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Mr. Joseph David Strauss • July 7, 1988 Page 2 cities possess some development powers, particularly the development powers granted under the Municipal Development Districts Act, Minnesota Statutes, Sections 469.124 to 469.134. Cities also possess the power to create housing and redevelopment authorities under the Municipal Housing and Redevelopment Act, Minnesota Statutes, Sections 469.001 to 469.047, and to grant to municipal housing and redevelopment authorities certain powers to undertake housing projects and redevelopment projects the purpose of which is to eliminate blighted or deteriorated areas within the city. In 1986, the Minnesota Legislature granted to municipalities within the state the additional power to create development entities known as economic development authorities. - For your information, I have attached to this letter a brief outline of the statutory provisions relating to the creation and operation of economic development authorities. Under the legislation relating to economic development authorities, cities are authorized to create an economic development authority and to grant to the economic development authority all of the powers of a municipal housing and redevelopment authority and all of the powers of a city under the Development' Districts Act, referred to above. In addition, economic development authorities possess certain other economic development powers which are set forth in the statute relating to economic development authorities. A summary of those powers is also found on the attached outline. If the intent of the Northern Mayors' Association is to create a joint development entity with the broadest possible development powers, it is our recommendation that the joint powers agreement be entered into by economic development authorities created by each member city. The joint powers agreement could authorize the joint economic development authority to exercise some or, all of the powers possessed by each of the individual members. The agreement could also set forth any limitations on the exercise of those powers. For example, the agreement could require that before the joint economic development authority undertook any projects within the jurisdictional limits of an individual member, the consent of the individual member would have to be obtained. The agreement could also limit the ability of the joint economic development authority to issue bonds or other obligations and could contain any other limitations which the members deemed appropriate. The creation of this type of arrangement involving your member cities appears to further your organization's goals as presented to us at our meeting. The joint economic development authority would have the ability through contributions from the participating local economic development authorities to raise funds to promote economic development activities on an area-wide basis throughout your organization's territorial limits. Each economic development authority is statutorily authorized to request its city to levy a tax in an amount up to .75 mill times the assessed valuation of taxable property within the city. The proceeds of such levy are to be made available to the economic development authority to fund the authority's activities. A portion or all of that levy could be contributed by the local economic development authorities to the operation of the joint economic development authority under the joint powers agreement between the local authorities. In addition to the proceeds of the special tax mill levy, the joint economic development authority, if authorized under the joint powers agreement, could utilize other funding sources, such as grants