like that. So if you push this the one here with the three dots, then your mic is on. So when there's no light, the mic is on. Economic Development Authority. First, we'll start with roll call. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Members present
include Anderson, Belco, Kota, Larson, Moore, Chaeld, Soilik, and White. Thank you. Any agenda amendments? None at this time. Okay. All right. Then we we'll
look for a motion and a second for approval of last meeting's minutes. White moves to approve. Second. More. All in favor? I. Any opposed?
Uh any citizens to address the board? I don't think there's anything. Is there anything outside of our presentations or MBA? Nope, just MBA I believe today. So, okay. Yep. Sorry. That's okay. I'm new. So,
um, so at the MBA, we pride ourselves in giving businesses the tools that they need to build strong roots within our community. And in the past two months, we did that by attending uh the SBDC's uh AI conference, which was awesome. Uh
it really helped some of our businesses find out different ways that they can utilize and save time. We also had our big party golf tournament where 36 teams got together and got to network and hang out and do mulligans, which I didn't know what
those were. So, I learned a lot about golf that day. Um but yeah, we have our expo coming up uh J on the 23rd of this month actually um at the Courtyard by Marian. And as
always, we have our weekly meetings at the American Legion at noon and our nonprofit connect on the third Thursday at the village 7:30 a.m. Join us. Thank you, Stasia. All right. I don't believe we have any
commissioners reports, so we will jump into our presentations. First one with West Central Initiative. Ben. Hi, Mr. Chair and members of the EDA. My name is Ben Shy. I'm with West Central
Initiative. I know many of you, but um those of you who don't know me, I I started at West Central about a year ago as a director of civic partnerships. So, I know the city of Morhead has a a deep relationship with West Central Initiative on a number of projects over the years. Greg Wagner, who usually
presents um to this board, is was unavailable today, so he asked the JV squad to present for him today. So, here I am. Um but yeah, just I think also Rick Sher was with uh was in town last week and gave you all a copy of the annual report. So, I thought I'd just
maybe highlight a couple things um in that report and then stand for any questions if you have them. But, um yes, so this next year uh West Central Initiative is celebrating 40 years in in the region. We serve a nine county region uh and portion of the White Earth
Nation. And as many of you know, Deb served on our uh board of directors for a number of years, and Emily is currently on the uh EDDD board um that serves the district, which is unique because we as the we're a community foundation, but we're also a uh regional
planning and economic development organization, uh one of nine in the state, but we're the only one uh that serves both of those roles. And we're the only one that doesn't have taxing jurisdiction over the area that we we serve, which is important. And so we rely on relationships between the
communities. Um, and of course I think hope you would agree that we have a strong relationship uh with with Morehead over the last 40 years. In fact, that check that Rick uh some of you saw, I don't have mine. I think it's more than $13 million which has come
back into the city uh city limits of Morehead since um since we started back in 1986. But if a couple things I wanted to highlight on page eight of the annual report is is the project that we started a couple years ago. It's a rural democracy
project. It's one that I work closely with and we do a number of different um we do a number of things. We we train people to run for local office and um through the run for rural program and that's it's really important in our
region. I uh outside of course Morehead is the largest city in in the region but there are nine counties there's 82 cities there's 235 townships there's 410 units of government in the nine counties in the portion of white earth that we
serve in takes a lot of people to serve in those positions to keep our region strong uh so we thank you all to all of you for serving those u positions that you do but uh a lot of a lot of times there's challenges to find those people who are going to serve in those rural communities So, um, that's one of the
things we do. We train, we find, recruit and support candidates for local office. And we also work with those in exist, uh, who are currently in office. And one of the, uh, programs I'd like to highlight is the the mayor's network. Currently, there's 10 communities in our region who are, uh, in the process. The
bids have been let. They're they've been accepted. We're, um, the projects are are um are are uh, being scheduled as we as we speak. But there's 10 communities uh in the region that are putting smallcale solar on their public buildings in partnership with Ottertale Power Company and also uh taking
advantage of the 30% tax credits uh through the IRA. And I bring that up because as we were at the League of Minnesota Cities conference last week, we were presenting on the success of that program. And I would I would make note that that is uh these are smallcale solar projects. they're 40KW or less,
but they are impactful in communities uh the size of uh like Ogma, for example, um or um some of the smaller communities. So, I think it's a real uh example of the intersection of the work we're doing that is um at that intersection of climate and democracy. If some of these smaller communities in
our regions can see them as part of a clean energy future um and seeing the benefits, I think it um it it it's beneficial to all of us. But I mentioned that uh at that conference uh representative from the Minnesota Department of Commerce came up after the
uh presentation and said that they are because of some of the changes in the law, the federal tax direct tax uh rebates under the IRA, they're looking to free up some of their funding to make to leverage those federal funds. And the first thing I said was there are a
