[Music] all right we are right at 5:30 I will call tonight's Eda meeting to order and Abby could we have a roll call please uh commissioner LaRon here commissioner langes president commissioner grindall commissioner husnik here commissioner L here commissioner Hoy here president bin here I'd like to invite everyone to rise and join us for the Pledge of Allegiance IED Al to the flag of the United States of America and to the republ for it stands Nation God indivisible withy and justice for all members of the Eda we have an agenda before you I would like to approve or I would like to propose one minor modification to the agenda and that would be to add an open Forum uh just right after we approve the agenda and um so that would be my motion that um Eda approved the amended agenda is there a second or H also happy to entertain any other changes second we have a motion and a second all those in favor signal by saying I I oppose and our agenda is approved our next item this evening is open Forum open forum is any interested parties opportunity to address the Eda on any topic of their choosing and is there anybody that would like to speak in open Forum this evening I will hold until coun okay very good um not having anyone else come forward we will close open forum and bring the agenda back to the Eda uh next item is to approve our minutes from our regular meeting on June 10th so move there's a motion is there a second I'll second it take a second from Member Larson any discussion hearing none all those in favor signal by saying I I oppose and motion carries our next item this evening is to consider the 280 Broadway Avenue West contract for Real Estate purchase and private development and add thank you president Bay M members of the Eda since 2021 the council is aware the city staff has been in discussions with GLG Forest Lake Properties LLC but the rehabilitation and revitalization of the whole elevator site and adjacent undeveloped properties around it um along with the Adaptive reuse of the elevator for retail purposes the Redevelopment plans of the site include a second phase which would accommodate a retail Greenhouse outside Nursery area and Associated pedestrian and parking improvements once completed the block will have an urban standard to accomplish the full buildout of the site GLG Force for Lake Properties has submitted an offer letter to the city to purchase 280 Broadway Avenue West for $70,000 I included in my staff report um applicable blackground there for the Eda you've been briefed on this history in a number of um closed sessions that we've been talking about the development of this property I wanted to point out how it helps fulfill the Forest Lake goals and objectives um in the Strategic plan it would be to improve the environment for new and existing businesses 2040 comprehensive plan um it delineates and improves business districts rehabilitate where necessary or redevelop substandard properties encourage business owners to remodel rehabilitate exterior facades and increase Vitality of individual businesses and Commercial areas our business assistance policy more the same meets one or more goals of the city strategic plan and primary development is to encourage high value commercial development tax increment fin financing District it's been since expired but from 2001 the whole purpose of that District was to encourage a concentration of new commercial activities provide more attractive and P Pleasant pedestrian environment provide expanded utilities and public services as a means of encouraging new development growth and provide sites to accommodate new and expanding firms in the city so for your consideration tonight is um a an agreement between Forest Lake GLG Forest Lake Properties um $70,000 for 280 Broadway uh Avenue West for fulfilling their Redevelopment plans so just note that included in this plan or in this agreement does indicate that they would need to develop their property by December 31st of 2027 or the property would revert back to the city additionally this will come back before the city at a later time when they are have gone through their entitlement planning processes where the city council will actually transfer the land to the Eda and the Eda would sell it to the land or to GLG properties so staff does recommend on the basis that it does conform to so many of our goals and policies staff does recommend the Eda move to enter into contract for Real Property purchase and private development buying between Forest Lake Economic Development Authority and GLG Forest Lake Properties LLC a Minnesota Li limited liability company do you have any questions for me any questions for Abby just open it up I can certainly start um Abby was there so was there any transfer of property rights on this property prior to today no there have not been okay I did and the reason I asked that is I did notice that over the weekend they had signs stating that it was for customer parking only and actually had their materials on our property our meaning the city of force lake property specifically stating prohibition for Carnival attendees to park there and um only limiting to their business customers and I was taken back a little bit by that because it's been a long standing place for attendees to park and certainly a value that we should have still had as a city the um the second thing I want to note um and I'll I'll reference page 44 um in our packet which is the Exhibit C and I did speak with staff about this prior but I wanted to make sure this was on the record um that the the concept site plan does have numerous concerns um and I specifically wanted to note that it didn't have an East West trail that is one thing we talked about in close session it also does not have improved access on the south side it still shows a dirt path there essentially for vehicles um that would be something that normally would never pass through Planning Commission and and councel for our standards um and then I also had clarified with staff that this would require Planning Commission and city council approval I did have a resident asked me that today so those were my initial comments um that I talked about I'm kind of torn on this so I'm I'm looking forward to hearing where other people are um we purchased this property