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Request for Action <br /> <br /> <br />To Item Number <br />Economic Development Authority 7.2 <br />Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by <br />General Business November 18, 2019 Amanda Othoudt, ED Director <br />Item Description Reviewed by <br />Director Report Cal Portner, City Administrator <br />Reviewed by <br /> <br /> <br />Action Requested <br />Information presented for discussion to keep the EDA updated on development activity. <br /> <br />Background/Discussion <br />BUSINESS VISITS <br />Completed 18 BR&E visits with more scheduled. Please RSVP if you are able to attend. <br /> <br />MISCELLANEOUS <br />Public Art Initiative <br />The RFP for Public Art has been published online, submitted to local artists, and sent to the Central MN <br />Arts Board. We have four registered artists. Proposals are due December 6, 2019. <br /> <br />MN Real Estate Journal – Industrial Development Summit <br />The EDA sponsored the MN Real Estate Journal Industrial Development Summit. Staff attended along <br />with over 200 developers, real estate brokers and other economic development professionals. Amanda <br />participated on the Working with Local Government to Build Lasting Product panel along with the City <br />of Cambridge, City of Lakeville and Washington County. The panel was moderated by a Jeff Borling of <br />Great River Energy. The topics highlighted on the panel consisted of which industrial parks are attracting <br />the most attention, what tools or strategies do communities identify as game changing economic <br />development tools, funding strategies and redevelopment/development processes etc. As a sponsor we <br />also staffed a booth where we distributed various marketing materials. <br /> <br />Elk River Municipal Utility (ERMU) – Competitive Energy Rates <br />This month, ERMU adopted a large electric customer energy only rate which follows real-time MISO <br />market pricing. This rate was adopted proactively to gain the opportunity to talk to the very large data <br />centers. This energy only rate follows the real-time of pricing of the Midcontinent Independent System <br />Operator (MISO) grid passing on the savings, and risks, and all the pricing volatility to the customer. <br />This is what the very large data centers are asking for. <br /> <br />This new rate is in addition to the new "large demand customer electric rate" for 2019. This is a lower <br />rate than the normal demand customer electric rate because it has size and voltage requirements. <br /> <br />Finally, the EDA Energy Incentive Program that we implemented late last year just got better! To qualify <br />for the incentive, the customer needed to be in an area of Elk River where payment in lieu of taxes <br /> <br />The Elk River Vision <br />A welcoming community with revolutionary and spirited resourcefulness, exceptional service, and community <br />engagement that encourages and inspires prosperity <br />