number of communities in our region that we serve that are in a donnut hole if you will for these um clean energy projects like the smallcale solar on municipal buildings because they're municipal utilities which Morehead is. So Morehead, Detroit Lakes, Alexandria um most of the communities in our region
that are served by Ottertale Power are uh eligible for private utility rebates. Those served by XL Energy are eligible for XL Energy through the state. Um, and so Morehead, I think, is an example of a community that if the Department of Commerce wants to get some of those
funds out, um, would be a candidate. And so, we're having a follow-up call with them this week. But it's it's one example of the, um, partnerships that we'd like to explore with Morhead if if that is of interest to the city of Morehead to u take advantage of um, you know, these projects that we're doing in
those 10 communities I mentioned are all uh, cash flowing within two years. So, when you're talking about a 30-year lifespan of a solar project on a uh public building a payback of two years. You can see that that's 28 years of savings to a community and to the taxpayers. So those are the kind of
projects we like to trumpet. On page 14, it talks about the economic development work, which is of course the work that you're all in. Um just a couple things I wanted to highlight. Um this this board of course is familiar with the um
the Morhead Mall Center redevelopment project and there's just in the last 12 months there's three projects that received more than um $550,000 um in funding from that and the promise act grant. Uh Greg also wanted me to mention that there's a new round that
they're working with um on those promise act grants. Couple other things I'll mention real quick. If you turn to page 26, I'd mentioned that we're not we don't have taxing authority, so we rely on partnerships with um the communities that we serve.
And we're very thankful of the relationship that we have with Morehead. We want to continue um that relationship. And so we'll also be following up um with the request for you to continue the funding that you've provided in the past. But I just wanted to um if then you turn the one one last
page some of the grant recipients some of the funds that are going out of our um out of our doors and just highlight uh you you can look through the list you can see a number of Morehead communities or I'm sorry number of Morehead uh organizations on that list but through
our component funds there were 13 grants in the last 12 years that went to um to within the city limits of Morehead and then also uh the discretionary grant funs And that's you see the list um here. But all told there was more than
there were 17 grants that went to Morehead organizations uh totally more than $230,000. And I think we all know that um how what of a difference uh some of those grants can make in the in the nonprofits and the um organizations that
are serving the community. So um it's probably longer than I intended to take, but I just wanted to say thanks for the partnership. uh we we really value the work that you all do and if you have any questions I'm happy to answer it but um just thank you for your time and
you do any questions or comments from commissioners. Okay, Derek, I'll just say and thank you Ben for being here too and and um you know I'll say we value the the partnership with West Central Initiative. I know some of the things you mentioned too, certainly
those uh gap financing tools that West Central has to offer has been critical to supporting those businesses. As mentioned, that Main Street program of over 500,000 going into uh significant projects up and down our Center Avenue corridor, including I think three projects within the the Center Mall
district. Uh we're we're I mean huge values in just getting us kind of started in the right direction. We're looking forward obviously to see what that promise grant uh will will offer. We've been working closely with Greg on, you know, some of that language. Um, you know, anytime we get these grants that
come out through West Central, as Ben knows, um, a lot of times are are kind of hamstrung from the state parameters of who is eligible or who's not. Uh but we try our best in partnership certainly with Stacia at the MBA and uh EDC and others that we uh are are telling that
story and giving our businesses every opportunity to take advantage of grants that are out there cuz we certainly want our our users to to have a fair shake at some of these funds that are coming through uh the state process. And the last thing I'll say that we're grateful
for too is um uh every quarter now and this just uh restarted here this past year uh we've been uh having a economic development professionals meeting. So across all the the counties and the leadership that uh West Central serves, but uh many of the economic development
professionals are are getting together and uh discussing kind of the latest trends and and opportunities and challenges that we're facing. Uh I had the opportunity to to kind of co-host the last one that we did in in Fergus and uh Mr. Kevin Bartram came down who's doing the the Mills project down in
Fergus, but uh we we looked at kind of um you know what cities Kevin looks at to to do development, what he is as a developer looking and and hoping to get out of with some of these partnerships and and certainly just kind of talk through some of the um the things that
he's looking to from a certainty standpoint. And we talk about that as this group of, you know, how we act as an EDA, as a council, etc. And and certainly as industry uh professionals or those inside city staff, you know, these developers uh are looking for for
that clarity and and certainly the opportunities to do project in a timely manner, too. So, we thank West Central for hosting those economic development professional meetings because the more we can be stronger as a region, the certainly the more projects we're going to have in this area, too.
