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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEconomic Advisory Board - Minutes - 11/17/2021 ECONOMIC ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR November 17, 2021 4:00 - 6:00 pm via Zoom 11/17/21 – MINUTES Page 1  1. CALL TO ORDER 4:01 pm. 2. ROLL CALL  List of Board Members Present  Renee Walkup  Braulio Rojas  John Parks  Ted Settle  George Grossman  Julie Stackhouse  Aric Light  List of Board Members Absent – Excused or Unexcused; if no contact with Chair has been made  List of Staff Members Present  Josh Birks, Director Economic Health and Redevelopment  List of Guests 3. AGENDA REVIEW 4. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION - none 5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES a. There were some minor changes to the minutes. The minutes were unanimously approved as amended. 8-0-0 6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS a. 2022 Annual Work Plan  Aric took the initiative to draft the EAB 2022 Work Plan and placed it on the board's shared drive for everyone's review and comment. At tonight's meeting they reviewed, edited and finalized the plan .  Ted - Q - Can the language about the board's duties be edited? A - No. It is directly ECONOMIC ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 11/17/21 – MINUTES Page 2  from the board's charter as duties assigned to them by Council.  John moved and Ted seconded a motion to approve the Economic Advisory Board's 2022 Annual Work Plan as finalized at this meeting. Josh will make sure the duties and functions of the board will reflect what is written in the code. Motion passed unanimously. 8-0-0  Josh will submit the plan before the deadline of the end of November. 7. NEW BUSINESS a. City Recovery Plan - Economic Recovery Focus - Josh Birks  The vision for the recovery plan is focused on Fort Collins residents and businesses being able to participate in a resilient, vibrant and inclusive future. There are four anchor concepts to the plan considered essential to achieving the goal of the plan.  Healing - for the economy to recover and become healthy  Inclusion - to include people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized so all can thrive  Resilience - to better avoid, withstand, or recover from difficult conditions of various scales  Vibrancy - A sense of place and belonging for all, full of energy and enthusiasm.  Guiding principles of the plan are livability, sustainability and community.  Regarding the pandemic, not everyone was doing well pre-pandemic because of disparities and issues. Also, not everyone will recover at the same pace.  Results from the surveys given to businesses during the pandemic indicated many of them still have revenue at least 20% off of their historic peak.  Julie - Q - Did you distinguish those businesses, such as movie theaters, that will probably be forever impacted by Covid vs. those with a good business model that should recover? A - We only evaluated what industry the respondents were in, such as restaurants and arts and entertainment, but that particular data could be extrapolated from the data we do have  Timeline for the Economic Recovery Plan  Phase 1 - Engagement - completed  Phase 2 - Plan Development - current status  Phase 3 - Gut Check - to come ECONOMIC ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 11/17/21 – MINUTES Page 3   Plan adoption Key Dates: - October 26 - Council Work Session - January 11, 2022 - Council Work Session - February 15 0 Recovery Plan Adoption  The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) provided $28.1 M to the City for recovery efforts. (Uses must be related to response and recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic). Eligible uses are:  Equity-focused services  Public Health Response  Negative Economic Impacts - City will focus mostly on this item  Infrastructure: water, sewer & broadband  Revenue loss  NOT eligible - Pension fund contribution, debt service, fund reserves, federal match requirements.  The City's Economic Recovery Plan will include key topic areas with direction for outcomes and how to get there. It will be flexible according to conditions. Staff is beginning to study and analyze these issues, outcomes, and potential barriers to those outcomes as they work to update the plan. Issues being studied are:  Workforce shifts & impacts on businesses  Safe & stable workforce/individual life needs  Access issues - language, financial, etc.  Financial impacts on businesses  Shifting economic conditions  Impacts on physical commercial space  Safety & well being  Comment by Julie - Access to PPC loans were initially uneven for Hispanic businesses because of their lack of connection to financial institutions.  CSU is offering a Pivot program to help businesses determine how they might need to change their business model to adjust to current trends  Josh asked the Economic Advisory Board members to give feedback about anything ECONOMIC ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 11/17/21 – MINUTES Page 4  they are hearing about these issues, if we missing anything, what do we need to emphasize, and anything else related to economic recovery. He will bring these questions back to the board in December after there is more definitive information on the plan to share.  Discussion  Julie - suggested it would be nice to have language in the plan about partnering with non-profits and funding them to do things the City is unable to do. She also suggested the plan should be flexible.  Renee - Q - Has the $28.1 M been allocated? A - This grant is broken into 3 pieces: $4.2 = short term needs. The $3.6M in the approved 2022 Budget will be a bridge. The $20.3M will be in the Fort Collins Recovery Plan and will be part of the 2023-2024 budgeting process A more cohesive strategy how to use this money is being developed. The use of these funds will need to be allocated by December 31, 2024 and be spent by 2026.  Ted - Q - Can you identify who is working on this and from what departments? A - The Economic Recovery Strategic Initiative Team is co-chaired by Josh Birks and SeonAh Kendall. The participants come from various offices: Economic Health, Utilities, Cultural Services, Planning and Development, and Social Sustainability. There will also be much community engagement to actively get input from the community. This will be more completely discussed at the Super Issues meeting that will be held virtually tonight at 5:30 after this meeting.  Julie - Q - Regarding immediate needs, this winter could be very difficult for businesses because of rising costs. Are you planning for that? A - The Economic Health office has set aside $1M to create targeted responsive programs to help local businesses.  John - also supports the targeted responsive programs.  George - Q - His business and his neighboring businesses are concerned about rising costs and shipping issues and their effect on their price points. How would the Economic plan actually help these small business? A - The current grant process will help the businesses to determine how to shift their business models and determine how the City can fund what will really help them. The program will also have people out and about in the community as Business Connectors to talk with businesses and help them determine what the challenges are and how the City can help them with an existing program.  Renee - There are many opportunities to grow the economy, but she is concerned that the City doesn't wait too long to be able to help local businesses because some could out of business. ECONOMIC ADVISORY BOARD TYPE OF MEETING – REGULAR 11/17/21 – MINUTES Page 5   SeonAh - Because we need to go to where the businesses are and understand their needs, funding will be broad enough to also help those with good business models that can be helped, but have struggled because of Covid.  Aric - Q - Is there any thought to integrating private sector solutions such as technical assistance because that would be more like an investment? Could there be a way to pair businesses with the private sector to get more money from local investors? A - In May our business assistance program gave grant money to businesses to go out and pay for professional and technical assistance, like hiring an accountant to help them. Regarding e-commerce, the City could help them better understand how to create a good e-commerce business model. We also required that those giving technical assistance were from the Fort Collins area in order to support our local economy. There is also discussion around the City assisting in buying certain supplies in bulk that would benefit many businesses.  George - Q - Wonders if the grants given to businesses that saved them money enabled them to invest that savings elsewhere. It is important to invest in things that will help them move forward in the future. A - Another reason to have the grants be customized to each business is because these grants are required to link back to a Covid-related impact. The Business Connectors can also help the businesses determine how to get aid from the various assistance grants available other than ARPA. 8. BOARD MEMBER AND STAFF REPORTS a. John acknowledged that next month's meeting will be the last one for Ted, Julie and George whose terms on the board will be up. 9. OTHER BUSINESS a. 6-month Calendar review b. Agenda planning 10. ADJOURNMENT 5:18 pm.