HomeMy WebLinkAboutEconomic Advisory Commission - Minutes - 11/19/2014Minutes
City of Fort Collins
Economic Advisory Commission
November 19, 2014
CIC, City Hall
11:00am–1:30pm
For Reference
Blue Hovatter, Chair 493-3673
Karen Weitkunat, Mayor & Council Liaison 416-2154
SeonAh Kendall, Staff Liaison 416-2164
Dianne Tjalkens, Minutes 221-6734
Commission Members Present Commission Members Absent
Blue Hovatter, Chair Jim Clark
Michael Kulisheck (Mike) Linda Stanley
Denny Otsuga Michael Rechnitz
Glen Colton
Sam Solt
Ann Hutchison (arrived 12:15)
Guests
Dale Adamy, citizen
Ted Settle, citizen
Eric Sutherland, citizen
Staff Present Staff Absent
SeonAh Kendall, Economic Policy & Project Manager
Dianne Tjalkens, minutes
Josh Birks, Economic Health Director (11:50–1:30)
Meeting called to order at 11:09am.
Logistics
Approval of minutes
Mike moved to approve the October 15, 2014 minutes as presented. Denny seconded.
Motion passed unanimously, 5-0-0. Ann arrived after vote.
Public Comment—
Eric Sutherland said Fort Collins is doing economic development wrong. Loveland is purchasing private
property and creating a DDA that includes downtown. Sutherland stated that Loveland is cheating the
school district. Sprouts has acquired a $2.2 million incentive to build a grocery store in Loveland. Sales
tax wars don’t work for the people who live here. If the City of Fort Collins wants to improve sales tax
revenue in the future it should look at filing lawsuits to stop Loveland from engaging in illegal activities
that rob Fort Collins of tax revenue. Sutherland stated that Fort Collins would be better off by
preventing others from stealing sales tax from Fort Collins. Front Range Village was $5 million.
Sutherland states that $2.2 for a single grocery store is illegal and a violation of our constitution which
gives due process. We will receive an injury and so will privately owned small grocers. We have laws to
control public finance and what URA can commit its revenue to and whether we can gift the funds to
private entities. He would like the commission to go to the attorneys and ask the probability of success
of taking Loveland to court over the Sprouts store. The practices are discriminatory as a small grocer in
Loveland asked for assistance and was denied, whereas Sprouts was given millions. If you look at
McWhinney as well, Fort Collins has suffered injuries there too.
Dale Adamy supports what Eric says, though he does not completely understand it. He would like to see
it on a future agenda of this board. He suggests not eliminating new concepts from the commission’s
work plan. Mission #3 talks about interaction with other boards. The commission has not done this kind
of outreach and collaboration. He would like the see the work plan include broadening the spectrum of
EAC issues. Encourage people from other boards to attend this meeting as well. Also, he would like the
commission to add considering the triple bottom line to the mission statement. Economic development
is not just spending money, but also pulling people out of poverty, eliminating train noise, etc.
Commission Member Updates
• Sam attended the last meeting through conference call, and though he was unable to comment
at the time, he agrees with the recommendations of the commission regarding support for the
BFO offers. He is concerned with the tangible benefits from clusters. He loves the incubator and
the idea of clusters is good but he has not seen a lot of tangible outcome related to investment.
• SeonAh said this was the first year of competitive bid and staff has built a requirement for
funding project accomplishments into their reporting structure, as well as making sure it is
communicated outside of the website and commission.
• Questions about how the cluster funds came up. SeonAh clarified that the hourly employee
who works with clusters will continue as hourly through EHO’s general budget, not cluster
funding. The original plan was to fund a cluster position, but that was unfunded in the budget
process. The dollar amount the clusters are getting is the same as it has been in previous years.
The cluster funds used to come from KFCG and general funds, and is now coming only from
KFCG.
• Glen is attending the Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) meeting tomorrow. They have strategies
to reduce GHG emissions. Commercial, retail, residential, moving from coal fired to natural gas
to greener energy, land use patterns, and a few other large topics. The model shows the cost
and benefit of strategies and has different scenarios. None of these strategies look at curbing
population growth though. Even though we have massive problems due to too many people, no
one looks for solutions that include slowing population and economic growth. The state’s water
plan says it does not have control over economic or population growth. No one addresses the
root cause issues. The paper said state funding to airports is going to be dramatically slashed. He
imagines the City is going to put more money into it through reserves. Glen does not support
that. He would also like to have more discussion around Eric’s comments. Loveland and
Centerra, Timnath and its entire community, have caused sales tax wars that are creating
development in corn fields. The whole town of Timnath was 200 acres. Big developers came in
and now it is 2000 acres and all designated blight. The tax revenue is all going to infrastructure
for Costco and million dollar homes. Glen stated that this destroys rational land use in Colorado
when communities have to work in a defensive manner, and makes a mockery of democratic
control.
• Denny stated that the University of Calicut (in Columbia) and CSU Ventures applied for a grant.
Columbia is using oil revenue to fund research and is creating new agencies. They are impressed
by organizations that support entrepreneurship and innovation. He realizes that it is important
to continue to support those infrastructures. CSU Ventures also invited Matt Verilek, SBA
Administrator Region VII, who was impressed by infrastructures for incubating new businesses,
but saw there is no funding mechanism to help new businesses grow. Denny stated that we
need more venture capital funding to get to next stage. CSU also invited Harry Harowitz (OEDIT,
Advanced Industries program), who is looking for a project they can support. CSU Ventures is
supporting Proof of Concept. What other ways can the local community support and leverage
state resources?
