--- author: City of Woodbury date: D:20260427162700 --- ## CITY OF WOODBURY ## ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MINUTES April 28, 2026 Pursuant to due call and notice thereof, a meeting of the Economic Development Commission was held at Woodbury City Hall, 8301 Valley Creek Road, on the 28 th day of April 2026. ## ITEM 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Emanuel Ekstrom called the meeting to order at 7:30 a.m. ## ITEM 2. ROLL CALL Upon roll call the following members of the EDC were present: Emanuel Ekstrom, Amy Schmidt, Michael Zoladkiewicz, Philip Rush, Tim Horton, Silwai Ing, Erik Simonson, Jory Deloach, Erich Mische and William Sevold. ## Absent: Paul Leindecker Also present: Anne Burt, Mayor; Janelle Schmitz Community Development Director, Jamie ## Fritts, Housing and Economic Development Manager, Eric Satre, Destination Woodbury Marketing Manager, and Jamie Thoen, Administrative Assistant. ## ITEM 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – MOVED TO NEXT MEETING ## ITEM 4: EDC MEMORANDUM CHANGES Jamie Fritts, Housing and Economic Manager, advised the Commissioners that they will notice some modifications to the meeting format to make discussion items more engaging, with the goal of maximizing participation and generating more robust recommendations and actionable feedback. He said these changes will also provide more clarity as to the objective of the EDC discussion (information purposes or policy direction, etc.). He said staff recently attended training regarding meeting facilitation, and these changes are a result of that training. Changes include: Stating the level of participation requested from commissioners for each agenda item (inform, consult, involve, collaborate, and empower). Defining a clear objective for each discussion item to ensure conversations conclude with the intended outcomes outlined in the memorandum. Incorporating activities to increase engagement for discussion items that require higher levels of participation and influence decision-making. ## ITEM 5: DESTINATION WOODBURY UPDATE Eric Satre said April 5 marked the one-year anniversary of the launch of the Destination: Woodbury website. Year one focused on building a strong foundation, including launching the ## Economic Development Commission Meeting Minutes April 28, 2026 Page 2 website and supporting marketing tools. He reviewed the historic county-level lodging data, first- quarter dashboard and DMO key performance indicators. Washington County data provided by Explore Minnesota revealed year-over-year visitor spending increases since the pandemic across categories lodging, food and beverage, transportation and more. He gave key highlights in Woodbury from the quarterly dashboard: Hotel occupancy is off to a strong start in 2026. The 12-month hotel occupancy is an average of 70 percent, a significant milestone not reached since before the pandemic. Website data analytics show sessions and number of users are down slightly year-over- year for first quarter but engagement time is up. DMO social media channels didn’t meet first quarter targets. Markets showing the most growth in the first quarter include the Dallas–Fort Worth, Milwaukee and Washington, DC-Maryland region. Top overall visitor markets over the last 12 months include: Chicago, La Crosse-Eau ## Claire, Duluth-Superior, Milwaukee and Fargo (outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul ## Designated Market Area (DMA)) He gave the Commissioners a reminder that this is the first full year of DMO operations, and that while the 2025 Annual Report included many of the metrics, they won’t be included in the overall city performance measures until 2027. Commission comments and questions included: What are the actual followers? Are they new followers? Are there any trends in the 12-month overall market? When was the last time the city had a hotel go out of business in Woodbury? Is there a disparity between hotel occupancy? How did the Metro Surge ICE activities impact the hotel occupancy and/or lodging tax for January 2026? Specifically noted were the top travel markets listed in the report. Is this only an out-of-state listing, as it seems that out-state cities like Rochester or Duluth would be top travel markets. How does Woodbury compare to other Washington County cities? Mr. Satre gave an update on recent projects that have been completed saying staff implemented Wi-Fi sponsorships at Central Park and M Health Fairview Sports Center. He said when users log onto the public Wi-Fi at either facility, a splash page appears featuring the DMO logo, followed by a forced redirect to a landing page on the DMO website. He said while the Central Park Wi-Fi was implemented very recently, the Sports Center has been active since March and has generated more than 500 users for the