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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEconomic Advisory Board - Minutes - 09/15/2021 ECONOMIC ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR SEPTEMBER 15, 2021, 4:00 - 6:00 pm via Zoom 9/15/21 – MINUTES Page 1 1. CALL TO ORDER 4:00 pm. 2. ROLL CALL • List of Board Members Present - quorum not met − Renee Walkup − George Grossman (Was not able to attend the entire meeting) − Braulio Rojas − Julie Stackhouse • List of Board Members Absent – − Spencer Clark (Unexcused) − John Parks (Unexcused) − Ted Settle (Excused) − Aric Light (Unexcused) • List of Staff Members Present − Josh Birks, Director Economic Health and Redevelopment • List of Guests - none 3. AGENDA REVIEW • No changes 4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - NONE 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES − As there was no quorum, the approval of the August minutes was rescheduled to the October meeting. 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS − 2021 Periodic Review − The group reviewed the Economic Advisory Board's periodic review questionnaire. Categories included: board members and the board’s size; outcome areas and ECONOMIC ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 9/15/21 – MINUTES Page 2 current duties the board is aligned with; interactions with other boards, advice to council on issues relevant to the local economy, listing of the annual work plan and how it is aligned with the City's Strategic Plan, how meetings are conducted, and evaluation of the effectiveness of the board. − Julie, John, and Ted worked to pre-fill out the form so the board could discuss, edit, and finalize it at this meeting. Josh helped to draft a statement on how the EAB could engage with the Economic Health Strategic Plan, if funded. − After completion, this document goes to the EAB’s Council liaison for review before final submission. − Discussion − Josh stated he revised the final comment, which encourages City Council to continue to review how it can actively engage with boards and commissions to leverage the time and talent of these groups. − Renee also agreed to the inclusion of a direct ask to Council in this document for them to be more active and guide the EAB how to best interact with and advise them. − Josh stated the deadline to submit the EAB's work plan to the City Clerk's office has been changed to the end of November. Julie suggested this revised date be reflected in prior minutes. − Braulio agreed with what was in the document. He suggested that the EAB should be setting the tone of how they work with Council and contact them when the board thinks necessary. − Josh shared that because there was board consensus at this meeting, he will finalize the document, including the board's input at this meeting for the board's discussion and submittal at the October meeting. − 2022 Annual Work Plan − Because there was not quorum at the meeting, and the deadline for submission of this plan has been extended to November, Renee suggested the board table this discussion. − Discussion − Julie - Asked for clarification on some terms in the work plan. Q - What does “triple bottom line" refer to in the work plan. A - Josh - The "triple bottom line" refers to considering things from a social, economic, and environmental perspective to optimize a particular policy or outcome. Q - What is the "industry cluster reboot"? A - Josh - In 2006, the City conducted an industry cluster study to understand what industry ECONOMIC ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 9/15/21 – MINUTES Page 3 strengths were in the community. The reboot is an effort to update the analysis in a broader, more regional scale. The study was finalized in 2020, but when Covid hit, implementation efforts were postponed temporarily. These actions will be part of the regional recovery plan nearing completion. − Julie - Q - Are all the items in the work plan still relevant? A - Josh - The City data initiatives item needs to be revisited or struck from the list. − Josh explained that staff usually puts the board's annual report together referring to minutes, board recommendations and interests. 7. NEW BUSINESS − 2022 CITY MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED BUDGET − Because there was no quorum at this meeting, Josh did not make a formal presentation on the status of the budget. He will email a more detailed presentation on the budget to all board members, giving an update on the budget so everyone will be informed. − Josh reported that the Economic Health Office's proposed budget is approximately the same as in the last few years with two notable additions: − An offer to convert a contractual bilingual business specialist position to a full- time classified position. − An offer to request one-time funding to prepare an update to the City's Economic Health Strategic plan. − Two questions from Council at the recent Budget work session were: − Councilperson Peel wanted to be sure all proposed expenditures of American Rescue Plan Act funding go towards long \-term recovery. − They had a technical question about why established business incentive packages are called a continuing enhancement and not considered ongoing. The answer is that, because of TABOR law, the City cannot enter into a multi-year fiscal obligation; therefore, it is a discretionary expense which the budget labels as an enhancement. ECONOMIC ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 9/15/21 – MINUTES Page 4 − − CONSIDER MAKING A BOARD STATEMENT ON THE BUDGET − Julie - Q - Is it too late to submit a comment to endorse what has already been submitted in the Economic Health Office budget? A - It is not unusual for board members to support proposed budgets in their focus areas. Comments can be submitted throughout the Budget process. However, submitting them in advance of the first reading of the budget on November 2 has the greatest impact. After that, comments shared on the budget have less chance of changing its course. The second reading and adoption is November 16. Not much usually changes from the first reading. Board members could also personally appear at either of the two public hearings (September 21 or October 5) and make a statement as a private citizen. Also, several board members could appear at these hearings to express mutually agreed upon recommendations from the Economic Advisory Board's perspective. A - Renee - You can also attend Council meetings virtually and send emails to them. A - Josh - It does not look like the two new Economic Health Budget proposals will go unfunded, but you can always make a recommendation. − Braulio - Giving feedback provides accountability of the board. Next board meeting would be the appropriate time to do that. 8. BOARD MEMBER AND STAFF REPORTS 9. OTHER BUSINESS − 6-month Calendar review − Agenda planning • Housing strategic plan - implementation (September) • East Mulberry Corridor Annexation Feasibility (TBD) • Our Climate Future (TBD) • City Recovery Plan (TBD) • American Rescue Plan Act Funding (TBD) 10. ADJOURNMENT 5:00 pm.