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Commissioner Dehen stated that he thinks it is a good idea to let the new Council decide this issue. He stated that he is not so "hip" on turning over levy power to a non-elected body. He stated that his two oppositions are the new Council and he doesn't agree, in concept, having the Council not serve. He stated that having a few Councilmembers serve, similar to EDA, may be workable. He stated that he thinks suggestions from the experts are always welcome and thinks anybody can come in and give input to a board, even it is made up entirely of the Councilmembers. Chair Olson stated that people are more likely to give that input if they actually serve on the board. Commissioner Look stated that one of the benefits to having Councilmembers on this board is the overlapping campaigning that happens. He stated that he thinks it offers an ability to refresh the CounCil that an unele<rted board would not have. He stated that it also offers accountability where, for example, a budget was established this evening that will be levied against the people. He stated that he has heard the critique that the Council has not put enough of an emphasis on this and perhaps it needs to have greater emphasis placed on it. He stated that he is not opposed . to bringing in experts to assist the HRA. Commissioner Strommen stated that she would like to clarify the accountability issue. She stated that she has served on the EDA for the last 6 years and the budget comes before the Council for approval, so there is still accountability. City Administrator Ulrich stated that the levy is approved by the Council, but, the spending decisions are made within the budget, so there would be discretion of the HRA without the Council approval. Commissioner Elvig stated that he, as a Councilmember, is learning more about what an HRA is, what it can do, how effective it can be and there have been some interesting discussions which got him thinking in a different way. He stated that as a new Council comes in there will be a lot to learn and he thinks it is important for a new Council to experience. He prefers. to table this action and let the new council think about it and tackle it .at a later date. He stated that he would suggest at least 3 Councilmembers on the HRA, if they decided to change it. Chair Olson stated that her position has always been that the Council has so much going on that the HRA has never been given the time it deserves, which is why the learning curve has been so long. She stated that this is why she fully feels that it should be turned over to a board that focuses solely on the HRA and doesn't have another burner to shove it onto. She stated that if the City isn't going to do this right, it shouldn't be doing it at all. Commissioner Look stated that there was discussion about investors and forgiveness of loans tonight and, as a body, two important issues were brought out. He stated that the HRA would have the ability to spend money how they saw fit and he asked whether the Council would have the ability to overrule that decision. Housing and Redevelopment Authority / December 1, 2008 Page 7 of9 7