That may was a hint. ready. All right, I will call the uh what is it? The November 3rd Morehead Economic Development Meeting Authority Development Authority meeting to order.
There we go. Um Amy, can we get a roll call? >> Yes. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Members present today include Balco, Kota, Powell, Larson, Moore, Chaeld, and Soilik. >> Right. Are there any agenda amendments
today? >> Uh, we have no amendments at this time. >> All right. Um, we're looking to approve the September 8th meeting minutes. >> Move to approve. More. >> We have a second.
>> Second. So >> discussion. All in favor say I. >> I. >> Oppos. Same sign. Motion carries. Um, item four, citizens to be heard. Staca,
>> hi. Happy Monday. Uh, Staca Seisma, executive director of the Greater MBA. Um, since we were here last, we kind of had a lot going on. We had we revamped our nonprofit connect and we had a great showing. It really turned out to be
something that our nonprofits needed which was great. Uh the first one was at Rison Blue and we talked about AI and last week we had it at DS Beverages and we talked about board tips and tricks. So we had just under 20 people at each
of those. So that was a great change. And then on October 2nd we had our annual celebration. We had aboutund just over 130 people there. Uh it was a great opportunity to celebrate wins that our
business community has had. Um we also rolled out our name change. So uh we're now the greater MBA and we have a new logo. So it just seemed like it was time to represent what our the population of
the MBA is. Um Morehead will always be our roots and our home. Uh but we're just welcoming in people from across the river. So that's what the MBA has been up to. Does anybody have any questions about it? Questions, comments, concerns? No. All
right. Thank you so much for having me and thank you for always encouraging the MBA and what we're doing. >> Staca, are there any commissioner reports? So all right. Um, item six, presentations.
Derek, do you want to set this up? I think Lisa is going to talk for a little bit. >> Yeah, absolutely. Um, we're grateful to have our Morehead communications team here, and I know Lisa will get into introductions and kind of share some things here, too. But, um, obviously with having a full service kind of in-house team, we've been able to do a
lot more, and we thought it was, uh, worth bringing the team here to share some of the the great work they've been doing. Uh, obviously I'll add some insight of how uh we've utilized the work from uh uh downtown Morehead, Inc. as well as an EDA perspective. I know MBA and Greater MBA obviously have uh
have used it as well. So, uh excited to have their team here and and articulate kind of the the good work that they're doing. So, Lisa, I'll turn it over to you. >> And this will be a tag team presentation, so um Kelly and Caleb are
on deck. Um, do we have the PowerPoint loaded? Okay. >> Okay. >> I'm Lisa Bod. I'm the governmental affairs director for the city and we appreciate the opportunity to um tell
you about what we've been doing with the investment that the EDA makes in marketing Morehead. and I go back a long time with the city and I will tell you that um the partnership between the city and the EDA for marketing goes back more
than 30 years. We um for many years um use contracted services and within the last four years I would say this is since we've had um dedicated staffing model where um Kelly and Caleb serve in
um the communications coordinator and marketing coordinator roles respectively and um we use EDA funds for marketing Morehead. There's a lot more communication activity that goes on beyond what we'll talk about today that
is not necessarily something we consider marketing. We do internal communications, we do legislative communications and a number of other things as well, but we really um respect the um the EDA's contribution really um
dedicating it toward marketing the community. Um, Kelly and Caleb are um I can't say enough good about them and they are skilled, they are passionate, and they're driven to advance Morehead
in every way they can. And they're scrappy and energetic, and I think we get a tremendous value from the combination of the two of them. So, with that, um, I think Kelly will, um,
handle, um, parts of the presentation. We're going to kind of flip back and forth a little bit. Um, but wanted you to hear from the entire team because they are they're doing wonderful work. And I think when you see the rest of the presentation, you will also, you know,
recognize that you're seeing this information over time. So they've kind of compiled the past year's work and um wanted to give you an overview of that. So thank you all very much. >> Hi everyone. So I'm Kelly and the first thing we're going to talk about is state
of the cities. So, we kick off our year every year with our state of the cities, which is a chamber uh event. And it's very exciting because we get to be in front of approximately 800 business leaders. And um the presentation this
past year, we got to bring a lot of awareness to our downtown projects. Um Ted Heran was one of our keynote speakers this year, so we got to do some kind of bonus content through that. And then Mayor Carlson did a lot of um
awareness about um presenta or projects going out going on throughout the city. Um a lot of businesses going on, opening um just a lot of great things, a lot of awareness in Morehead. And we're already working on this coming year's
presentation and we're excited to build up on everything that's been happening with new businesses again coming to Morehead, businesses moving into new spaces in downtown and beyond and the possibilities that we're creating in Morehead. So, we're very excited for our
upcoming state of the cities in January. >> Hi, I'm Caleb. I going to just walk you through a little bit of what the attendees saw at this event. Um, there's so much happening in Morehead and it's happening so quickly that it could just fly by and and happen and we want to really capture capture the moments, make
sure the vision is very clear. So, some of the some of what they saw in the presentation were were things like this that captured the new roads, new spaces for commercial and residential investment. Um, new business growth, huge, huge improvements here to transportation. Thinking of the 11th