for plus the the demo for $228,450 in 2001 so about 25 years ago it was appraised at 138 two years ago and they're offering us 70,000 and so we're taking essentially a you know if you add in inflation this is over A4 million do investment that we need to make an argument to say is this an economic benefit to the city to have that Delta between the 70,000 in what we've invested plus interest and I'm having a hard time getting there in closed session one of the things we had talked about and I know this wasn't in your staff report you can't summarize everything we did in closed session in the next hour but one of the components we had talked about was transferring a I would say a relatively unusable piece of property they have on the south end that would be adjacent to ours for potential trail head and I that would have brought me to a very easy yes to say here is where we can transfer and actually get a value from the city perhaps not necessarily a quarter million doll value but a much better value than this Delta that we're seeing um and so I think this is a reminder to me of why the city shouldn't necessarily be in the business of buying buying and selling properties and I think this is a clear example and I'm not picking on Forest Lake because many cities make these errors um but why we should not be doing this because if we had left this property in the hands of private ownership it almost certainly would have transferred with the rest of that property and we wouldn't have to be in this mess of subsidizing a private business um do I think this property is best use for them almost certainly do I think it could be of other use absolutely um and so I was hoping that the the purchaser would be here to you know answer some questions and um present why they see this economic value to us because I'm having a hard time getting there uh before we take other comments can we just can I just pick you back on a couple questions maybe that um member laying this raised the the site plan and some of the nuances around the unfinished access to the South is there um some discussion that that is um yet to be finalized and that that is there some thought that there is an opportunity for that to come back in a more finished state or by approving this tonight are we essentially greenlighting that unfinished access to the South and I guess I'm just trying to look for um some degree of sure the Eda is really just considering the transfer of the land for them to do the um Greenhouse um we wrote parking in circulation and pedestrian access areas and um storm water improvements you're not granting site plan approval the agreement does not constitute site plan approval they'll have to come back before our Planning Commission to gain site plan approval and then they'll have to will actually have to bring the transfer the land from the council to the Eda before this before it's finalized there and but to in getting to this point we haven't provided any assurances to the purchaser of not needing of any amendments to we have advised we've reviewed several Renditions um but no formal submitt of a site plan has been submitted to the city so everything has been non-binding they are aware that we will be seeing an East West Trail connection through the property and they've indicated that they'd be favorable to discussing easement opportunities they also are aware that we want to see improved access to the South um but as a reminder the city owns right of way through there so we have some obligations uh probably in that as that we'll need to work through as part of that development review process Fair open it up for other comments thoughts on the proposal tonight I think the original comment that was kind of the argument back when is that that piece of prct has been sitting there for 20 some years off the tax roles it's 7,000 square fet so it didn't really lend itself to anything else you know and then so um that's what and and those the improvements that those folks have made to that piece of property from old building on out it just seemed like was a good fit and yeah when they paid $20 and some thousand dolls way back when that was out of line but that you know that there's no question about that and so uh my mind at least that uh was why I was in favor of this particular uh transfer because of that and get this thing back on the tax roles and that's that's what it amounts to so other I would agree I would agree with that when we had the first closed session I might have missed another closed session when I wasn't identif attendance but um when we first talked about this and kind of looked at valuation and the size of it and what else could be done with it it just seemed like you know a good fit and it could help finish off that West Broadway look and feel and have a nice look all the way along that that Corridor um but I agree with commissioner langness that you know I mean it's an opportune time to talk with the developers about you know how can we kind of have a win-win situation here they're getting a you know a nice value for some property that helps with their development and then if we could also make it work for you know the trail system and whatnot then we both win that's what I'd love to see happen MH I'll um I'll chime in um I think member Le just hit the nail right on the head at the lot part of his comments around a cautionary Tale on on why we shouldn't be purchasing properties in speculation of future projects um that's what makes tonight's decis decision so hard is that we have invested so much and you know by today's standard we I think we would all agree that we overpaid for that purchase 20 years ago and so the what next becomes really challenging um I'm happy to see that the purchase price has come up to um from you know what was originally proposed um and so is it as much as we would all like to see no but um um is it better than you know not being on the tax RS and sitting with a zero dollar as a empty gravel lot um I I I think there is economic value that is created with this project I have no doubt that that is a benefit to our down the project that they're proposing will be a benefit to our downtown um that doesn't just help that site but helps the downtown in general folks that come to shop there are going to spend some