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Authorizing an application to the Department of Employment and Economic Development under the Job Creation Fund for GovDelivery Inc. to assist in the financing of their expansion at 180 East Kellogg Boulevard.
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WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul has partnered with state and local governmental entities and our regional economic development organization to address the needs of GovDelivery Inc. in their expansion efforts to occur in either Minnesota or elsewhere in the United States; and
WHEREAS, GovDelivery Inc. has proposed an expansion project which meets the purpose and criteria of the State of Minnesota Job Creation Fund (JCF) Program of the Department of Employment and Economic Development; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul finds that the expansion would not occur solely through private investment within the reasonably foreseeable future, or would occur in another state, without funding from the Job Creation Fund (JCF) Program; and
WHEREAS, GovDelivery Inc. is the leading provider of digital communications solutions to government organizations in the U.S. and U.K. and serves over 1,000 government organizations with clients across all 50 states, every federal department, and Europe; and
WHEREAS, in 2000, GovDelivery Inc. partnered with local Minnesota governments, including the City of Saint Paul and Stearns County, to develop the GovDelivery Communications Cloud, a solution that allows governments to communicate more proactively with the public on urgent and important topics ranging from park updates and crime to snow emergencies and policy making; and
WHEREAS,even at its current size, GovDelivery Inc. is one of the fastest-growing and best-known high-tech companies in Minnesota and specifically in downtown Saint Paul; and
WHEREAS, GovDelivery Inc. employs 166 full time employees company-wide, 100 of which are located in Saint Paul; and
WHEREAS, GovDelivery Inc. will add an additional 100 jobs in Saint Paul over the next three years; and
WHEREAS, the wages paid to these new GovDelivery Inc. employees are considered high-wage positions, averaging over $40 per hour plus benefits; and
WHEREAS, the JCF Program Application request will be used for job creation and capital investment at 180 E. Kellogg Boulevard where the expansion is proposed, which is otherwise to remain as storage; and
WHEREAS, bringing this high-tech software company as an anchor office tenant to this development can act as a catalyst to recruit additional office users, further utilizing space that is otherwise slated for storage; and
WHEREAS, the City of Saint Paul has not violated any Federal, State, or local laws pertaining to fraud, bribery, kickbacks, collusion, conflict of interest or other unlawful or corrupt practice,
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota, upon recommendation of the Mayor, hereby expresses its approval of the project proposed by GovDelivery Inc. and its application for an award and/or rebate from the State of Minnesota Job Creation Fund Program of the Department of Employment and Economic Development.