Well said. Thank you, Derek. Thank you, Ben, for being here. Yeah, thanks. And I just would, if I could, Mr. Chair, just comment on Derek just real quick. Thank you. Because like you said, strong region. I mean, I think Morehead, the leadership that Morhead provides for this region and the expertise um is invaluable to some of
the other communities that again strengthening them strengthens the entire region. So, we really thank Derek and uh all of you for the leadership that you provide for the region. Thanks again, Ben. Thanks, Next up, we have Laura Karun with the Spark Center for Entrepreneurship.
Sure. Um, say Cher, if I could do by way of introduction. Yes, Dan. And a little update on the community center library. Before you leave, mayor, thank you for everything. I'm a huge fan. It's good to see you. Thanks for taking the tour. Great to see you. Okay. Uh, the um, so a quick little update. Uh,
Laura will be explaining, I don't want to take away too much of her thunder, but related to the community center library. Um uh a reminder just to everybody that kind of wasn't aware, just a little history as far as um how we got here. So in November of 2022, voters approved a local option sales tax
for this project that we're talking about. There is a a couple of really pretty significant buckets that were kind of part of that idea. There would be this library which would also serve as a community center which um you know folks talked about u a walking loop um where there was opportunities for
activity and movement. We talked about uh a library of the future um this center for entrepreneurship um which uh received a grant for $1 million from the small business administration uh to support the work uh
that um Laura Karun and Luminary has been doing. Um there's been some um some participation matching funds that have come out of the EDA. So thank you for that right out of the bat. And then one of the things that's really neat about this project that has been part of it since the very beginning is the idea of making it worthy of the future. Um, and
so this kind of commitment to young people. The whole second floor is there's a there's this incredible uh uh children's library uh and kind of an indoor play area that is is um really special. I'll just say it that way. So
the design of this facility and the ability um for what it will be that was informed out of a master plan that informed the comprehensive plan in the community and some of the work that was going in. We're into the full on doing now. We'll be hearing about that from
Laura certainly. So um on June 5th there was the groundbreaking of this project. Current pro current happenings are um the roof is being installed now. Exterior framing and interior wall framing is underway. um sprinkling and electrical roughins are happening and
interior duct work is going. So all ahead of a spring 2026 grand opening. So as we're having this conversation today when Laura brings recommendations um we're on the move. This is kind of the doing part and the idea of being here was this kind of this idea that we want
to be magnets that draw people um into the project into this downtown neighborhood as well. So big fan. Thank you Laura. when we first sat down, she had kind of put together, I'll never forget this, kind of in the first slide. I may get this wrong, but the ones that stick out in my head where there are these words, grow, connect, and belong.
