Minutes - Council Work Session - 06/17/2008

Home

APPROVE AGENDA The agenda was approved as submitted. MAYOR, COUNCIL AND STAFF INPUT Mayo Clinic Councilmember Look stated that he was in Rochester a few weeks ago and had a conversation with Dr. Scott Wright, a cardiologist at Mayo Clinic. He stated that in jest, he said something like "wouldn't it be nice to have a Mayo North ?" to Dr. Wright. He stated that it turns out that Dr. Wright is on a strategic team to look into this possibility. He stated that he has mentioned this to City Administrator Ulrich and wanted to bring this conversation to the attention of the Council to discuss next possible steps. He stated that the RTC may be an ideal location, especially because of the rail line. He stated that he sent a follow up e -mail to Dr. Wright asking more details of what Mayo is considering. He stated that he would like the Council to discuss ways to professionally position ourselves to attract this business. Councilmember Elvig suggested that in the interest of public meetings, it may be best to direct staff to move forward with this. He stated that the Council could let staff know that they are interested in pursuing this, but also do it in a way that other "eyes" don't know where this is heading. He suggested that EDA and Solomon Group could also be involved. League of Minnesota Cities Mayor Gamec stated that he recently attended the League of Minnesota Cities conference and felt there were excellent seminars this year. He stated that Ramsey doesn't appear to be suffering as much as some of the smaller outlying areas, especially tourist areas, because of the economy. COUNCIL TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION 1) Mississippi National River and Recreation Area Presentation Paul Labovitz of the National Parks Service thanked the City for letting them present their information tonight and stated he hopes that the City is excited to be part of a National Park. He introduced Steve Johnson who would be going through a portion of tonight's presentation. Steve Johnson of the National Parks Service stated that both Lake Superior and the Mississippi River are two globally important resources to the State. He stated that the Mississippi River is the largest watershed in North America, is a major wildlife corridor and the most important migratory bird corridor in central North America. He stated that it is a key international corridor for shipping and commerce and is very important to Minnesota's economy. He stated that of the 2,311 miles of the Mississippi River, the only National Park is a 72 mile stretch from Dayton to Hastings. City Council Work Session / June 17, 2008 Page 2 of 8