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7.0. EDSR 09-10-2001 Item # 7 City of Elk -_ River MEMORANDUM TO: Economic Development Authority FROM: Pat Klaers, City Administrator DATE: September I0, 2001 SUBJECT: Assistant Director of Economic Development Position Assistant Director of Economic Development Marc Nevinski has recently resigned and left the City of Elk River for a different position with the City of Coon Rapids. It is recommended that the EDA (and City and HRA) retain this position in the 2002 budget but that this position not be filled for a while until the economy and the activity level in the • economic development department picks up again. This Assistant position was established at the request of then Economic Development Director, Paul Steinman,in early 1999, and Marc was hired to fill the position in spring 1999. Paul was very busy in 1998, and the late 1990's was a very active time for the city economic development department.An enormous amount of Paul's time was spent on TIF 18 (Morrell).Also,TIF 19 was in its early stages and this required a great deal of Paul's time throughout 1999. Besides TIF districts, the economic development strategic plan had recently been completed and much effort was being put forward in order to implement this plan. Implementation included work with consultant Theresa Washburn for the central business district focus study; the business incubator project was in its early stages; and the microloan program was active. Projects that needed attention in 1999 included working on the King/Main redevelopment project, developing a marketing plan, and participating in the energy city program. Today, things are much slower in the economic development department. As the economy has slowed down, so has the number of inquiries and interest in business expansion and relocation. The TIF law has recently changed dramatically and the city expects very few new TIF districts in the future. The tool we may be using for assisting businesses is tax abatement and this is a much easier program to administer. The business incubator program is still active but slower than what we saw in 1998-99. The King/Main project has been completed and, finally,we are seeing fewer microloan requests than a few years ago. • • The biggest work projects that Marc was participating in before he left included the energy city program, the marketing program,working on the website, and the business incubator project. At this time, I believe that Cathy can assume some of the work responsibilities for the marketing plan,business incubator project, and web site. Regarding energy city,between Steve Rohlf and Cathy, I think they can handle the work that Marc was doing. In my discussions with Cathy and Finance Director Lori Johnson,we believe that we will need to fill the Assistant position at some time in the future but it is not needed at this time. • 110 • City of Elk River MEMORANDUM TO: Economic Development Authority FROM: Catherine Mehelich, Director of Economic Development DATE: September 10, 2001 SUBJECT: Assistant Director of Economic Development Position Following are issues for consideration regarding the rehiring of an Assistant Director of Economic Development: • Timing—Should the EDA chose to replace the position immediately, the earliest a new person could start is in December. This would reserve three months for the • process of advertising, applications, and interviewing. If a person were brought on board by December they would have only two months of training prior to the Director's temporary leave of absence in February (8-12weeks). • Qualifications—The qualifications for the assistant director position should be consistent with the level and amount of responsibility required of the position. If the qualifications are too high, the person may find better opportunities within two years. If the qualifications are more consistent with the level of responsibility, the person could grow with the position and demands of the economic development department. • Responsibilities—In the past two years the assistant director position has included the following activities and responsibilities: o Administer the Micro Loan program o Manage the Business Incubator program o Complete Business Retention&Expansion Visits (2-year cycle) o Coordinate marketing activities and materials (ie website, advertising, events) o Coordinate Energy City marketing activities and materials o Complete annual business subsidy reports (March) • Economic Development Workload—At this time with the slowing economy, demands of the economic development office have slowed considerably. In the • short term, staff collectively has been able to adequately handle the workload demands of the economic development department.