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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021 05-10 EDAM MINUTES OF THE PROCEEDINGS OF TI� ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY OF THE CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER 1N THE COUNTY OF HENNEPIN AND THE ' STATE OF MINNESOTA REGULAR SESSION MAY 10, 2021 1. CALL TO ORDER The Brooklyn Center Economic Development Authority(EDA) met in Regular Session called to order by President Mike Elliott at 10:28 p.m. The meeting was conducted via Zoom. Z. ROLL CALL President Mike Elliott and Commissioners Marquita. Butler, April Graves, and Dan Ryan. Commissioner Kris Lawrence-Anderson was excused. Also present were Acting Executive Director Reggie Edwards, Community Development Director Meg Beekman, City Clerk Barb Suciu,and City Attorney Troy Gilchrist. � 3. APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA Commissioner Ryan moved and Commissioner Graves seconded to approve the Agenda and Consent Agenda, and the following item was approved: 3a. APPROVAL OF P�IINUTES 1. Apri126,2021 Motion passed unanimously. 4. CONIlVIISSION CONSIDERATION ITEMS 4a. RESOLUTION NO. 2021-04 APPROVING A JOBS TRAINING SERVICE AGREEMENT WITH THE ORGANIZATION OF LIBERIANS IN MINNESOTA Acting Executive Director Reggie Edwards introduced the item and invited Community Development Director Beekman to present the sta.ff report. Community Development Director Meg Beekman stated this job service training agreement is with the Organization of Liberians in Minnesota.(OLM). She noted that as paxt of the 2021 budget,the City Council established strategic priorities for resident economic stability that included workforce and econornic development strategies to support sta.bilizing and increasing resident incomes. At present,the primary program is Brooklynk,which focuses on youth and been very successful. The City does not have a workforce development program focused on adults. As a re�ult, staff has OS/10/21 -1- explored the use of American Rescue dollars, federal COVID relief funding, to support an expansion of Brooklynk to include adult workforce development programming and pathways. Brooklyn Park is looking at this right now so City staff had discussions with them. She explained that in the interim,Brooklyn Park entered into an agreement with OLM to implement a healthcare training program to provide job training and career pathways for adults who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic. Ms. Beekman stated OLM has submitted a proposal to expand this Brooklyn Park program to include Brooklyn Center residents. She reviewed what would be provided in the program for 30 community members. The proposed contract is for one year and if successful can be considered by the EDA to continue beyond 2021. Ms. Beekman noted as an added benefit, this program would also provide sta.bility for OLM as a locally-based organization and help build their capacity to continue to serve the community. She reviewed sta.ff s analysis in considering this sole source contract and$57,000 budget. Ms. Beekman presented the jobs training program, noting OLM is already starting this work in Brooklyn Park so one benefit is that Brooklyn Center can tag along and expand services to the City's own residents. As a result,the program will be able to immediately reach out to the CiTy's residents. She reviewed anticipated outcomes that included project benchmarks,targeted one-year goals, and follow up evaluations with program participants six months after training to determine program effectiveness. Commissioner Graves asked about the length and amount of the contract in Brooklyn Park. Ms. Beekman deferred to Mr.Diahn. Kamaty Diahn,Executive Director of Organization for Liberians in Minnesota, stated they have a one-year contract for$117,000 with the City of Brooklyn Park to train 60 persons. He explained that during registration in Brooklyn Park, there were 12 Brooklyn Center residents who pre- registered but the grant was for Brooklyn Park residents only. Over the past 12 months, while being impacted by the pandemic, OLM partnered with Brooklyn Park and Hennepin County to access grants to provide food and rental assistance. Since OLM serves a community that has a majority of African immigrants and predominantly Liberians, people came to their organization. Mr. Diahn stated he had conversations with Ms. Beekman about how to accommodate residents of Brooklyn Center so this proposal is being made to accommodate at least 30 Brooklyn Center residents. He reviewed the sustainable salaries that would be paid totaling $112,000 in income just from the initial investment of$57,000 by Brooklyn Center, noting this is a win-win for both the residents and City of Brooklyn Center. Commissioner Graves thanked Mr. Diahn for this explanation and the work of OLM in the community for years. She asked about duplication and if the 30 individuals for this contract would be in addition to the 60 identified in the Brooklyn Park contract. Mr.Diahn stated that is correct. Commissioner Graves stated why she likes job programs like this,which are effective, and asked if OLM has reached out to community members beyond the Liberian community. Ms. Diahn clarified that this program is not limited to Liberians or people of African descent. It is open to all residents of Brooklyn Center. Commissioner Graves stated she knows OLM is an inclusive O5/10/21 -2- organization and wanted to suggest ways of being more intentional to reach out and assure more people know about the opportunity. Mr.Diahn suggested that Brooklyn Center use the same model as Brooklyn Park to use social media to attract all residents. He stated they have also negotiated with schools to assure students are well prepared to pass the clinical and State exams and be placed in a job. OLM has also contacted employers and held job fairs because the goal is to place over 75%of the trained people in a job. With that,the City of Brooklyn Center will be more inclined to continue the program. Commissioner Graves thanked Mr.Diahn for answering her questions and sta.ted she thinks this is a good investment of$57,000 to get more people in a career that is sustainable for their families. She noted this is a pilot level program and the City Council can think about ways to expand the program to more communities and careers moving forward. Commissioner Ryan stated he appreciates the comments of Mr. Diahn and thinks the EDA needs to be sensitive and responsive to other members of the community who have similar needs and requirements. He greatly appreciates the recommendations from Mr. Diahn given in the spirit of all those in the community who share similar needs. He supports Mr.Diahn's contributions to this meeting and the EDA's support to provide all available resources to any and all of the City's residents who need those resources. President Elliott moved and Commissioner Butler seconded to adopt EDA RESOLUTION NO. 2021-04 Approving a Jobs Training Service Agreement with the Organization of Liberians in Minnesota. Motion passed unanimously. 5. ADJOURNMENT Commissioner Ryan moved and President Elliott seconded adjournment of the Economic Development Authority meeting at 10:48 p.m. Motion passed unanimously. OS/10/21 -3- STATE OF MINNESOTA) COLTNTY OF HENNEPIN) ss. Certification of Minutes CITY OF BROOKLYN CENTER) The undersigned, being the duly qualified and appointed Secretary of the Economic Development Authority(EDA) of the City of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, certifies: 1. That attached hereto is a full, true, and complete transcript of the minutes of a Regular Session of the Economic Development Authority (EDA) of the City of Brooklyn Center held on May 10, 2021. 2. That said meeting was held pursuant to due call and notice thereof and was duly held via ZOOM. 3. That the Economic Development Authority (EDA) adopted said minutes at its May 24, 2021, Regular Session. � _,� � _.._. - Secretary President OS/10/21 -3-