HomeMy WebLinkAboutEconomic Advisory Commission - Minutes - 12/16/2015MINUTES
CITY OF FORT COLLINS
ECONOMIC ADVISORY COMMISSION
Date: Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Location: CIC Room, City Hall, 300 Laporte Ave.
Time: 11:00am–1:30pm
For Reference
Wade Troxell, Mayor & Council Liaison
Josh Birks, Staff Liaison 221-6324
Dianne Tjalkens, Minutes 221-6734
Commission Members Present Commission Members Absent
Sam Solt, Chair Glen Colton
Ann Hutchison Kim Dale
Denny Otsuga Linda Stanley
Ted Settle Kristin Owens
Staff Present Staff Absent
Josh Birks, Economic Health Director
Dianne Tjalkens, Admin/Board Support
Guests
Dale Adamy, citizen
Jonathan Carnahan, Citizen Planners
Jacob Castillo, Economic Development Manager
Matt Robenalt, Director of DDA
Meeting called to order at 11:20am
Review and Approval of Minutes: Held until January. Quorum not reached.
Agenda Review—No changes.
Public Comment—Dale Adamy: Kabuski Institute is project he is working on. Tax diversification could
be a project for Kabuski to follow. Would like this board to help with process including a formal reply to
his email, a status update, plans to move his comments forward. CFC talked about alternative tax
diversification, but did not include a carbon tax. Energy board has policy on their agenda. Kabuski
website is following this carbon tax discussion. Sent PDF copy to Josh Birks.
Additional comment on board member’s comment in editorial: “Rising tide lifts all boats”—worn out
phrase. Why do we have poverty if this is true? Focuses on economics, rather than social or
environmental. Also, “anti-anything” shuts down conversation. Positive environmental growth is a fully
implemented CAP. Social growth is end to homelessness and local detox center. Not anti-growth.
Economic growth right now is wider highways and lures to bring tourists without focusing on needs of
current residents. Should shift to triple bottom line. Read transportation board meeting minutes, one
member suggested having CAP discussed at every meeting. Carbon tax has social, economic and
environmental benefits.
Commission Member/Staff Updates—
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Ann Hutchison: Futures Committee Monday evening, Mike Beckstead’s office gave presentation on
potential future taxes (including new and renewals) the City may consider over next 1 to 10 years. Each
has an economic impact. Want to make sure on EAC’s 12 month planning calendar to be directly
involved. Include Beckstead’s work on diversification.
ACTION ITEM: Josh will schedule presentation from Finance Office
Denny Otsuga: Rockies Venture Club. Four students from CSU attended Pitch Academy course with
support from City. Very well attended course. Will happen once per quarter. Angel Capital Summit in
March—theme is syndication. Private investment groups syndicate by investing together. Reaching out to
other states for participation. Expect 20 companies to pitch and would like one or two from Fort Collins.
Last CCC (Colorado Capital Conference) had large turnout of volunteers from Fort Collins.
• Cost to attend Pitch Academy?
o $149 for 4-hour course (50% discount for 2016). City helps with additional.
o Work with CSU to get more support for their students.
o Ann and Denny will discuss offline.
Sam Solt: Beginning today on first of six conversations on growth. Intention is to conclude with
recommendation to Council.
AGENDA ITEM 1— FoCo Future Forum, Jobs Presentation
In 2015 UniverCity hosted series of forums around growth. Josh presented at FoCo Future Forum with a
speaker on population and transportation, and one on music. Josh’s presentation was on role of jobs
(replacement and creation) to maintain a robust economy. Showed chart of percentage makeup of jobs
across four main categories: farming, blue collar, services, and white collar. Farming and white collar
have inverse proportion, with white collar replacing farming. Service and blue collar have remained fairly
stable. Takeaway is that employees and businesses have become more productive. Ex: farming—still
producing same amount of food but with fewer workers. Will always need to be diversification across
employment. Total number of employees over time has increased exponentially. When include
productivity in labor costs, closer in parity to production cost with other countries such as China, which
lead to increased need for onshoring. In 2014 looked at current labor conditions in Larimer County.
Significant amount of labor mobility. Have 38K employees coming into county for work, 79K who stay,
and 45K who leave. A small amount are going as far as Colorado Springs for work. For first time in
history, Larimer is net exporter of employees. Not a significant import of low wage earners: 22% of
people who live and work within county earn less than $15K per year. 41% of those who live in Fort
Collins make $40K per year. Importing some level of professional employment. In Fort Collins 55% of
residents live and work in the community. 2.9% employment now. Close to 70% employment
participation in the County. Lot of competition for available jobs. Economists like to see unemployment
around 5%—turnover, opportunity to apply for new jobs, advancement, etc. Cause of underemployment.
