03/01/2010 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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3. Tourism Bureau: the city is now participating in Minnesota Metro North Tourism, the new convention and visitor's bureau. Funds raised from a hotel tax within the eight participating cities will be used to promote the hotels, the city, its attractions and its amenities. City staff and a representative from the Lino Lakes Hampton Inn participate on the board of directors. The board is in the process of hiring a marketing director and branding consultant. The website and marketing materials produced by the CVB will provide greater visibility for Lino Lakes. 4. Business retention and expansion: EDAC developed a business survey in 2008, the second undertaken by the committee. Businesses who indicated potential future expansion were contacted by staff and those with specific problems were acknowledged, if not resolved. Staff maintains contact with companies within the community, serves on the board of directors of the Quad Area Chamber of Commerce and coordinates a business expo during Blue Heron Days, designed to promote small business within the city. 5. Website: staff maintains a listing of land and buildings for sale and for lease on the city website, and is currently in the process of redeveloping its economic development website to be more visible on the city website and to provide more comprehensive resources for the user. A business directory is listed for access to local retail /service by business type. Marketing materials were developed in the 1990's to promote the development of two industrial parks, and resulted in award winning marketing materials that were effectively used to attract manufacturing facilities to the Apollo Business Park and the Clearwater Creek Business Park on 35E. These materials were mainly used as part of a general information packet that was sent as a result of inquiries, and used by brokers and developers. Through that marketing effort, and marketing of the Town Center area, the current Comprehensive Plan goal of raising the commercial /industrial market value from 4% to 10% of total market value by 2010 was achieved. The next step was to set goals for beyond 2010, which the city council did in 2007 as part of a council goal setting session. One goal was to diversify, expand and enhance the city's tax base, and the discussion of "branding" arose. Council objectives included identifying appropriate development areas and preparing a market analysis as part of the city's Comprehensive Plan. The marketing analysis that was completed for the draft Comp Plan estimates the amount of commercial and industrial square footage that Lino Lakes can absorb over time. Upon approval of the Comprehensive Plan, a city council objective was to complete a marketing study to align economic development and marketing strategies to the Comprehensive Plan. This study was to define opportunities and expectations based on available land and existing development standards, and provide the city with direction to determine how to brand the city and what marketing materials should be developed. A further objective was to establish a public relations campaign that is consistently applied by city council, staff and city advisory boards to ensure a positive economic 2