Minutes - Economic Development Authority - 01/14/2021

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Member Burandt agreed that the program has not been used so funds do not necessarily need to be allocated and the group could leave the program open and review applications on a case-by-case basis. Chairperson Steffen agreed. Economic Development Manager Sullivan noted that in this case six SAC and WAC units were requested but with a new restaurant that number could increase quickly. He stated that if three new restaurants came forward with requests that could easily be $70,000 which the City would be inclined to support. He noted that his intention was not to provide an open checkbook. Deputy City Administrator Gladhill stated that the policy does not obligate any amount of support. He stated that there is underwriting that occurs and review that is done to determine what is actually needed for a project. Chairperson Steffen asked if this would only apply to full-service restaurants. Economic Development Manager Sullivan confirmed that only full-service restaurants would be eligible. Motion by Member Burandt, seconded by Chairperson Steffen, to recommend to City Council to amend the Restaurant Subsidy Program to allow for both SAC and WAC charges to be eligible for loans and approve of 70 percent, zero percent interest, forgivable loan for both the SAC and WAC charges in the amount of $16,170 for Pleasant Va subject to satisfactory underwriting. Motion carried. Voting Yes: Chairperson Steffen, Members Burandt, Cords, Heineman, Howell, and Riley. Voting No: None. Absent: None. 4.03: Anoka Area Chamber of Commerce: Manufacture Cohort: 2020-2021 Renewal Economic Development Manager Sullivan presented the staff report. Peter Turok, Anoka Area Chamber of Commerce, stated that in 2015 there was a need identified for the manufacturing industry, which was different than some of the other business sectors. He explained how the cohort was developed with input from the manufacturing businesses. He stated that 30 percent of the Ramsey workforce is in manufacturing. He stated that the cohort is one of the best things the Chamber has done. John LeTourneau, Anoka Area Chamber of Commerce, reviewed the mission statement of the cohort and highlighted some of the manufacturing businesses in Ramsey that the cohort has interacted with. He stated that over the past several years the focus has been on workforce acquisition, incumbent workforce development, and continuous improvement. He provided a highlight of the different networking that took place in the third quarter of 2019 and into 2020 and the issues that were discussed. He recognized that COVID-19 brought its own challenges, noting that the cohort assisted in directing businesses towards PPP opportunities and other lending and Economic Development Authority/ January 14, 2021 Page 4 of 14