4.1. DRAFT EDA MINUTES 10-19-2020 VA
City of
Elk Meeting of the Elk River
River Economic Development Authority
Held at the Elk River City Hall
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
Members Present: President Dan Tveite, Commissioners Garrett Christianson,Nate
Ovall,Jennifer Wagner, and Jeff Hartwig
Members Absent: Commissioners Matt Westgaard and Charlie Blesener
Staff Present: Economic Development Director Amanda Othoudt, Economic
Development Specialist Colleen Eddy, City Administrator Cal
Portner, and Records Specialist Katie Porath
1. Call Meeting to Order
Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, the meeting of the Elk River Economic
Development Authority was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by President Tveite.
2. Pledge of Allegiance
Pledge of Allegiance was recited'
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3. Election of Officers
Ms. Othoudt presented the staff report. She asked the commissioners to nominate or
determine the new officers.
The current officers are:
President—Dan Tveite
Vice President—Jennifer Wagner
Treasurer—Matt Westgaard
Secretary—Executive Director
Assistant Treasurer—Executive Director
Moved by Commissioner Wagner and seconded by Commissioner Ovall to
appoint Dan Tveite as President.
Motion carried 5-0.
Moved by Commissioner Ovall and seconded by Commissioner Wagner to
appoint Garrett Christianson as Vice President.
Motion carried 5-0.
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January 21,2020
Moved by Commissioner Wagner and seconded by Commissioner
Christianson to appoint Nate Ovall as Treasurer.
Motion carried 5-0.
4. Consider Agenda
Item 8.3 was added to discuss the Verizon cell tower entity name change.
Moved by Commissioner Ovall and seconded by Commissioner Wagner to
approve the agenda as amended.
Motion carried 5-0.
S. Consider Consent Agenda
Commissioner Ovall disclosed that he is an officer of The Bank of Elk River which
is named a depository.
President Tveite disclosed that he is an officer of Wells Fargo which is a named
depository.
Moved by Commissioner Ovall and seconded by Commissioner Wagner to
approve the following consent agenda:, .....
5.1 Check register as outlined in the staff report.
5.2 Balance sheet as outlined in the staff report.
5.3 Revenue/expenditure report as outlined in the staff report.
5.4 Designation of Official Depositories.
5.5 Designation of Place and Time of Meeting.
5.6 Attendance Policy.
Motion carried 5-0.
6. Open Forum
No one appeared for Open Forum.
7. Public Hearings
There were no public hearing items.
8.1 Annual Report
Ms. Othoudt presented the EDA Annual Report and distributed a printed copy of
the 2019 Community Profile.
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January 21,2020
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Commissioner Wagner clarified ISD 728 School District and the City of Elk River
were not included among the largest employers.
8.2 Business Survey Matrix
Mr. Portner presented the staff report.
Commissioner Ovall agreed with section 13 of the matrix which talked about
removing one of the public hearings and looking at eliminating some permit
processes to speed up timelines. He asked if the city has customer service issues that
need to be addressed.
Mr. Portner stated as long as someone says there is a c tea; , service issue the city
should work on improving their customer service.
Commissioner Ovall asked if there is some way`to'survey customers immediately
after an interaction to find out more feedback.
Mr. Portner pointed out the back of staff business cards ask"Is there anything I
could have done to better serve you today?". However,most people only fill out
surveys when they had a negative experience.
Commissioner Wagner agreed if the customer experience is not perfect then it is a
failure. She believes business owners may be reluctant to give feedback because of
perceived fear of retaliation from the city. She is hoping to gather facts on if this is
true. She pointed out large corporations who come to town have staff that are
familiar with how to start a business but smaller organizations are doing this for the
first time and may need help working through the details.
Commissioner Christianson felt section 9 of the matrix had the greatest opportunity
for improving perception``
President Tveite referated that it is a living document and can continue to be
updated to provide feedback if anyone hears comments from business owners or
customers.
8.3 Verizo
Ms. Othoudt presented the staff report.
Moved by Commissioner Wagner and seconded by Commissioner Ovall to
approve an entity name change and execution of a new lease agreement.
Motion carried 5-0.
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January 21,2020
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Commissioner Ovall pointed out this approval was a good example of streamlining
the process if it was delegated to staff. The project could have been held up waiting
for the EDA to approve it.
President Tveite added that they could hold a Special Meeting to approve urgent
matters as long as there was a quorum present.
9. Adjournment
There being no further business, President Tveite adjourned th meeting of the Elk
River Economic Development Authority at 6:25 p.m.
Minutes prepared by Katie Porath.
Dan Tveite,EDA President
Tina Allard, City Clerk
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