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Councilmember Riley stated that he does not think that having everything for Happy Days fall on <br />Staff is the right way to do it, nor is hiring someone out. He added that they have also gotten <br />comments that people do not know how to volunteer to help with the event. He said that they need <br />to have a positive committee for this. <br /> <br />Finance Director Lund asked if they would be looking for volunteers or a partnership for Happy <br />Days. She shared that she lives in Coon Rapids, and they have their outside agencies partner with <br />them and they take over a big portion of events like Happy Days. <br /> <br />Councilmember Musgrove noted that the City has a partnership with some of the churches in the <br />area. She suggested that some aspects of the event could be taken over by these partner churches. <br /> <br />Parks and Assistant Public Works Director Riverblood explained that there are a number of <br />volunteer entities that are involved in the day of operations of the event. <br /> <br />Councilmember Olson added that Ramsey does not have an ambassador program, which a lot of <br />communities in the area do have. He noted there would not need to be a lot of financial investment <br />from the City for this. He shared this would help promote the community and would be a fun <br />addition to Happy Days. <br /> <br />City Administrator Hagen asked if the Council thinks that Happy Days needs to expand from just <br />an event to having many things to do at the event. He noted that if it gets too large, they will <br />struggle with where to put it. <br /> <br />Councilmember Riley stated they should continue to improve Happy Days. <br /> <br />City Administrator Hagen asked if there is anything that anyone has seen in other communities <br />that the City is not currently doing that would be nice to try to bring to the City. <br /> <br />Councilmember Specht asked about Anoka’s front porch revamping program. <br /> <br />Planning Manager Larson shared they do not have any home improvement type programs that are <br />City based. <br /> <br />Councilmember Musgrove shared that it is a grant that can be applied through the County or the <br />State. She asked if this would work through the EDA. <br /> <br />Economic Development Manager Sullivan said it could be managed by a number of different <br />entities, including the EDA. He shared they just had a meeting with the County where they were <br />talking about some of the legacy funds that are being collected in sales tax. He added that Coon <br />Rapids has a curb appeal program as well. He explained that the County may be the funding source <br />for this program; however, they would have to use these dollars to do something that the County <br />is not already doing. He stated this can be done, they just need a funding source. <br /> <br />City Administrator Hagen said Staff can look into this further to bring back some discussion. <br /> <br />City Council Special Work Session / February 1, 2024 <br />Page 9 of 20 <br /> <br />