6. 16 01 11 Washington County Economic Development report excerptthe entity to evaluate and underwrite their loan programs, but the County Board retains the
ultimate authority to approve the allocation of those financial resources.
In addition to the private sector business representation, these boards can be comprised of
representatives of smaller communities. This allows for these public private entities to pool
resources and provide economic development technical assistance to those communities that
don't otherwise have the individual capacity. Large communities with more staff and financial
capacity use these types of structures more as an advisory board representing private sector
business interests. In the case of Washington County, Woodbury and Oakdale use this structure
to help develop Economic Development Strategic Plans.
Since the primary benefit of this structure is to encourage private sector involvement through
board participation and possibly financial support, the question is how could this type of structure
benefit Washington County and what are the downsides. Research shows that often counties in
Minnesota start to play a role in economic development with this type of EDC structure as a first
step. Counties can provide financial resources based on tasks assigned to that entity while
retaining final approval authority for specific projects and programs. These structures work well
as marketing champions for county wide growth and should not be considered mutually exclusive
of a more formal structured approach. The possible downside risk of this approach in
Washington County is the current private business community participants, particularly the
Oakdale and Woodbury EDC's, could perceive that this is duplicative. In addition, the more this
public private model is tasked with direct economic development activities, such as loan
programs and technical assistance, the more there would need to be careful consideration given to
avoiding duplicating those same efforts currently undertaken by the larger communities and
potentially the County HRA.
Formal Structure (County Community Development Authority)
If the County Board chooses a more formal and active role in economic development, one logical
path is to seek any necessary special legislation to enhance the capabilities of the Washington
County HRA by essentially adding economic development authority powers. Other jurisdictions
have successfully completed similar legislative action and established themselves as "community
development agencies" (Dakota, Scott, and Carver), that were originally constituted as housing
authorities. Any programming would require careful consideration to avoid duplicating efforts
currently undertaken by cities, but obtaining legal authority provides the county access to
significant authority and financial resources to encourage economic development. Many of the
technical skill sets required for implementing economic development strategies exist within the
County HRA. (They also exist in many of the larger communities, but are currently limited to
those municipal boundaries.) To be responsive to city needs and county board direction, the
HRA could certainly undertake and implement programs (i.e. partner with MCCD for example)
as soon as possible as long as those efforts are consistent with current authority, while pursuing
the necessary legislative amendment process.
A possible downside of the CDA model is the risk of diluting private business sector interests on
the board. However, the CDA model can have a board comprised entirely of county elected
officials or a blended combination of elected and appointed members. As resource commitments
increase with a more active and formal participation in economic development activities, county
elected officials may choose to have a more direct involvement on the board. They establish
advisory committees organized according to the issues they intend to address. If the Washington
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County Board chooses to pursue a more formal CDA model and wishes to have more direct
involvement with county wide housing and economic development initiatives, the structure could
accommodate that desire. One of the principles promoted during this process is for the County to
be purposeful and deliberate. If the formal CDA model becomes the objective, it will take time
and careful collaboration to complete.
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