04-18-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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EDC Minutes March 21,2008 Page 2 of 7 • Chair Helgemoe took the opportunity to advertise the Chamber's upcoming annual golf tournament to be held at Majestic Oaks on Tuesday,June 3rd. The event is a fundraiser for the Chamber. He encouraged Mounds View businesses,their employees and residents to support the event by golfing or donating items for the silent auction. He added that he attended the Chamber luncheon yesterday at The Mermaid where the chief economist from Wells Fargo spoke about the economy and how investment houses are lacking assets since there is no market for hybrid securities. Chair Helgemoe also mentioned that the search committee has narrowed down the choices for a new Chamber president. Commissioner Entsminger reminded the group that the Mounds View Town Hall Meeting is scheduled for Saturday, April 19th from 9:OOam until noon. Finally, Chair Helgemoe congratulated Commissioner Belting on moving into a new building (Commissioner Belting's business, Silver View Chiropractic, has a new home in Mounds View City Center Suites). Commissioner Belting added that it was nice to stay in Mounds View. 6. EDC BUSINESS A. Continue Discussion Regarding Internal Public Communications/Marketing Assessment Ms. Steinmetz explained that this discussion began last month. She reminded the EDC • that last month they discussed Mounds View entrance road signs and that the Council is leaning towards the design that is not preferred by the EDC. Ms. Steinmetzposed several questions for the EDC to consider regarding public communications and marketing. The first question was "Is creative and low cost branding something the City should consider'?" She referenced an article she included in the EDC's meeting packet about other cities that have completed branding exercises. Chair Helgemoe responded"Yes". He added that everyone has something to sell. The City wants to sell itself and present itself in the best light possible. He asked "Why wouldn't we want to have some sort of a symbol and/or marketing that is recognizable, creates a positive feeling and is identifiable'?" He can't imagine why the City would not want to do that. He mentioned that Coon Rapids has undertaken branding and they've had decent results. Commissioner Belting concurred with Chair Helgemoe's comments. He thinks it's important to"make yourself relevant/stay relevant and branding is certainly a way to do that;" however he believes we should continue to be conscious about cost. He referenced that staff seems to be conscious of that per the staff report. Chair Helgemoe agreed but posed the question "Can you really afford not to?" He added "in life you need to spend a little bit to get a better return" and although it may be hard to quantify the results, he thinks the benefit would outweigh the costs. • Commissioner Entsminger agreed and pointed out that she doesn't like the road sign design at all. She said it reminds her of something one would see up north near a cabin