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<br />Board Member Bentz advised that in regard to getting the information out to the residents, some <br />of his neighbors were disappointed that they did not get anything on the event. He explained that <br />the northwest comer of Ramsey does not receive the Anoka Union, as they receive the Elk River <br />Star News. He advised that they are also in the Twin Lakes and Elk River School Districts, and <br />would not get flyers that were sent out to the other school district. He thought that having Home <br />Depot host a build a birdhouse activity was a good idea, and advised that they have a huge <br />canopy tent at the State Fair each year with that activity. He questioned if the event would have <br />better attendance if it were held at Central Park. He advised that they could have a couple large <br />tents at the park and stated that there was more parking available at that site. He explained that a <br />lot of people drive by Central Park and they also hold a lot of events at that site. He advised that <br />he did not see a lot of advertising for the Environmental Expo. He stated that the people that did <br />attend the event seemed to like it but the ones that he spoke with that did not know about it said <br />that they would have liked to come to the event. He advised that his kids loved the animal <br />exhibits. He thought that the planning committee would be a good idea and thought that they <br />should start planning for the event in January. He thought that the booth itself for the EPB <br />would have had more attention if it were more prominently displayed out front. He advised that <br />a lot of people walked by the booth and thought that they would have been interested in the <br />display if they had been drawn in. He thought that the water display was really popular, but also <br />thought that it kept people looking down instead of up at the maps that were displayed. He <br />stated that he did not think it was an ideal layout for the event. He thought that a contest for the <br />school kids would be a good idea. He advised that if the event were held at Central Park they <br />could also invite the Scouts or 4H to have a display or conduct a demonstration. He thought it <br />would be a good way to get more people involved in the event. He also questioned if there <br />would be an interest in having an EPB booth at the Happy Days event. He again advised that <br />Central Park is a bigger location that could fit more displays and also draw more people in. <br /> <br />Environmental Coordinator Anderson advised that the Happy Days event is also held at and <br />around the Municipal Center. He recapped that everyone seemed to be pleased with the vendors, <br />with the exception of the Tupperware display, and advised that he thought most of them would <br />be happy to return to the event next year. He advised that there are only so many ways to layout <br />the event in the building and thought that he did the best he could by accommodating the vendors <br />that needed extra space or electricity. He questioned if anyone had any ideas for the layout of <br />the event, as he did not know what could be altered other than moving the vendors around. <br /> <br />Board Member Freeburg advised that he did not see anything drastically wrong with the layout. <br />He stated that a larger exhibition room would be nice but acknowledged that the building just <br />does not have that. <br /> <br />Board Member Stodola advised that the Raptor Center seemed to draw in a lot of people and <br />thought that they could possibly move it to the back of the room so that people would have to <br />walk past more exhibits to get to the Raptor Center. <br /> <br />Environmental Coordinator Anderson advised that he placed the Raptor Center closest to the <br />door because they were not going to arrive until 10 a.m. He explained that he did not want to <br />make the people from the Raptor Center walk through a crowd to setup their display. He advised <br />that he had also considered using the main lobby as a display area but did not because the <br />furniture was not easily movable. He stated that although the presentations were really <br />interesting and informational, attendance was extremely low. He stated that he had six trees to <br />giveaway for people who attended the presentations and was only able to give away three <br />Environmental Policy Board / June 2, 2008 <br />Page 4 of 10 <br />