5. EDSR 07-29-2013 Elk REQUEST FOR ACTION
River
To ITEM NUMBER
Economic Development Authority 5.
AGENDA SECTION MEETING DATE PREPARED BY
July 29, 2013 Brian Beeman,Director of Economic
Development
ITEM DESCRIPTION REVIEWED By
Discuss 2013 EDA Intern Job Description and Funds Transfer Jeremy Barnhart,Deputy Director,
Community Operations and
Development Director
REVIEWED BY
ACTION REQUESTED
Information presented for discussion only. Action is to be taken at the August 19 EDA regular meeting.
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
An intern was not budgeted for the EDA in 2013.The HRA budgeted for an intern in 2013,primarily for
housing. Since the 2013 budgets were prepared, the economy has taken an upswing and EDA staff has
completed more business subsidy projects in 2013 that the past four years combined.
Instead of an intern, the HRA is considering hiring a housing consultant to write and administer a
housing grant for 2014. The consultant will take on most of the duties that the intern was scheduled to
do.The combination of the consultant,workload, employee transition, and shifting priorities, has caused
a shift in staffing recommendations.
EDA/HRA staff has been overwhelmed with projects, and this means that other projects have been
neglected, such as marketing, filing,property inventory records, social media,web updates and a variety
of other tasks. Many of the duties that were neglected are in marketing efforts. Falling behind on the
initiatives means that there are unutilized dollars in the EDA's marketing line item with only about
$23,000 of the budgeted$75,000 spent through June of 2013. The idea is to utilize marketing funds to
hire an intern to do a variety of EDA marketing duties.
The attached job description details the duties of the intern. Staff plans to have the intern focus on
marketing duties such as updating the city's website and GIS property database,preparing materials for
distribution and the MNCAR expo,promotion of Minnesota Manufacturer's week,and other marketing
tasks.This will require a budget amendment to transfer marketing funds to part-time pay under personal
services in order to pay an EDA intern for the fall semester of 2013. Staff will seek approval for the
transfer at the regular August EDA meeting.
If supported, Staff intends to advertise for the position as soon as possible in order to complete the 2013
EDA marketing initiatives within the budget year. Staff hopes to have the intern in place by Monday,
August 26 to get caught up right away allowing staff to focus on priority projects and complete other
projects. Staff would like the EDA to approve the job description as a consensus recommendation to the
IPOIEREI I i
NAME
City Council for approval at the Council's August 5 meeting. Once the Council has approved the job
description, and the EDA has approved a budget amendment transfer of funds in amount of$8,000 from
EDA Marketing to Personnel to pay$12/hr for the intern, staff will conduct the interview process. Once
a selection has been made, staff will recommend to the City Council the hiring of an economic
development marketing intern. If approved, the intern would likely start August 26 or soon thereafter.
Attachments
• EDA Internship Job Description
City of Elk River
Cty of
Elk -�., Economic Development Intern
River Position Description
Department: Immediate Supervisor:
Community Operations and Development Director of Economic Development
Pay Grade: FLSA Status: Last Updated: (date)
$12.00 Per Hour Non-Exempt] July 23, 2013
Positions Supervised:
None
Position Summary
The Economic Development Intern will provide economic development marketing assistance to
staff and the Economic Development Authority,research economic development programs to
implement within the community.
Essential Functions
1. Performs various economic development initiative activities.
A. Partners with various organizations to promote existing economic development
programs to eligible businesses.
B. Creates marketing techniques to promote and educate the business community on
Elk River economic development programs and initiatives.
C. Assists in the preparation,updating and implementation of various economic
development plans.
2. Performs economic development activities.
A. Administers,implements and provides education regarding City's business incentives
and strategies,including grant programs, as well as State and Federal funding
sources.
B. Creates, designs and promotes economic development programs materials.
C. Assists in updating and maintaining city's GIS site selection tracking system on
website.
D. Assists with activities for the Economic Development Authority.
E. Assists in the implementation of the Downtown Redevelopment Plan.
F. Assists in the implementation of the Brand Plan.
3. Performs staff liaison activities.
A. Provides staff liaison support to community development organizations including
Economic Development Authority,Energy City Commission,Multi-Housing Crime
Prevention task force and other local organizations.
(1) Acts as staff liaison to subcommittees as assigned.
B. Develops strategies for working with appropriate commissions and task forces as
needed.
4. Performs other essential job duties.
A. Regular and timely work attendance.
B. Follows all safety procedures.
C. Participates in safety training.
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Required Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
❑ Knowledge of and ability to utilize various research methods.
❑ Knowledge of community marketing, communication and promotion.
❑ Skill in public presentation.
❑ Skill in working within the framework of a strategic plan.
❑ Ability to work with various appointed and elected officials and boards.
❑ Ability to work independently and assume responsibilities with minimal direct supervision.
❑ Ability to use spreadsheet,word processing, design,and database software proficiently.
❑ Ability to use Microsoft Office and Adobe Photoshop proficiently.
❑ Ability to communicate effectively both orally and in writing.
❑ Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationship with others.
❑ Ability to comprehend the City of Elk River's Strategic Plan for Economic Development.
❑ Ability to determine appropriate courses of action in uncertain situations.
Minimum Qualifications
❑ High School Diploma or equivalent.
❑ Perusing a four-year degree in marketing,business, community development,public
administration, or related field.
❑ Available to work 32 hours a week and occasional evening meetings.
❑ Valid driver's license and good driving record.
Preferred Qualifications
❑ Banking and/or loan experience.
❑ Economic development experience.
❑ Additional years of marketing and communication experience.
❑ Municipal government experience.
❑ Event planning and coordination experience.
This Position Description is not intended to be all-inclusive. It is within the City of Elk River's discretion
to assign additional duties and responsibilities or remove duties and responsibilities at any time
This Position Description does not constitute a Contract of Employment.
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