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City Council Item 11 – New CVB February 23, 2009 Page 2 of 3 The City Council annually appoints a City staff person to sit on the VMN Board of Directors. I currently serve on the Board. Periodically, a representative from VMN attends City Council meetings to provide updates. The City Council received the latest update from Executive Director Dave Looby on October 13, 2008. Mounds View also has received funds from VMN to support Festival in the Park. As detailed in the attached “2008 Official City Celebration Sponsorship Information & Application,” city celebrations are able to apply for funding to market and promote their celebration to the public through different communication methods (print advertising, website, brochure, etc). Each member city celebration is able to apply for $2,000 per year. I believe the Festival in the Park Committee received $2,000 from VMN in 2008. Discussion To reiterate what Clerk Administrator Jim Ericson reported in his e-mail to the City Council on February 11, 2009, there has been some discord within VMN about how the CVB is spending their funds. The National Sports Center, a coalition of hotels located east of the Mississippi River, two Chambers (including the Twin Cities North Chamber) and four cities have opted out of VMN. These groups are discussing the formation of a new CVB. The four cities that have opted out so far are Arden Hills, Shoreview, Blaine and Coon Rapids. The potential new CVB would represent cities east of the Mississippi River and VMN would continue to represent the cities west of the Mississippi River. City staff has been involved in the situation on different levels: Clerk Administrator Jim Ericson, Community Development Director Ken Roberts and I met with some of the proponents of the new CVB on January 5, 2009 and I have been involved with the board of directors and a special task force. Most recently, the Twin Cities North Chamber of Commerce passed the attached resolution dated February 3, 2009 supporting the potential new CVB. I attended a meeting of the cities located east side of the Mississippi River on February 18, 2009 at Coon Rapids City Hall. Those in attendance were representatives from Coon Rapids, Lino Lakes, Ham Lake, Fridley, Blaine and Shoreview. The purpose of the meeting was for the cities to discuss the potential new CVB. Next Steps The cities east of the Mississippi River are meeting on March 4, 2009 to further discuss the potential new CVB. This meeting may be held at Mounds View City