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<br /> <br /> <br />REQUEST FOR COMMISSION CONSIDERATION <br /> <br />ITEM DESCRIPTION: Business Retention and Expansion Focus <br />DEPARTMENT HEAD’S APPROVAL: <br />CITY MANAGER’S APPROVAL: <br />No comments to supplement this report ___ Comments attached ___ <br /> <br />Recommendations:  Identify final responsibilities for contacting our largest local businesses to <br />build our connections with local business leaders <br /> Follow up on contacts and acquire needed data: How many employees <br />do they have? What does the company specialize in? What are their <br />plans for growth? How can we help? <br /> Report findings back sometime on or before November 15th. <br /> <br />History:  In 2015, the EDC spent significant time discussing Business Retention & <br />Expansion (BR&E) efforts, and ultimately recommended contracting with <br />Open to Business (OTB) as our main push in this regard. <br /> While OTB has been successful in helping entrepreneurs and small <br />businesses, it has become recognized that better outreach and better data <br />on our largest employers will also be vital for the City to succeed in the <br />BR&E arena. <br /> <br />Summary:  At the 8/7/19 meeting, staff spoke to the commission about how staffing <br />at the City has changed over the last ten years, and informed the <br />Commission that their assistance would be rquired on the BR&E front for <br />us to be effective moving forward. Step one of that process will begin at <br />the 10/2 meeting. <br /> Attached to this report is a spreadsheet from Ramsey County on our <br />largest employers, known main contacts, number of employees in NB, etc. <br />Note that API is listed as having only 12 local employees, so we need to <br />view the reliability of this data with a touch of skepticism; however, it <br />provides us with a fantastic starting point for conducting our own research! <br /> <br />Agenda Section: VI <br />Item: 1 <br />Report Date: 09/24/19 <br /> Commission Meeting Date: 10/02/19