time probably going to lunch probably um you know visiting some of our other retail locations it's just a larger retail footprint um and so I I think we shouldn't be shy that there is some level of subsidy in this purchase price but I also think that we're subsidizing retail and Retail in our downtown is the hardest one of the hardest sectors to attract and so it's worth some level of subsidy so we've got a already established business that has made a substantial investment already in their current footprint they've done a lot around just um kind of keeping our historic core um but also bringing those B those buildings up to Modern standards in a retail segment this checks like almost every single box we would want for some sort of economic subsidy downtown and so for that reason I don't love the price but I'm happy to support this tonight just because again it puts it back on the tax rols and I think the real mistake was really not so much this price tonight but what the basis of the property is from what we purchased 20 years ago and we just can't unwind that clock so I would encourage just again and I don't think we should be shy in saying this is an economic subsidy um this is not a fair market value transaction and to me the I I I can get there because again it's supporting um a local business in a retail segment in our downtown all of the things this body has been wanting to do for many many years is there a way to legally um tie them down on the trail access that they're willing to talk about in the future make it more part of the contact that there is going to be that's what I that's what I was going to go over here before you be me to it was are we going to be a year down the road and we want to do an East West connection with the trail head and we go to them and they say sure 25,000 AB ,000 what are our what are our options to be able to kind of preserve that ability well um that um the trail connect is a part of our downtown plan um as part of any site plan review process and planned unit development process which they'll have to go through with the Planning Commission who's the body who does the kind of meat and potatoes of development review um if the their plans don't conform to the city plans then our Planning Commission um and subsequently the city council who reviews the plan unit development can deny their development plans if they don't gain development plan approval or their entitlements by and develop the property by December 31st of 27 then the property reverts back to us um we purposefully left it vague in the eda's documents because the Eda isn't the body that reviews the site plan we didn't want to get into kind of some of those very particular details in case things need to shift around some that's why we really tied it to a highle concept plan um the words pedestrian amenities are in here specifically um they are aware that that trail connection is something we're going to be seeking Abby hasn't specifically mentioned these words but um I would put out there that it would if that is something that this body feels strongly about we and if we are cons considering um approving the agreement this evening there could be two motions made one would be to motion to approve the agreement and then the second would be a motion of recommendation to both the Planning Commission and the city council just making it on record that that is the wish of this body I I do appreciate that um in putting this together you we don't want to commit ourselves too much into what is going to be a Planning Commission consideration and so I can appreciate there is that fine line but if there's components of that future transaction that this body wants to be memorialized it's I think appropriate to make that as part of a second motion and again it's just the recommendation um to Planning Commission and the city council just so that that's known thank you I would love to see that happen because that was my wondering how we connect with the other committee then you know our conversations with another group that we don't necessarily sit down and plan together yeah yeah but your staff does and we will convey that I mean you want to make a formal motion that's certainly more in the record and it's clear um we can but we'll still carry that message through to the Planning Commission and city council okay that's a good idea any other thoughts or considerations before we consider a motion if anyone's ready for a motion not hearing anything I think we're ready for a motion if anyone's ready hang based on our discussions from uh previous close sessions and and uh the concerns that we've had and I'll make a motion that we U proceed with the um sale as we talked about for the $770,000 there is and then the so then the second motion would be with the caveats maybe let's take this in two separate actions maybe first action if you're okay with that council member husnik or member husnik is for the approval of the 280 Broadway West contract for Real Property purchase and private development is there a second second motion and a second any further discussion hearing none all those in favor sign by saying I I oppose I one oppose motion carries I would do a a a follow-up um motion um which would just be to put on the record that the Eda recommends to both the Planning Commission and to city council that future um um planned unit development with the 280 Broadway Avenue West project include um Trail access as has been discussed president Bing could I could I make the motion with some additional wording yes love that okay I retract my motion let's just start from scratch okay um I would make a motion that the Eda recommend to Planning Commission and city council to maintain the long-term East West Trail Connection in our 20 240 comprehensive plan and with regard to the South access either Improvement or removal to our city standards I think well stated I I would second that motion any discussion on the motion hearing none all those in favor signal by saying I I I oppose motion carries all right we are going to move on to item number seven which is the 2025 budget recommendation and Abby just trying to get commissioner less notes to a te so I have it written for you I can give it to you later I'm sure we have people that help us with our minutes but I always like to try to give them a little heads up beforehand um at the eda's last regularly scheduled meeting in July the Eda requested additional information about the proposed 2025 budget um en closed to some information that summarizes not only the proposed budget the eda's proposed budget but also projects you've been involved in through different types of planning processes um and how those are moving forward in the city's 2025 budget and our 10-year Capital improvement process so I included in there again the original proposal that was submitted to you last week Economic Development Fund proposal there is a 24. 