00:00:16,130	I call the meeting to order the Vision Fund Committee meeting February 26th, 2026. Um, I guess we’ll take a roll call to start the meeting. Whitney. Member share Eric Peterson here. Schmidt here, Stu Meyer here. Freilich here.

00:00:41,270	Uh, I guess our first item on the agenda is a public comment, period. I don’t believe we have any public here to comment, so we’ll move on to approval of meeting minutes. If everybody’s had a chance to review those. Um, anybody have any discussion or anything like that? Motion to approve. I’ll second. We got a motion and a second.

00:01:05,800	Um, I can just. All in favor say aye. I, um, approval of the minutes passes. Uh, receive the Vision Fund financial statements. I believe Eric’s here to help us out with that. Good afternoon. Um, in in your packet today was included the Vision fund statements.

00:01:36,900	There’s not much change from last month. The only real difference is we had a few thousand dollars of interest accrual for the end of 25. Um, going forward, the 2025 column, um, columns in the financials should remain unchanged. Um, the available balance for the Vision Fund today is 621,381. That’s available for awarding two projects.

00:02:05,570	Um, we still currently, um, have two projects that have been approved but not yet awarded. They they haven’t, uh, haven’t started the process yet for the drawdowns. Yep. All right. Take any questions if you have any. Questions for Eric. Thank you very much. Um, anybody have any discussion on the financials? Move to approve as presented.

00:02:38,130	Got a motion to approve. I’ll second we have a second. All in favor, say aye. Aye aye. Um. Motion passes. Minutes are approved, and we’ll move on to, uh. Consider the application for the eclipse venue. I know that, um, that project, I think has been pulled, but I’ll let Noah discuss that a bit here as well. So.

00:03:03,270	Chair Freilich and members of the committee, yes, it has been pulled as the chair might also know. Um, the project was looking at doing both Vision Fund and other, um, wise going looking to options Vision Fund or going to Lewis and Clark for the match to unlock flex, pace and ultimately came to the

00:03:24,270	conclusion that they would prefer to go to Lewis and Clark route. Um, knowing that if the Vision Fund were to approve it, uh, today and they’d go to city commission on the 10th, that if they would just go get the letter of support on the 10th, it’d be the same timing, and they felt they’d have a better

00:03:42,430	shot. Um, level of certainty going through, um, to the letter of support process instead of the Vision Fund process. So ultimately, I project decided what the project wanted to do, and they were going to go that route. So I just have to ask the question and Chair Fraley, because. He can recuse himself and come around. Yeah. Yep.

00:04:03,570	But why did they feel that they had more certainty versus the Vision Fund? Was there a concern over being qualified because of the scoring matrix. So the scoring matrix was, uh, the I want to say concern, but it was scored a nine.

00:04:23,470	Um, just from the basis of it being a smaller project. Um, now the project itself is in a small project at all. It’s just this segment of okay, funding would have been small. I mean, I have no problem with Opportunity Fund being the vehicle because it retains cash for us for another project. But. Yeah, under discussion on that.

00:04:43,570	I mean, I can I can weigh in on that. I would have definitely recused myself from any vote on this. Um, I think we the main of the project of the 185, I think 100,000 there is coming through Lewis and Clark on a Shultz strategy project for the

00:04:58,230	property. Um, through the Lewis and Clark Fund. And I think the, the extra 15 that the bank they’re willing to do that already and have guarantees through the rest of the project. So I think it was also the scoring matrix is in the minimal side. Um, we I think about the job part of that.

00:05:17,000	There is going to be a lot of jobs, but whether they’re under the, the median or whatever, you know, so. Just as I just wanted to understand. Yep. No. Absolutely. And I would be happy that anybody has any questions about it.

00:05:28,500	I’d be happy to answer anything that I can on the project. I am part of one of the owners of it, so I don’t. Have a question on the project so much. Um, when we’re looking at this, just a clarification on this scoring matrix as I looked through when I was reviewing this project on question six, the additional revenue in it lumps start up

00:05:48,230	under that 0 to 10, so they get zero points on that. What’s the rationale behind that? I mean, are we so are we kind of penalizing. So any startup that applies for this, are we kind of penalizing and saying it’s 0% because any revenue that they have is obviously additional revenue. Right. So I was just looking at.

00:06:09,070	It’s a it’s a multiple million dollar project for sure. Um, doing this thing. So I don’t know that I think the eclipse venue part of it might have been where there’s a we have a less the the, the building is owned by a holding company and then the eclipse will lease that from there.