Street underpass, um, improvements to civic spaces. Again, new business growth. Really trying to show them this because I think that that excitement is what's going to drive more awareness of what's happening. it's going to drive the investment into the city. And so it it's
all it's all very exciting. I'm very excited about it. I think that the presentation helped build on that excitement. Um it's some of what we're doing is trying to share this excitement beyond this this group at the state of the cities, but bring it to the public as well and bring them into it. Um and
one of the best places that you're that we see that we saw that happen were at all the events that happened over the last couple years. I'm gonna turn it back to Kelly here. So, our team also has the honor of putting together the city's largecale events and celebrations. And in the last
12 months, we had a lot. Um, you could almost call us the party planning committee because it felt like we were just constantly putting on great events and celebrations to recognize um all of the happenings going on. So, if you just want to take a look at this slide, we
had the 11th Street underpass um for groundbreings, the loop, Romkeen Fields. Those those were just groundbreings. Then we had ribbon cutings for the Rotary Natural Playill and inclusive playground. And for the loop, we had the beam signing and the topping off ceremony. And I hope
everyone was able to attend one, all or a few of those. They were great um events. Um, and then with all of those, we'll have, you know, ribbon cutings at at most of those, you know, this coming year. So, we're very exciting to be
celebrating grand openings in 2026. Um, with these events, we get an incredible amount of earned media and fantastic engagement on social media. People love seeing what's happening in Morehead and all of the excitement that we're building up um for these new amenities.
We get wonderful attendance at the events and the public is just very engaged with what we have going on. So, it's really great and turn it back over to Caleb. >> Yeah. Uh so, in addition to these events, there's also uh a few more kind
of just general public events where um we're very proud of Morehead and our residents are proud of Morehead and we want to build on that. um really instilling that that pride in Morehead because that turns into advocacy where the where the people who are who love Morehead go out and they speak out and they they do some of the promoting work
for Morehead as well. So, we had the 150 years of Morehead um that we we created a medallion. I'm not sure if some of you have seen that or have those. Um but that was a big thing that we we distributed out to city staff and boards, commissions, and then also um at the parade too, just marking that
moment. And then the uh wings and wheels 30 years and mural reveal. Um that's the Florence Klingan Smith airport celebrating that as well. There was there was a really great turnout at that event and we produced some stickers and some things to hand out and really mark that occasion. Um I wanted to talk
quickly about some of the advertising and incentives that we promote. So we put out some full page ads in the fall and spring editions of the Parade of Homes. There's about 7,000 that are printed for each event. They're distributed throughout all the Hornbachers and they're at the event
itself. The audience that that is at that attends these events are all inspired by what the perfect home looks like. So, it kind of makes sense that we produce marketing that shows what the perfect hometown might look like and invite them to consider Morehead. So, we
look at some of the Minnesota programs on one of the full page ads and the other ones. We're looking at some of those incentives. So, we've got the um welcome home passes and we have the property tax rebate that we talk about um as well as featuring quotes that come directly from homeowners. So, those
quotes here, they talk about how Morehead has great parks, strong knit community, the houses are more affordable, the city really cares about its residents. Um these quotes that come from the homeowners are something we we try to include in our advertising as much as we can um just because there are
so many reasons. And uh last year um we just want to highlight some of the some of the reasons people are loving Morehead. I I was going to say that one of the reasons that people are loving Morehead that's on the rise over this last year has to do with some of the growth happening on social media. Um a
lot of good things happening there. I'm going to turn it over to Kelly to talk about that. >> Um and we also get the inside spread on that um ad booklet. So that's a really good um space for us to be. But for social media, so um if you're not
following us, please do. Um there's a lot of great things happening. Um we've had a lot of growth in so many ways on social media in the last year and a half. Um for one, we now have Instagram, so look at us go. Um I really use this
as an opportunity for storytelling. Um it's how people get their news now. So, how can we take advantage of trying to show as much of our story as we can? So, I share opportunities of how to live in Morehead, how to work for in and for
Morehead, uh build in Morehead, visit Morehead, and really just love Morehead. I mean, I love Morehead. So, I'm going to share that as much as possible. And I really believe that people who are following us on social media also love Morehead. So, I I try to take advantage
of that as much as possible. And they are engaged. Our engagement was around two to three likes on a post um before I took it over and it's now in the hundreds. Um our posts and videos are now seen by over a 100,000 people. We
also added about 2 to 3,000 followers on Facebook which is very exciting. And our engagement in the last year was over 3.6 million. So it's been really great. Um some important things to note is we are sharing about businesses in town. So some examples here that you can see on
the screen. Um, Buddy's parfait opened up. Um, a post, a reel about More Than Words in the Spice Grill, and then a share about Quartz and Pints opening up. Um, some things to just note about that is when we're sharing about businesses,
