Forward New Richmond Committee

Forward New Richmond Committee Meeting Agenda Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at 12:00 PM Council Chambers Page 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. ROLL CALL 3. ADOPTION OF AGENDA 4. CONSENT AGENDA a. Minutes from: 2-3 Forward New Richmond Committee - 18 Jan 2023 b. Community Development Monthly Updates - February 2023 4-5 Memo: Community Development Updates 5. CONTINUING BUSINESS a. Strategic Planning Process 6 Memo: Strategic Planning Process 6. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE UPDATES 7. ST CROIX EDC UPDATES 8. COMMUNICATIONS AND MISCELLANEOUS 9. ADJOURNMENT  Forward New Richmond Committee Meeting Minutes Wednesday, January 18, 2023 at 12:00 PM Council Chambers The Forward New Richmond Committee was called to order on Wednesday, January 18, 2023, at 12:00 PM, in the Council Chambers, with the following members present: PRESENT: Mike Montello, Susan Lockwood, Rob Kreibich, Summer Seidenkranz, Ryan Shervey, and Carrie Borgstrom ABSENT: Karl Skoglund, Heather McAbee and Cathy Longtin OTHERS Noah Wiedenfeld, Beth Thompson and Katrina Berg PRESENT: CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL ADOPTION OF AGENDA Mike Montello made a motion to adopt the Agenda as presented. Rob Kreibich seconded the motion. Carried unanimously. CONSENT AGENDA Mike Montello made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Susan Lockwood seconded the motion. Carried unanimously. CONTINUING BUSINESS STRATEGIC PLAN: GOALS, OBJECTIVES, STRATEGIES, AND TACTICS Noah Wiedenfeld continued the discussion regarding Strategic Planning for the City of New Richmond. Strategic Planning helps in the following ways: • See how the work we do each day ties back to a larger goal • Stay focused on priorities with measurable results • Identify and evaluate alternative options • Explain the “why, what and how” to the community • Evaluate performance and ensure accountability • Allocate resources Forward New Richmond Committee Meeting January 18, 2023 Noah then discussed how the process should take place starting with goals, objectives, strategies and tactics. The question was asked “What do we want to achieve in the next five years from an economic development lens?” Brainstorming ideas were brought forward: • Become a destination location for new businesses • Help existing businesses prosper and grow in New Richmond • Improve the vibrancy of the historic downtown • Attract visitors from outside the area to support local businesses • Support entrepreneurs and start-up business ventures • Offer a diverse supply of housing options for all ages and incomes • Become a destination community for people looking to relocate from the Twin Cities • Increase development along the STH 64 corridor • Attract young professionals and boomerang talent The FNR committee prioritized the big picture goals and discussed how to measure those goals. The next meeting will include the top goals and start discussions on objective, strategies and tactics. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE UPDATES Rob Kreibich reported that the Chamber of Commerce is one week away from their annual dinner with more than 200 people signed up. They are also at 497 Chamber members with hopes to be at 500 before the end of the month. ST. CROIX EDC UPDATES Bill Rubin discussed the 2022 St. Croix EDC Businesses of the year. They are Keystone Medical Technologies (Emerging Business of the Year) from Somerset, Croix Valley Foods (Small Business of the Year) from Hudson, and Isometric Micro Molding (Business of the Year – 30 employees or more) from New Richmond. The event to honor these amazing businesses will be held on Thursday, February 16 at Ready Randy’s. Bill also reported that the County enjoyed an exceptional year of the extra ½ cent of sales tax, the total for 2022 coming in at $11.8M collected. COMMUNICATIONS AND MISCELLANEOUS Katrina handed out a “homework assignment” for the committee members that consists of future land use planning for the northeast side of the City and that ETJ area. Katrina requested that the committee complete this project and return it back to the City by February 1, 2023. ADJOURNMENT Mike Montello made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Summer Seidenkranz seconded the motion. Carried unanimously. Forward New Richmond Committee Meeting January 18, 2023  MEMO Prepared for: Mayor Jim and City Council Staff Contact: Beth Thompson Meeting: Forward New Richmond Committee - 15 Feb 2023 Subject: Community Development Monthly Updates - February 2023 BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Building / Zoning Updates – January 31, 2023: Number