Hybrid Regular Meeting (Sep 15, 2021)

Todd Heiman welcomed the group today.

Todd thanked the members for their support of the Auction and Centennial, with nearly $30,000 after expenses, about $5,000 more than 2019. Great work!

He reviewed the actions taken at the board meeting, including $250 support for the Glow Run, a draft Memorandum of Agreement with the Chamber for benches, tables, etc., and the beginnings of the Interact Club for this school year.

Topics for Today - David Miller and John Bennett

David Miller reviewed information on behalf of Sustainable Ely from NE Minnesotans for Wilderness. He and John Bennett reviewed the strengths and weaknesses for our area to attract and keep our population and to grow our economy. They reviewed data on our economy and population and trends for the future. We do not have a population base to meet projected job exits and we need to have a plan for our labor force.

There are many reasons why people would want to move to our region, today along with their remote work and businesses. Our pace of life, our lower cost of living, our well educated population, our access to recreation - "Recreation leads to Relocation". They discussed the issues that give us hope for our economy, but also the barriers to greater in-migration, the things where we are deficient - high speed broadband, affordable housing, and affordable and reliable child care. These need to be addressed.

Good data and a nice review of where we are and where we can be for the future.

Meeting Summary - september 15, 2021 - Meeting 5058

DAvid Miller and John bennett