we're we're very cautious and um we're we're trying to be very um >> fair. Yeah, that Thank you, Lisa. Um, so there has to be a reason that we're doing it. We're not just going to just be like, "Oh, you should go shop here,"
or, "You should go check this place out." There has to be a reason that we're doing it so we're not just showing favoritism over one business um over another. So, maybe they're brand new in town. Um maybe there's a really big event happening, you know, um there was that great collaboration event downtown
um this summer with Swing Barrel and the Armory and all those great places. So, we did a a share on that event. um you know, just fun things like that or um you know, maybe it's just really hard to get to your business because of construction. So, we do um posts like
that. Um other times um so we'll do those on our grid. Other times when we when we just see like a fun post, we'll just share it on our stories. And then um the last thing I want to share with social media that just gets such great
attention and engagement is our construction posts. Um which is actually important to businesses because it does show how to get to them. Um so when there are detours, we do try to include um how to get to businesses. So like the
third street um closure would be an example, you know, how to get to more than words. We did show a detour map to that. Um, we've done videos to promote how to get to them. We, um, point out certain businesses on maps and, um, just
try to engage as much as possible. And then this just shows our top engagement posts for the month. And as you can see, they're all construction. So, people really like construction posts.
Oh, one more slide. Sorry. Oh, yes. Um and then the last thing with social media is we do also share you know collaboration within the city which is really great to just show you know we have great educational opportunities in our city. So come you know send your
kids here and then they can live here after and then just look at how beautiful our city is. You know here's a great um reel of the river. Um come check it out. Guess where we're at. I will say too for Kelly and Caleb and
Lisa and team. So obviously the the narrative and staying ahead of that with construction and just other things that are happening around our community, it sometimes been out of our control. And uh I think they've done a great job of just staying uh ahead of that kind of
I'll just say rant of what can be negative of social media. So the fact that they're out there making these posts uh sharing the information from the source uh or from the business, etc. has been has been great to just kind of settle some of that uneasiness that social media can create as well. Doesn't
mean they don't get comments, but they do a great job with that. Another place where we uh highlight what's happening in Morehead is our annual development report. And we're in the process right now of gathering more information, gathering photos to share
all the progress that has happened over the last year. And this is something that we work uh very heavily with community development on. They provide just a a wealth of information for us regarding the the building, the developing and the business growth happening as um as we highlight that to
help people become aware of of what's happening and also see maybe some opportunities to invest. Um as we as we do this these all the slides that get shown here, these are all different pages in the development report. They also work as as PowerPoint slides and
it's something that has been used to present on this subject by um I know Derek you've used them Amy you have as well the city manager and the mayor and they just help uh businesses consider and to choose Morhead. So I don't know if you wanted to talk about how you use those. >> Yeah and as I mentioned before uh the
group presented here too this is probably one of the most critical pieces of information that we've used over the last few years. I know Sherry used it a lot. Stacia will use it. um you know how we tell our story has always been questioned I think from a lot of the businesses whether that's current or
perspective as well uh but showcasing we're able to take you know a larger presentation I think last year what was it probably over 50 slides or close to 50 slides was the the full report um but we're able to pull out you know 8 to 10 different slides uh or even less for
depending on who we're meeting with and really showcase uh what is actually happening in our community. So, the permit numbers, uh, how we're showing the values of increase, uh, some of the imagery of just the change that's happening as well, uh, and just again continuing to tell the story because
sometimes I think that gets lost with the again the narrative perspective. But, uh, we're going to continue to work with the communication team on just refining this because I think depending on your audience, depending on who you're working with, um, this is just a great storytelling piece that we can
continue to to get out in front of as well. If I could add um the so this piece is this isn't something that Morhead has been doing for a long long time either. This communication function is just three or four years old in terms of um creating a function under Lisa's
governmental affairs uh department where um Kelly and uh Caleb were brought in to really tell our story better so people see the value and we're really starting to see it. So this development report which we have people asking for now, they're already asking for it. um uh is what are we are we going into our fourth
year? Probably anyway, I'm just going to say we are because I believe we are. >> But it's you know it's it's um what the thing that I just kind of want to lift up with it is it's not like historically these have been things that have been in report like the information has been
there, right? But it's been on like a word document that you have to read that doesn't really come like the way that you do your work is beautiful. It really draws you in. You can see it. You can see things happening. And so this really fuels that kind of growth and development that's happening in Morehead. And it also helps us kind of
grow that energy to help pay for these essential functions that people really expect. These are the emergency routes that police and fire can use to get to where they're going, the the the ability to flush the toilet, to turn the sink on. At the end of the day, the stuff, you know, emptying garbages at at the at the parks, all the stuff that we get to
