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HomeMy WebLinkAboutEconomic Advisory Commission - Minutes - 10/19/20111 Minutes City of Fort Collins Economic Advisory Commission Regular Meeting 300 LaPorte Ave City Hall October 19, 2011 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: Stu MacMillan Michael Kulisheck Christophe Febvre Kevin Shaw Jim Clark Channing Arndt Blue Hovatter Rick Price Bill Timpson Guests: Eric Sutherland Mike Pruznick Ann Hutchison, FC Chamber of Commerce Staff Present: Christina Vincent, Redevelopment Program Administrator Wendy Bricher, Minutes David Kemp, Bicycle Coordinator Donnie Dustin, Water Resources Engineer Agenda Item 1: Meeting called to order Meeting called to order at 11:06 a.m. Agenda Item 2: Approval of Minutes Unanimous approval of minutes dated 09/21/11 Agenda Item 3: Public Comment Eric Sutherland stated that he was disappointed the TIF item was not on the October agenda; he believes TIF is not responsible use of Citizen tax dollars and that business incubators are scams. He also restated Financial Services 300 LaPorte Ave PO Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522 970.221.6505 970.224.6107 - fax fcgov.com 2 his concern regarding the financing of the RMI2 building. He would also like the PRPA bonds to be available to others in the region. Agenda Item 4: Follow-up Discussion Regarding Previous Meetings Rick Price commented that he would like to invite legal counsel to attend the next meeting to provide clarification regarding TIF and RMI2. Christina Vincent commented that a memorandum will be released soon that will address the claims, misrepresentations, and facts regarding the issue. EAC members are not looking to evaluate or judge the ethical piece of this issue, as much as clarify the use of business incubators as economic drivers. Christina Vincent provided an update regarding the CAG options and Midtown. Council has considered the options and are now considering not having any intermediary buffer between the URA Board and Staff and to use public engagement in ways that are already existing (NFCBA, SFCBA). Staff may still advise to add a second level of expertise. This item will be discussed again at the work session on December 6, 2011. Christina Vincent invited the EAC to join a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) webinar that will be held on November 8, 9, and 10 to learn more about best practices/principles of TIF. Invitation and details will follow. Agenda Item 5: Member Updates/Future Agenda Items Discussion Rick Price asked for an update regarding the USA Procycling Challenge. Jim Clark responded that there is an interest in Fort Collins bidding on the option to hold the race start, or more likely, the race finish in 2012 and/or 2013 and 2014. It is estimated that a race start would cost up to 150,000 where a race finish could cost up to 250,000 – 350,000; all expenses are paid by the host community, not the promoter. The value of this race would be the publicity for Fort Collins. The City of Fort Collins has been approached regarding assistance in funding the bid, although no decisions have been made at this time. At this time, our November agenda will include the TIF/RMI2 discussion and TIP Strategies - Incentive Strategy Planning for Economic Health Action Plan. Agenda Item 6: Bike Library and Economic Impact Study of Biking in partnership with CSU David Kemp, Bicycle Coordinator, provided an update regarding the Fort Collins Bike Library. He provided details regarding current stations, patrons served, miles, and CO2 savings as well as a summary of the current funding of the Bike Library through 2012. Sustainable options for the Bike Library for 2013 and beyond were also presented and included a “No user Fee” option, a “User Fee” option, alternatives to a Bike Library (automated stations/service), and privatizing the service. David Kemp indicated that a feasibility study would be very beneficial in directing the future of the Bike Library but can come at a high price (150K). Christophe Febvre asked if the current mission statement was to be an economic driver for the City of Fort Collins or to support the lower income individuals. David Kemp replied that the original mission statement was to for traffic mitigation and air quality and that the service has grown into much more. The EAC members agreed that a clear mission statement is needed and that a study to determine if the service would benefit in a privatized way, in a public/transit way, or a hybrid of the two. Additional discussion occurred regarding the cost of the study; Bill Timpson suggested local talent might be available (graduate students, local experts) that may be able to provide the service at a lower cost. After thorough discussion, the EAC made the following recommendation to Council: Rick Price moved and Bill Timpson seconded the following motion: The Economic Advisory Commission (EAC) recommends that the City undertake a serious study on the future of the Fort Collins Bike Library and its economic benefit to the community. 3 Motion passed 7-0 Agenda Item 7: City’s Water Supply and Demand Management Policy Donnie Duston, Water Resources Engineer, presented information on the Water Supply & Demand Management Policy update. Information provided included the primary functions of the Water Resources Division, policy objectives and goals, and other policy elements. The City of Fort Collins water sources include the Poudre River, Colorado-Big Thompson Project (CBT Project), and the Michigan Ditch & Joe Wright Reservoir. Additional information on water supply and demand, storage needs, water districts, water conservation efforts, and environmental concerns was also provided. The Policy Plan Update will focus on the triple bottom line – social, environmental, and economic impacts. Bill Timpson asked about the City’s participation in the Glade project. Donnie Duston replied that the City was involved in comments that were sent as a reply to the draft environmental impact statement back in 2008. The City is not a participant in the Glade Project, but we are watching what goes on. We have been pursuing the enlargement of the Halligan Reservoir. Stu MacMillan asked how much do we cooperate with the other water districts? Donnie Duston replied that we do have a joint pipeline between the Tri-Districts and the City of Greeley. In terms of conservation, most of the outreach applies to the whole city (eduation, rebates, sprinkler audits, etc). The other water districts are also dealing with more growth as the City of Fort Collins is building out. In general, they tend to be like-minded. Rick Price asked about conservation efforts and if we have outlawed the use of Blue Grass. Donnie Duston replied that we are certainly moving toward more conservation, but have not outlawed Blue Grass. Steps toward conservation have been taken (HOA’s are not able to mandate a certain percentage of Blue Grass, etc), but we need to rely on the Citizen Survey to guide us in the right direction. Agenda Item 8: 2012 Work Plan The EAC reviewed the 2011 Work Plan and made the following changes for the 2012 Work Plan: Deleted:  Participate in the Updating of the Economic Health Action Plan  Review the buildable lands inventory Added:  Discuss and evaluate the implementation of the updated Economic Health Strategic Plan  Business Improvement Districts – specifically in Midtown  Proactively participate in City BFO and KFCG decision processes for 2013-2014 cycle  Review and discuss KFCG Annual Report Meeting adjourned at 1:20 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled on November 16, 2011 from 11:00 am – 1:30 pm CIC Room, City Hall