St. Louis Co. Board Chair Annie Harala Talks Process Of Non-Disclosure Agreements
DULUTH, Minn. – St. Louis County Board Chair Annie Harala was one of three commissioners to sign a non-disclosure agreement involving a proposed data center in Hermantown. Some members of the public have voiced frustration over what they call a lack of transparency involving the proposed project. Commissioner Ashley Grimm responded to those concerns by calling for a ban on public officials signing NDAs, which failed a discussion at Tuesday’s Committee of the Whole meeting. Meanwhile, Harala released an updated statement Tuesday about her take on NDAs within city government.
“Had I been able to attend today’s meeting, I would have read the following during the NDA discussion:
I received a note from someone flagging that part of my statement yesterday needed more clarity. I am grateful for their perspective and can see how it was confusing – so here is a little more information:
I should have been clearer – what I should have said – is that, when companies look at our region for a potential project, they do a lot of research with stakeholders around the potential partnership opportunities and to understand how business works in an area. NDA’s are included in these processes once in a while due to the nature of the clients searching for a space.
Once a research phase is culminated, and if they decide to pursue a project, the organization builds a plan to pursue the public approval process for a project.
Then, the company pursues approvals with the appropriate zoning authority in charge of approvals. This is the “plan in place” that I mentioned in my statement. This approval process is the plan for ensuring a public process is followed for legal public approvals.
At this point, the municipality is in the public process phase and, should they look for partnership or support from the county, that would come forward for a full public process through the SLC board.
I hope this explanation helps to clarify the process for becoming public. At this time, I don’t see anything on our agenda as a county, but all of those things would be posted publicly, as all policies and board investments will be. All of the zoning/project approvals tie with the local municipality first.
I recognize that my words have meaning and appreciate the time folks have taken to interact with me, in good faith, to understand this process.”