And so, I just think that is really super. Um, and thank you for helping us guide us through this uh kind of this center for entrepreneurship, the spark center piece of it. Yes, thank you for that introduction and a little bit of history of where how we got here. So, I know all of you, which
is really fun. It's great to be back uh to the EDA. Um for anybody online watching, I'm Laura Kun, former city council member, former EDA board member um and founder of the Luminary. So, uh
for the next 12ish months, the Luminary is partnering with the city of Morehead to launch a bold new initiative, the Spark Center for Entrepreneurship. Thanks to a federal grant, uh, as Dan mentioned, the Spark Center is under construction now located inside the
loop, the future Morehead Public Library and Community Center. So, I'm really excited to be here today to just give kind of a first snapshot of what this project entails. So, the Spark Center for Entrepreneurship will ignite innovation,
foster inclusivity, and empower entrepreneurs in Morehead. It will provide a dynamic space for aspiring and established business owners to work, learn, connect, and be inspired through mentorship, education, and access to critical resources. It will cultivate a
thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem that will strengthen our local economy and build a more equitable future. So, the vision of the Spark Center is to be a launchpad for small business success and a catalyst for economic
growth in Morehead. We envision a future where entrepreneurship is accessible, celebrated, and supported. Where anyone with a dream has the tools and the community that they need to succeed. So the space is more than just a hub. It's a movement toward a more connected,
diverse, and resilient entrepreneurial culture in our region. So what are the strategic objectives? We want to create an environment that values entrepreneurship. will establish a culture in Morehead where small businesses and entrepreneurship are
prioritized, resourced, and celebrated as a key driver of economic impact. Number two, we want to provide accessible resources. We will have free or lowcost business tools, educational programming, and mentorship to ensure
that entrepreneurs regardless of their socioeconomic background can access the support that they need. And this is something that really keeps us standing apart from other co-working type places out there is that access to a free free programming, free space.
We will champion inclusivity. We want to work to remove systemic barriers and create equitable opportunities for bipok women, LGBTQIA plus veterans and new American entrepreneurs by actively engaging with and supporting underserved
communities. And number four, strengthening the entrepreneurial ecosystem. We'll build partnerships with schools, universities, local businesses, and government agencies to provide comprehensive long-term support for startups and small
business in Morehead. Why does this matter to us? Well, entrepreneurs are the heartbeat of our community. They bring bold ideas to life, create jobs, and build the places where we love to live, work, and gather. But not everybody has the same access to
the resources, connections, or support they need to turn their vision into reality. That's where the Spark Center for Entrepreneurship comes in. Because when entrepreneurs thrive, our entire community benefits. Small business owners are a backbone. Investing in them is how we build a more
resilient local economy. We're prioritizing support for underserved entrepreneurs. These founders bring untapped potential and diverse perspectives, essential ingredients in for a strong economy. Through coaching, workshops, and training in collaboration with local colleges, we'll also help
entrepreneurs create jobs and fill skills gaps. Entrepreneurship is not meant to be a solo journey. A thriving, connected, and collaborative culture helps all of us grow, learn, and succeed together. So probably the most important reason though that we're building the Spark
Center is because it aligns with the city's comprehensive plan that was approved by the city council in 2022 specifically in the area of competitive or economic competitiveness as outlined in the goals and strategic policies on pages 49 to 51 of the plan.
So specifically goal 2.1 build a supportive entrepre sorry build a supportive environment for local businesses to thrive. Support a business and entrepreneur environment through connections to local resources, business networks, startup financing, collaborative spaces and places,
mentoring and business incubation opportunities. Number 2.2 is bolster, expand and diversify the base economy. provide technical support to entrepreneurs and small businesses, particularly those within minority and
underrepresentative communities by ensuring access to resources offered by the city and its partners. And 2.3 is nurture the creative and innovation economies. Nurture a culture of entrepreneurship and business innovation, particularly for immigrant,
indigenous, womenowned, and studentdriven startups. So those are things that align exactly with what we're trying to do and that's the the goals that we're trying to uphold with the Spark Center. And by lifting up one entrepreneur at a time, we're building that brighter, more
vibrant future for Morehead. So what will this look like? You have in front of you a sheet that has a another view of this. Um, but this is a a rendering of what the Spark Center for Entrepreneurship will look like inside the library.
The Spark Center will offer co-working space for entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs to work, connect, and collaborate. Flexible seating in this space means there'll be opportunities to comfortably work alone, in pairs, or in groups. We also have meeting rooms available to reserve for conference
calls, client meetings, team meetings, quiet focus time, or even creating a p podcast recording. Of course, free Wi-Fi and access to printing. And presentation hall will be a space for holding large meetings,
presentations, trainings, etc. And the really cool thing that I love about this is having all of the benefits of having access to librarians available to help find those entrepreneurs. uh resources in the library or online.
