Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutEconomic Advisory Commission - Minutes - 07/17/2007i For Reference: Approved 10/16/07 Minutes City of Fort Collins Economic Advisory Commission Regular Meeting 300 LaPorte Ave July 17, 2007 Christophe Fabvre, Chair 227.0282 Mayor Doug Hutchinson, Council Liaison 416-2154 Mike Freeman, Staff Liaison 416-2253 Erin Gill, Minute taker 221-6505 Commission Members Present Christophe Febvre (Chair), Blue Hovatter, Sarah Hach, Bill Timpson, Stu McMillan, Kevin Shaw, Beena Bawa, Rick Price Commission Members Absent: Jim Clark Guests: David May Staff Present: Mike Freeman Erin Gill Agenda Item 1 — Meeting Call to Order Meeting called to order 9:1 l a.m. Public Comment None Agenda Item 2 — Approval of Minutes Unanimous approval of minutes for June 26 Agenda Item 3 — Discuss EAC Work Plan Defining a Fort Collins Healthy Economy The Fort Collins Economic Advisory Commission (EAC) has discussed and debated the key elements of what a "healthy economy' means for our community. The Commission believes that a healthy economy is made up of the following components. Business Environment • Appropriate regulatory environment • Tax structure • Foster Competitive Advantage • Infrastructure Issues c Transportation • Promote Core Values Healthy Business Environment To sustain economic health, Fort Collins has to be economically competitive in the regional, state-wide, national and in some cases, global economies. Fort Collins has identified economic values that need to be promoted and communicated that help foster our competitive advantage. Our unique community values are important to preserve over time. To foster a competitive advantage our community has to remain focused on creating a supportive business environment that balances government regulation and taxes with community goals, partnerships are leveraged to produce economic health results, resources and tools exist to promote innovation and entrepreneurship, the community attracts and retains top talent, and there is diversity in the approach to producing economic health. Local and Regional Collaboration and Partnerships • Commercializing CSU Technology • Town gown issues • Integrate student workforce into local economy • Common ground Collaboration and Partnerships The community of Fort Collins cannot create an economically vital and sustainable community. For lasting economic health the community must draw upon the significant expertise and talents in the business community, academic institutions, regional organizations, and the community at large. Communities that implement strong partnerships will realize economic success in the coming year. In particular, it is strongly encouraged that Colorado State University be challenged to continue making dramatic strides in supporting the community's and regional economic health through commercializing CSU based technologies, meeting the workforce demands of emerging I and existing targeted industries, and working to further integrate the student workforce in the community. Innovative Learning Community • Proactive learning from other communities • Timely economic research and trends • Think tanks/innovations Fostering Innovation and Learning Scholars, analysts, economists and innovators have studied innovation, identifying a range of factors that make successful innovation more likely. There are four essential factors that have been show to produce more innovation: entrepreneurial talent, research and development (R&D) capacity, connectedness among people and firms, and money to help turn R&D into products and services that people want to buy.1 Fort Collins is well situated to leverage our strengths in these four areas to foster innovation and learning in our community. To accomplish this, the community needs to learn from other communities who are successfully fostering innovation, research and evaluate economic research and trends, and stay vigilant in making adjustments to our economic health strategies to stay current in our changing world. Workforce Quality • Front Range, CSU and K-12 • Training and Retraining Opportunities • Meaningful employment advancement High Quality Workforce In today's economy, jobs increasingly require education beyond a high school diploma. Not only does education prepare individuals for the tasks required by a job, but it enhances an individual's ability to adapt to new working environments. In recent years, knowledge -intensive industries have become a key contributor to the growth of the national economy and to U.S. exports abroad. Although this sector was hit unusually hard by the 2001 recession, skilled workers in knowledge -intensive industries generally experience lower rates of unemployment and faster wage growth than those in other sectors. Fort Collins is uniquely positioned with excellent K-12 education through Poudre School District and other K-12 providers, community colleges through Front Range and AIMS, and higher education at Colorado State University. Offering a high quality workforce and well -trained workforce is key to our future. We need to focus on creating better Economist Magazine: Thanksgiving for Innovation, September 19. 2002. relations between industry and educators, focus on offering training and retraining opportunities to retain talent, and help individuals' access training opportunities to advance in their fields and their disciplines. Diverse Economy • Better local support • Support emerging enterprises • Retention Expansion and Attraction • Balance between employment and retail Diversify the Economy A healthy economy is a diverse economy. A diverse economy has the ability to weather economic ups and downs and places proper focus on balancing employment and retail needs. Our approach is to focus our efforts on retaining and growing businesses then working to attract businesses in targeted areas. Supporting existing companies and emerging companies is the core of our focus on sustaining and growing great companies. Due to the reliance of the City on sales tax, there has to be proper focus placed on seeking to maintain a solid retail sales tax base — efforts needs to be placed on monitoring existing retail and planning for future retail development. Agenda Item 4 — Next meeting times, dates and location Next meeting is scheduled for the Community Room at 215 N Mason St July 31, 2008 from 11:00-1:00.