take kind of for granted that really help make these places special and this place in Morehead very special. So, thanks for helping tell that story. Thank you, Dan. And thank you, Derek. >> If I can, I'll add one more, too. I I I think as we continue to grow with this, I know in presenting a smaller version,
our development reports and having a a printable kind of layout for folks or an email accessible uh report, a lot of our our higher ed partners, um whether they're recruiting, uh prospective students, prospective staff, uh have a copy of some of this to be able to show
stuff. Our hope is that uh and I know we got some bankers on the on the panel here too or on the authority, but uh commercial uh banking lenders uh folks that are just having touch points with people that are curious about Morehead or exploring Morehead. Um these make a
difference. Um it's amazing how many folks even uh within our community just don't know what's happening. Uh and these are simple, they're effective, they have to have the visual perspective of it. Um, but our hope is to get these uh in more community-f facing uh
businesses or uh partnerships with nonprofits, etc. Uh to continue to help tell that story as well. So, thank you. >> Thank you, Derek. And yeah, I just I really do want to thank you for your work in promoting this because it's it is so key to get the right information to the right people. And uh one of the
places where we're doing that is we're getting information to our builders and realators. And Lisa will talk about that. So, our marketing roots really go back to advancing Morehead as a residential choice. And that was something that was
always really supported by the EDA because um there was a direct connection between the number of rooftops in the community and customers for Morhead businesses and students for our schools and all of the things that make a robust
um economic center. And I think between 2010 and 2020 with our 17% growth, I think that was a great place to focus and a great place to really um take these limited resources and invest them. So, one of the major stakeholders in
advancing our work has been um what used to be called the Homebuilders Association of Fargo Morehead, now called the Building Industry Association of Fargo Morehead and of the Red River Valley, excuse me. So, one of the things that we've done that you may or may not
be aware of is um Minnesota requires contractor continuing education. And for the past many years, we've served as the sponsor for those continuing ed classes. And in fact, our building official has often served as a
primary instructor for that uh work. And um because of that relationship too, we get to add all the contractors that attend to our e- notification system and you know keep them informed of our progress. So we've built that resource
over time and we get additional marketing opportunities through this partnership too. And we focus on the key messages. Caleb mentioned some of these key messages in his earlier remarks that we've shared in our advertisements. And I want you to know this is all
researchbased. We survey every person who buys a home in Morehead every year and we compile those results and we look at trends and we have great data over time asking similar questions over time
about what people value about Morehead, what they'd like to see more of and you know what they what they experienced in buying their home in Morehead. So, um it it's it it's a very authentic message. Um so, we can rely on this. The
Homebuilders Association has been um a a a great partner in the Make Morehead Home Property Tax Rebate. Um our school district and county, we can't thank them enough for participating in that rebate,
too, because it is a great value for um people who are looking at building a home. and um it gets them engaged in the community and um serves as something we can offer that's even a little bit
better than the offerings of surrounding communities. So, um, that partner is is critical with the BIA. And then realtor groups, again, we use that survey data. We use all the information that is gathered from throughout the year to
share that message with realtors who are meeting directly with clients. There's a a group that we're invited to every year. Premier Carlson and I have gone the last few years, realtors on a mission and it's it's metro area um
realtors that um really have a a goal of selling more properties and we share as much information as we can to help them sell Morehead. We're open to, you know, and we we have other um realtor groups that we meet with too and we're always open to more of those partnerships. So
that just highlighting a couple of those things that are really directed at growing Morehead in um from the residents out. When I first started doing this work um and people would ask me what was included in my job and I'd say well residential recruitment and I'd
get a lot of headscratching and well what even is that? And people don't ask that question anymore. We know what we're doing and they know what we're doing. So, um, and then this is just kind of one of the most special things about our work,
my work here at the city is recognizing the people that live here and do good deeds here. And that is the Moore Awards. And I would say of all of the expenses that we have, this is probably
a really good bang for the buck in that um we get so much earned media from the Morheart Award and um it's very authentic and uniquely Morehead and the variety of people that live in our community and lifting them up makes them
brand ambassadors for us too. and we've seen some incredible synergy and just a lot of really good feelings about um about this program and we've been doing it for about two years, two and a half years now and um it we every story is a
wonderful story. So it's a big part of our storytelling that we do at Morehead. and then Kelly's gonna give you a little more information and if you know interrupt us if we're going on too much. >> Um so this last month our team was able
to announce the single largest gift to the city which was incredibly exciting with the Essentia Health donation to the loop and the newly named Essentia Riverwalk. Um, the loop will be a 48,000 square foot u multi-use public space.
