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EDSR INFORMATION #1 10-08-2012 a \11^4 INFORMATION Ctty MEMORANDUM ElkRive? TO: Economic Development Authority FROM: Annie Deckert, Director of Economic Development DATE: October I, 2012 SUBJECT: Job Creation Initiatives Attached you will find an article published in The Star Tribune on September 29,2012, discussing the City of Brooklyn Park's recent job creation initiatives. `Open to Business', an initiative which offers coaching and business plan assessments to firms is a program which offers services very similar to the Small Business Development Center (SBDC). The SBDC is an agency which provides services similar to the `Open to Business'Program. Brooklyn Park has received positive press for this program- please note that staff has been implementing a similar program for the past four years. Staff works very closely with the SBDC, and several businesses within the city have utilized the SBDC when putting together business plans,marketing plans and when seeking legal advice. Working with the SBDC is also a strong recommendation for all Micro Loan applicants. Pamela Sitts,recent recipient of the EDA's first Energy Efficiency Improvement Micro Loan,worked closely with the SBDC when putting together her business plan. Staff is working with the SBDC to schedule a presentation for a future EDA meeting. Additionally, creating and executing a survey to solicit ideas in which the EDA can improve Elk River's business climate to distribute to business owners is an action step which will be included in the 2013-2016 Economic Development Strategic Plan, similar to Brooklyn Park's `Business Forward'program. ATTACHMENTS: • Good jobs starting to flow in to Brooklyn Park, The Star Tribune, September 29,2012 POWERED ® Y C:\Users\adeckert\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Outlook\90Y59UE4\Job NATURE initiatives FYI memo 10-8-12.doc StarTribune morth metro Good jobs starting to flow in to Brooklyn Park Article by: MARIA ELENA BACA , Star Tribune --Updated: September 29, 2012 - 9:35 PM City credits decades of collaborative work to The city of nearly 77,000 persistently has one of improve business climate. the metro area's higher unemployment rates, at 6.4 percent, according to government data. Brooklyn Park is talking jobs. City officials expect the job growth to continue. Businesses -- finally-- are listening, based on the One of its biggest conquests: the new Target most current jobs figures from the state. corporate office, expected to add 4,000 technology jobs. From mid-2010 to the first quarter of this year, the city added 3,459 jobs, a 14.4 percent uptick. Mayor Jeff Lunde said there was a philosophical That's more, by percent and in raw numbers, than shift in the mid-'90s,when the city demolished the city's suburban neighbors to the north and several apartment complexes on the city's south west, including Maple Grove, Minnetonka, end. Plymouth and Coon Rapids. "We weren't going to go with what was the fad; There's no serendipity here, city officials say, that's how we ended up with all the apartments," noting that the city is cashing in on decades of he said. "At one time, Brooklyn Park was the deliberate planning and more recent work to place to be. We took anything people brought to engage companies in shaping the business us, and now hindsight is always 20-20, and we've climate. decided to set different standards for how we go about getting people to come who want to be "Looking at the big picture, I think it does here as well." support this long-term vision that the city has held and the City Council has held that they Now the city has 1,500 acres of developable land wanted to turn Brooklyn Park into less of a in its north end, divided by an expanded Hwy. bedroom community and more of an 610. Enthusiasm for the Target project and the employment center," said Jason Aarsvold, potential for a "third downtown" in the adjacent Brooklyn Park community development director. area is contagious; the city hopes to nearly "We're starting to see that come to fruition, double the number of jobs along Hwy. 610,to as particularly with growth in employment." many as 50,000, Lunde said. While job counts fluctuate each quarter,the city As development opportunities come forward, continues to see new records, hitting another Aarsvold said,the city is more likely to approve high of 27,500 in the most recent quarterly projects that are job-rich, such as office buildings report. and manufacturing plants. What officials don't want are businesses that consume a lot of real Many of those new jobs fall into high-pay estate but create few jobs, such as self-storage or sectors including manufacturing, health care, distribution warehouses. management and administrative jobs. The city also has worked to improve communication with businesses to ease startup, expansion and relocation. Recent initiatives "They listen to us,that's absolutely what it is," include Open to Business, which offers coaching she said. "That gives loyalty to the city itself It and business plan assessments to fledgling firms. means to me that they are listening to our Next month,the city will celebrate one year of frustrations,they are trying to make it better." Business Forward, a program that asked owners to create a report advising the city on how to Over the summer, Metro Mold and Design, a improve the business climate. plastics molding and precision manufacturer, brought 80 jobs to the city. Brooklyn Park staff Out of Business Forward came a permanent served as a liaison as the company navigated advisory board to react to city actions and weigh through the complexities of city and state in on new ideas. regulations and aid, Chief Financial Officer Greg Heinemann said. "We try to be very aware that jobs are created by businesses," Lunde said. "What we can do is "The city helped quarterback what we did with facilitate those efforts by making sure that even the state," he said. City staff, he went on, are as we ask for stuff we're not being onerous or too "very responsive and knowledgeable in terms of overbearing." what the city can offer and helping business evaluate which community to move into." Brooklyn Park air and water filtration manufacturer Diversified Plastics recently Maria Elena Baca• 612-673-4409 increased its employment by 10 percent. Vice President Annette Lund was a member of the first Business Forward group.