And beyond this physical space and the more traditional library resources, we're creating programming that's tailored to small business owners and entrepreneurs in collaboration with our community partners like SBDC, Dakota Business Lending, Women's Business Center, and our local universities.
And those things will look more like open office hours at the Spark Center with experts in various fields, uh, educational sessions, community building opportunities for entrepreneurs to connect with other entrepreneurs and build that network of support, and access to resources and mentorship
opportunities. So, what does the next 12 months look like? Our roadmap includes building relationships with community partners and finding ways to effectively collaborate. Uh creating resource
materials for entrepreneurs, outline programming for the Spark Center in 2026 and beyond, launching pilot programs to build community and showcasing our local entrepreneurs. So kind of as Dan me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me mentioned this by summer of 2026 our
goal is to have a fullscale open and operational spark center which is coming really fast and I cannot wait for that ribbon cutting. So big things are happening in Morehead and I appreciate the support of the EDA in this incredible progress not just with the
Spark Center and the loop but in the greater downtown redevelopment uh and for our small businesses all across the city. This kind of change does not happen without you. So, thank you so much for all of that and I'm happy to answer any questions that you have.
Thank you, Laura. Any questions or comments from commissioners? Commissioner White. Thanks, Laura. This was very informative. It's great to get an update. Um, one thing I was thinking about is that we have the global market that I know you've stopped by that and
that's, you know, in its infancy, but that is a place where we've got um, many of the types of entrepreneurs that you're talking about and I know that the partners, you know, it's done in partnership with um, uh, the immigrant development center, inclusive Morehead,
uh, the Indigenous Association and HCSCC. and the partners have been talking more about how do we we've got these, you know, excited entrepreneurs, but um helping connect them with resources that might allow them to really build on um the, you know, the
things that they've started. And so, more of a comment than a question is I'd love to talk with you more because we've got this pool of entrepreneurs that I think would really benefit from this and there's so many others, too. But that's one that, you know, I I'm just so excited for them to have the opportunity
to tap into that. And so, um, let's talk about how we make that happen, too. Yes, absolutely. And then with the cultural mall being right across the street, I think there's going to be a lot of opportunity for collaborating and providing resources for all of these small business owners.
Thanks. Right. Any other questions or comments? Okay. Thank you, Laura, very much. Appreciate the work you're doing. Thank you. Next up, Lisa Bod with the 2025 legislative recap.
Thank you, Chair Anderson and members. I am Lisa Bod. I'm the city's governmental affairs director and as part of my work I um coordinate the city's legislative agenda and the EDA is generous in
supporting that effort through the consultant lobbyists that we have both in St. Paul and in Washington DC. So um just a note of gratitude and how valuable that resource is. I spend a fair amount of time during the
legislative session in St. Paul, but um the consultants that we have are there every day, day in and day out, and um they really help to um to bolster our efforts and um um pursue our agenda. The
legislative session was scheduled the the regular session was over on May 19th. Um, and I'm kind of glad you didn't have an EDA meeting that first week of June because they um the legislature was not finished with its
work. There was no state budget approved um at the end of session and there was a special session on June 9th. So, these outcomes are related to the specialist uh special session that happened at that time. Um, I would say in my tenure,
there's never been a year where I've spent more effort working toward our agenda for so little measurable results on the things that we went into the session with. Um but it
was a year mostly um playing defense because the state is um the revenue forecasts show a decline and a deficit coming in in out years. Um not not immediately but they're they're being
proactive and so there wasn't um a lot of resources to expand what we were doing. Um we did have some accomplishments. One um that is of of note related to our downtown is um the
5-year rule extension on the tax increment financing district for the costs and benefits that are um being invested in our downtown. the cost of demolition, the cost of installing these wonderful new streets and the
infrastructure we need to make downtown successful um are being put into a tax increment financing district. So, the new value added to the district through property um construction and improvements is um
being recaptured to repay those costs. And um instead of having the standard 5 years of capturing that increment, we can now um capture 10 years of increment. And this is the second year we've made that request. Um we were in