of Building Permits – 14 Number of New Dwelling Units – 1 Number of Inspections - 116 Residential Construction Value - $557,587.50 Commercial Construction Value – $658,445.00 Building Permit Fees – $10,708.25 Economic Development: The State of Wisconsin Mainstreet Bounceback program stopped accepting applications on December 31, 2022. St. Croix County ended with 174 successful applications totaling a payout of $1.74 million. St. Croix's applications reflected 20.2 percent of the 860 awarded in the seven County region of West Central Wisconsin. Below, is a breakdown of the program by County. The City received a year-end letter from Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), and they gave the following accomplishments over the past few years. • Stimulating businesses to fill 8,500+ vacant storefronts in all 72 counties thorough the $100 million Mainstreet Bounceback program (as I have shown above).  • Addressing local workforce needs by investing $128 million in the Workforce Innovation Grant program. • Focusing on entrepreneurs, including more than 800 startup businesses, who in 2021 reported creating 6,700 jobs, $495 million in revenue, and $766 million in new funding. • Helping businesses be prepared to compete in the global marketplace, including hosting six WEDC trade ventures in 2022 and assisting Wisconsin companies in boosting exports by nearly 12%. Two main focuses for the month of January was completing two state required reports - Housing Affordability Report and Housing Fee Report. The reports can be found here. The second focus was making several calls for recruiting new industrial and commercial businesses. The phone calls were to site selectors, brokers, marketing specialist, etc. To date, thirty calls have been completed with four good prospective commercial or industrial leads. Press Release: On February 8, 2023, the property located at 262 N Knowles Avenue, known locally as the former Dairy Queen site, was purchased by private developer Londyn Land II LLC, a Minnesota limited liability company. Londyn Development has been successful in acquiring, entitling, and developing properties in and around the Twin Cities for nearly a decade. The property was originally purchased by the City of New Richmond in late 2017 as part of a larger vision to spur redevelopment in the downtown and on the north side of New Richmond. The City of New Richmond razed the now-former Dairy Queen building shortly thereafter and continued to solicit and review proposals from interested private parties since that time. Between the land sale proceeds and the tax revenue generated from new construction, the City of New Richmond will be made whole for its costs associated with the initial property acquisition and abatement. The former Dairy Queen site is now one of several properties which have been sold by the City of New Richmond in recent years for development by the private sector. “When we purchased the property a few years ago, we always planned to find a private developer who could contribute to the revitalization of the downtown and the north side of New Richmond” said Mayor Jim Zajkowski. “We are pleased with the land sale and look forward to the future redevelopment of the former Dairy Queen site by Londyn Development.” Mayor Zajkowski also pointed out that another downtown redevelopment project, Beebe Lofts, currently under construction, will soon have 50 apartments available for seniors within walking distance of multiple downtown businesses and the future library. This project also involved public investment by the City of New Richmond. Similar to the former Dairy Queen site, the City of New Richmond will be made whole for the costs associated with property acquisition and demolition through the tax revenue generated from the new building. Both public-private partnerships will help spur downtown revitalization and grow the tax base. Page 2 of 2  MEMO Prepared for: Forward New Richmond Staff Contact: Noah Wiedenfeld Meeting: Forward New Richmond Committee - 15 Feb 2023 Subject: Strategic Planning Process BACKGROUND INFORMATION: At our last meeting, Forward New Richmond discussed possible goals for the next five years. The goals receiving the most "votes" were as follows: • Become a destination location for new businesses • Help existing businesses prosper and grow in New Richmond • Improve the vibrancy of the historic downtown • Offer a diverse supply of housing options for all ages and incomes • Increase development along the STH 64 corridor At our February meeting, we will discuss potential objectives (specific, measurable outcomes), strategies (long-term areas of focus), and tactics (short-term action steps) for each goal.