I'm sure you've heard all about that. Um, and Essential Health will be sponsoring the walking loop to be known as the Essential Health Walking Loop, which will be the track on the second floor that is open year round and free and accessible for all in the community. And then included in this sponsorship is
an outdoor walking space along the river corridor. Um so the Essentia Health River Walk will be a onem stretch which is basically just back here um from Viking Ship Park to the natural playill.
So our team planned this uh media event and opened it to staff allowing tours of the space along with the major announcement. Um, we got an incredible I think we had all of our media at the event. Um, and then a great amount of
um, social engagement which was great. And then it was just fun to see all of our staff in the space and and see that um I don't know that like no one had really been there since you know it it had started. So it was great to see um
where everyone or where the building was coming along. So that was really fun. And then um it's just great to be able to plan these events and see um hard work where um donors are coming in and wanting to sponsor Morehead. So it's
very exciting. Um we're hoping to do a lot more of these. It's fun when when we have, you know, council meetings and we get to do I'm in um announcements um for the loop. So the it's just great. We're very excited. Um, and then next
we're going to talk about something that our team has been working really hard on. We're very excited to be working on it and it's a collaboration honestly with all of our departments and we can't wait to show it off with the community. It's our website and this is the final item on our list
to talk about. So, we're we'll be stepping away shortly, not taking more of your time. But, um, yeah, the website is a very large undertaking. Um it is set to launch the spring of 2026. We have the site um so if you're looking at the screen on the very far left that is
our current website. Then the image to the right of that is what is proposed for the the change in homepage and layout. And then on the far far right there we're talking about um a landing page specifically for economic
development business growth. And so I'm going to I'm going to talk about that a little bit, but um the the change in website is largely driven by technical issues. The current website's no longer supported. It doesn't work very well on mobile. And so it needed to change for those reasons. But the changes that
we're making, we wanted to go beyond technical. We wanted to be strategic in our changes. And so part of that um and I I want to thank you for for funds that we're using from marketing to allow us to unlock some extra design capabilities. Um that's that's going to allow us to create what should be a
landing page type um information source within the website that we can start creating ad campaigns to drive traffic to this landing page. Um track the people who are coming in and moving out and start developing that to be a really
valuable resource for any um business a developer who is looking at looking at investing in Morehead. Um that landing page is something that will probably come after the launch of the website. So the website launches 2026 in the spring. And then after that, I think we'll start
working with the economic development team to build out what that landing page looks like. So it's got the most valuable information possible. Um and then I would say by this time next year, I I would say we've already started building some ads that are driving traffic here and um testing testing
those out. Um so that's what's coming up. Uh, are there any questions about website or anything else that we've talked about today? >> I'll just say really quickly, the website piece is is critical, too. Amy and I obviously working with a lot of folks. It's it's hard to navigate the
current system. We obviously have a lot of information. Cities have a lot of information to put out in general, but uh we've had I can't even count the number of conversations with developers or prospective businesses that just don't know how to easily navigate where to find what we would think is simple
information. Um, so to have a landing page, to have something that we can uh pull straight out that's easy to comprehend is going to be critical for us just to continue to uh get the right information to folks that they can make decisions. Um, obviously the biggest
fear is that if it takes too long, are they going to know who to even contact to ask the question or are they just going to bypass us all together? So hopefully we'll see a lot more um a lot more value in just having the right layout for us as well. If I could add too, um, you know, it's
real easy to kind of take a look at what's been done and take this sort of victory lap. It's actually kind of fun and we should do more of it, this kind of sort of celebration. But just thank you to the economic development authority um for um the leadership and the trust and the team to kind of do this stuff. There is no way that we
would be here talking like this with you. And this is one of the reasons we're actually sharing it with the EDA. The city council hasn't even seen a lot of this stuff in this kind of manner yet. And that the reason is is it's because of because of the trust that the economic development authorities had in this economic um development team. So as
there's things that you see that you liked, you'd like to see more of, please be sure to share it. Thanks for being willing to like be part of the the the vision. And then thanks to the team for able for being able to like establish these milestones so we can come back and say what's actually happening with the support.
