CITY OF BECKER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY 2014 – ANNUAL REPORT

OVERVIEW

• Key Highlights

• Broadband Initiative

• EDA Expenditures/Revenues

• Business Retention/Expansion Visits & Statistics

• Becker EDA Website Statistics

• Business Investment in Becker

• New Businesses, Completed Projects, Expansion Projects

• Projects in the Works

• Moving into the New Year….Anticipations

• Questions/Comments

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• Updated the City of Becker’s Business Subsidy Agreement to reflect changes to MN State Statutes and to align with Sherburne County’s Business Subsidy Agreement.

• Coordinated efforts with the Becker Chamber of Commerce to conduct Business Retention & Expansion (BR&E) visits. In 2014 we made 39 visits to local businesses.

• Attended the 2014 Site Selectors Guild Conference in Denver, CO on February 24th-26th. The Site Selectors Guild is a professional association comprised of the world's most respected site selection consultants. This event is unique opportunity to showcase Becker, MN to the world.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS (CONTINUED)

• Attended the Site Selector Fam Tour in Ramsey and in St. Cloud in August 2014. Presented Site Selectors with a PowerPoint presentation featuring available properties and amenities in Becker and in Sherburne County.

• Industrial Business Park signs were updated with the current business names.

• Responded to 44 Business Inquiries that were received from Greater MSP, DEED, Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation and business owners.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS (CONTINUED)

• Prepared and Received a $1,500 grant from the Initiative Foundation for Economic Development Finance Professional Training by the National Development Council.

• Partnered with Sherburne County on the upcoming 2015 Site Selector Guild Conference to cover ½ of all the costs of attendance in exchange for City/County & Regional representation at this event.

• Total Grants/Contributions Received in 2014: $2,895.67

KEY HIGHLIGHTS (CONTINUED) - BROADBAND

•Broadband Initiative: Sherburne County along with several public partners have collaborated with private sector entities on examining the need for development of broadband infrastructure within the County.

•Becker in collaboration with Sherburne County, Big Lake, Princeton, Zimmerman developed and distributed surveys to identify broadband need in the County.

•123 Total Survey Responses were received.

City of Zimmerman

BROADBAND INITIATIVE

77%

23%

Total Responses by Commercial/Residential

Comm

Res

30 29

2

30

14

1

17

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Total Responses by City

Total

BROADBAND INITIATIVE

Dissatified 25%

Neutral 16%

Satisfied 22%

Very Dissatisfied 28%

Very Satisfied 9%

Total Satisfaction wth Service

53% of the Respondents were either dissatisfied or very dissatisfied with their primary broadband provider. 31% of the Respondents were either satisfied or very satisfied with their primary broadband provider.

BROADBAND INITIATIVE

•Becker partnered with Sherburne County and assisted in the formation of the Sherburne County Broadband Coalition. •Researched, wrote and submitted application materials to assist in designating Sherburne County as a Blandin Broadband Community.

•Letters of support have been received to date from 28 local organizations, businesses and regional groups in and around Sherburne County representing the public, private and joint powers sectors.

BROADBAND INITIATIVE

• Sherburne County was one of only 10 communities selected this year. We received public recognition of this event on November 19th at the Boarder to Boarder Broadband Conference in Brainerd, MN. Becker was well represented!

