Committee Minutes

MINUTES
Growth Fund Committee Meeting
Office of Urban Development Conference Room
1405 First Avenue North
Grand Forks, ND 58203

January 20, 2009

1. Roll Call: Present: Doug Christensen, Terry Smith, Dwight Thompson and Mike McNamara. Also present: Greg Hoover, Meredith Richards, Melanie Richardson, Keith Lund, Bill Urban and Jason Johnson from Philadelphia Macaroni Co., Tom Schuster and Brenda Kiefel from Alerus Financial, Tu-Uyen Tran from the Grand Forks Herald. Absent: Eliot Glassheim.

2. Approval of Minutes – September 16 & September 30, 2008: Motion by McNamara, second by Smith to approve minutes from previous meetings. All present voted aye. MOTION CARRIED.

3. Monthly Report: Accepted. Hoover reports that due to year end procedures with the City, we don’t have current cash information but the report will reflect past figures and the changes to the PACE Loan Policy. Christensen requests a three year history of the Growth Fund loan activities by February 5, 2009 for both the Growth Fund Committee and the City Council.

4. Other Business: Application from Philadelphia Macaroni Co.: Bill Urban from Philadelphia Macaroni Co. is requesting a PACE loan from the Growth Fund in the amount of $122,841. Lund states that the company has secured a $1,200,000. loan from Alerus Financial to finance the project. Lund explains that the PACE loan will be used to secure a PACE grant from the Bank of North Dakota for just over $228,000. The new PACE policy will apply to this project: payment and interest will be deferred seven years, then will carry a 1% interest rate and be repaid in 12 equal installments.

Motion by Smith, seconded by McNamara to approve the Philadelphia Macaroni Co. PACE loan application. All present voted aye. MOTION CARRIED.

Christensen and McNamara express concerns with continuing to grant PACE loans to businesses that are interested in Grand Forks simply due to the good work ethic and lower wages than larger cities. Hoover, Lund and Thiessen will gather “living wage” information for the next Growth Fund Committee meeting which is scheduled for February 17, 2009.

5. Project Update: Lund reports that the expansion opportunity with Hood Processing is on hold for 2009 due to economic issues and the bankruptcy of one of Hood’s primary customers, Pilgrim’s Pride. The investment board has indicated that the issue may be revisited later this year to discuss the possibility of expansion in 2010.

Executive Session: Motion by Glassheim, seconded by McNamara to go into executive session at 4:44 pm. All present voted aye. MOTION CARRIED.

Motion by Smith, seconded by Thompson to come out of the Executive Session at 4:55 pm. All present voted aye. MOTION CARRIED.

6. Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at approximately 4:55 pm.



________________________ ________________________
Melanie R. Richardson Doug Christensen
Office of Urban Development Chairman