>> Can I say one more thing too? Please sign up for Eve notifications. Uh, you know, I think that's that's something too is going to be a lot more effective with the new website of just where to get to these things, but uh the community and the public can get so much more informed and on top of things by
just signing up for those e notifications. I don't think they need to be they're not cumbersome by any means. Um, but certainly being being able to see the information from the source like we talked about earlier on social media is so important. So, please sign up for your notifications, too.
>> All right. Um, are there any questions for Lisa, Kelly, or Caleb? >> What? >> Commissioner Moore, >> thank you. Um, I don't actually have questions, but I just wanted to double down on some of the things that you discussed. I was able to be at the state
of the cities and beautifully done. It was so wellreceived to be in that room and to see more head- on display like that. It was I felt so proud and I'm proud of you guys for all your hard work and it was spectacular. Also, I was at um LMC, the Solo League of Minnesota
Cities in Duth, and the rooms were buzzing about Morehead after the materials. I know you guys worked hard on put together and Derek, you presented it just you could feel it in the room. It was talked about, you could hear it. So, this does make a difference. You are
having a huge impact. Um, I have used your materials with both both community members and businesses when I've spoken with them and I always get, "Oh, wow." And these are beautifully done. I mean, the the feedback is phenomenal. So, you
guys are doing an incredible job. I see you both everywhere I go in this community at all of the events. You work so hard um and always have such great attitudes. So, thank you, Lisa and Kelly and Caleb um for all the work you do. And last but not least, the work you're
doing on social media. Hilarious. I mean, it is I I laughed out loud at one of the most recent ones with the bridge situation. Um, and I think that that can be a really challenging platform. There is so much negativity and the way you're
handling it is perfect. I I love it. So, thank you so much for what you do. >> Anyone else? Um, well, I want to thank Kelly and Caleb, Lisa a little bit, but they kind of did the heavy lifting. So, wonderful
information. I just had one question. What What social platforms? Can you just give us a list of all the social platforms the city has page for? >> Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. We're not too fancy. I'm too old for the Tik Tok. >> Sounds great.
Excellent. Thank you very much. All right. Uh, moving on to business items. Item 7A, um, we've got the 2026 budget, we're looking to approve, I think we originally discussed this back
in August, uh, with a preliminary budget. Um, Derrick or Amy, do you is are there any comments you want to make on the on the budget here? >> Yeah, sure. Thank you. I can kick this one off. So, as you had noted that we were, you know, back in August, we we
looked at approving the max um maximum tax levy with the understanding that this amount could be reduced prior to its final adoption. Um this is a modest increase that would that um is anticipated to be absorbed um through
the natural growth of the city. Um so it doesn't necessarily have a huge impact on our individual resident. Um in addition to the levy in the budget, you will see that there is a a line item for interest earnings and that
amount is added to the total proposed budget. When we're looking at key changes in the 2026 budget over 2025, we're kind of lumping them into a couple major buckets. those buckets. We're we're looking at our entrepreneurial services
and downtown development. So, when we go back to looking at at what those key changes are, we're looking at um an increase to our entrepreneurial support in the support of the um Spark Center for Entrepreneurship, which is opening
in the spring of 2026. That funding increase, as you can note in the the report, is about $20,000 um for a total of 40. Um that funding is for the curation and coordination, partnership development, and community
engagement and funding strategies to support that. Um and specifically we're looking at a um contract for um that for that space um with the luminary and we've we are working with Laura Karun um
to curate that space. So looking forward to working with Laura in the upcoming year and opening that space. It's super exciting. Um, also included under the entrepreneurial budget, um, or bucket
would be the West Central Minnesota SBDC, which is located in the M state. Um we're looking to increase their line item by $5,000 in in support of what they are um anticipating that they're
going to be contributing to the Spark Center for Entrepreneurship and um specifically to um increase services to Morehead. Um also >> maybe if can I add on that one? So I I'll just say too in the conversations
we've had with uh uh Ian at the West Central SPDC. So, we think there's a great partnership between the Luminary and the SPDC. SPDC does a great job of program uh development. So, they got a lot of great uh resources that are coming out. One thing that we're finding
is that um obviously the space of where it's at, some of our entrepreneurs um don't feel necessarily comfortable coming to a college campus uh and feeling like that's the environment that they're growing from. We hope um because of that great pro programs that they uh
support there uh that there can be a direct tie with uh with Laura and the Luminary and the Spark Center that we can increase the attendance having a space that's viable for uh those individuals to attend. U obviously grow