EDA EXPENDITURES

EDA Budget 2014 YTD 2014 Budget Balance

WAGES - DEPARTMENT HEAD $20,629.25 $27,200.00 6,570.75

WAGES - OTHER $24,470.49 $26,700.00 2,229.51

MEETINGS $0.00 $500.00 500.00

EMPLOYER PERA $2,854.86 $3,900.00 1,045.14

EMPLOYER FICA $3,263.19 $4,100.00 836.81

HEALTH INSURANCE $9,582.73 $10,000.00 417.27

WORKERS COMPENSATION INSURANCE $423.95 $300.00 -123.95

GENERAL OPERATING $409.29 $600.00 190.71

FUEL/TRANSPORTATION $697.20 $500.00 -197.20

TOOLS/MINOR EQUIP $204.85 $2,000.00 1,795.15

MDSE FOR RESALE $0.00 $0.00 0.00

LEGAL FEES $242.00 $2,500.00 2,258.00

CONFERENCES AND TRAINING $1,030.47 $1,500.00 469.53

CONTRACTED SERVICES $2,915.00 $8,500.00 5,585.00

PROMOTION $3,404.20 $7,600.00 4,195.80

DUES, LICENSES, SUBSCRIPTIONS $725.00 $1,500.00 775.00

CAPITAL EXPENDITURES $0.00 $0.00 0.00

TAX ABATEMENTS $0.00 $0.00 0.00

TAXES $364.00 $0.00 -364.00

SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS $0.00 $0.00 0.00

TRANSFER OUT - REV CAP $0.00 $13,900.00 13,900.00

24%

24%

0%

4% 4%

9%

0%

1%

0%

2%

0% 2%

1%

8%

7%

1% 0%

0%

0% 0%

12%

EDA Budget 2014 Breakout

WAGES - DEPARTMENT HEAD

WAGES - OTHER

MEETINGS

EMPLOYER PERA

EMPLOYER FICA

HEALTH INSURANCE

WORKERS COMPENSATION INSURANCE

GENERAL OPERATING

FUEL/TRANSPORTATION

TOOLS/MINOR EQUIP

MDSE FOR RESALE

LEGAL FEES

CONFERENCES AND TRAINING

CONTRACTED SERVICES

PROMOTION

DUES, LICENSES, SUBSCRIPTIONS

CAPITAL EXPENDITURES

TAX ABATEMENTS

TAXES

SPECIAL ASSESSMENTS

TRANSFER OUT - REV CAP

2014 EDA REVENUES

2014 EDA Revenues

Column1 2014 YTD 2014 Budget Balance

TAXES $78,483.26 $110,300.00 $31,816.74

LOCAL GRANTS $1,500.00 $0.00 -$1,500.00

UNREALIZED GAIN ON INVESTMENTS $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

INTEREST $1,413.54 $1,000.00 -$413.54

DONATIONS RECEIVED $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

OPERATING TRANSFERS IN $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

2014 EDA Revenues

TAXES

LOCAL GRANTS

UNREALIZED GAIN ON INVESTMENTS

INTEREST

DONATIONS RECEIVED

OPERATING TRANSFERS IN

BUSINESS RETENTION VISITS

• 39 Business Visits were made in 2014 in collaboration with the Becker Chamber of Commerce.

• 28% of the businesses visited have plans to expand their business within the next few years.

• TJ Potter started their expansion project this year and will be completed in early 2015.

• Becker Screen Print is expected to invest in a larger facility this coming year (Former Body's by Ralph location).

• Of the businesses visited, the number of new hires within the next year will increase approximately 28%. (Total number of Employees are expected to increase from 421 to 537 over the next year, which equates to a net increase of 116 new jobs in the local area)

BUSINESS RETENTION STATISTICS

28%

72%

Future Expansion Plans amoung Busineses visited in 2014

Planning on Expanding

Not Planning on Expanding

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

Total

Total Employees including projected New Job Creation over the next 12

months

116 421

BECKER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY WEBSITE - STATISTICS

BUSINESS INVESTMENT IN BECKER

•Darter Plastics has created 9 new FT positions since 2013, and anticipates creating 5 more jobs within the next year. They have invested in new equipment valuing at over $90,000 between 2013-2014. They are anticipating investing in additional equipment valuing at approximately $75,000 in 2015.

•Plymouth Foam has created 8 new FT positions in 2014 and has invested $250,000 in new equipment in 2014.

BUSINESS INVESTMENT IN BECKER

• Fire Buggz

• Purchased 8,684 sqft building

• Began Production in early 2014

• Created 3FT and 1 PT positions

• Outdoor Accessories

NEW BUSINESSES

•Ranking, LLC began construction of a new 3,120 sq. ft. retail facility (Rahbain’s Outdoor) on Hwy 10. The project has an estimated taxable value of $96,600.

*The taxable value is the market resale value based on prior year sales determined by county calculations. Value is calculated on the building improvements only, not the land.

NEW BUSINESSES

•Absolute Sourcing, Inc. recently purchased and closed on 14075 Prosperity Ave, the former K.A.S.S. Cabinet and 1st Cut Products building. Staff assisted in closing out the former development agreement with the previous owners. Absolute Sourcing will employ approximately 2 new FT positions and will add approximately 5 new positions over the next year. They invested $75,000 in equipment purchases this year.

NEW BUSINESSES

• Highway Materials, Inc.

Recently purchased the former Becker Truss plant. They are a fabricator and distributor of materials for the concrete construction industry with a primary focus on highway, street, bridge and airfield projects as well as commercial and industrial concrete flatwork projects. They are anticipating employing 8 new FT positions in 2015.

