr. O'Neil stated the Sherburne County housing study will proceed with a full study to include <br />subsections for each city in Sherburne County. He stated he doesn't know it’s prudent for the HRA to <br />do our own study and felt it better to communicate with their consultant and find out what city data <br />will be available. He will determine if it's cost-effective to add on versus doing a full study of our own <br />later. Staff would recommend that the county take the lead on their study and avoid a redundancy and <br />suggested then the HRA refresh the information in 2-3 years. <br /> <br />7. MOTION TO ADJOURN REGULAR MEETING <br /> Moved by Commissioner Lynn Caswell and seconded by Commissioner Mel Beaudry to <br />adjourn the regular meeting of the HRA. Motion 4-0. <br /> <br />8. WORK SESSION – UPPER TOWN CONFERENCE ROOM