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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEDA Packet 06.21.22If you need accommodations for the EDA meeting please contact Rachel Juba at (651) 762-6304 or rjuba@ci.hugo.mn.us, thank you. Agenda ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (EDA) Tuesday, June 21, 2022 Hugo City Hall 5:30 PM 5:30 pm 1. Call to Order 5:31 pm 2. Roll Call (Arcand, Chrun, Denaway, Gallivan, Klein, Puleo, Roberts, Weidt) 5:32 pm 3. Approval of Minutes EDA Meeting of May 17, 2022 5:35 pm 4. Update on Washington County Community Development Agency (CDA) and Open to Business Program • Chris Eng, Economic Development Director, Washington County • Tyler Hilsabeck, Open to Business Program 6:00 pm 5. Update on Downtown Redevelopment 6:30 pm 6. Adjournment If you need accommodations for the EDA meeting please contact Rachel Juba at (651) 762-6304 or rjuba@ci.hugo.mn.us, thank you. Background memo for the EDA Meeting of Tuesday, June 21, 2022 3. Approval of Minutes Staff recommends approval of the minutes from the May 17, 2022 EDA Meeting as presented. 4. Update on Washington County CDA and Open to Business Program Chris Eng will be at the meeting to update the EDA on economic development in Washington County and activities of the Washington County CDA. Tyler Hilsabeck will also provide a first quarter of 2022 update on the meetings and loans provided to business owners in the area. 5. Update on Downtown Redevelopment Staff will update the EDA on downtown redevelopment. MINUTES FOR THE EDA MEETING OF MAY 17, 2022 Vice Chair Klein called the meeting to order at 5:30pm. PRESENT: Arcand, Chrun, Gallivan, Klein, and Puleo ABSENT: Denaway, Roberts, and Weidt STAFF: Bryan Bear, City Administrator Rachel Juba, Community Development Director APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR THE EDA MEETING OF MARCH 15, 2022 Commissioner Klein made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Puleo, to approve the March 15, 2022 EDA meeting minutes. Ayes: All. Nay: None. Motion carried. UPDATE ON HIGHWAY 61 VISIONING STUDY Staff provided an update to the EDA on the Washington County visioning and jurisdictional transfer study to be completed for Highway 61. The study will build on the existing layout that was developed with the City, Washington County, and MnDOT for the future expansion of Highway 61. The study will further evaluate the access locations and type of intersection improvements at each location. It will define the right-of-way needs for the future expansion and evaluate the future transit plans for the Rush Line corridor. The study will also analyze the future land uses along Highway 61 and transportation corridors that connect to the highway. Highway 61 is planned to be transferred to Washington County from MnDOT in the future. The study will develop a detailed implementation plan including future improvements, timing, cost, and agency responsibility for the transfer to occur. Washington County selected Bolton & Menk as the project consultant. Work will start soon on the study with several public engagement events and stakeholder meetings planned. UPDATE ON DOWNTOWN DEVELOPMENT PROJECT Staff provided an update on the new North Star Elementary School, 152nd Street intersection improvement, and Lions Park. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Klein made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Puleo, to adjourn at 5:45 pm. Ayes: All. Nay: None. Motion Carried. Respectfully submitted. Rachel Juba, Community Development Director WASHINGTON COUNTY Open to Business Updates Tyler Hilsabeck – Business Advisor 1/1/2022– 3/31/2022 Clients Served – 40 Business Stage: Existing Business: 16 Pre- Start Planning: 17 Start-Up: 6 Client Inquiry: 1* *Many Client Inquiries turn into meetings later. Program Hours: (Includes Direct Client Hours, Program Outreach & Marketing, Public Events/City Meetings, Data Collection and Administration) Total Contract 1st QTR: 505.0 Direct Financing YTD (business or resident) Number of Loans Approved: 3 MCCD Amount: $325,000 Leveraged: $180,000 Total Investment: $505,000 (Leveraged Amount includes Bank/Owner Equity/Other Outside Financing) Referral Source Bank Referral: 10 Friends/Family: 5 Municipality: 22 Website: 2 Other: 1 Industry Segment Construction/Real Estate: 2 Food: 11 Health/Fitness: 7 Professional/Consulting: 1 Retail: 5 Service: 13 Technology: 1 Client City (Residence/Business) Bayport: (1/0) Cottage Grove (3/4) Forest Lake (3/1) Hastings (1/1) Hugo (4/2) Lake Elmo (2/3) Other (4/5) Oakdale (2/3) Scandia (1/1) St. Paul Park: (2/1) Stillwater (3/7) Willernie (1/1) Woodbury (13/10) Direct Loans - (YTD 2022): Business Type: Restaurant Owner Location: Hugo, MN, restaurant is in St. Paul Referred by: Bank OTB Financing: $250,000.00 Owner Equity: $170,000.00 Overview: The business is 100% BIPOC-owned. The Hugo-residents currently own a building in St. Paul where they run their grocery store and they requested a $250,000 loan to build out and open a new authentic family restaurant within the same building. The original concept was created with a belief that newly arriving or long-term immigrants wanted groceries and ingredients from their homeland to make the United States feel like their original homeland. The restaurant is expected to open in July 2022. Business Type: Retail Business Location: Stillwater Referred by: Municipality OTB Financing: $25,000.00 Owner Equity: $10,000.00 Overview: This 100% woman-owned business will be opening a boutique store that focuses on witchcraft & holistic healing. The store will have ethically sourced & organic products, along with handcrafted products by the owner. The owner will also be offering classes on holistic healing, medicines, tarot reading, scrying & witchcraft classes. Products include witchcraft, ritual, divination supplies, along with herbs, crystals, oils, books and tarot. Business Type: Restaurant Owner Location: Hugo, MN, restaurant is in Cannon Falls Referred by: Bank OTB Financing: $50,000.00 Owner Equity: $13,000.00 Overview: