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City Council Meeting Minutes April 27, 1999 • Page 3 1 Thuesen asked whether an Economic Developer could be effective in dealing with the developers 2 of St. Anthony Shopping Center and Apache Plaza since both are privately owned. Ms. 3 Roadfeldt stated that an Economic Developer would work directly with these businesses to sell 4 the City, promote a clear message of what the City wants, and develop a relationship over time. 5 6 Marks stated that how the Council has approached this issue is not well-known, and the City's 7 Housing and Redevelopment Authority, on which the Councilmembers serve as Commissioners, 8 has responsibility for redevelopment within the City. He added City Manager Mike Mornson is 9 the Executive Director of that organization and carries out the City's redevelopment function. 10 11 Marks asked what percentage of Mornson's time is spent on redevelopment. Mornson stated it 12 varies dependent upon the number of projects and level of activity, but on average he spends 13 25% of his time on redevelopment. Marks asked whether, in Mornson's opinion, an Economic 14 Developer on staff would do what Mornson does not currently have time to do. 15 16 Mornson expressed reservations with regard to hiring an Economic Developer as he doesn't see a 17 need for such a position. He stated that the main areas for development, St. Anthony Shopping Center and Apache Plaza are retail which are the most difficult areas to redevelop due to visibility, market issues and landlord/tenant issues. He expressed concern that an Economic 20 Developer on staff would not be any more effective than current Staff primarily because the 21 majority of issues that are slowing development down are outside the City's control. 22 23 Mornson agreed that there are a lot of grants available which the City has not had time to pursue 24 and this has not been a recent priority as projects must be identified and grants are income 25 sensitive, and the City does not qualify for some of the grants because the City's income levels 26 are too high. 27 28 Ranallo corrected Ms. Roadfeldt with regard to the Salvation Army camp which is not officially 29 for sale and a decision has not been made that it will be sold. He added that the camp owners are 30 sensitive to such incorrect statements. Ms. Roadfeldt stated she had heard on the radio and read 31 in the newspaper that the camp was for sale, and expressed concern that the City must be 32 proactive. Ranallo stated a lot of information is floating around but the sale has not been 33 confirmed. 34 35 Marks expressed his thanks to Ms. Roadfeldt for her research and information on possible 36 funding sources for redevelopment. Ms. Roadfeldt stated that the Roseville City Planner was 37 aware that some grants are income sensitive and didn't think that would be a problem for the 38 City. 39 A. Councilmembers.