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05-14-2012 EDA MINMEETING OF THE ELK RIVER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY HELD AT THE ELK RIVER CITY HALL MONDAY, MAY 14, 2012 Members Present: President Tveite, Commissioners Dw-1-er, Gumphret-, i\iotin, Provo, \A'estgaard, and Zerwas Dlembus Absent: None Staff Present: Cita Adminisuator Cal Portner, :Assistam Duector of Economic Development Clav \\'ilfahrt, and Citv Clerk Tina :-lllard Call Meeting To Order 3. Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of die Economic Development Authority was called to order at 3:30 p.m. by President Tveite. Consider .Agenda MOVED BY COMMISSIONER MOTIN AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER WESTGAARD TO APPROVE THE MAY 14, 2012 EDA AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. Consider Consent :Agenda An additional check register was distributed to the commission and President Tveite requested it to be added to the Consent.lgenda. MOVED BY COMMISSIONER ZERWAS AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER DWYER TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA AS FOLLOWS: 3.1 MINUTES • APRIL 23, 2012 REGULAR MEETING 3.2 CHECK REGISTER. 3.3 BALANCE SHEET. 3.4 REVENUE/EXPENDITURE REPORT. 3.5 BUDGET AMENDMENT -DONATION TO INITIATIVE FOUNDATION IN THE AMOUNT OF $2500. 3.6 ADDITIONAL CHECK REGISTER ITEM. MOTION CARRIED 7.0. 4. Open Forum No one was present for open forum. 5. Consider Donation Policv Economic Development Authoaty Minutes T1ap 14, 20]2 Page 2 blr. \\'ilfalut presented the staff report regarding donation requests to the ED_~. He outlined duee options the EDA should consider u-hen deciding on whether or not to adopt a donation polio-: 1) The fast option is to maintain the status quo and discuss donation requests on a case- bv-case basis. Some challenges of this procedure include lack of fletibility in offering donations if funds aren't budgeted; the number of requests coming in aze unknown; :-luthoritx- to feel xulnerable to emotional appeal. 2) The second option is to adopt a no-donation policy. Requests would be sidestepped and the EDA would Eocus funding on other EDA inidadx-es. The budget and timeframe issues would be resoh-ed. Hoa-ever, a donation may create an economic benefit to die community and conflict with the intent of the Authority. 3) The third option xvould be to adopt a donation policy that requires an applicarion and clear deadline that at a minimum meets die state starutory guidelines. The EDA would then discuss and approve all donation requests for the remainder of die year. This policy allows for funding and a fau deliberative process. Commissioner Dwg~er stated he still felt there be no donation policy in place based upon the recommendations of the city attorney. Mr. ~a/ilfalut stated die city attorney did not have any preference with these three options but any policy in place should be clearly worded and folloxved consistently. President Tveite stated he would like to see donation requests considered on a case-by-case ~, basis and determine if these events have an intrinsic value and merit for the business communiij~. Commissioner Zerwas agreed, and requested the Authority continue handling requests as they had been and continuing to consider the economic impact of the individual request He didn't feel a deadline should be required to make a donation reques[. Commissioner Motin felt no policy should be in place but felt an application deadline would work best, allowing the Authority to take time in considering each request on a case-by-case basis with advance notice so the Authority can make a thoughtful decision. He felt that all requests must be presented to the Authority three months ahead of time. Commissioner Provo stated perhaps the donation amount should be based on what you have coming in, not what the needs are of others. Commissioner Provo stated the EDA should giant money on anon-biased basis. Commissioner Westgaard agreed with not having a polity, and rather, on an individual basis, evaluate each request on its own merits. A deadline would be nice to allow for budgeting, but sometimes these requests and events don't correlate with the budget process also. In favor of case-by-case basis. Commissioner Dwyer agreed that the EDA does more than business and industrial recruiting and that some events bring people and economic impact to the community. f Commissioner Provo asked if there was a specific amount earmazked for donation requests. E~ Economic Development Authoriq~ Minutes nfa~~ 74, 2012 Page 3 President Tveite staled the amount is determined as the EDA works through the budget process. i\Ir. \k'ilfahrt stated that if the budget line item is depleted and a donation is approved, a budget amendment would have to be approved by the Authority and fund shifted to cover the donation. MOVED BY COMMISSIONER DWYER AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER ZERWAS TO CONTINUE CONSIDERING DONATION REQUESTS FROM OUTSIDE AND NON-PROFIT GROUPS ON A CASE- BY-CASE BASIS. MOTION CARRIED 6-1. COMMISSIONER MOTIN OPPOSED. 