00:06:28,830	Um, so the eclipse has the liquor license and some operating capital. Um, so I think that might not be where it like that part of it, the business might be a question, but yeah, I get your point though.

00:06:46,000	Yeah, I kind of had that same question, a little bit of wondering if that’s because of the risk of a startup not having maybe like the data to speak to if their business can sustain and if that’s why it’s scored at zero, or if we have any historical knowledge of like, why startups fall. On that. So I don’t know.

00:07:06,330	There’s a historical knowledge, I suspect that that or startup came from, um, there being no ability to really project what the revenue would be. Honestly, um, I’m probably Andrea. You and I were Mike were on the committee when we read it, but there was. Maybe it was because automatically they would everything they got would have been. 100% more or 1,000% more or whatever you have. Zero. Yeah.

00:07:25,530	So so this score matrix can be modified. We’ve we leaned on the chamber EDC to come up with the matrix at the time. No I wasn’t there. So not him involved. But yeah I mean we have forecasts for this project and you know, forecast for revenue. But I guess it’s a forecast.

00:07:44,070	So yeah. And it says in there too, you know, that the that this is going to be based off of projections. Right. Projections required. So I don’t know. It’s something we got to look at is if we adjust our strike that startup part there, it’d be my thing.

00:08:01,170	We can. This is not right. It’s not set in any correct right. So we can adjust this. And and I think it’s it’s an evolving document. Um, unfortunately we probably have scored some other projects with it. But as I recall, the project that I’ve come through probably weren’t startup ones.

00:08:22,530	And so this might be kind of the first one, right? At least maybe since Laughing Sun a long. Time ago. Yeah, since a long. Yeah. Since we’ll we’ll start our payback on this on 2026. So if what I could say is I’m open to ideas from this body is to how question six could maybe be re crafted or drafted.

00:08:48,100	Um, maybe it’s revenue, a dollar amount of projected revenue increases or something like that. Or just strike the start. Well you’re still going to have a hard time with that because the startup’s going to go from they’re going to be zero to what? Yeah, I mean, I think you could put like a projection revenue

00:09:05,230	number zero to 5000 or 500,000 or whatever. You break it up to the one before and put your stuff in there or over that. I think that could be as easy as that. Yeah. Or have a separate, you know, for a startup, uh, a separate like an A and a B maybe.

00:09:22,430	And for a startup they would be based off of X, you know, projected revenues or something like that maybe. I guess I just think us kind of penalizing a startup, it kind of defeats the purpose of what this funds for, I guess, would. Be another thought. With that too. Sorry to interrupt.

00:09:38,400	Is that like the last thing that the scoring sheet says is that it’s one aspect of the evaluation process. So do we just keep in mind that as there’s startups, like as we’re weighing that, it might show that it’s minimal. But let’s talk through that as a discussion point. Instead of reinventing the.

00:09:53,730	That was going to be my point. This is only this doesn’t have to be the matrix that says yes or no on a project that we do have, like a minimal or whatever rating on the back.

00:10:06,100	But it was always meant to be like, you know, this is a matrix we can use. It doesn’t have to be the decision maker though. Um, but so I like that idea, but maybe there is a better way to answer that and not penalize something like that. So I thought about I thought about that rationale too.

00:10:23,170	But the problem is, if we start, you know, approving a deal, you just could get some pushback with that philosophy, to. absolutely kind of following this. If it’s only minimal, then what are we doing? We have five projects left, or five and a half left according to like if, if we full fund things, you know, if you’re approving minimal ones, you know, there’s probably stronger candidates out there too sometimes.

00:10:41,800	So anyway, we don’t have to decide that today. I would just say something for consideration. Um, but if we want to adjust any of these, we, you know, we would go through a, probably a more formal process and we could certainly lean on the economic development arm of the city,

00:11:00,700	which is the chamber EDC, to give us some feedback as well, that this did come originally from some criteria. I think that was being used in, I want to say, Jamestown. If I. Went through it. But but we changed it a lot. So yeah.

00:11:20,770	So it’s you know, there’s nothing says it can’t be an evolving document. And so, um, I hate to shut out opportunities. Um, that might be very viable just because they are startup.

