The Edina City Council adopted Resolution 2025-101 on Nov. 18 to amend the city's SPARK/TIF spending plan in two ways allowed by recent state changes: extend the program deadline by one year and permit interest earnings accumulated on the accounts to be included in eligible spending.

Economic development manager Bill Neundorf briefed the council on three options: do nothing and let the money return to county/state distribution; extend the deadline by one year only; or extend the deadline and add interest to the available pool. He reported roughly $9.5 million in unobligated principal and additional interest earnings are available; staff recommended extending the plan and including interest so those funds remain available for qualifying projects.

Council members debated eligible uses and transparency. Some members emphasized honoring previously pledged commitments and using SPARK funds for projects that support economic development (examples cited included public infrastructure tied to private development). Others urged caution about using SPARK on top of existing TIF commitments and asked staff for reporting and an eventual path to unwind the program if no new qualifying projects materialize.

The council voted to adopt the amended spending plan that extends the program and includes interest, and staff committed to provide periodic updates and to clarify how leftover funds would be returned to district accounts or county/state if unspent when the program ends.

Next steps: staff to implement the amended plan, monitor pledged and prospective projects (including the Enclave/Macy’s project) and provide updates to the HRA and council.