Tonight, the EDA and City staff were invited to meet with the Northfield Downtown Development Corporation for "Beer & Brats" at the Rueb-N-Stein. There was no agenda for the meeting, just an opportunity for both organizations to get to know each other and to discuss ideas and issues of mutual relevance. Ross Currier, Executive Director of the NDDC, opened things up by thanking everyone for attending, and asking what the NDDC could do to support the EDA in their mission.
Some of the ideas discussed included the Q-Block development; strategies for marketing the Northfield community; business retention and expansion, particularly of downtown businesses; and the facilitating of dialog within the City and the business community. Read Ross Currier's blog for his perspective on the meeting.
All in all, it was a profitable time of communication between two organizations deeply concerned with the economic well-being of our community, and I want to thank the NDDC for taking the initiative to organize the meeting. I hope we can look forward to more opportunities to work together in the future.