the final bill um in 2024, but that um was was not passed into law. It wasn't voted on. And so we were kind of in the same position this year. And with the special session, that was achieved. So, um it's it's not an
unusual request. There's a lot of communities that ask for these um extensions, but it is important to get it and it means a lot of certainty to to the city's um finances and um as well as the development. It gives people more
time. We're working in such a condensed area, even though it's a large area in our downtown, that all these projects need to be staged. And this will help us achieve that without um compromising what we need to do to to recapture those
investments in these the infrastructure. Um another major priority which has been our priority for 16 years now is completing Morhead's flood mitigation which is necessary to uh and compatible
with the FM diversion project. We had 17 million to go. Um 9 million was approved statewide, not just for Morehead. We're still awaiting information from the Department of Natural Resources as to
how much of that $9 million goes toward Morehead's efforts, but in the meantime, we have submitted our request for next year. And with construction inflation, um, we're the request if not if we don't get any funding this year, we the
request will be $18.5 million. So the cost keeps going up and we um, you know, we're really hopeful that we can at least make a dent in it this year so that we can really finish that work as the diversion is being finalized. But that's that's where we were at. there
weren't a lot of local projects approved in the 2025 um capital investment bill. So, we feel fortunate that we have an opportunity this year, but again, it was a hard-fought battle. And I commend our partnership with Klay County and the FM
diversion in um really making noise to make sure that people knew and understood what our needs are here in Morehead. um local government aid was not increased but there was a large potential for a decrease in local
government aid. So we feel fortunate that local government aid was spared from any decreases this year. So that means sustainability for the city budget and um you know reflects u a lower you know um impact on property taxes. So,
we're very fortunate that local government aid was sustained. Um, speaking of sustainability, um, there was some action taken on sustainable aviation fuel facilities in the form of a sales tax exemption for
construction materials for SAF facilities, which would benefit DG Fuels. Um, so we're hoping that this is, you know, keeps the conversation going well with DG Fuels and that that project
um, moves forward and hopefully soon. Um, and then another area of interest is the cultural mall which was referenced in Laura's presentation and by um, council member White. Um we had request
or um Fosia Addi and her group had request funding for um capital uh costs and that request was morphed during the session and so they are eligible for arts programming funding through an
application process that will be developed by Minnesota Humanities Center and that uh the the Morehead Cultural Mall was specifically referenced in that bill. So that um puts us in a good position to do that and it might you
know affect those global markets and other things that the the uh the immigrant development center is working on. So that is not exactly what we thought it would look like but it's something. And um let's see I mentioned
the major things that that you know we feel are were on the city's agenda. I will say what's not in the bills that were approved. One that was disappointing to us is that the expansion and um modifications to the
border cities enterprise zone were not approved. We had great support in the Senate. We did not have corresponding um support in the House and so that bill did not make it into the final draft.
But um you know we we had great support from the other border cities. We are hopeful that at some point we will make those modifications because I think it would make the program um easier for Derek and Amy to run and also would
benefit more businesses in our community. So, um we are hopeful of talking about that sometime in the future. And then the other request was a sales tax exemption on city hall construction materials which again would
affect the the local property taxes in the form that we wouldn't have to pay that sales tax on those materials. Um there were more than 60 requests of a similar nature from other units of government and the state decided they
couldn't afford them all and so really they I think they approved two and those were for some um water and wastewater infrastructure that was really essential for a couple of smaller communities. So
I don't feel like we were um slighted in that there were just some really hard choices to make. So that's in a nutshell kind of what happened. Um and obviously um making national news was the
political violence um that happened shortly thereafter. So that was, you know, that's kind of put a damper on really um managing how we um proceed, but um it seems like the
communities and the state are dealing with that. Thank you very much, Lisa. Any comments, questions from commissioners? All right. We appreciate all the work you do for the city of Morehead. It's my pleasure. Thank you very much.