27% um increase proposed it's directly proportional to staff wages um for the addition of a uh the potential addition of a planning manager that would help assist the Eda help me help you um but then um some of the other line items that I note in here what exactly they are operations operating supplies including our website the invest inforest lake.com seminars training dues and subscriptions legal expenses contracted services are the funds that we provide to the chamber for our brn program um planning that is uh to help cover costs associated with your work plan so as a reminder in 2025 the work plan includes developing policies related to the local affordable housing aid um Headwaters 123 consensus building and requests for proposals as well as any sort of downtown priorities and implementation I didn't break these out specifically to allow the Eda some of that funding or that flexibility that we need as timing sometimes goes along we're well out on you know any sort of process of what we know we need to do for Headwaters 23 and what kind of funding we might need associated with that and then just program funds that's that um commercial incentive Improvement program it's we every year we take $50,000 and we kind of just hold it available for businesses to prove uh improve the exterior of their facades so then I include in here just some information about the budget and the capital Improvement plan so the city council did discuss priorities for their 2025 and a a lot of the things the Eda has been working on Rose to the top um prioritize 10-year Staffing plan prioritize projects in the 10-year plan City Aesthetics the downtown plan and the shoreline plan and then downtown Redevelopment and dedicated funds based on that information there's a series of projects that I include in here that have been proposed for this um as part of this year's budget and the uh Capital Improvement planning process I'm not going to go into a crazy amount of details and dollars but I'll just let you know that includes Broadway Avenue G Gateway Landscaping so that's like Rel Landscaping the Broadway Avenue roundabout the medians along Broadway Avenue um the Veterans Memorial it's currently uh being designed by the Veterans Memorial committee they received a significant injection of funding from the state in the last year so they can spend that through 2027 it however that project would um it's anticipated that that project would occur the late 25 early 26 Memorial Day dedication 26 Shoreline enhancements that would be to rehabilitate the Lakeside Memorial Park Shoreline um staff has proposed that to be in 2026 as well as either boat launch relocation or boat launch Rehabilitation so I'll note on that ramp relocation that $1.06 was a part of your downtown studies that we've been looking at the boat launch Rehabilitation of $500,000 is a guess no matter what we do with the boat launch we will be seeking outside funding sources we have a meeting later this week with the DNR to start these conversations about what we're going to do with the boat launch in the long run it'd be anticipated that too would occur in 2026 the idea being if we're going to be tearing up some of like said Memorial Park end of 25 26 with the memorial it may end up being that we have a construction year that year again these are long-term plans to just get them in front of the council to say these are your priorities you said you want to do them let's get them into our Improvement plan um so I didn't know exactly what the Eda wanted when in terms of more information but I hoped that some of identifying some of these downtown plan projects were things that just helped provide you with more information you were seeking and a greater Comfort level and making your recommendation on the 25 budget now that being said since um maybe since the Eda packet release one of our city councilors former Eda member um did ask about banners so last year the uh replacement of the banners had come up it was removed from the city council's general fund budget um staff has estimated that if we were going to replace all the banners with a new design it's probably going to be about 15,000 um there are some recommendations on the design that right now the banners themselves because they're rectangle they really act as a um the bad saale you know the way they're really catching the wind and getting torn up whereas um those that are in the Triangular shape tend to hold up a little bit better so that would be the only recommendation from our public work staff that if we're going to go down that road that we might consider a completely different um shape and and if we're going to consider a different shape a whole new design might be in order now that's not included in here it wasn't included in your work plan the Eda certainly has a fund balance or else we could anticipate that as part of your Project's funding I think that $25,000 225 in our planning Services um but that was up for the Ed's discussion as well so I recommend you review the proposed expenditures for 25 and favorable move to submit the proposed budget to the city council requesting a 24.2 7 Eda Levy increase to accommodate the proposed expenses thank you Abby Ed let's just open it up um this is our second discussion on this topic so happy to jump in wherever anybody is as far as thoughts Abby thanks for pulling together the additional detail that is helpful I appreciate it breaking it down a little bit more so we have a better understanding of where things are going I appreciate your time time on that how much do this affect our overall Levy you know just a 10-year plan alone we're probably looking at