05/02/2019 EDAC Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE AGENDA ITEM 3A STAFF ORIGINATOR: Monika Mann, Community Development Intern Michael Grochala, Community Development Director EDAC MEETING DATE: May 02, 2019 TOPIC: BRE Program Update BACKGROUND In June of 2016 EDAC, worked with Kristen Barsness of Barsness Consulting, prepared a draft Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) Program. The program has been on the back burner as development activity increased and staff time was limited. The BRE Program aims to promote reinvestment and facilitate employment growth within the community. The purpose of the program is to gather information about local business activity; anticipate changes in a company's status, and work to retain the businesses that provide the greatest positive economic impact. With the assistance of Jacquel Hajder, Anoka County Economic Development Specialist staff prepared a draft business survey for distribution. Questions and format were generally based on content GreaterMSP (Regional Economic Development) used in their outreach material. EDAC reviewed and provided feedback on a BRE survey in February 2019. Changes were made to the survey based on feedback from the committee. Staff sent out Business Retention and Expansion surveys to 40 local businesses with the hope of a 25% response rate. The City received 11 surveys back from various businesses. This data was reviewed and used to help the city understand what it can do to further support local businesses. Since reviewing the survey results, the City has already started working with Nicole Swanson at the Anoka County Job Training Center regarding opportunities to help businesses find employees. The City will be setting up general meetings with businesses in the coming months to further the discussions started. KEY FINDINGS • (Note: For multiple questions, businesses were able to choose multiple responses so responses will not add up to 11.) 1. Location Factors a. The most common factor for choosing Lino Lakes for business was proximity to major highway.