No room for movement. Also contributing is educational attainment mismatch. Only top 1/3 of jobs
available require bachelors, while 70% of labor force has a bachelor. Also discussing low-, mid-, and
high-skill jobs. Mid-skill job issue now—skilled worker gap—producing highly educated people, but
need tech and vocationally skilled workers. If onshoring more as labor cost parity become more equal,
may exacerbate issue. Future needs: projections of up to 86K more people in GMA in ~20 years. Will
need 40-50K more jobs. Opportunity for community to shape what jobs come and how mix changes over
time. What industries do we want? How do we work on issue of underemployment? Manage future by
leaning in and getting involved rather than just hoping for best.
Discussion/Q & A:
• Ratio of jobs to number of new residents seems high.
o Consultant used many indicators to determine number, including supply of employment
land, job gap we have now, population, etc.
o Matches numbers from Chamber. 2000 new jobs per year. Huge.
o This is considering growth is flat. Onshoring is another story.
• Most of low wage workers are living and working in county. Not importing them. Man on street
perception is that it is too expensive to work here, so must be importing.
o County level. Should look more at municipal. Expect not as high of a number as people
think it is.
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• $15K marker. Is that retired people who work a little on the side, as well as single working parent
of two?
o Yes. Single worker with single job. Many people work more than one job.
• Not enough blue collar workers. Press conference yesterday about not having enough materials
engineers. Is the blue collar gap shrinking?
o Nationally huge shortage of blue collar. Locally in a few key areas, such as welders and
specific types of engineers.
AGENDA ITEM 2—2016 Meeting Time
Board member poll showed lack of consensus on change. Meeting time will remain as scheduled.
AGENDA ITEM 3—Larimer County Economic Development, Jacob Castillo
County has generally stayed out of traditional economic development—has played support role. Three
years ago his position was created to have greater participation. Community survey showed important for
county to have stronger presence. Department is housed in the Larimer County Workforce Center
(LCWC). Viewing through human lens: talent, jobs, poverty to self-sufficiency, career paths, etc.
Integrating with Community Development department and natural resources. Mission is to support
economic vitality by providing services to partners. Support system for other entities. Also will be
convener and broker of information and relationships. Bringing parties together for regional economic
development. Driven by data that Josh just discussed. Impacts commercial corridors, economic centers,
where jobs grow, etc. Also have ties to private sector. Hear from businesses that main issues are
workforce related (human capital). LCWC has programs that support job training, internships, career
pathways, etc. LCWC is governed by a board that is 51% private sector. Clear lead in talent pipeline,
making sure educational system is moving in same direction, and aligned with economic development
goals of community and region. Have seen strong success with sector partnership model. Focusing efforts
on health care and manufacturing. Put together convener teams of education, public sector, private sector,
etc. looking at top business priorities, talent development, and curriculum appropriate for future jobs.
Supported through cluster funding from the City. Fit into broader and healthy economy: connection
amongst communities. Team sport that goes beyond municipal boundaries. County serves broader
geography, supported by strong municipal economic teams. LCWC is only organization responsible for
workforce development in Larimer County. Prioritizing for 2016: two new staff, formalization of
department, highlighting data analysis and communication to stakeholders (and policies and programs
based on strong data), and business retention and expansion. Challenges include having a clear
understanding of shifts in economy and demographics, and land use decisions.
Discussion/Q & A:
• What is role of County and this office in working with communities that play by different rules?
Ex: TIF in community to the east. Hard to say agricultural farmland is blighted. Financial load to
county for schools.
o No one at county is completely against TIF, but would support more judicious use and
having a voice when implemented. Brokering relationships allows county to bring
together for discussions. Working through some of these challenges now.
Those who made that choice are not as influential anymore. Current decision
makers are more collaborative. When look at region have more options than just
looking municipally.
• Article in Coloradoan discussed funding at LCWC. Big challenge, plus competition. We have so
many startups and people looking for capital because so many looking for jobs.
o Talent drives the new economy. Firms will move to where the talent is grown.
o Used to have best material engineers in Fort Collins, but relocated manufacturing.
o Traditional tech industry, many have skills that could be transferred to new positions.
Don’t prioritize hiring underemployed and training because have option to hire someone
from outside who already has all credentials. Criteria we’re hiring on may not have best
outcome for broader economy and community. How do you help people transition from
one sector to another?
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o Last recession flipped many things. Employers slow to react. Fundamental changes.
• Community is fortunate to have Jacob in this position. Great leadership.
• Regarding hiring an analyst, like to see data-based decision making. But, mostly using prior data
to make future decisions. More necessary is ability to pick a decision based on the data rather
than looking at every possibility. Focus on one outcome and go for it. Don’t know what next big
economic driver will be.
o Don’t want to be driven by data, but for it to inform sound decisions. Make a visionary
move with foundation for solid predictions.
o Making sure regional influences are working together on data.