about a 15% I don't have that information on me it's a great uh question for uh City interm administrator H I'm not sure if that we don't have all that uh information pulled together yet well we'll know better by next week but yeah but just as a reminder uh commissioner husnik or council member husnik and it's hard to know sometimes um this is your proposal ultimately the council has the I'm not arguing that I'm just it's it's just so you know when we add something to it y we have to be conscious of what's going on there so um that's why I asked the question yeah and it's a big percentage at 24% but it's what $40,000 is less than $40,000 so in a $12 million budget it's you know less than a half a perent so just to give you perspective though so there just other things that come along too that going to be added to that too that we look at so pretty soon those little items add up in a hurry so I'm not arguing with any of the reason for this it's just that we got to be conscious of that so maybe um see something finish just that I was I was just going to chime in um just for some additional perspective on so the thoughts that I'm carrying into our so we have a city council Workshop a topic on this exact topic this evening um specific to Capital plan for 20125 and 2026 um so I appreciate the the I appreciate that we have placeholders in place for the boat launch and we have a placeholder in place for looking at the shoreline for L side Memorial Park um I am not yet convinced that that the the initial placeholder dollar amounts as proposed are what's needed and that the timing is right for those um I just want to learn more about what is it about the boat launch that is and I I I understand this is I believe a pretty preliminary high level estimate but $500,000 for a boat launch is a lot and then what's proposed also on the shoreline is a lot and so there's just I I I I agree that both of those topics need some near-term attention um the timing on how that fits with all other projects I'm just having a little bit of a hard time getting to that number at that time um so but I also know that it's a little bit of chicken and egg in that these are very preliminary estimates um I just want to I guess raise the red flag that I have concern on those dollar amounts and I think sometimes we just need to start saying those things out loud if that's the concern there's a lot details to come but um those are some thoughts that I'm kind of wanted to share tonight with this group and that also will be carrying into our Council discussion this this evening as well go ahead member less um president Bane I I share those same concerns with you and to alleviate myself on that the requested action um is to only review the proposed expenditures for 2025 which I was quite comfortable with at the last meeting but absolutely 2026 is long-term thoughts is a whole another deal and probably needs significant more conversation agree I had a question um in one of our meetings uh a while back and I'm sorry I I have missed a few meetings due to some family obligations but um we had talked about some other things in terms of and I don't know I'm trying to kind of skim through this to see if they're in there but maybe it's just not in the detail that you covered or in the summary but like lights for the the pick a ball courts and we talked about some of the things that we you know in terms of like voice from residents things that we felt would bring some value to the residents and you know in our swad analysis that we had gone through some of those things that came up and and did those land um in here um I'd have to go so they're not in your budget the Ed doesn't you know you you don't get involved in necessarily the actual Capital Improvements associated with the um programs that are going to benefit the community right sometimes you know some of the you know something like banners it's kind of a it's an aesthetic thing it's a draw but oftentimes that's going into a whole another budget line item okay so um things from our SWAT analysis we narrowed it down and then developed a work plan that really called out the next couple years um pickle ball cour isn't in your work plan because it's we've got other bodies that are looking into that sort of stuff um we will do uh continue to do quarterly work plan reviews so we'll take a look at that this year I think in our work plan was um to look at our policies and procedures some policy development stuff um to do a planning study on that Southwest quadrant of the city where we've got some residential growth right on the edge of that area don't remember them all off the top of my head next year Headwaters 123 was a big one so a lot more of that physical development and growth than some of the other items but I happily provide that with for you yeah I was just you know to kind of circle back in the work that we've been doing I like to close the loop on things that's just how my brain works so you know if that SWAT analysis and I thought it was a really you know great use of our time and if some of it like it was great work so if some of it and the things that floated to the top is top priority that we had all agreed on if some of them of those things don't belong to this committee and they belong to another committee me myself i' like to say okay this doesn't belong to us but but you as a staff member are going to bring that to the committee it does belong to and then I know that's being taken care of by the proper committee sure so if someone asks like what happened to that I'm like you know what that's with them they got it and you know and that we've got the ones that we're responsible for because we've already vetted everything we've done the work we've done the SWAT analysis and like we're hearing people and we're bringing it we're representing and so that's the way I feel um so that's just me I like to see that it's captured and then what are we doing with it um so it doesn't you know for maybe some future I'd love to revisit what were the action it I we kind of knew what the action items were but then you know where where where do they go and then what do we take next from that because I thought it was a really a great exercise okay Amber uh last month you brought before us um the local affordable housing