The strategic plan was developed by Better City, an economic advisory group. Last month, Better City CEO Jason Godfrey gave a report on the strategic plan to the EDA. Tuesday, Godfrey brought the final draft of the plan to the board.

The strategic plan outlines the long-term goals of New Ulm EDA, key priorities and a schedule reaching these goals. Godfrey provided an overview of the strategic plan for the board members, highlighting the five priorities: housing, branding, business retention, tourism and coordination.

Under housing, the strategic plan called for updates to the EDA’s different housing programs; specifically, its Homebuyer Assistance Loan program and Get It Ready Rehab Loan program.

The EDA’s Homebuyer program gives deferred-payment loans of up to $10,000 to first-time homebuyers. Godfrey recommended that the EDA update this plan to be more strategic in bringing essential workers to New Ulm. Instead of offering the loans to any first-time buyer, the EDA could target specific types of workers needed in the community, such as teachers.

EDA Chairwoman Michelle Markgraf said she likes the idea of being more strategic with giving out the homebuyer program funds instead of giving out loans to whoever applies.

The Get It Ready single-family rehab loan is a low-interest loan program for seniors 65 and over. The loan allows them to make home improvements and defer repayment until the house is resold. Godfrey said that because the repayment was deferred, there was no real incentive for seniors using the program to sell their homes. This meant the homes were not being turned over to younger buyers, and the loan program was not being replenished.

Board member David Christian suggested this program was being aimed at the wrong demographic, suggesting it go to the younger homebuyers who needed the startup money to improve a home.

Mayor Kathleen Backer agreed that many other couples likely have the money needed to make home improvements, where as younger homeowners with multiple children had limited funds.

Godfrey also agreed, saying the program could be modified, possibly even turned into a competitive grant.

The strategic plan identified business retention as a top priority. Godfrey said that by supporting existing businesses, the EDA could see the most impact over time. This meant asking businesses what resources they needed for the future.

Godfrey said Career and Technical Education (CTE) was hyper-critical for preparing the next generation of workers, but only if the community was planning for the jobs of the future.

“If you are training machinists and welders, you’ve lost the narrative,” Godfrey said. “The workforce needs of the future are going to be radically different from those are today. The focus needs to be on what’s next.”

Better City is recommending survey local employers be surveyed to determine their future needs to help train the employees of tomorrow, now.

Tourism was identified as a strong part of the New Ulm business community that could be grown further. The strategic plan recommends expanding New Ulm’s tourism sector into a year-round economic driver by 2030. This includes expanding attractions, events and improving visitor infrastructure.

Godfrey recommended the EDA work to bring a new hotel and convention space near the downtown core. He said a recent hotel feasibility study indicated New Ulm was not ready for a new hotel, but if New Ulm were to increase its events, it could be possible in the near future.

Board member Lindsay Henn was concerned that if New Ulm’s downtown was updated and modernized too much, it could hurt the community’s old-world aesthetic.

Godfrey agreed that doubling down on modernizing the downtown core could be detrimental to attracting tourists, but he said New Ulm could afford to have high standards. Any new hotel should be higher-end to raise market expectations.

Markgraf was uncertain if New Ulm could support additional tourism events.

“I don’t know that funding makes it difficult; it is the volunteers,” she said. “I think people are tapped out for that. I am not sure we have the people.”

Backer said New Ulm already had a robust event schedule and was famous for its festivals. She was not sure how else the EDA could expand support.

Godfrey agreed New Ulm was already in a strong position for tourism, but recommended the EDA find incremental methods of supporting it.

The EDA strategic plan included a timeline for implementing changes to different programs. Nearly every month in 2026 called for the EDA board to hold a work session to review a different economic program and adopt the changes. The EDA’s Commercial Property Rehab Loan and Small Business Loan programs were the first to be reviewed in February.

EDA Coordinator Heather Bregel said the schedule for updating the various programs was aggressive and was not certain if all the updates could be made in a single year. She said some of the work might need to be shifted into 2027 and some of the programs might need to remain status quo until 2028.

Godfrey agreed it was a lot of work for the EDA and said the schedule was not set in stone. Better City would also be available to help the board with best practices.

Henn made the motion to approve the EDA strategic plan prepared by Better City. It was unanimously approved by the board.

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