EDA- Special Meeting

City of Hinckley EDA- Special Meeting Minutes Tuesday, August 20, 2024 at 12:00 PM Council Chambers (Community Room) 106 First Street SE, P. O. Box 366 | Tel: (320) 384.7491 | Fax: (320) 384.7492 | ww.hinckleymn.gov 1. Call to Order Pursuant to due call and notice, the special meeting of the Hinckley Economic Development Authority was called to order by EDA President Dave Ubl on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, at 12:05 p.m. Members present: EDA President Dave Ubl, EDA Commission Members: Reid Davis, Tim Burkhardt, Wayne Cessna, and Don Zeman. Members absent: Pine County EDA Coordinator Lezlie Sauter. Also present are City Administrator Leaha Jackson, Planning and Zoning Administrator Mark Perry, and resident Desirae Kirchmeier 2. Approve Agenda Motion made by Cessna, seconded by Davis, to approve the agenda as presented. Voting Yea: President Ubl, Davis, Cessna, Zeman, Burkhardt. Motion Carried 5-0. 3. Minutes A. July 24, 2024 Motion made by Burkhardt, seconded by Davis to approve the July 24, 2024 minutes. Voting Yea: President Ubl, Davis, Cessna, Zeman, Burkhardt. Motion carried 5-0. 4. EDA Payables/Financials A. July 2024 Financials & Payables Staff presented the July 2024 financials and payables of $202.00. Motion made by Cessna, seconded by Zeman, to approve the July 2024 financials and payables as presented. Voting Yea: President Ubl, Davis, Cessna, Zeman, Burkhardt. Motion carried 5-0. 5. New Business A. Desirae Kirchmeier Presentation Desirae Kirchmeier presented some ideas she gathered over the last few years after moving back to the community. Some of these are inspired by other communities she has visited and the contact she has had with others in the community. She has many ideas, but after looking through the City of Hinckley/Hinckley EDA 2020 Economic Development Strategic Plan, she wanted to focus on two as they seem to fit the plan. The first idea is to have something to draw visitors to the City, particularly the downtown area. This could be achieved through something like a Then & Now program, a History Hop style tour, or murals located throughout the community. Then & Now could include historical details on buildings downtown that  could be showcased in the vacant buildings' windows, drawing attention to what the building has been and hopefully could be in the future. This historical information could also be worked into a History Hop style tour that would utilize an app. on the phone to guide visitors on a tour of historical locations and places of interest. This type of project would rely heavily on the Fire Museum's participation and hopefully direct visitors to this valuable community asset. Jackson responded that she had heard of some communities using window clings to highlight potential business opportunities in vacant buildings. They could depict what it would look like inside if that business were there. The other idea Desirae presented is to have some business networking event(s). This could be an annual networking event with a keynote speaker, a business appreciation event, or a “wine” walk where people visit the local downtown businesses. Don Zeman proposed having a vacant/blight ordinance for downtowns. This was an idea presented at an event he attended last year. Perry noted that an ordinance can do some things, but having owners have to put/pay for specific window items might be outside the enforceable bounds of such an ordinance. Jackson noted that many of these items would be part of another group like the Hinckley Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Hinckley Chamber. She will connect with each group to see if they are interested in having a combined meeting to discuss the above ideas. Desirae will look into more information, including potential costs for items like window clings and an app where tours could be developed. 6. Old Business A. Signs Update Jackson updated the group on the proposed sign parcel's ownership, noting that it is BNSF property. We are waiting for the lease division to get in touch with us. Also included in the packet was a preliminary design from Colors By Craig. The general impression was that they liked the design but thought the arrows needed to be clearer. They liked the example from Winona and Pine City. For this welcome sign, the arrows below could be Downtown, Shopping, Dining, Parks & Trails, and Museum. Jackson advised against doing more than five at this location as the traffic will not have time to process much more, and the message will get lost. Jackson will connect with Colors By Craig to see if he can update and refine the design. We can then work on getting some preliminary costs. 7. Adjournment Motion made by Cessna, seconded by Davis, to adjourn the EDA business meeting at 1:17 p.m. Voting Yea: President Ubl, Davis, Cessna, Zeman, Burkhardt. Motion carried 5-0. Attest: _____________________________________ David Ubl, President ___________________________________ Secretary Leaha M. Jackson