aid program I just want to make sure that when we're talking about our budget there wouldn't be any administrative costs being asked of the Eda okay that's all other questions or thoughts about the budget so also app appreciate um um commissioner Lang's comments around um the concerns specifically around the shoreline study um and boat launch are 2026 planned items and so certainly not part of capital planning for 2025 um but also I I also think there's some concern we should probably start raising that sooner rather than later keep it keep it on radar and it has been a big part of what we've talked about in this body as part of the downtown plan and what's next for the downtown plan so kind of AR we we knew that funding for those projects was going to be challenging and so this is where kind of that rubber starts to meet the road and we need to start you know identifying and scoping some of those projects so I'm again glad they're on radar and there's just some more work to be done there anything else specific to 2025 though since that is the requested action is to make the recommendation for count to council for a budget approval any other points of comment anyone ready for a motion motion to approve as recommended by staff there's a motion is there a second we have a motion and a second any further discussion hearing none all those in favor signal by saying I I I oppose and our motion's approved all right next on the agenda is the headwaters 12 three update thank you mayor Bane president Bane members of the Eda um the last meeting I advised you we did not submit a response for a request for inquiries released by deed for the headwaters 123 site uh it was largely due to staff's inability to confirm electrical capacity there are another other factors that went into that decision and you can see in my staff report that there was some other constraints including the potential um moderate industrial zoning has it its material um processing on site um in addition to that regardless of that I think one of the biggest challenges for staff right now is that we don't have a good record of the information that the Eda might have had in the past about the site so we're taking this opportunity to we think that there's quite a bit of opportunity to pull our partners together to discuss the um opportunities of Headwaters 123 um inquiry was made about the number of rfis the Cities received and how many of them staff have responded to in the last two years that I've been here we've received seven rfis we received an additional one today that additional one was for a property of at least I think 130 or 150 acres in size much larger than our property um but there are some primary constraints that are coming up in these rfis um the proposed property uses a number of companies um including the project Maxwell are seeking industrial property to allow for manufacturing and it's not maybe the best fit for the business park zoning District that was purpose was to reserve for multi-use buildings offices hostel show showrooms light manufacturing research and development manufacturing is permitted use in the zoning District but many of the rfis suggest manufacturing would be heavier in nature addition and then also require some buffer from Residential Properties additionally um the site size becomes quite constraining rarely the city is receiving rfis for properties this size um there's three properties that are two properties that I noted in my staff report each were seeking 100 and 200 300 acres respectively more of them not projects are seeking 10 to 50 acres and a lot of them want a pad ready site and so it's just making our site a little less desirable to be responding or make sense for us to spend time to respond for these so um I know there was concern of us not submitting me not submitting for project Maxwell um and but like I said we definitely view this as an opportunity to reestablish some of those Bas some of that Baseline information we have and also strengthen those connections with development Partners we Christine and I met with Chris last week we're reaching out again to Conexus just for frame of reference our government relations um representative at both Conexus and XL Energy have changed in the last year maybe 18 months but um so some of this information is new to them as well so we want to get our site back in front of them and really start looking at what all of our partners can provide and help um guide us in in development of this so over the next couple months we'll be pulling this data together so that we have better information on the sites um but then that's going to just tee us up for that 2025 work plan discussion addressing that SWAT analysis that commissioner grindall was mentioning um hitting Headwaters hard was one of the things that this body wanted to do and so the idea being we have all the Baseline information for us to really start having those discussions between the Eda and the council and 2025 where what do we want to do how do we want to maybe um keep moving forward with h rers 123 so it provided this as an FYI there's no action needed at this time but I'm happy to answer any questions the Eda might have Ed member LGE question for Chris from Washington County data centers what's the latest why and the technology corridor y thank you president B Mr lurge so there are no shortages of inquiries for data centers um Minnesota has not quite up to some of the other states that we're competing against De Moine for example has five data centers um if you get over into Virginia um you know some of the East Coast communities have a number of them just um amazing amounts of data centers what what what's happening more recently is and I don't think it's going to go away I think the demand for data centers is going to continue to grow as AI continues to grow AI is not going to go away it's here cell phones are not going to go away there here every time you pull out your cell phone that email that you send is stored at a data center every video you watch is stored at a data center so we want to be poised for those types of opportunities and the the cool thing about a data center is it's not it's not going to be producing smoke or noise it's a it's a very um high-scale um very Hightech building maybe not