On the agenda: Harmony Minutes — Data Center (Sep 6)

HARMONY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY Regular Meeting Minutes August 6 , 2026 Council Room 7:30 A.M. Community Center CALL TO ORDER: Meeting was called to order to order at 7:30 by EDA President Stuart Morem x Steve Donney (Mayor) x Kel s ey Bergey (EDA) x Keith McIntosh (City Council) x Alissa Stelpflug (City Administrator) x Greg Schieber (EDA) x Chris Hahn (EDA Interim Director) x Stuart Morem (EDA) Guests: Aaron Bishop, Amy Bishop, Alan Dahl, Eric Thigles, Becky Jones, Cindy Ofstedal Dan Dornick Meeting was called to order to order at 7:30 by President Stuart Morem AGENDA/ MINUTES (Consent Agenda) Motion to approve the August 6 th Meeting Agenda and July 10 th Meeting Minutes was made by Steve Donney, 2 nd by Keith McIntosh carried unanimously with no discussion REPORTS: Chamber of Commerce Report: (Amy Bishop) Amy Bishop updated the EDA Board. Chamber Director Kell e y Collins will remain on board through the end of August. The Chamber plans to post the Membership & Event Coordinator position soon, hoping to have the position filled by the beginning of September. (noting that the board hopes that Kelley will apply for the position ) It was reported that Wanda Burkholder has joined the Board to complete Mason’s term (complete 1/2027). Still seeking a Board member to fill Jen’s term (complete 1/2028). A written report was also submitted reporting detail s and information on the following activities: Marketing 4th of July event recap Ladies’ Bingo at the Golf Course on July 14th Back Alley Jam Concert Series event on July 16th Golf Tournament Fundraiser on July 20th: Fillmore County Fair table and community engagement Financial Report and Claims: (Chris Hahn) The Ju ly 27, 2026 EDA RED Loan Summary was presented and reviewed by the board. All RED Loan accounts are current and in good standing. Prospects & Community Update: (Chris Hahn) Green Loop Refillery : (Sarah and Anette Keiffer) will be moving their business from Spring Valle y, MN to Harmony, and m oving into the retail space in the back of the Bee Balm business. Green Loop Refillery’s entrance will be located along 1 st Street NW. Welcome Sarah and Anette! Jem Theatre : Spoke with Alicia Pearson who is looking to buy the Jem Theater, about possible financial programs and incentives available to help renovate improved this property. CEDA Work Update: (Chris Hahn) Business Updates and Meetings: Chris attended the SMIF Partner Social in Owatonna , MN on July 13 th and met with the SMIF team and other C ommunity/ Economic D evelopment people to network and discuss opportunities and strategies for smaller rural communities. Chris attended the HACC Board Meeting on July 21 st , to learn more about the HACC activities and initiatives . Chris Hahn presented a request for a Letter of Support for the 7 Rivers Alliance application for the SMIF EDA Grant program. The 7 River Alliance serves several counties in SW Wisconsin and communities in SE Minnesota in Fillmore, Winona and Houston counties. The 7 Rivers Regional Business Park Initiative represents an important opportunity to address th e challenges of Business Park development through a collaborative regional approach. By partnering with local governments, the Mississippi River Regional Planning Commission, utilities, economic development organizations, and private-sector stakeholders, the initiative will provide participating communities with a comprehensive inventory of business and industrial sites, assessments of infrastructure capacity, identification of development opportunities and constraints, and practical recommendations for future investment. This initiative is in p artnership with the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. (WEDC) and CEDA. Due to the fact that the WEDC cannot fund any of this project’s activities in MN, yet the project scope is in both MN and WI, 7 Rivers is applying to the SMIF Economic Development Grant to cover the cost incurred in MN , and asking for support from the City of Harmony. Motion to submit a letter of support for the 7 Rivers Alliance SMIF EDA Grant application for the 7 Rivers Regional Business Park Initiative was made by Steve Donney, 2 nd by Keith McIntosh carried unanimously with no discussion . EDA Loans and Program Updates : SMIF Economic Development Grant applications are open for projects up to $10,000, with applications due August 10, 2026 . Director Hahn forwarded this grant program information to the HACC Board as many of the samples of past awards were similar to some of the ideas expressed at the HACC board meeting around potential business engagement and education ideas, noting that the HACC would need to partner with a local non-profit to serve as the fiscal agent. SMIF Small Town Grant for projects up to $10,000 with applications due August 19, 2026 . Director Hahn was asked to follow-up with Vicky Tribon of the HAHS regarding as possible grant application around updating community signage wit QR codes that would direct people to addition historical information about the Harmony community. Arlin Falk Foundation Grant Applications are open and must be received by October 1, 2026. Application/guidelines have been requested for review Other / Updates : The Data Center Ordinance was reviewed by the EDA, Planning and Zoning and City Council on August 5 th . Further c onversation in the EDA meeting presented the following follow-up questio n. Q: Where are we getting potential employment number? - Proposals from interested data centers would list the estimated number of job s created in the community Q : H ow the city would gather input on how best to use fund received from a potential data center benefits agreement. Q : Would the EDA and other committees within the city/community be engages and tasked with identifying opportunities for