04-12-2021 HRA MIN SPECIAL - Laserfiche WebLink

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