All right, moving on to our business items. 2026 preliminary budget and tax levy discussion. I'll take a crack at just opening up. Uh, Mr. chair. Um, for members that are new to this board and haven't been
through the budgeting process yet, what we typically do is, um, take a look at, um, and I think I think you all should have a copy of of a preliminary budget in front of you that that Derek and I worked on last week, which would look
like this. So, what we take a peek at is um what would that maximum levy look like in the in the budget and then what would the budget look like kind of just moving
forward from what we did last year and also um provided to you just an outline of what this budget session is going to look like. And so we have a couple key dates to kind of um target and those are
on your report within the packet as well. So for instance, by September 22nd um the city council will be approving a preliminary budget and tax levy which will actually include a request from
this um this board for the minimum or maximum levy. So when you set a maximum levy that means that you can any any changes to your budget can bring that levy down
or it can stay same but it cannot be adjusted upward. Then um looking ahead towards December is when when that final budget would be approved. So, right now we're just um putting this in front of you to give it
be able to have um you know give you some time to look at those budget items and then we'll be bringing forward additional discussion and talks at a future meeting. Yeah. And I'll just add to I mean what you'll see in the budget again this is
not you know set in stone by any means is just to kind of lay down a preliminary idea of what we're thinking. Um, you know, I think Amy mentioned here, what you see highlighted in kind of the blue is are is our fixed kind of financing numbers that we get from the finance department. But, you know, the
other things that are in here are are are pretty standard is you can look to uh last year's budget and um I think the big thing that uh we wanted to maybe pull out a little bit too is if you look at the first kind of box is the interest earnings. Um, specifically, you know,
what we had budgeted for is about $20,000 in interest earnings last year, uh, bringing in about 62,000 of interest earnings. So, we don't know what that new figure is yet from finance. But, um, that was a pretty healthy figure that we saw in from interest that we're hoping
to be able to kind of look at other other budgetary opportunities because of, you know, having that balance that we have right now, too. So, um, you know, I think that's really the big call out that I wanted to to mention here today. But, as Amy mentioned, this is really just to get in your hands as a an
early early time frame. Uh, certainly ask questions of of us uh up here um as we continue to work through this budget process. Okay. Thank you, Derek and Amy. Uh, any questions or comments from commissioners at this time?
Commissioner White, I just had one question as I'm looking through it. So, I noticed the drop in professional services and I just was wondering the reason for that. Is it did it some of it shift to the full-time employee or just curious about the change?
Yeah. Um, thank you. In 2025, we did have about $25,000 that was set aside for doing some um cop copy work and transferring to electronic files some of the old historic files that we had
stored at city hall. Now, city hall has um a temporary location and before we move back to the to the newly remodeled city hall, we want to make sure that those um historic records are are um were electronically stored
electronically. That will take place this year. We we anticipate it that will be completed. So, there is um a a slight amount for um maybe things that we haven't anticipated to come forward yet. Maybe, you know, maybe something to do
with real estate or whatever, but that is the reason for the drop. Okay. Thank you. Yes, city manager Molly, if I could, uh, chair. So, one one of the things that's nice about this is that everybody has the information well ahead of time. So, um, as Amy said, at the the
second council meeting in September is when the preliminary budget is approved and then the final budget in December. So, what's nice about this is you have it in front of you. If if when you get home if there's a question you want to shoot it over by email or pick up the phone and make a call, please do. And then we'll be, you know, at the next
meeting looking for approval to take it to the city council next. So, um really appreciate the effort and the work to get this out ahead of September so it just doesn't, you know, we're not just presenting it to you and asking for approval the day of.