the attendance list of of what the SPDC provides as well. uh and just actually have a a great space I think for SBDC to potentially have a even a part-time uh or a weekly person there to um to interact with our our small businesses
and entrepreneur entrepreneurship uh development as well. So that's the increase there. We think that um it's kind of a a twofur and that you know Laura is going to be out there as our as our kind of marketing arm, our our reach if you want to call it. uh still have some program obviously as well too, but
certainly uh building off the great foundation that uh West Central SBDC has as well. >> And for folks who may not know what SBDC means, it's small business development center. >> All right, jumping right back into it. Um one of the line items that we're um
happy to support for professional services is a contract that we currently have with Downtown Morehead, Inc. um that contract has been in place now since 2018, I believe, with very modest increases um
within the year. So, um we're looking at just just under $4,000 increase in order to keep our our um contract with Downtown Morehead, Inc. and the great work that Derek La Point has been doing for us. And I think that we can all probably agree that that's money well
spent. Also, that bucket supports downtown redevelopment and also citywide economic development. So, it's a it's a pretty wide bucket and and and is pretty deep, I guess. Um, and the last the last
uh item that I just want to kind of touch on would be lobbying. Um there's a modest increase in that also probably mostly um like just what what we normally experience in in contracts and and negotiating contracts
in that way. Um what I would say is that you know with the other line items are either are are in general staying the same. So you know I didn't specifically con uh call out marketing. I I think that you saw today
that our team is pretty great and we're really excited to be in support of of the work that they do and that the work that they do to help us do our job. So, um pretty happy about that that support that we receive from them. Um and then
lastly, we we do have a an item that item that is net of reserves or expenditures that you'll see on the very bottom of the page. Um we usually call that out as a um transfer to the res a direct transfer to reserves. I chose to
show it slightly differently this way just so you could see all of them across the line at the bottom. But that money is um what we expect um to use in direct support of downtown redevelopment and and the projects that we hope to be seeing coming up in the very near
future. Derek, did I did I miss stuff? >> No, I thought you did a great job, Amy. Um you know, I think uh again, as we mentioned to it before, we haven't received a lot of questions from EDA members. Uh at this point in time, uh we would be obviously looking forward to
entertaining a motion. You can see the approval uh timeline in your packet as well. Um the city will will take up the final budget on uh city council, sorry, will take that final budget on uh December 8th. Uh so obviously in years past and especially with not a lot of
questions and comments, we've typically tried to wrap this up for EDA in November. Um historically we haven't had a lot of items and in early December to to obviously move past that uh that meeting as well. So, looking forward to your comments, questions, and
potentially a motion. >> All right. Thanks, uh, Amy. Thanks, Derek. Are there any questions for Amy or Derek on the 2026 preliminary budget? Is anyone willing to make a motion on the budget to approve it to a final?
>> I would be willing to make a motion on to approve the budget. And one thing I want to say is just thank you very much. I know you gave us a an extra month here, it seems like this year over last year for for taking a look at this. So, we appreciate that extra time and in the explanation and being so thorough. So, I
would like to make a motion to approve the budget. >> First, is there a second? >> I can second it. So, >> discussion. So just a question do do we know what is the balance is there a balance of the
reserve fund right now? >> Um there is a balance of the reserve fund. Um and I know in general what it is. I don't feel comfortable giving it you know in uh to the public without having that exact amount but I can get
that to you. >> I and just so we're aware I think it should be as big as it possibly can be. So, I'm not I'm not saying to hold it back. I'm saying no. >> Get it in as much as possible. >> Yeah. >> Okay. >> It's north of a million.
>> Perfect. Thank you. That's that's plenty or that's all I need. >> Well, and and I think too it's it's worth mentioning as as these funds come in and how they come in. So, a lot of it we have to sustain the full budget uh just based on how the the funds come into our EDA. But, yeah, I would agree
with uh Amy. We'll get the exact number out, but it's and to the EDA's credit, we've been um we've been putting as a max levy over the last few years here to help build our reserves. Uh certainly downtown can be a component of it, but uh we also know we have a lot of other
bigger projects on the peripheral as well. Uh we know that uh as legislation changes in Minnesota and other things, we have the ability then to respond with uh potential grants or incentives that we can kind of come with it to. So, um, we'll get you that number, but, uh, we
we've been doing well in building up that reserves for, um, a little bit of a protection as well. >> Yeah, I I don't need that. My point was get it as big as possible because I think there are some big things coming. >> So, whatever we can get into it is >> very important.
