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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEconomic Advisory Commission - Minutes - 02/16/20111 Minutes City of Fort Collins Economic Advisory Commission Regular Meeting 300 LaPorte Ave City Hall February 16, 2011 11:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. For Reference: Christophe Febvre, Chair 227-0282 Mayor Doug Hutchinson, Council Liaison 416-2154 Mike Freeman, Staff Liaison 416-2259 Wendy Bricher, Minutes 221-6506 Commission members present: Christophe Febvre Michael Kulisheck Rick Price Bill Timpson Blue Hovatter Channing Arndt Commission members absent: Kevin Shaw Stu MacMillan Jim Clark Guests: Dan Betts, Cory Gardener’s Office David May, FC Chamber of Commerce Staff Present: Mike Freeman, Chief Financial Officer Josh Birks, Economic Advisor Wendy Bricher, Minutes Felix Lee, Green Building Code Project Manager John Phelan, Energy Services Manager Agenda Item 1: Meeting called to order Meeting called to order at 11:02 a.m. Agenda Item 2: New Member Introductions Channing Arndt introduced himself and gave a brief background on his work experience. Agenda Item 3: Approval of minutes Unanimous approval of minutes 1/19/11 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: Public Comment David May stated that be supports the EAC discussion regarding Bill Timpson’s motion for City taxes and fees. He recommended that the motion read “explore how to make City tax and revenue fees more sustainable” and strike the information about Michael Shuman. Agenda Item 5: Follow-up discussion regarding previous meetings Christophe Febvre commented on EAC attendance for 2010 stating that the EAC had a poor attendance record and that each member should make a commitment to the EAC attendance policy as stated in the Board and Commissions Manual. He stressed, per the policy, that each member should attend a minimum of eight meetings per year. A copy of the attendance policy was provided at the meeting. Green Building Code Felix Lee and John Phelan returned and presented the cost and benefit study update regarding the proposed Green Building Code amendments. This piece focuses on the regulatory component, and the next step will be to focus on the market driven component. Rick Price asked for the history of steps in “greening” our code and Bill Timpson asked if the amendments were aggressive enough. Staff responded that this is the next reasonable step and that many developers currently exceed these standards, but that a few will have to upgrade to meet the minimum standards. After thorough review, the EAC unanimously approved the following motion for Council: The Economic Advisory Commission has evaluated the benefit and cost analysis of the Green Building Code Amendments and recommends the proposed building code green amendments for residential and commercial construction be adopted by Council. In addition, the EAC recommends that staff continue to push the envelope to make Fort Collins a leader in this area. Flood Plain Regulations The Flood Plain Regulation Council decisions have been postponed; the EAC discussion is tabled for now. Taxes and Fees – Bill Timpson Bill Timpson provided his revised motion regarding taxes and fees for EAC review. Christophe commented that the definition of equitable seemed very “open ended”, and that he thought the EAC should “tighten up” the motion. Members also discussed how taxes affect poverty and revising the preamble to the motion. Michael Kulisheck suggested that the motion address the short term and long- term picture; that we explore funding that can withstand recessions and the up’s and down’s of the economy. Staff stated that our current revenue sources are primarily sales and use tax (65% of the general fund) and reminded the EAC that we can influence policy, but we don’t have a lot of room legally to change State and Federal laws related to fees or tax code structure. The EAC members agreed to continue to revise the motion via email over the next few weeks and review the updated motion at the next meeting. Agenda Item 6: Member Updates/ Future Agenda Items Discussion (6 mo planning calendar) Due to spring break, the EAC meeting will be canceled in March; in light of that decision, election of officer’s occurred at the February meeting. The EAC Chair for 2011 will be Bill Timpson; the EAC Co- Chair for 2011 will be Blue Hovatter. Proposed agenda items for April include further discussion of Bill Timpson’s tax motion, the MAX Bus Rapid Transit Project, and the City’s Local Preference Policies. Agenda Item 7: Manufacturing Use Tax Mike Freeman presented information on the Manufacturing Use Tax history, rebates, and current status. If 2B passed, the City Council would be 1) reducing or eliminating the city use tax or 2) expanding or otherwise enhancing the manufacturing use tax program. On February 28, staff will remind the City Council Finance Committee of this resolution and recommend that the manufacturing use tax be 3 eliminated. A copy of the recommendation (sent to Council on March 15, 2010) from the EAC regarding eliminating the manufacturing use tax will be included in the Council packet. Agenda Item 8: Economic Health Action Plan Josh Birks presented an update regarding the Economic Health Strategic plan including project objectives, project goals, scope of work, areas of expertise, and schedule for completion. The Request for Proposal (RFP) deadline is April 1 with selection and contract negotiation to be completed by April 29. The project is scheduled to start on May 2 with a completion date of December 31, 2011. The EAC will have opportunities to influence the document throughout the drafting process and will be involved in the final process. Bill Timpson asked if local consideration would be given in selecting a vendor; staff indicated that the RFP process is open to local firms as well as national and international firms. The City will be looking for expertise in five key areas including private industry experience, commercialization /technology transfer, cluster formation/development, communication and marketing, and business incubation and entrepreneurial support. Bill suggested that in the event a local firm is not chosen, it might be beneficial to have a local intern assist in the project as a learning and growing opportunity for the City of Fort Collins. Meeting adjourned at 1:31 p.m. The March 2011 meeting is canceled due to spring break.