AGENDA ITEM 4—DDA Presentation, Matt Robenalt
Mission is to create partnerships that improve downtown. Showed images from downtown in the past. In
1970s many buildings were boarded up. Established in 1981 to provide direction and financial support for
development and redevelopment of the area. Visionaries who wrote Downtown Plan in early ‘80s were
very forward thinking. Downtown Plan is undergoing an update. Also work with implementation plans
like Downtown River Corridor Plan, Streetscape Plan, Alley Enhancement Master Plan, etc. Funded by 5
mill property tax levy ($700K annually) and TIF. Share back half of tax increment revenue with other tax
districts. In 2031 the tax increment district expires. Investment philosophy: TIF to promote and support
private and public development—market catalyst, enhance market outcomes, address a market shortfall.
High level of risk for investment in areas that lack infrastructure or vitality—DDA can reduce risk by
making investment to complete public infrastructure, so private investor can make investment in building.
Being a place-maker—creating the backdrop: public plazas, rehabilitating historic buildings, alleyways,
etc. Have been improving diversity and attractiveness of the district. Outcome is investment and tax
increment that is reinvested. Partners include City (planning, infrastructure improvements, beautification
and maintenance, parking) and private sector (façade improvements, infrastructure). Public projects
include alley enhancements, Oak Street Plaza, parking structures, and Old Town Square renovation. Alley
way investments open opportunity for higher/better use of downtown buildings. Owners are investing in
improvements to backs of buildings; businesses are opening facing alleys. Public/private projects include
historic rehabilitation, qualified affordable housing, mixed use infill, and lofts/condos. 2016 priorities
include concept study for former Elk’s building site, hiring design team for next alley enhancements
(behind Rio and Walrus, and behind new hotel), IGA with City for parking structure, supporting adoption
of Downtown Plan update, and facilitating public/private investment proposals. Major challenges include
disruptive behaviors and perceptions of safety. Establishing street outreach program. Community dislike
of sprawl and density (conflict). Downtown sits at center of groundwork for land use planning. Focusing
on infill properties. Only have until 2031 to leverage tax increment. Philosophy of maintaining what has
been built by DDA, including alleyways. When TIF goes away, City of Fort Collins will benefit from
sustained investment. Long term need to discuss effort to keep dollars focused on downtown to maintain
infrastructure. Have been tracking impact, and are able to demonstrate positive impact of TIF to districts.
When DDA stops collecting increment, special tax districts will collect the increased taxes.
Discussion/Q & A:
• Districts have already received benefit due to re-baselining at 30 year timeframe.
o Also, benefit in neighboring areas, as opposed to if left the way it was.
o Impact on school districts. Argument that there is revenue that doesn’t get sent to state, so
has to be backfilled. Counter-argument is that state also receives sales tax and sustained
investment in downtown generates six times more in sales tax than what would be held
back from PSD.
• Downtown was major factor in personal relocation. This group embarking on conversations about
growth in community. Looking at comparable communities. Vibrant anchor is central to growing
community. What communities should we be looking at?
o Depends on what topic you want to explore. Economically look at Austin, Ann Arbor.
Other facets of urbanism, can’t extrapolate based on size. Inspired by small communities.
Look at whole spectrum. Identify what want to aspire to and look for examples at all
sizes.
• Why did it take so long to get a downtown hotel?
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o After original Old Town Square project, tried to get Radisson at Pine and College. Project
was in competition with other hotel being developed (Holiday Inn, which became
Hilton). Have Armstrong Hotel (12 years), which has been very successful. Evidence that
people will pay premium to stay at hotel in downtown. Don’t have to report, though, so
no data to support room rates to lenders for a new hotel. Hotel being brought forward has
investors that can be more patient with return.
Armstrong is not great hotel. No competition. Good time for diversification.
Last week saw first non-owner-occupied office building proposed in many years.
• Woodward is in DDA?
o Yes. DDA always envisioned redevelopment of golf course.
• Limited to investment in downtown? Visitors enter Fort Collins from Mulberry and it is not a
good entryway into the city. Any thoughts on blocking off a street for pedestrians only?
o When designing Old Town Square renovation, and considering BOB2 funds, looked at
Linden Street to hybridize (pedestrian only during specific times). Pedestrian malls have
been removed throughout the country as make it difficult for businesses to survive.
Mulberry corridor is not within municipal boundary of the city. Until annexed cannot
make that expansion. Will need a longer development timeframe than DDA can provide.
Better suited for Urban Renewal.
From Lemay to I-25 is county. City can force annexation if an enclave is created.
Multiphase process, including infrastructure and services. Better target for
URA— blight intervention in specific area for 25 years. DDA was created to
maintain health of central business district. DDA can get 5 mill tax levy in
perpetuity, but role will change when TIF expires.
• Convention center can transform a city. Attract young professional families.
o Have 18 hour downtown now. Need rest period for cleaning. Able to achieve this level of
vibrancy without a downtown hotel. Excited to see what will happen with new hotel.
Meeting Adjourned: 1:40pm
Next Meeting: January 20
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