>> So, noted. >> Right. Any other discussion? Okay, we have a first and a second to approve the uh, 2026 EDA budget. All in favor say I. >> I. >> I. >> Oppose. Same sign. Motion carries.
>> Thank you everybody. >> All right, Derek. Item 7B, we get to hear about your economic development report. >> Uh just a few items here today worth noting. Um I was able to attend uh the annual celebration that the chamber
hosted uh this last week uh celebrating Jeff Folk from Moore Engineering. I know Moore has done a lot of great work for Morehead in the past as well. So, it was great to connect with a lot of peers there. Um, couple things of note, too. I know Kelly and and team has mentioned uh the announcement of Essential Health and
that significant investment that they put into our walking loop and uh future uh endeavors around our downtown core, which we're so grateful for. Um I think uh as we push closer to win winter uh we've got still a lot of construction
happening in that downtown site. Uh so our hope is to continue to open up uh future roadways. Uh I know and hearing an update from uh our engineering team this morning. Uh we're getting closer on Third Streets over by American Crystal Sugar. I know that can be an impactful
uh area for for movement. Our hope is to see maybe that open um in the next few weeks here. Uh the teams have been working fast and furious on that. Obviously within the site itself, there's been a lot of movement of new uh pavement, new curbon gutter. Uh there's some areas getting back filled where old
uh buildings were on the east side of downtown the old city hall, I should say. Uh so we're excited to obviously see those areas continue to fill in and uh and continuing obviously to work with businesses and developers on what redevelopment and new development looks like in that area as well. Um I made
note of a um a project here that I thought was worth uh mentioning obviously to our EDA members and the public, but uh on October 9th I was asked to attend a small focus group for the more for 94 project. It's a DOT Minnesota DOT project. uh right now
consulted by Bolton and Mink. Uh they are focusing on Interstate I94 improvements from 34th Street to the river. Obviously, we just had impacts on the bridge this past summer. Uh this project wouldn't happen for a few more years out, but in most cases with a a
large uh kind of DOT project like this, they're using public engagement uh to quite a bit earlier than obviously when the project would happen. There's a survey online that I would encourage folks to take. uh put in your opinion. I will stress that my opinion when I was
in this focus group is that um there's there's options of of expanding I 94. We obviously see three lanes over in in the Fargo side. We have two lanes over in Morehead. Um I I know construction fatigue is real, but I think if we're going to do this project, we should
expand that right away for as long as we possibly can uh and as far as we possibly can. So having uh less minimal impacts as we continue to move forward. So, I know u I expressed obviously an expansion of three lanes going from the river all the way to 34th Street,
knowing that our hope is we're going to continue to grow uh see more improvements and that we should be building and accommodating for that growth as we continue into our future as well. So, please take a look. Um I did I didn't link that uh survey on there, but I can certainly get that uh survey out
to the board here as well. Uh and please take some time to to consider doing that. Uh lastly, I I will say some good news. Good news, bad news, I don't know, however you want to look at 11 Street Underpass, but uh as of October 30th, all lanes on First Avenue North are are open. Uh so that's a huge milestone and
just getting some more east west traffic on 1 Avenue North. Um then we will have we actually had last week Main Avenue uh reopened in one lane each direction, which was great. So that's eastbound. I think um full access going south on 11th
Street will occur uh mid to late November. And then the last uh piece of that, obviously good news on 1 and and Maine, uh but Center Avenue will be closed between 10th and 14th Street uh this November. So probably mid November
here and that'll be the final phase of the 11 Street underpass project. So uh obviously as we've seen things open up, uh we know we have our last piece of closure coming. Uh it would be great when this project is fully completed and we know that it's impacted a lot of our
businesses. So, uh, we encourage folks as this last phase, uh, uh, is upon us, uh, to utilize those businesses on Center Avenue. We know there's going to be some, uh, navigation to get back there, but, uh, we we've been having a a great, I think, success and and back and
forth with those businesses along Center of just what expectations are and how to promote. Obviously, we talked about the social media aspect and and those teams will continue to do a great job, but um we know that will be a a hard a hard hit for some of those businesses as we enter into 2026.
Hope is the project will be completed this time next year. Uh which will be which will be a great thing. With that, I'll pause for any questions. >> Are there any questions for Derek? No questions.
All right. Um, thank you, Derek. Thank you, Amy. And I guess item eight for everybody here andor the public. Um, if you're looking for information on the 11th Street underpass, more than what was provided, downtown Mor Vision, uh, info on the community center or regional
library, or just general information on housing updates, we have links to all of that in the meeting agenda here. Um so with that we will adjourn. >> Thank you.