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EDC Minutes April 20, 2018 Page 3 of 5 Beeman said the Center for Energy and Environment is offering a home improvement loan, a Mobil home loan, and an emergency loan, and none of the programs are tied to income limits. In addition, the Home Energy Squad will complete home energy audits for $50. Freichels asked how many have taken advantage of the programs. Beeman said no one has taken advantage of these programs so far and the programs have been advertised on the City’s website, Facebook, Twitter, local newspaper, the City’s newsletter, and they will be setting up a booth at the upcoming Town Hall meeting. Martin said he used a similar program in Minneapolis and he had a resident take advantage of the program. Egan said it is a good idea for the inspector to distribute information not only on the City programs but also the County programs. Larson asked about the cost and burden of demolishing older homes. Martin didn’t know the costs but said it would be a good program to look into. Update from Comprehensive Task Force Members Commissioner Dennis Farmer provided the EDC with an update on the most recent Comprehensive Task Force meeting. The Task Force met March 27, 2018 and they worked on a community survey to gain a better understanding of what residents and businesses like and don’t like about the City in regards to land use and if the Comprehensive Plan is consistent with those opinions. The City is requesting an extension to the Comprehensive Plan. Farmer said that there could be resistance from the Met-Council to delay the process because other communities need to have time to review the document and an extension many not give them enough time. The Town Hall meeting will have a section on the Comprehensive Plan. The main focus is finding out what the residents have in mind and interpreting their ideas to develop the City’s land use goals. Update from Commissioner Muckala on New Business Categories to fill Vacant Space in Mounds View Commissioner Teresa Muckala provided an update on her efforts in assisting with the new 2018 EDC goal, “Monitor & Explore New Business Categories through Trade Groups like Medical Alley and Identify Available Spaces in Mounds View with the Intent to Fill Those Vacancies with New Companies”. The idea is to attract start-up companies to fill the vacant space in some of our industrial buildings and growing them. Muckala and Beeman met with Medical Alley and Minnesota is rated number two in the country for medical companies behind Silicon Valley and ahead of Boston. Mounds View is a growing area for the medical industry and focusing on the suppliers may be the best approach. There are other areas such as Minnesota High-tech to focus on in recruiting businesses to fill vacant spaces. Beeman said most of the medical companies are situated north and south along Hwy 65 and mostly north of I-694. Many millennials are innovative and wanting to live and work in the same areas with updated amenities and working in information technology medical clusters who are looking for specialized space for research and possibly the need for clean rooms. Looking at incubator or collaborative space could be the solution to attract these millennials for start-up companies into our existing flex space. Meeting with Medical Alley has been a good start but we need to further develop where we go from here. Farmer mentioned the luxury apartments and how the Rice Creek Commons