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City Administrator Norman replied he was proposing a City delegation of three, but this would <br />depend on who is involved in the Washington D.C. delegation. The City of Loudi would pay for <br />everything occurring in Loudi, including food, transportation and accommodations. Once the <br />delegation leaves Loudi they will be working with potential investors and developers. The <br />delegation would likely provide presentations at the hotel, and possibly visit one or two sites <br />after the presentations have been completed. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig suggested the name of the delegation be changed from Celebration <br />Delegation, as Loudi will be paying for that portion of the trip. The reason the City would be <br />expending funds would be related to business. <br /> <br />Chairperson Strommen questioned whether this request is ready to be funded without a firm <br />proposal on the number in the delegation and the amount being requested. <br /> <br />City Administrator Norman replied staff is requesting $4,500 for a delegation of three from the <br />Council Contingency Fund. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig suggested consideration of Economic Development Funds, rather than <br />Council Contingency Funds. He questioned if there will be measurable successes that will be <br />able to be shown after the trip is completed. <br /> <br />Veto Haegg, HSP & Associates, stated if the City is seriously considering bringing Chinese <br />development into Ramsey, at some point officials need to visit China. He explained the reason <br />the celebration and the business ventures are included together is because Loudi invited a <br />delegation to attend the celebration and it was considered that the delegation could represent <br />Ramsey in Loudi without a great cost. The delegation could then go on to do this due diligence <br />to determine if it is feasible to bring Chinese investment into Ramsey. <br /> <br />Councilmember Elvig suggested Jim Lasher may be appropriate to include in the delegation due <br />to his involvement with management services in the Town Center core area. <br /> <br />Chairperson Strommen indicated she understands the need to assess the viability of bringing <br />Chinese business into Ramsey. However, she questions if it is known that the delegation <br />consists of the right people and if it is necessary for three individuals to be included in an <br />exploratory trip. She noted there may be trade opportunities for Ramsey businesses, and these <br />businesses have not been brought into this discussion. There are a lot of manufacturing <br />businesses located in Ramsey, and these types of businesses are competing with China. She <br />stressed the importance of bringing the Ramsey businesses in from the outset to determine if this <br />relationship could be beneficial as a trade opportunity, rather than a competitive situation. <br /> <br />Mr. Haegg explained the Chinese want to purchase American products, and China will be <br />investing a lot of money in the United States. He stressed there is no guarantee of results on this <br />trip, but he thinks it is wise to visit China to explore the opportunities because there is a great <br />deal of interest. <br /> <br />Finance Committee / April I1, 2006 <br /> Page 3 of 5 <br /> <br /> <br />