--- 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 s…

--- ## author: Beck, Megan date: D:20260428114647-05'00' --- ## Economic Development Commission Agenda April 28, 2026 | 7:30 AM ## Ash Conference Room Questions regarding this meeting will be taken between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. via planning@woodburymn.gov or by calling 651-714-3 533 and leaving a voicemail message. ## P lease note that the times listed below are estimates and are subject to change. The City of Woodbury is subject to Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by public entities. The City is committed to full implementation of the Act to our services, programs and activities. Information regarding the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act is available from the City Administrator’s office at 651- 714-3523. Auxiliary aids for disabled persons are available upon request at least 72 hours in advance of an event. Please call the ADA Coordinator at 651-714-3523 (TDD 651-714-3568) to make arrangements. 1.7:30 AM- Call to order 2.7:32 AM- Roll call and introductions 3.7:33 AM- Approval of meeting minutes – February 24, 2026 EDC Meeting ## 4.7:35 AM- Ice Breaker ## 5.7:40 AM- EDC Memorandum Changes 6.7:50 ## AM- Destination: Woodbury Update ## 7.8:20 AM- Economic Development Indicator Dashboard ## 8.8:35 AM- Mayor’s Business Outreach Update 9.8: 55 AM- Development update 10. 9:00 AM- Adjourn ## Attachments: 1.EDC Memo 26-04 2.February 24, 2026 EDC Meeting Minutes ## 3.Economic Development Indicator Dashboard ## Economic Development Commission Memorandum 26-04 To: EDC Members From: Jamie Fritts, Housing and Economic Development Manager Date: April 24, 2026 ## Re: April 2 8, 2026 EDC Meeting The Economic Development Commission (EDC) is scheduled to hold a meeting on April 28, 2026, at 7:30 a.m. in the Ash North and South Conference Room at City Hall, 8301 Valley Creek Road. 1. Call to order 2. Roll call and introductions 3. Approval of February 24, 2026 EDC meeting minutes ## 4. Ice Breaker “If you could open a business tomorrow in Woodbury what would it be?” ## 5. EDC Memorandum Changes You 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. These changes will also provide more clarity as to the objective of the EDC discussion (information purposes or policy direction, etc.). Staff recently attended training regarding meeting facilitation and these change 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 hi…