9. EDSR 01-10-2011 - Laserfiche WebLink

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jk~ , ~ REQUEST FOR ACTION ver TO ITEM NUMBER Elk River Economic Develo ment Authori 9, AGENDA SECTION MEETING DATE PREPARED BY January 10, 2011 Rebecca Haug, Environmental Administrator ITEM DESCRIPTION REVIEWED By Consider Energy City Marketing Sponsorship REVIEWED BY ACTION REQUESTED Approve $5,000 sponsorship to Energy City fox 5`h Annual Energy Expo. BACKGROUND The City of Elk River Energy City Commission has been holding Energy Expos every year since 2007 geared toward educating the general public about conservation. The events are free to the public. During the expos, exhibitors display resource conservation information and children's activities are held. The Energy City Commission's goal is to provide the information the general public needs to make a difference in their resource consumption. The first Energy Expo was held at the Gold LEED Certified Twin Lakes Elementary School with Paul Douglas, Meteorologist as the Keynote Speaker. This event drew close to 700 people. In 2008 the Energy Expo was held at the Elk River Fire Station Two. The emphasis was on energy conservation short films and demonstrations by the students of Spectrum Charter School; an estimated 500 people attended the event. The Expo in 2009 was again held at Twin Lakes Elementary School with Joe Shuster, author of the book "Beyond Fossil Fools: A Roadmap to Energy Independence by 2040."; approximately 350 attended the event This past year, the expo was held at the Elk River Area High School with world- renownedpolar explorer, Will Steger as the Keynote Speaker. Anew addition to the event was working with the Elk River Area Early Childhood Family Education staff and creating additional activities for children of all ages. This event drew in close to 800 people. For the 2011 Energy Expo, Ron Schara and his black lab Raven have been confirmed to be the Keynote Speaker for the event. The Expo is scheduled for March 5, 2011 from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. at the Elk River Area High School Mr. Schara is scheduled to speak at 10:00 a.m. The Energy City Commission is partnering with Elk River Community Education to provide additional activities for children. DISCUSSION Similar to last year, the Commission is experiencing problems with raising adequate funding through sponsorships due to the economic times. Staff is still soliciting for both exhibitors and sponsors for the event. Deadlines for sponsorships/exhibitors are January 21, 2011. Recently Staff purchased ad space on the Living Cretin Expo website as several of the exhibitors who exhibit at the Living Green Expo are the same exhibitors the Energy City Commission would like to have at the 2011 Energy Expo.