website. Questions from the Commission: ## Economic Development Commission Meeting Minutes April 28, 2026 Page 3 Are we able to see when people click off of the link or when guests exit automatically? Mr. Satre said staff have emphasized making the DMO marketing tools more actionable for visitors. He gave information on several projects that are underway to support this initiative. ## Quarterly E-Newsletter A key benefit of an e-newsletter is the ability to promote tourism to a targeted audience. Staff evaluated two vendors for the Know & Go e-newsletter logo and template design and selected Pernsteiner based on the strength of its proposal and its ability to expand the current brand in a modern, visually appealing way. Mr. Satre presented three logo and header concepts for a new e-newsletter launching in May. He asked for input on the header design and to pick a favorite. He noted the background color will change on a seasonal basis. The Commission felt that options A and C were the favorites but asked to staff to run a test on which option would work best. ## Content Creator Visits After evaluating two content creator platforms, staff selected Shrpa based in Rochester, MN. Shrpa connects destinations with content creators and local contributors to produce diverse, authentic visual content and itineraries across marketing channels. This approach supports efforts to inspire visitors to Woodbury and increase engagement with the local amenities. These content creators are also mini-influencers who will promote the new content on their channels as well. ## Summer Marketing Campaign Marketing campaigns are a great way to expand reach and visibility in key visitor markets, especially during Minnesota’s busiest travel season. The summer marketing campaign will leverage our convenient location and growing number of tourism offerings, connecting visitors to local amenities and businesses, extending their stays and promoting Woodbury as a home base to the region. ## Sizzle Reel Video Production Mr. Satre noted that destination marketing organizations often produce a primary tourism video to showcase their communities. Staff is working with a production company that specializes in high-speed drone videography to produce a ‘sizzle reel’. He stated that staff are seeking input from commissioners on which community locations and events should be featured in DMO video content. Mr. Satre asked Commissioners to write down three specific locations, events, or things to do in Woodbury to feature in future marketing efforts. The group then reviewed all locations listed and voted five times for their favorites, other than their own. Mr. Satre said that the results would be reviewed at the June EDC meeting. ## 2027 Budget Priorities ## Economic Development Commission Meeting Minutes April 28, 2026 Page 4 Mr. Satre discussed the 2027 Budget priorities noting that staff anticipates collecting a similar amount of lodging revenue as the previous year. He noted that the advertising and promotion budget includes digital and print marketing, sponsorships and event promotions. Technology Support and Services includes items like website hosting and upgrades, including ADA accessibility compliance, and data analytics subscription services. Finally, he said that the 2027 budget includes professional services for an update to the strategic plan and search engine optimization. Commission feedback and discussion: Marketing to date has been mostly about creating brand awareness of the DMO and we are transitioning to marketing strategies that encourage visitors to take some type of action. What are the tangible things we can take advantage of? ## ITEM 6: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INDICATOR DASHBOARD- (INFORM) Mr. Fritts advised the Commission of the attached Economic Development Dashboard created by LOCi Consulting. He provided additional context of the data displayed on the dashboard. Questions and Comments from the Commission: Was the city surprised by any of the metrics, or any recommendations from staff in terms of how to respond to these findings? Is there interest in the vacant building located in the Northeast Business Park? Is there an initiative to recruit certain businesses to relocate here? Broader policy to look at on how to go about that and what are the key businesses we want. Partnering with Greater MSP may be something to look at in the future. ## ITEM 7: MAYOR’S BUSINESS OUTREACH UPDATE- (CONSULT) Will be continued to the next meeting. ## ITEM 8: DEVELOPMENT UPDATE Will be continued to the next meeting. ## ITEM 9: ADJOURN The meeting of the EDC adjourned at 9:03 a.m. ## Economic Development Commission Meeting Minutes April 28, 2026 Page 5 Respectfully submitted, ## Janelle Schmitz, Community Development Director ## Approved by the Woodbury Economic Development Commission