necessarily with hundreds of jobs but there might be 50 jobs in there that are making $150,000 to $200,000 a year to keep those computers running so they're really good jobs and they're they're going to need a spot the the most recent one that uh chose Minnesota is meta and that they chose Rosemont uh for a very large data center prior to that Google was looking at Becker so they're still on the market they're still looking at us and we just want to be ready so that if we do get that right opportunity we can say hey would you look at us would you consider us and and um you know that we own 123 Acres of of land and it doesn't necessarily need to be the full 123 Acres it could be you know it could be five acres it could be 20 acres whatever the case might be there's a there's a Data Center in downtown duth people wouldn't even know it it's in an old Hardware building so it doesn't have to be a large building it doesn't have to be um 123 Acres it could be something as small as 2 Acres uh but just to be ready for it I know there is there was some discussion about the availability of electricity in that that's not right now something that we can easily get our arms around right now if somebody asked for 25 megawatts at that site it's not available but could we get there absolutely and the one thing to keep in mind about Conexus energy and I'm not an expert in how electricity moves but Conexus does not own the transmission lines they own the distribution lines so they need an Excel or Great River Energy to get the power to their substation and then they can distribute it to that site so it's going to take a partnership and and all of those parties want to sell power and what we want is the high teex high wage um um property values to go up in that area and so we're we're looking at technology jobs and and know it might not be somebody that produces I'll just use um electric vehicle batteries for example that might not be what you're looking for but would we do something with programmers that need to program those cars or using AI or something like that to to put a building in that location and um and to be able to track them absolutely all day long and so we're we're going to continue to work with the partners as that mentioned and and uh and it's kind of a chicken or egg they haven't rolled out the the power Just quite yet to the site but there's there's power to the site it's just not 25 megawatts but could that happen over a phased in Period y they can and could it also happen while the building is being built absolutely it's going to take 18 months for somebody to put a building up and so could Conexus and Excel provide Power in 18 months probably it's just not there today it's kind of the chicken or the egg and they're looking at it it's right now it's just vacant land so they're not going to run the utilities out to serve that site when there's nobody there to use them but if somebody's if somebody comes to the table and says hey we're interested they're going to move pretty quickly they want to sell power and we want the jobs so hope that answered your question about that as centers and we were worried um when we heard 18 months from the power thinking it was a real turnoff for the whole idea of those data centers for that Corridor yeah so if you think 18 months is reasonable for planning building it's it's a really good question but but um it's not usually I I haven't seen where they need 25 megawatts today usually it's a phased in approach where they're going to need five to start with and then they might get to 15 and they might need 20 and then 25 but over time but eventually they're going to maybe need 25 but it usually doesn't happen all at the same time unless it's a big one like Mata or Google and then you can bet that Exel or Conexus in Great River Energy are going to roll out the righted carpet they jump to get something like that here say do you know what the specs were for those in Rosemont and uh where did you Becker and that's what happened down in deine it was you know was Apple or Google or Microsoft or one of the first ones went in and said we're choosing De Moine and then all of a sudden the rest all all four all five of the others just chose to Moine so once we get a meta here or Google here they're they're looking at us it's just how do we land it and and you know how do we work with our partners to get the utilities to the site thank you did that help thank you very much thank you any other questions or thoughts on this topic that answered a lot of questions okay um I think we're ready for our next um we're going to move into updates um City updates Abby you want to start uh sure I included in my uh in the packet just a quarterly development update kind of giving you the heads up of the activities that are happening around um the city you'll continue to see these every three months so we'll kind of just keep this in here and keep it revolving for you uh if you have any questions I'm happy to address them we do have a close question so maybe if you have questions chat about it and I'm happy to bring back answers at the next meeting unless there were any pressing things any any pressing questions or any any follow-ups update please for updates I've got two questions uh one is on the uh local affordable housing aid where do we stand on that I did get thank you for the guidelines I read through them it uh was very informative um and answered a lot of questions just wondering you brought it to the Eda last month yep is there anything we should be discussing or did the city take it over or at the at the moment no we um are waiting to have that same conversation with our Planning Commission before having it with the city council our first dispersement won't happen until later this month and we have three years to spend it so our work plan doesn't actually call for us to really start talking about and help developing some policies or programs uh right away so I think a work plan review is up in our next meeting so we can kind of look at when that'll end up being so what group is deciding how that money gets spent who gets that money I just out curiosity ultimately I think it'll be up to the city council and I don't doubt that there might be some sort of um joint work session I think I heard from this body