Members Present: Mark Crowl, Rick Anderson, Ed Peterson, Ted Gerber, Chuck Govin

Members Absent: Dick Hartman, Derek Zeiler, Chuck Melberg, Kelly Hibbs

Members Excused: John Richards, Stan Peer

Others Present: Michael Kornmann, John Strochine

CALL TO ORDER:
Meeting called to order by Ted Gerber at 3:04 p.m. at the Burnett County Government Center - Room 165 on April 6, 2005.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Motion made by Peterson, seconded by Anderson to approve the minutes of the March 2, 2005 meeting. Motion carried.

APPROVAL OF TREASURERS REPORT

APPROVAL OF VOUCHERS:
No vouchers were submitted.

ZELINSKI RESIGNATION
Kornmann read the Zelinski resignation letter. Anderson noted that the by-laws state that the vice-president must fill the remainder of the presidents term. Peterson motioned to nominate Mark Crowl for vice-president, seconded by Anderson. Motion carried.

NORTHWEST REGIONAL PLANNING COMMISSION REPORT
Stroschine presented a sample letter to go with the retention survey. The board discussed who should sign the letter … BCDA president and/local officials. The board also noted that a BCDA pamphlet should be included with the survey. Stroschine brought up the issue that county economic development organizations may not have the authority to update municipality files on LOIS. Motion made by Rick Anderson and seconded by Govin to send a letter requesting municipalities to communicate if they do not want BCDA to provide this service. Motion carried. Stroschine, Peer, and Lehman met with Kleiss Gears and the company noted that some better synergy could be accomplished in the Grantsburg Industrial Park. North States Industries is being affected by oil prices and competition from China. The plastics company in the Siren Enterprise Center may be looking for its own building. McNally's will still have some presence in the Grantsburg Enterprise Center.

WEB SITE ACTIVITY REPORT
Kornmann presented the web site activity report. He noted the pre-purchased hours are starting to work down. A bulk purchase may be needed in the coming months. Sponsorships according to Webpenguin are still at 25.

COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS
This item is postponed until the May meeting.

BUSINESS SYMPOSIUM PROGRAM
The board discussed further the symposium. Health care alternatives will be presented prior to Memorial Day weekend and cover health care savings accounts and health care cooperatives. Several board member noted that more than one provider of health care savings accounts should be included in the presentation. A round table format was suggested. Pre-registration was also suggested.

NEWSLETTER
Kornmann noted that The Connection newsletter will go out next week to almost 500 recipients including businesses and elected officials.

BUSINESS LISTING
Kornmann noted that the project will work on updating the info with a completion date of July 1st.

TIF EDUCATION PROGRAM
Kornmann discussed how tax incremental financing works and some recent changes in the law. He noted that significant changes have been made for the use of TIF in town municipalities for use for tourism, forestry, and agriculture.

LEADERSHIP PROGRAM SCHOLARSHIP GUIDELINES
Kornmann provided information on the new leadership program. In the past BCDA has provided scholarships for half of the tuition. Motion by Anderson, second by Gerber to provide scholarships for participants in the program that are either residents of Burnett County or employed in Burnett County.
Motion carried.

SET NEXT MEETING DATE
Next meeting date was set for May 4, 2005 beginning at 3:00 p.m. in Room 165 of the Burnett County Government Center.

Respectively Submitted,

Ted Gerber, Acting Secretary