00:11:40,070	And I don’t want, you know, that scoring to necessarily have a direct impact to this, even though it shouldn’t be the only reason we better have a good reason if we go beyond a minimal to absolutely to fund it. Um, so anyway, I don’t know, do you have other update for us? I did have some other business if you guys want to move on to that. Sorry for discussing everything on that, but no go ahead. Yeah.

00:11:54,930	Perfect. So flowing from that whole scoring matrix discussion, we did have a meeting with, uh, Bank of North Dakota and Lewis and Clark Development Group, along with the chamber EDC in the city.

00:12:12,630	Um, and discussed what we would do, um, looking at 2026 in the Vision Fund and trying to get the word out a bit more, um, and ultimately, I came away from that meeting looking a bit more at the actual bones of the committee and how. We were going to look at evaluating both the processes and the, um, targets for Vision Fund and Bank of North Dakota.

00:12:38,400	Agreed graciously to kind of pull and survey who and look at who they work with different ADCs and localities around the state and see any like sized communities and see what their processes were. Um, to try and, um, sit back down with the city and the chamber EDC to look at strengthening the Vision Fund. Um, ultimately, I’d be up to like the committee.

00:12:59,100	Um, but getting a slate of ideas for updates, the application, the scoring matrix, and also like, what industries are we trying to target with the Vision Fund? So they’re pulling that together right now.

00:13:17,770	I’ve been talking with BND, um, they’ve met with a few of the communities, and we’re looking at meeting again on the 9th of March. Pull that some of the stuff together. This is something we would, uh, discuss at the April meeting or March meeting, or are we thinking April meeting? Um. Maybe March. That would give us still a couple of weeks to look at, but it very well could be April if we’d be and needed more time.

00:13:34,800	Yeah, totally get it. So. In that regard, do think about what you know. We’ve had this, you know, the activity was like nonexistent until we had some, some building structures come through that would have not normally been funded up in the building development. And so we did do those because we needed to get some activity.

00:14:01,030	Um, whether or not that’s always the right way to go. But, you know, are there specific target industries that we think are better, um, suited? I can tell you that, um, Jamestown is one of the more. Aggressive. But they, they utilize their economic development funds and the vision fund type component, they don’t call it Vision Fund.

00:14:26,100	Jamestown, Stutsman County Development Corporation to get the flex pace and and to flex or not flex space but pace funding and they fund a lot of projects. And so I’m not opposed to that. My bigger from my perspective I know that we’ve got an increasing tax base as a result of it.

00:14:46,370	And employees because that all helps drive economic development. But, um. Yeah. Just keep that in mind as Noah brings forward this information. I think we need to have that view is what do we want in the city of Bismarck? Uh, for those types of things. Jason, you have something. Chair Freilich and committee members, uh, when Noah.

00:15:07,230	Referenced city staff, I was I was part of the discussion as well. And just reviewing my notes from that. I think we’re Bank of North Dakota staff is looking at is for this group to also identify the types of projects that this group is looking to support.

00:15:22,830	And then when those things come to the Bank of North Dakota, they can help guide them to this process or the Opportunity Fund or whatever the right route may be. So I think having BND staff and this group meets, whether it be the March meeting or the April meeting, however, it works best to really just have those conversations.

00:15:38,830	But then also for BND staff to share, as the mayor just noted, some of the other communities and how they’re handling their economic development groups.

00:15:54,830	There’s some unique things about the Vision Fund Committee here that other cities aren’t doing, and there seems to be some more efficiencies in how other cities are operating when it comes to the timeline. As far as what, uh, what authority their JDS have or their economic development advisory group. So if I think there’s value in this group hearing some of that information and just being able to formulate all of that and deciding what’s the best right size and shape for Bismarck.

00:16:13,400	Because I think it’s some of those some of those communities. I think it doesn’t even go right to the commission. It bypasses the commission. Right. Mayor? You’re absolutely correct. Okay.

00:16:31,030	I think a few years ago we went to your office and had a big discussion with all sorts of people to talk about what the Vision Fund should fund. Um, it would have been about two years ago. I was like in like an early fall of 2024 is when the scoring matrix and where the changes were to the application last made. Well, I know when we applied.

00:16:47,770	A meeting there and they had lots of people and they were telling us about the visions of Bismarck and stuff, like, do we have notes from that? That would. Have been what was the right idea. Just before I started. But I could go back through and look at our files and then if Jason had any notes from. We did, but doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be evolving, because exactly.

