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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEconomic Advisory Commission - Minutes - 07/13/20111 Minutes City of Fort Collins Economic Advisory Commission Regular Meeting 300 LaPorte Ave City Hall July 13, 2011 8:00 am – 10:30 am For Reference: Bill Timpson, Chair 493-3673 Council Liaison Wade Troxell Mike Freeman, Staff Liaison 416-2259 Wendy Bricher, Minutes 221-6506 Commission members present: Commission members absent: Stu MacMillan Michael Kulisheck Christophe Febvre Channing Arndt Jim Clark Blue Hovatter Kevin Shaw Rick Price Bill Timpson Guests: David Everitt, SFCBA Ray Martinez, SFCBA Jim Palmer, SFCBA Ann Hutchison, FC Chamber of Commerce Staff Present: Josh Birks, Economic Advisor Christina Vincent, Redevelopment Program Administrator Wendy Bricher, Minutes Agenda Item 1: Meeting called to order Meeting called to order at 8:04 a.m. Agenda Item 2: Approval of Minutes Unanimous approval of minutes dated 06/15/11 Agenda Item 3: Public Comment None Financial Services 300 LaPorte Ave PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.221.6505 970.224.6107 - fax fcgov.com 2 Agenda Item 4: Member Updates/Future Agenda Items Discussion Blue Hovatter provided a brief overview of the Economic Advisory Commission Periodic Review from the June 28 City Council Worksession. Other members of the Commission had reviewed the meeting on FCGov.com as well. Jim Clark commented on the upcoming issues regarding sign codes, specifically digital signs, in Fort Collins. Jim agreed to report back and update the EAC regarding this issue at future meetings. Josh Birks provided an update regarding the clusters in Fort Collins. He stated that each has outperformed the national average as far as job creation, which confirms that this is a good place for us to be spending our time. The City’s approach focuses on projects, and we are moving innovation forward and making it easier for businesses to succeed within our community. The City will be possibly adding a new engine and transportation industry cluster in the future. Bill Timpson pointed out the joint session with the County Commissioners and PSD Boardmembers re: Community Schools and Joint Learning scheduled on August 30, 2011. He stated that this is something we should watch as decline in community schools correlates directly to neighborhood viability. Josh Birks also provided an update regarding the funding for the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery. He stated that Council has agreed to fund a three-month bridge loan to move the project forward at this time. Agenda items for August will include the FCRP – Motion for Review and the Development Review Fees & Building Permit Fees Motion for Review. In addition, the EAC will be discussing the Bike Program, URA Citizen Advisory Group Memo Discussion & Recommendation, and the Downtown General Improvement District Capital Improvement Plan. Agenda Item 5: Follow-up discussion regarding previous meetings FCRP – Motion for Review Postponed until August Development Review Fees & Building Permit Fees (Steve Dush/Ann Turnquist)-Motion for Review Postponed until August Agenda Item 6: Economic Action Plan – briefing and discussion with consultants Consultants from TIP Strategies met with the EAC for the second time regarding the Economic Health Action Plan approved by Council for 2011. Team members present included Jon Roberts (TIP Managing Partner), Keeley Sullivan (Atlas Account Manager), and Kathleen Baireuther (TIP Consultant). TIP Strategies provided a project update, findings from the assessment, SWOT Analysis, and suggested Benchmarks. The discovery fieldwork is complete and the economic assessment and SWOT have been drafted as well. Kevin Shaw asked how the focus groups were determined during the Discovery Phase, and Josh Birks replied that the Focus Groups were recommended to TIP by City staff. Findings from the assessment were discussed including growth, urbanization, unintended consequences, smart growth principles, location quotients, and industry strengths. Josh Birks commented that an inflow/outflow model had been completed in 2004 and showed a 35% inflow at that time. With an update completed in 2010, the inflow had decreased to 25%. 3 The draft SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) was evaluated by the EAC as well. After thorough discussion, the EAC recommended the following additions be added to the SWOT: Strengths – Quality of Life Front Range Community College Quality of schools National publicity – best lists Weaknesses – Missing high end/low end workers (consequence of extending unemployment benefits) Lack of local financing Localization of investment – microloans, angel investment funds Growing active retirement community – threat/opportunity? Jobs taken from youth? Cheap, non-progressive utilities Regional water capacity Energy commodities Suggested Benchmark Cities were also presented by TIP Strategies. It was noted that three approaches could yield three very different results (by similarity, by aspiration, by competition). Due to time constraints, TIP strategies asked the EAC to review the suggested lists in more detail and to contact them directly with any additional recommendations. Agenda Item 7: URA Citizen Advisory Group Memo Discussion – Christina Vincent w/ South College Business Association members Four options regarding the URA Midtown Citizen Advisory Group were provided by Christina Vincent to the EAC for review. In addition, these options will be presented to Council with a final outcome to be determined in September. Christina Vincent also provided a historical overview regarding the current Citizen Advisory Group (CAG) for North College. Three members from the South Fort Collins Business Association attended including Dave Everitt, Ray Martinez, and Jim Palmer. The SFCBA has formally requested that Option 4 be adopted by the City Council. After SFCBA’s feedback was provided, the EAC determined that they needed additional time to review the options and feedback before making a recommendation to Council. Follow-up discussions are scheduled at the August meeting. Meeting adjourned at 10:46 am The next meeting is scheduled on August 17, 2011 from 11:00 am – 1:30 pm CIC Room, City Hall