Agenda - Council - 10/10/2017 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Chairperson Steffen stated that those retail brokers could bring their clients to Ramsey now and would not have to be the broker for Ramsey. He stated that brokers for retailers should be aware of available listings whether or not they hold those listings. Councilmember Riley agreed that brokers representing those retailers are aware of the City but explained that real estate is about relationships and therefore there can be benefit from using a specific broker. Councilmember LeTourneau stated that perhaps when staff is reviewing the work CBRE is doing are they reviewing the amount of work that is being focused on retail. He suggested that perhaps CBRE is directed to focus on building retail relationships and could include the City in those conversations so that staff can also hear that input. Asst. City Administrator/Economic Development Manager Brama stated that he connects with CBRE on a weekly, or almost daily basis, with the direction that there is a high demand for retail and restaurant users. He stated that one thing that is hard to measure about relationships is that someone can say that a conversation was had on a spreadsheet but it can be difficult to measure the tone, duration, and the direction of those conversations and therefore there has to be an element of trust. He stated that any time he has the opportunity to meet with a retail developer, he is doing that directly, outside of CBRE in attempt to build additional relationships. Councilmember LeTourneau stated that he is unsure that the City would be able to learn anything different until something changes in the market. He stated that changing brokers would not necessarily change the interest the City is seeing. Councilmember Williams stated that she disagrees as it helps to have someone that is excited about the location and the City and is able to market that direction. She stated that it is difficult to believe that the current broker has that level of enthusiasm for Ramsey when they represent communities across the metro including Elk River and Anoka. She used the example of development that occurred because of a passionate developer that connected with a passionate broker. She stated that they were able to work together to sell that location and build a development from the ground up. She stated that she believed that element is missing with the current broker. Mayor Strommen stated that she would agree with exploring other brokerage options to determine what those options may be. Councilmember LeTourneau agreed that the City is in search of that passionate broker and would support those type of inquiries being made. Member Burandt asked if that needle in the haystack actually exists; a broker with that passion that does not have conflicts of interest with neighboring cities that also have sufficient contacts. Councilmember Williams believed that would exist. She felt that perhaps the group did a disservice in the way the interview process occurred noting that instead of asking what could be City Council Work Session / September 26, 2017 Page 4 of 6