that you know any Aid in all of those areas is um um a needed thing we'll talk with the Planning Commission about that as well and then bringing that to the council with maybe a little bit more detailed information about some of those partners that we might be able to work with we're still also waiting on the county to see how they're going to be using their funds um ultimately I think it'd be our hope that we can Pigg you back into County programs doesn't put too much of a strain on city services but so we're just kind of um Planning Commission next unfortunately they've had kind of a they've had like canceled meetings here and there and we'll be in front of them at the end of July and then we'll go to the council so it won't be until this fall that that'll come back for discussion okay I know there was some I had questions about especially administering it but if anybody has not seen the guidelines um Abby's got them she can send them to you and it it sounds like a really good deal that we could use money it's it was a lot more flexible than I thought it would be but my concern was how do you decide where it goes the other question is where do we stand on the city administrator um that's a great question and maybe uh defer to president Bane on that one yeah I can give a I can give a quick update so Council met in a special meeting last Monday I believe yes last Monday on the 1st um to um consider our next steps um so um many of you um participated in our community um review panel um and um as part of that process um joa had kind of come out as um top Contender um or a a a top um I would say maybe finalist out of that process unfortunately he had he has resigned or um he has removed himself from that process and so Council in our meeting on Monday um instructed um our City attorney to put together a work plan and bring together um bring some recommendations for a more targeted search vendor that we might use um being rather vague just because we haven't seen what that plan might look like uh Council will be talking through what those options are in our second meeting in July um and so I would expect more detail to come at that point really our our our meeting on Monday was intended to be um a second interview with Mr G unfortunately prior to that he um withdrew from the process so really Monday was us sitting around the table kind of asking ourselves now what and um giving some instruction to Amanda to look for a more targeted um uh vendor to do a more specific search also on council's just to kind of close the loop on council's agenda this evening is consideration of a um kind of a settlement agreement with DDA um just kind of paying them for a portion of their contract for what was committed um and it is expected we will be parting ways once we um if Council approves that agreement this evening happy to answer any other questions on that topic but I don't have a lot of specificity again until we Council meets again to talk about what a what other um service providers might look like um the only other update I have was just a follow up from an inquiry the last meeting what the area median income is um Forest lak's Area median income is 91,9 157 I believe that is for a family of four uh Washington County is 11,828 that is up 8% uh from the year prior I can email out that information if anybody would like that okay moving on with updates I know we still have a Clos session here so I'll make sure we have time um chring thank you um um I was going to say mayor but president Bane um I I did did notice in the last minutes of the Eda there was discussion about the local affordable housing aid program and administration of it and the CDA just let let you know is geared up and we have the policies in place where where um we're gearing up a staff to be able to administer those programs if the cities choose to to work with us they uh you certainly have that flexibility and we we we will absolutely work with you to to deliver that money in any way that you'd like so just want to reassure you that um you don't have to go alone we're here to help and whatever we can do please let us know good I don't have any other formal updates thank you thank you and chamber nette thank you thank you president and members of the Eda uh we are in a busy season and so I thought I'd just share some of the things that are coming at you or that maybe you've heard about um first of first we have our um we are actually doing grand openings for three new businesses on Thursday so that's always exciting uh three in one week is is good um and then uh we have our community Street dance which is on July 20th and so fast and furious on that um let's see we also have our chamber golf event which is a big fundraiser for our uh Chamber of Commerce and so that's two days after the street dance um we're also working in partnership with the Forest Lake Area Schools and Chris at Washington County CDA on the career launch Summit so very excited about that at the end of August and uh making making tracks with that as well some of you may have been invited today I think the invite went out today um and then right uh also in August we welcome all the new teachers to the area so uh that event is a is a uh big big uh opportunity with for uh Leela and the force Lake Area Schools and so we welcome all those teachers and then already working ahead with Abby and the City of forest lake on the hometown holiday celebration in December so it's been Plus I think we talked last time about budgets and bylaws so we've just finished all that up as well so it's been a little little hectic any questions any questions all right that being um the end of our planned agenda sure or planned updates um I would move that the Eda move into a close session persuant to Minnesota statutes 13 d05 subdivision 3 C3 to develop or consider offers or counter offers for the purchase or sale lot one block two deponte first edition and lot one block one deponti third edition Washington County Minnesota is there a second to move us into Clos session second we have a motion and a second all those in favor signal by saying I I oppose we're in close session this is the last item on our agenda at the end of our close session we will come back into this room just to reopen the meeting to adjourn [Music]