investment of funds gained through the community benefit agreement/franchise fees (ad hoc committee / philanthropy committee ) Comment : W as also offered that we need to “think big” when it comes to negotiating franchise fees and benefits agreement, as there is a real opportunity to move the needle through substantially investment of proceed/fees/benefit agreements . Q : Regarding the noise requirements , can the city set a standard that is stricter that than the state of MN requirement. Greg Schieber offered that the city and state cannot set separate noise levels. As long as the company meets the standard set, we can not deny it. Fillmore County - RCCIP Child Care Open House was held July 28 th . Greg Schieber provided an update. Chris Hahn will gather information on several child care successes including the Child Care House concept and provide the data to the EDA for review. DNR: Harmony-Preston Valley State Trail Paving project start ed earlier than anticipate and is still be ing worked on. P UBLIC FORUM: Erica Thilges asked if there h as been any progress regarding development of the industrial park lots for sale. City Admi ni strator Stelpflug will follow-up with the city engineer regarding status of this project. OLD BUSINESS: Continued Discussion: Combining EDA/ Chamber Director was tabled pending the hiring of a new HACC Membership & Event Coordinator. N EW BUSINESS: REVIVE Act Pilot Legislation - (See Attached) ( Discussion Item / No Board Action ) This Act establishes the REVIVE Act, a targeted pilot program providing refundable tax credits to stimulate redevelopment in a limited number of distressed census tracts. The program builds on federal Opportunity Zone benefits and is strictly limited in scope, duration, and eligibility. Eligible Projects Credits are available only for qualified projects located on: (a) Government-owned land, including municipally owned properties exempt from taxation under Minnesota Statutes, section 272.02, subdivision 8; or (b) Privately owned land that meets at least one of the following criteria: ( i ) vacant or undeveloped land; (ii) buildings deemed “structurally substandard” as defined in Minnesota Statutes, section 469.174, subd. 10; or (iii) buildings with 50 percent or less tenancy for the prior three years. Incentives A 20 percent refundable tax credit for qualified construction expenditures, including site preparation, demolition, adaptive reuse, vertical construction, and other hard costs. A 30 percent refundable tax credit for qualified sustainable investments, including LEED certification, solar and geothermal systems, efficient HVAC, green retrofits, and related improvements. Credits are pass-through eligible for partnerships and S corporations. All projects require a resolution of support from the local city council or governing body. Back Alley Beautification Project - Becky Jones and Dan Dornick presented the idea of investment into the EDA owned land (60 1 st Ave NW) and land owned by Estelles, and Harmony Distillery behind Estelles, and adjacent to Harmony Distillery in order to improve the visual appearance, and utility of the area. Presentation included concept drawings and ideas. This includes constructing fenced areas for trash and recycling and potentially erecting a pavilion/ shelter for events as the space is currently use for events on a regular basis. ( Discussion Item / No Board Action ) Discussion was had, including the following topics: The question was asked if the city has given up on using that land for future business development /construction ? (noting that businesses are hard recruit especially on an infill lot) Is developing a “Third Space” something the cit y should invest in? Is this the best location for this type of community space? It is a great location that people use, however, certain things may not be able to be changed. (infrastructure, utilities, Etc. ) Could the non-city owned parcels be acquired? Chris Hahn to reach out to businesses Cost estimates (what would we need for a dedicated space/ what would it cost) Funding options identified included SMIF, Give to the Max, Other? Miners Underground Dirt Pile - Tom Davis had reached out to the city regarding a pile of dirt on the Miners Underground lot in the industrial park, asking if the city wanted to contract him to move/ remove it. The understanding is that Miners wants the pile removed and Mr. Davis was asking if the city needed dirt and wished to hire him to move it. There seemed to be some confusion as to the situation regarding the dirt pile, and Director Hahn will reach out to Miners Underground to determine the what their wishes are moving forward and facilitate connecting interested parties, regarding removal of the pile if needed. ( Discussion Item / No Board Action ) Preliminary Budget for the Harmony Area Chamber of Commerce (Amy Bishop) was submitted for review, noting that organization of the current budget categories/ expenses is ongoing Douglas ( Treasurer ) but hope to have that finalized soon. ( Discussion Item / No Board Action ) 2027 Preliminary B udget for the EDA (Chris Hahn) is being developed, noting that the Contract rate for CEDA is using a planning placeholder of 5% increase, with anticipation that the increase is less then that (similar to 2026, using a 5% increase as a planning number and the actual increase was 2.75%) Mayor Steve Donney asked if it would be possible to learn what the total EDA budgets for other communities are? Chris Hahn noted that this is publicly available information that can be requested from any community with an EDA, and that comparisons can be gathered for comparison . ( Discussion Item / No Board Action ) ADJOURNMENT: Hearing no addition items for discussion, EDA President Stuart Morem Adjourned the meeting by proclamation at 8:44 am Respectfully Submitted Chris Hahn – CEDA Interim EDA Director