Thank you, Dan. Um, thank you Derek and Amy for your work on this and uh, commissioners, yeah, take your time and review and as Dan mentioned u forward any emails or questions to Derek and Amy. Okay, we'll move on to the economic development report. Derek,
thank you, Mr. Chair. Uh, I'll touch base on a few different items here. Uh, I know Laura did a great job kind of touching on library community center project, but a few things within the downtown project. Uh we have lots of demolition happening. I think we're going to see uh some demolition
happening within this month here of the former uh Everest Tika House uh property. So the last kind of remaining pieces are starting to to kind of make their their way uh to make way for obviously the the new project opportunities, but certainly the lot of the the infrastructure that's being done
right now. So several things are happening with Minnesota Avenue. That's the East West Street just north of the the library community center. And then you have Red River Avenue which is on the north side of the mall. Uh those are are uh underway right now. Uh we have
obviously some impacts on Third Street. You probably seen that by American Crystal Sugar. That's open right now. It will close again later here in the summer. But uh we work with uh obviously our engineering team just to make sure we have forewarning to our businesses and and certainly um uh to the public
here as they manage uh the traffic kind of uh detours as they go too. Uh lastly on the downtown project, uh we are anticipating that uh downtown chiropractic uh will be uh moving into their new facility at 650 center uh
probably within the next month as well. Uh so we're we're really excited to to see them kind of take their their next step and their new chapter of business and certainly taking on uh expansion of of business opportunities and everything else. uh and just extremely grateful for
their um you know willingness to to see some some changes happen around their current facility and get through that. But uh we know that their new facility is going to do extremely well too. Uh moving on then we have Macar Real Estate Services as of July 1st and I know we
had a few different folks from our EDA serve on the uh committee that selected our new real estate partner for Macara uh that is Goldmark Commercial. So, as of July 1st, that uh partnership is established. Um, we are very close with some of the marketing materials. We're
working through some details here within the next week or two. Our hope is maybe by the next uh EDA meeting that we'll have uh Paul Campbell and Brett Saladin with Goldmark uh come and and share their kind of thought process, share their materials with the EDA so you can be familiar with who's going to be
representing that city-owned land that we have uh across the city of Morehead as well. uh at the end of May uh since we didn't have our our kind of formal meeting um myself and Mayor Carlson had the opportunity to travel uh with a group of about 30 leaders to Washington DC for
the Chambers DC flyin. Uh it was a very um productive conversations uh productive conversations that we had with uh Minnesota and North Dakota legislators. We had the opportunity to meet with uh DG Fuels Chairman Michael Darcy as well. Uh um and that was a
really positive conversation to just kind of have our first kind of meet face to face with them. Uh we were there at a time when the um the house was just being um was just presenting the the big beautiful bill. Uh so we got a lot of um
uh a lot of I'll just say in-depth uh analysis from some of the legislators when we're out there. uh fascinating to kind of see both what the House was saying and then ultimately what the Senate was saying as they were going through to start their process uh as well. Um just recently here uh we had
the League of Minnesota Cities conference uh on July 26. I know Ben mentioned that with West Central Initiative. Uh there was several uh uh presentations between the city and uh I was asked to present at one as well. It was um really focused on is your city
ready for development. Um there was the mayor of AIO, Minnesota who happened to be a a real estate professional as well. Uh real real estate developer I should say. Uh and then WSB who does a lot of engineering and planning consulting uh as well. And uh we had a packed house
which was great to see. Lots of questions. I have a follow-up with a group from uh Little Canada here this week uh as well as a couple others that stuck around to have conversations about what we're doing here in Morehead and how it's working together. Uh I'll
mention in wrapping up then too. So I said to DG Fuels, we had a great meet and greet. Uh we found out here on July 21st that um um DG Fuels is actually going to be in Minneapolis. Greater MSP is hosting a a sustainable aviation fuel
workshop uh in Minneapolis. So, I'm going to be making my way down there uh obviously participate in the event. It's a day just a day event. Um and then obviously have the opportunity to to meet with uh DG Fuels again and see how we can kind of keep that uh movement
happening. Um I know Senator Coupoop and uh and DG Fuels were on KFGO last week as well. So, a lot of positive momentum around that too. And then thank you to uh Sherry for pointing out as well and we'll we'll kind of change our our last
kind of project the way it's presented in our our EDA packet. Uh but we did have a few public hearings. All those public hearings. So May 27th, June 9th, and June 23rd. All three of those projects were uh approved. So 14th and Maine Apartments, that was a renaissance
own one. Speedy oil change was a commercial industrial project. And then remodeling by FOS was another commercial industrial incentive project. So excited to see all three of those projects approved by our city council as well. And thanks for your patient with having a little one join the meeting today.
Thank you, Derek. Any questions, comments from commissioners. Okay, we appreciate all the work you're doing and we will adjourn. Thank you all. One last before you guys go. Um, we have pizza that will be available in the
Willow Room. So, I think Addison is setting that up for us. So once we clean up here, just make your way over there and grab some pizza.