The business is 100% BIPOC-owned and a long-running restaurant in Cannon Falls. One of the owners resides in Hugo. This loan will allow them to provide improvements and updates of the business. They are asking for $25,500 that will be used to purchase a new security system, new electric hot food table, reach in refrigerator, also to replace the rooftop HVAC system on their building. These funds will assist with property improvements and overall increase their profitability by offering a sound establishment. The remainder of the loan will be to consolidate higher interest rate loans. YTD Highlights, Networking, & Outreach Funding & Policy Updates • In February 2022 MCCD received a $250,000 grant from the Otto Bremer Trust, which is a new funding source for MCCD. These grant funds will be utilized to provide forgivable loans and grants to qualifying businesses within our CDFI target markets [BIPOC business owners, low wealth individuals, and businesses located in areas of under investment]. One of MCCD’s strategic objectives is to lower the cost of the capital we lend to our clients and we intend to continue to focus on securing grants for similar purposes in the future. • MCCD is pleased to announce that our 2022 allotment from MicroGrants is $25,000. MCCD has been an approved partner of Microgrants for many years and we apply for these grants on behalf of our existing qualifying clients. A microgrant is generally less than $5,000 and can be used for a variety of business expenses including inventory, technology, and equipment. • Last June MCCD received a $1.826M grant from the US Dept. of the Treasury’s CDFI Rapid Response Program. MCCD quickly put these funds to use last year to retroactively lower interest rates for 75 loan clients in our loan portfolio. Additionally, we capped our interest rate for new startup loans at 7%. In 2022, we’re pleased to report that these dollars will be further utilized to provide loans to qualifying businesses in our CDFI target markets at rates as low as 3% until this funding source is fully utilized. These changes to our loan policies reflect MCCD’s commitment to provide affordable and flexible capital to the communities we serve. Staffing Updates • MCCD welcomes our newest member of the OTB team, Luis Mendoza, as a floating Business Advisor and Loan Underwriter. Luis has a community lending background with a passion to help the BIPOC communities generate wealth by guiding and coaching individuals to fulfill their business ownership dreams. He is originally from Cozumel, an island located in the Mexican Caribbean. Previously, he worked as a Community Loan Officer and Underwriter and has also served in the nonprofit sector as a Homeownership Advisor, Financial Coach, and Business Advisor. Luis holds a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Management from the Universidad de Guadalajara and a Financial Coaching Foundations Certificate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Luis has a strong passion for helping individuals and small businesses to succeed. He is a native Spanish speaker and will serve clients throughout OTB territories. • Humphrey Fellow and Fulbright Exchange Scholar from Yemen, Eman Alaghbari, has extended her time with MCCD and will continue through Q2. Eman is working with MCCD leadership and the Open to Business team to learn about community and economic development strategies, tools, and resources. Eman will bring the knowledge she gains in Minnesota back to Yemen to provide new strategies for Yemeni entrepreneurs. Programming, Partnerships, & Trainings • January 28th: MCCD hosted a virtual community development focused policy and advocacy training for community partners. MCCD staff walked through how to navigate local, regional, and state government and guest speaker lawmakers were present to provide their insights also. • February 25th: In partnership with the MN Dept. of Labor, MCCD is hosted a live virtual Q&A session on labor policies, regulations, and resources for small business owners. The event was open to businesses in any stage and 19 businesses were in attendance. • March 7th: Seven MCCD staff members [including OTB team members Natalie, Luis, Vicky, Yoni, and Noah] began the National Development Council’s Economic Development Finance 101 class which will run through September. Graduates will build on their existing knowledge base and gain a further understanding of both the basic tools and newest techniques used by successful economic development finance practitioners to assist small businesses and create jobs. • March 31st: MCCD hosted the 3rd virtual Q&A with the University of MN Law School. This free virtual event was open to businesses at any stage. The event was at capacity with 16 businesses in attendance. The Q&A session was recorded and is available for viewing here. Additional legal Q&As will be held later this year. • May 4th: In partnership with Amplio, LEDC, WomenVenture, and the City of Woodbury, MCCD is co-hosting an in-person forum on nontraditional financing options including SBA programs, the MCCD loan program, and other regional CDFI lending options. The forum is free and open to lenders and partners in the surrounding region. More information & registration details available here. Advertising & Outreach • MCCD rolled out the new Open to Business advertisement library which we’ll use going forward in lieu of sending new ads via email each quarter. The ads in the library will always be up to date and new ads will be created and updated periodically so keep checking back. The library was created to help streamline how we share this information with partners. Access the Ad Library here and remember to check back periodically for updated ads. • MCCD recently created a new loan products brochure for lenders. It’s a concise, easy to understand summary of our loan products, mission, and target market. This new marketing material will help us communicate lending options when we engage in outreach to lending partners & stakeholders. The digital and print version is available in the ad library.