6. Elk River Area Art's Alliance Artsoup Donation Request Mx. Wilfahrt presented the staff report. Dave Raymond, Chairman of the Elk River Arts Alliance Board, presented the Artsoup budget and explained how money is raised and distributed, and the benefits this festival brings to the community by bringing people downtown. Commissioner Motin asked if the downtown business pay a fee to promote a booth during the event. Mr. Raymond stated they do ask the businesses to pay for an advertisement that is in die Artsoup brochure. They do not deny any businesses if they do not contribute. Commissioner Motin stated he was opposed to the donation request. President Tveite asked how staff felt about a donation to Artsoup. Mr. Wilfahrt stated if the commission felt comfortable dus donation would have an economic impact. He stated one option would be using funds avaIlable in the branding implementation budget; the brand plan calls for promoting downtown azea events. President Tveite said he felt that Artsoup would be an every other year event and this donation request was not expected for dus year. Commission Zerwas concurred and wasn't under the impression that this event would be an every year event. He also felt the total in-kind donations were approximately the same amount that Artsoup was requesting. Commissioner Provo stated several suggestions, one being if the donation amount could be somehow reduced; such as if the event would be held every yeaz, could the donation be reduced to $1,000 per year. He also asked if the donation amount be taken from the branding budget, could the Powered by Nature branding efforts be as advertising Commissioner Zerwas asked if the donation of $1,000 could be considered a sponsorship and use efforts towards the promotion of the Powered by Nature branding efforts, similar to Economic Development Authority Minutes blay 14, 2012 Page 4 a booth at the business expo. He stated he would be more willing to approve something like this Mr. \x'ilfahrt stated staff is very comfortable with doing some sort of sponsorship with them and felt the city's logo and branding efforts could be very effective. Commissioner \~'estgaard concurred with Commissioner Provo's comments. He still requested it be an every other year request. He feels the event promotes economic development-, however, increasing budgets from an annual cost from $1,000 to $2,000 is tough to do. He agreed with the advertising and branding strategies tied with the donation. President Tveite asked Mr. Raymond if the Artsoup committee would be open to using the Powered by Nature branding efforts by allowing branding efforts and a booth for advertising. Mr. Raymond stated the committee would be open to this. He felt the community tent would be an appropriate place for the city to place a booth. He stated the decision to make this event an every other }'ear was due to popular demand and wasn't known when they made their donation request last year. Commissioner Gumphrey stated the in-kind donations from the utilities, police, Council, and parks and recreation budgets didn't include any monies from the EDA. He would approve a $2,000 donation request. MOVED BY COMMISSIONER GUMPHREY TO APPROVE A REQUEST FOR A DONATION TO ARTSOUP IN THE AMOUNT OF $2,000. MOTION FAILS FOR LACK OF A SECOND. MOVED BY COMMISSIONER ZERWAS AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER MOTIN TO DIRECT STAFF TO COORDINATE MARKETING EFFORTS WITH ARTSOUP REPRESENTATIVES BY PROMOTING THE POWERED BY NATURE BRANDING PLAN AND IF STAFF FEELS APPROPRIATE, INCLUDE A BOOTH AT THE EVENT TO HIGHLIGHT THE BRAND WITH A COST NOT TO EXCEED $1,000. APPROVED 7-0. Mr. Raymond stated the Arts Alliance would be putting on an event on May 24, to thank their sponsors. This event will be held at 312 Jackson. He invited the commission to come and tour the gallery and see demonstrations in the ceramics studio and classrooms. The commission thanked the Arts Alliance for their volunteer efforts and presence in the downtown area. 7. Elk River Independence Celebration Donation Request Mr. WIlfahrt presented the staff report. Jim Boyle, representing the Elk River Independence Commi[tee, provided a history of the committee and an update on their fundraising efforts. He explained the priorities of this citizen-run event. He then explained their efforts of putting together a charter to not only assist this event but assist in other good things for the community. Economic Development .-luthority Minutes 1v4a}~ 74, 2012 Page 5 Conunissioner Duyer stated die city has historically assis[ed in this fireworks show and suppor[ed approving the donation request. President Tveite asked if the branding plan efforts could somehow be incorporated into this event as well. Mr. Boyle stated he met with Mr. Wilfalut and Annie Deckert and it was suggested to hold some sort of a photo contest. Commissioner Motin stated he is pleased that the purpose of event will benefit the community as a whole. President Tveite commented that the monies were budgeted and encouraged other groups to approach the Authority well before the scheduled event. MOVED BY COMMISSIONER ZERWAS AND SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER DWYER TO APPROVE THE ELK RIVER INDEPENDENCE DAY COMMITTEE DONATION REQUEST IN THE AMOUNT OF $6,000. MOTION CARRIED 7-0. Mile Myer from the American Legion announced an upcoming spaghetti dinner to be held on May 19 from 48 with proceeds to be used for the fireworks fund. 8. Marketing_Update Mr. DU$fahrt presented the staff report. Announcements There were no announcements. 10. Adjournment There being no other business, President Tveite adjourned the meeting of the Elk River Economic Development Authority at 6:26 p.m. Minutes prepared by Jennifer Johnson. Dan Tvei~te/, Preside Tina Allard, City Clerk