00:17:07,400	Like. I know when we applied in 2018 and received the Vision Fund, it was there was an emphasis on bringing new, new things to Bismarck. You had to be a new industry, bringing outside dollars in from like manufacturing or something like that to get outside of that area, bringing outside dollars

00:17:26,730	in. But it was something that you were bringing some new product. So yeah, we literally had to get, um, letters of support from fellow breweries in the city to, um, say we weren’t impinging on there, like competition wise, but we were bringing a new packaging line in town.

00:17:44,270	And so there was some new benefits to that. And staffing and revenue. So but I don’t know, that emphasis kind of went a different direction. So we could always, yeah, revisit how we’d look at those projects. And. Sorry to interrupt. Yes. Uh, to committee member Peterson’s question, uh, it was June of 2024.

00:18:08,800	And so to, I guess, use that as a reference point. If this is something that ends up on the agenda for March or April, we would put that in for context. So for those of you that weren’t part of the committee at that time, it might shed a little light on what the thinking was as well.

00:18:22,000	And and I was probably the voice of trying to expand the, um, opportunities for utilization, because I think it’s important. Um, and so I don’t want us to get too narrow. And so it has to be a new industry.

00:18:43,370	Right? Because that when this was established back in the 80s or late 70s, early 80s, somewhere maybe late 80s, it was all about trying to bring in these big like the eunice’s of the world. And we’re not going to like that’s not necessarily should be our focus. Like, I would like to encourage our young entrepreneurs who want to start a business up, kind of like you did. Mike. Yeah. Locally here.

00:19:03,730	And even if it is already a competitor, if it’s not really, you know, the market share for a brewery like you have anyone is like minuscule to the to the operation. So it’s, you know and in in a lot of the communities like building structures are a lot of what gets funded.

00:19:23,600	And we really held back on that. But if we get I can just tell you, if we go east for sure, Fargo, Jamestown, they’re funding buildings way more than just, you know, a brand new business.

00:19:42,030	Um, have we seen in communities that have, like, less barriers to I don’t know if barriers to entry is the right word, but less of a approval process, maybe of having it to go to commission that there’s stronger utilization in those communities? Or has that been discussed at all? There’s stronger utilization, but their funding stream has been I think they have buckets that fill regularly.

00:20:02,070	And from the budgeting cycle, which is also been part of the restriction here. And we go all the way back to when the first tranche of the first $0.01 1% sales tax came into play. There was a dedicated stream out of that sales tax revenue that went into the Vision Fund to fund project, but there was a lot more grants at that point in time.

00:20:21,100	And not just loan things. So, um, and we do have we can find some funds. So five and a half isn’t necessarily where we’re at. We there’s another space where we can go get some dollars that it it’s, it’s they’re just sitting there right now. So do we.

00:20:39,770	How does that meeting get set up then with the BND and the Bismarck chamber and the Vision Fund and talking about other stuff like that? How do we get that going? So if we include y’all Vision Fund, it would have to be here in this setting, right? If there’s more than however many of you. Right. For public notice. Well, be three is a quorum.

00:20:57,530	So okay. So anything more than three. Um, so I’d probably have the ninth meeting on the ninth with Jason, maybe include one of you. Um, Mike, it might make sense for you because you’ve been on both sides of the process.

00:21:14,770	Um, but then inviting them to either the march or the April Vision Fund meeting and kind of prepping that out so that we can be efficient during that meeting, but also have a full vision fund meeting, maybe a bit longer than the one we’re going to have today. I think that’s that’s great.

00:21:34,000	Is that suitable? Everybody on the okay, I don’t know that we need to have a motion on that or I think it’s just a okay. So, um, does anybody have any other business? I was just curious, Noah, if there’s any other like, larger projects coming in the pipeline of organizations that you’re talking with. Um. Not through Vision Fund.

00:21:58,830	I had a couple more looking for Opportunity Fund, um, through Lewis and Clark, but nothing Vision fund at the moment. So why are they choosing opportunity over? Um. Let me think. They’re unique projects. Um. There is. Oh, I don’t want to say too much, but unique projects that are smaller scope and not necessarily economic development. Um. So it’s like more qualification. They don’t it’ll be harder to get approved here. Is that the.

00:22:28,130	Yeah. Yeah. Because the financial benefit of the Vision Fund compared to opportunity, you know, is. Something I stayed right away. Yeah yeah, yeah. Um. Smaller renovations within existing buildings for smaller buyout businesses that aren’t. Any other discussion? All right then. Next meeting is adjourned.