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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEconomic Advisory Commission - Minutes - 04/18/20121 Minutes City of Fort Collins Economic Advisory Commission Regular Meeting 300 LaPorte Ave City Hall April 18, 2012 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. For Reference: Bill Timpson, Chair 493-3673 Council Liaison Wade Troxell Josh Birks, Staff Liaison 416-6324 Wendy Bricher, Minutes 221-6506 Commission members present: Commission members absent: Blue Hovatter Stu MacMillan Christophe Febvre Rick Price Michael Kulisheck Bill Timpson Channing Arndt Jim Clark Sam Solt Guests: Ann Hutchison, FC Chamber of Commerce Dale Adamy Michael Pruznick Joann Ginal, House District II Candidate Deb Moeck, SBDC Staff Present: Wendy Bricher, Minutes Josh Birks, Economic Health Director Lawrence Pollack, Budget and Performance Measurement Manager Agenda Item 1: Meeting called to order Meeting called to order at 11:04 a.m. Agenda Item 2: Approval of Minutes Unanimous approval of minutes dated 3/21/12 Agenda Item 3: Public Comment Mike Pruznick provided additional feedback regarding the Economic Strategic Plan. He still believes that more public outreach is needed for the plan and indicated the outreach list on pages 109-112 explain why the plan is so heavily focused on business. He suggested a link to City Plan and that social media needs to be reflected. He also suggested the page 27 was not clear, and he stated “it doesn’t use common verbiage”. Financial Services 300 LaPorte Ave PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.221.6505 970.224.6107 - fax fcgov.com 2 Joann Ginal stated that she supports the Advisory Boards City wide. Mayor Weitkunat commented that political campaigning at Boards and Commissions meetings was not appropriate and Ms. Ginal agreed. Agenda Item 4: Follow-up Discussion Regarding Previous Meetings Follow-up discussion included the Economic Health Strategic Plan. The Plan is scheduled for the June 1 worksession; TIP will continue to make changes based on continued feedback. Sam Solt asked if the Economic Health Office will report back to City Council as plan milestones are reached? Josh Birks indicated the EHO will provide semi-annual updates on all activities. Sam also asked if EAC can work on more detailed items within the plan. Josh indicated that that direction lies with Council and upper management. EAC has a role of “watch dog” for the plan and a member will likely act as a liaison to the planned implementation group. Christophe Febvre was confused about the role of the plan and stated that he had some level of disappointment in the creativity of the plan and how it addresses things so broadly; however, he found there was a lot of valuable information in the plan. He felt the plan had a predominant focus on the single aspect of job growth as compared to a broader systems-level economic focus. He also stated that if the plan title and executive summary indicated that it is a jobs plan, it could have avoided his confusion and he would have been more readily satisfied with much of the content. Josh Birks indicated that the role of the Strategic Plan was an extension or refinement of the economic section of Plan Fort Collins. Bill Timpson commented that we should be concerned with the larger interdependent systems as well including childcare, affordable housing, and corridors. Josh commented that the plan does not state some of the obvious, but focuses on what we need to improve. Bill suggested that the plan should state the obvious as it is intended for future generations, and successors many not know what the obvious is. Mike Kulisheck read the plan in a more narrower sense and believes it is important to remember the connections with what is special about Fort Collins, but it is also importation to recognize the outside influences. He believes we don’t always need to reinvent the wheel if it is spinning smoothly. Jim Clark agreed and stated that it is important to realize that we work and compete in a state, national and global context. He believes communication should be improved by building of networks more formally. Channing Arndt agreed with Christophe and stated that the plan title should be more clear as to what we are focusing on. It would be better with a clearer statement of delineations. He also stated that the plan mentions nothing of the fact that we are primarily depending on sales tax revenues as our source of revenue. A timeline also needs to be established. Blue Hovatter commented that it helps to have solidified community goals written down. The Plan needs more descriptors of its purpose to serve. All EAC members agreed that this is a living document and should be reviewed and updated on a regular basis. If the plan is focus is “too high up”, it will get put on a shelf. Actionable items are important and choosing the issues and making them clear is a priority. The Triple Bottom Line is important and should play a role with measureable results. Mayor Weitkunat commented that the plan should capture the community and Council direction moving forward as well. Agenda Item 5: Member Updates/Future Agenda Items Discussion No member updates. 3 Agenda Item 6: KFCG Funding Report Lawrence Pollack presented information regarding the 2011 Keep Fort Collins Great (KFCG) report. Information included revenue allocations, revenues vs. expenses, appropriations, and personnel hire adjustments. In addition, information was provided regarding fund balance, transfer rules, cost savings and efficiencies, and a short highlight list of impacts and projects. A copy of the power point presentation will be provided to the EAC. Agenda Item 7: Economic Research – Dr. Henrique Barreto Dr. Henrique Barreto presented information on his study New Business formation in Northern Colorado – a time-series cross-sectional analysis. Be believes his study is important in that we need to know what makes our community click, the make up, the barriers, etc. His work is a combination of psychology, economics and business. He studied 11 variables (hand-out) that focused on different sectors within Fort Collins and suggested that better data collection is needed to fine tune studies and recommendations for community needs. Agenda Item 8: Project Beta Postponed until May. Agenda Item 9: Economic Health BFO Offers Josh Birks presented information on the proposed Economic Health Office (EHO) Budgeting for Outcomes (BFO) offers for 2013 and 2014. After discussion, the EAC agreed to review the enhancement offers in more detail and provide their feedback and rankings to Josh prior to May 4, 2012. Meeting adjourned at 1:30p.m. The next meeting is scheduled on May 16, 2012 from 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. CIC Room, City Hall