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6.3 EDSR 11-16-2015 Cit of l Request for Action River To Item Number Economic Development Authority 6.3 Agenda Section Meeting Date Prepared by General Business November 16,2015 Amanda Othoudt, EDD Item Description Reviewed by Director's Report Cal Portner, City Administrator Reviewed by Action Requested Information presented for discussion only in effort to keep the EDA updated development activity. Background/Discussion BUSINESS VISITS Minnesota Manufacturing- Chamber and City Business Visits Colleen and Debbi from the chamber visited over 40 manufacturing businesses. The visits were in recognition of manufacturing week and to say thank you. All the businesses were very appreciative of the thank you and visit. Most of them took time to update us on how things were going.A couple businesses did state they were looking to expand, several of them are struggling with hiring a solid workforce and a couple of them are waiting until the 2016 election is completed before they make any big decisions. DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY Joplin Property—Ebert Construction We continue to work with Ebert Construction on the development of the Joplin and Highway 10 property. Staff has obtained the signatures needed from E&R Investments,LLC to execute the purchase agreement for the city-owned parcels. Staff has begun working with the county to start the process of securing interest in purchasing the remnant parcel from the county. We are also working with MnDOT on the process to release the surplus easement at the southeast corner of U.S. Highway 10 and Joplin Street. I will be presenting the information and request formal approval to purchase the Sherburne County parcel and the surplus easement from MnDOT at the November 16, 2015 city council meeting. Site Visits Staff has seen increased activity over the past month on both the county-owned data center site and the Northstar and Natures Edge business parks. Staff is working with local and regional brokers representing clients interested in pursuing developments on these city and county-owned parcels. MISCELLANEOUS Blandin Broadband Communities Program Grants The City of Elk River,in partnership with Sherburne County and Elk River Municipal Utilities,maintains an 8-mile fiber ring connecting all city facilities and data center. Sherburne County,in a partnership with Elk River Schools,is proposing to extend the fiber network to the City of Zimmerman. This extended network gives the City of Elk River the opportunity to connect to the City of Zimmerman.With connectivity between the cities,we have the opportunity to explore shared services and provide the � ovtiE1 er NATURE Zimmerman Fire Department high speed access to the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) and records management system hosted by Sherburne County. This project does lay the ground work for the expansion of a fiber network in Zimmerman that can provide Wi-Fi at public locations.The project is estimated to cost approximately$36,840. Staff presented the proposal to the Blandin Broadband Committee, and received approval to apply for grant funding through the Blanding Foundation.We are requesting a grant in the amount of$10,000 which, the cities of Zimmerman and Elk River will split the difference equally. This effort is based on the belief that the cities of Elk River and Zimmerman can benefit from shared services. One example is remarkably improved internet access for the City of Zimmerman and the ability to offer programing in partnership with the MN Workforce Center, Chamber of Commerce and other service-oriented groups. If successful,we anticipate a thorough department-by- department evaluation of existing services and the opportunities to share desired services with increased efficiency and/or a reduced cost. Public WiFi at Rivers Edge Park,Downtown Elk River The City of Elk River Parks and Recreation Department is currently working on the expansion of Rivers Edge Commons Park located in downtown Elk River. The planning and design of the expansion are currently underway with construction expected for this spring 2016. WiFi access will not be in the basic design or construction documents but will be an addition to the overall park improvements. Installing WiFi access gets us closer to bridging the digital divide by allowing the public to explore apps, share images and access city services on a free network. Wi Fi will greatly enhance the experience of coming downtown,improving the viability of the park,access to the river and connecting more residents to the internet. Staff presented a request for grant funding in the amount of$10,000 from the Blandin Broadband Community Program to install WiFi at the Rivers Edge Commons Park in downtown Elk River. The committee approved the request to go on to the next round and submit a full grant application to the Blandin Foundation. Sherburne County Revolving Loan Fund Program The Sherburne County EDA recommended approval of the Sherburne County Revolving Loan Fund program to the Sherburne County Board of Commissioners at their November 17 meeting. Sherburne County will dedicate $250,000 to the RLF program. The Initiative Foundation will administer the program. Financial Impact None Attachments None