NEW BUSINESSES

•Lear Holdings - purchased and remodeled the former vacant liquor store building off of Hwy 10 into commercial office space. The completed remodeling project equated to approximately $19,900 of taxable value and fills an existing property that had been sitting vacant for several months.

NEW BUSINESSES

• Liberty Tax opened in November 2014

• Good Spirits & Smoke opened in December 2014

• Stolt Trucking opened in August 2014

NEW BUSINESSES

•CNC COPS recently purchased the former Auction House building in Becker Township. Staff assisted in re-zoning the property from AG to IND-1. The completed remodeling project equates to approximately $370,000 in taxable value and fills an existing property that had been sitting vacant for several years.

COMPLETED PROJECTS

•Kaseman Machine completed construction of a 8,400 sq. ft. manufacturing and office expansion. The completed project added $365,900 of taxable value.

COMPLETED PROJECTS

•Structural Buildings completed construction of three new mini-storage facilities totaling 10,720 sq. ft. The completed project will equate to approximately $187,000 of taxable value.

COMPLETED PROJECTS

•Snap Fitness purchased and remodeled the former Element Arms building off of Hwy 10. The completed remodeling project equated to approximately $25,000 of taxable value and fills an existing property that had been sitting vacant for several months.

COMPLETED PROJECTS

•Vonco II completed construction of a new 6,912 square foot storage shed and a 672 square foot office/break room. The project equates to approximately $91,500 of taxable value. Employs 6 people.

COMPLETED PROJECTS • PCI-Roads have recently purchased the former North Suburban Steel Building. Staff

assisted in closing out the former development agreement with the previous owners.

COMPLETED PROJECTS

• Becker Industrial Park Road Improvement Project is completed.

• Hancock Street was improved with a new lift of gravel.

• Industrial Blvd and Industry Ave were reclaimed and resurfaced.

• Liberty Lane was reclaimed and resurfaced.

• The railroad crossing on Sherburne Avenue South was improved.

• Sherburne Ave was resealed and improved from a 9-Ton road to a 10-Ton road.

COMPLETED PROJECTS

•Element Arms purchased and remodeled a vacant building off of Hwy 10. They employ 2 FT and 2PT people. The completed remodeling project equated to approximately $27,500 of taxable value and fills and existing property that had been sitting vacant for several years.

EXPANSION PROJECTS

•TJ Potter Trucking is in the process of expanding their current facility off of Sherburne Ave South. The project is adding 26,434 sq. ft. of warehouse space. The project has an estimated cost of $800,000.

PROJECTS IN THE WORKS

• Casey’s General Store: Submitted plans to construct a 4,068 sqft convenience store on the vacant lot just north of McDonalds. Staff is conducting a plan review with staff and working with representatives from Casey's on the municipal approvals and permit process for this project. They are anticipating employing 15-20 people. The project will add approximately $416,800 in taxable value upon completion.

PROJECTS IN THE WORKS

• Staff is working with a new Plastic Thermoforming business, who is anticipated to occupy the former Advanced Extrusions building beginning in Quarter 1 of 2015. The anticipated new job creation for 2015 is estimated at 24 Full Time positions. The approximate value of new equipment purchases in 2015 is valued at $1,000,000. Staff has assisted in connecting this business to the Initiative Foundation who is working with them to provide them with financial assistance to purchase machinery and equipment.

PROJECTS IN THE WORKS

• BNSF 10 Mile Stretch of Rail: BNSF has confirmed plans to build the second mainline during the 2015 construction season.

• BNSF is committed to working with the city on several issues (Right of Way, crossings, etc.) to meet the needs of the city.

• We will be working with SEH and BNSF in the coming months to work through the issues (including maintaining business continuity in the industrial park) during construction.

MOVING INTO THE NEW YEAR… ANTICIPATIONS…

• New Area Guides to be distributed to the local community.

• Updated information

• New Community Maps

• BNSF will be starting construction on the 10 miles of missing Rail Track from Becker to Big Lake beginning in 2015

• Two new anticipated businesses startups in 2015 creating nearly 40 jobs!

• Becker Business Expo in Jan 2015

• Site Selector Conference in Feb 2015

Contact Information Amanda Othoudt Community Development Coordinator Web: www.cityofbeckereda.com Email: amandao@ci.becker.mn.us Phone: 763-200-4246