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5. Establish working relationships with state, regional, and local entities working on <br />business retention and growth within the County. <br />b. Convene practitioners and other stakeholders to address barriers and opportunities and to <br />encourage free flowing communication. <br />7. Assert a stronger voice at the legislature in advocating for sound economic policies and <br />authorities. <br />This document presents the draft of an Economic Development Strategic Plan for Washington <br />County, Minnesota. The Strategic Plan consists of the following nine sections. <br />Section I <br />Introduction <br />Section II <br />Planning Process <br />Section III <br />Washington County's Economy <br />Section IV <br />County Mission, Vision and Goals <br />Section V <br />Policy and Principles <br />Section VI <br />Strategies, Outcomes, and Structure <br />Section VII <br />Implementation <br />Section VIII <br />Appendices <br />The Washington County Board engaged Springsted, Incorporated to prepare a Washington <br />County Economic Development Strategic Plan. The plan focused on the following two elements: <br />1) Recommend an appropriate expanded role for Washington County including recommending a <br />viable structure for carrying out that role; and 2) Develop high-level strategies for encouraging <br />economic development within Washington County. The County spent considerable time this past <br />year engaged in discussing its role in economic development. The County Board conducted three <br />formal work sessions to discuss ideas, options and opportunities. Feedback was provided to the <br />staff and consulting team to move forward with developing a plan based on the direction from the <br />County Board. <br />Economic Development Work Group <br />An Economic Development Work Group supported the planning process by bringing a wealth of <br />knowledge and experience to the process and providing important local perspectives to the <br />discussion. The Work Group is comprised of economic development practitioners in Washington <br />County from municipal governments and public agency partners such as the Housing and <br />Redevelopment Authority. Members of the Work Group represented a cross section of roles and <br />responsibilities including a mayor, city administrators, assistant city administrators, planners, and <br />community development directors. <br />The economic development study pursued two simultaneous tracks: a community engagement <br />process and data analysis initiative. A brief summary of each follows: <br />Data Collection <br />Springsted retained the services of the University of Minnesota Extension Office to collect, <br />organize and analyze Washington County economic data to develop an understanding of the <br />current status of the economy in Washington County. Two formal presentations were held on the <br />2 <br />