Agenda Packets - 2009/03/23 (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

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Administrator Report April 13, 2009 Page 2 3. Visit Minneapolis North Convention and Visitor’s Bureau As you will have already noted, Item 7C of the agenda relates to Mounds View “opting out” of its agreement with Visit Minneapolis North. Three other cities were provided an early out opportunity—Fridley, Ham Lake and Anoka. (Four cities have already opted out.) We need to provide VMN with a response by the end of April to take advantage of the opt out opportunity. The ultimate goal, as Heidi reports, is to create a new convention and visitor’s bureau representing cities east of the Mississippi River. The new CVB would be initiated by the member cities for the purpose of marketing our local region, focusing the lodging tax dollars on our north metro area, rather than supporting marketing activities for destinations in Maple Grove, Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Center. I have been attending meetings with other city managers and administrators and we continue to refine draft bylaws for the new organization. The key tenets of the new CVB would be to minimize overhead costs, to be nimble, to maximize the effectiveness of regional marketing efforts and to acknowledge the importance and draw of the National Sports Center. As many as eight cities could become a part of the new CVB, which would necessitate the creation of a joint powers agreement in addition to the adoption of the CVB organizational structure and bylaws. I will continue to attend meetings relating to the new organization and will keep the Council informed on its progress. Finally, as Heidi states in her report, our participation is essential as it is one of the few tourism and marketing vehicles available to the City and allows the city to leverage its contribution with the surrounding north metro communities resulting in a more geographically relevant marketing impact. 4. Anoka County / Blaine Airport Advisory Commission Meeting The Anoka County / Blaine Airport Advisory Commission will be meeting on Wednesday, April 15th at the Blaine City Hall. This will likely be a well-attended meeting given the extent of the information and communication in circulation. I will be attending the meeting directly after attending a full-day loss control seminar sponsored by the League of MN Cities. If any Council members are interested in attending, I can provide you with additional information. Barbara Haake will be available at a subsequent Council meeting to provide the Council members with an update. 5. PSO Position Tyler Martin, the City’s new Public Service Officer, started on March 2, 2009. By all accounts, Tyler seems to be doing well and immediately began assisting Jeremiah with code enforcement responsibilities. Tyler has done code enforcement at his previous job and is quite familiar with the process. 6. Comcate Tracking Software The City Council authorized the purchase of new code enforcement software and equipment to be used by the code enforcement and housing code official Jeremiah Anderson. Jeremiah reports that the software and hardware have significantly simplified the tracking process. Jeremiah indicates that the average number of case opened in the first quarter the last three years has been 23. This year, 58 new cases were opened in the first quarter.