Staff Updates—MOR—
• SeonAh gave the following updates:
o Staff has been in strategic plan mode, deciding the work plan of the Economic Health
office for 2015. Staff is going to Council December 8 for a work session, with adoption in
February. SeonAh will ask Josh to return to the commission after December 8 to discuss
Council input and outreach efforts.
o Thursday, Jill Stillwell, SeonAh, and LCWC are doing a Design Thinking workshop at the
Carnegie building next to Old Town Library. Looking at developing a maker space in that
facility and an idea lab/collaborative space. This would have open office hours for
artists, and others, and would be free. More open and inviting for innovators to
collaborate. CSU is writing a grant application for the design-thinking, and a CSU class is
working on development of the space.
o SeonAh is refocusing on business retention and expansion. Wants to understand current
workforce and needs and will work with creative structure. Broadband will also be a
special project she is working on. Would like recommendation and guidance from the
commission.
o Tom Leeson has been in front of Council regarding policy improvements for urban
renewal and he can come speak to the commission.
Agenda Item 1: December Agenda Planning
Blue said the mayor has confirmed she will attend the December meeting. It will be an opportunity to
find out what the Council expects of the commission. Members are requested to send questions to
SeonAh before the meeting and come prepared. She will send a reminder email.
Additionally, election of new chair and co-chair will happen in the December meeting.
Blue noted that attendance issues are affecting the commission’s ability to do business.
Comments/Discussion:
• Mike said one issue is the time. This is a time that limits who can even serve on the commission.
It is a 3.5 hour commitment once a month. He is surprised it is not an evening meeting.
• Josh added that it is hard for staff to get away from their other work in the middle of the day as
well.
• Blue agreed to keep this as a discussion item.
• Denny asked to have member attendance tabulated by the December meeting. Dianne will
tabulate and distribute to the board.
• SeonAh said BOB 2.0 is going before Council January 6 to determine ballot language. This will be
added to the December agenda.
Agenda Item 2: Commission Member Proposals for EAC 2015 Work Plan
Josh displayed the duties and functions of the commission as a reminder for members during the
discussion.
Comments/Discussion:
• Denny said the duties and functions list seems to cover everything. At implementation level
here, what item do we focus on? There is no way we can do all of this. How much latitude do we
have?
• Blue said the group has been stuck on advising on current policies and practices, and our new
focus is to think long term on strategies.
• Ann said it is not our job to create new projects for staff to work on when there is a clear system
for programs within the City. We need to advise Council on the agenda that they have set.
• Glen said under the broad scope, we are to recommend policies and practices. The Econ Health
strategic plan may have been affected by the input of this commission.
• Mike asked if the commission thinks the second duty is to come up with new concepts from thin
air.
• Denny agreed with Ann that there is an overall general direction provided by Council and our job
is to support staff and advise Council.
• Josh said his job is to take direction from Council via the City Manager. This commission can
advise Council, who ultimately decides whether to move the recommendations forward. Staff
must then take action.
• Blue said the commission has done this in the past. An earlier chair had strong feelings on tax
diversification. The commission gained input on how to adjust tax bases over a period of time,
and then the group sent a recommendation to Council. As a result Council took action. Glen and
Sam have brought forward the concept of economic sustainability. This group would like to
address that topic.
• Mike said you use time in each meeting to discuss this, but we cannot lose sight of our advisory
role based on the agenda calendar. We gave valuable input on Woodward and other projects
that came up last year that helped shape our City. We must put these topics in proper
proportion.
• Sam suggested having an open dialogue section in each meeting to discuss long term topics and
upcoming issues. He can think of many topics worthy of recurring discussion. Fort Collins has
some of the best staff, who are very capable. If we can come from another perspective that
could provide fresh input to staff we should try.
• Josh suggested thinking about what a mature recommendation looks like, so it gets to a place
that Council can understand and take action, and when staff gets it there is enough information
to move forward. As relates to watching the calendar and providing input, it may be good to
spend time on focus and prioritization, rather than looking at everything economic related.
• Blue said we are not always as acutely aware of what topics will have important economic
discussions. We must lean on staff to help us prioritize.
• Josh suggested a bi-direction conversation. Staff gets a lot of requests to come before the
commission. It would be good for staff to have a sense of the commission’s direction in order to
make decisions about whether or not to present and what to present.
• Ann asked how to balance that with the organizational expectation of a TBL on everything.
• Josh said the organization is working on that. If the board is clear on what you want to see or
not see, that is helpful to staff.
• Denny asked for Josh’s thoughts on how the Council, staff and boards balance. A lot of staff
parade through with presentations on a box-checking mission. After a half hour presentation we
cannot give a thoughtful recommendation on a project they have been working on for months.
Can we say when staff comes to the commission, that we have limited time and resources and
we defer to the economic health staff? That can be a better way to get input. Staff is more
aware of what is going on at the City level.
• Josh said that is within the commission’s prerogative.
• Blue said we always ask the economic impacts and what input is being requested, but we rarely
get that information. Maybe we need a form they have to fill out?
• Mike said when he thinks of his role, it is also for a citizen gut check on items coming to Council.
He brings a perspective different from staff. It’s hard to measure the impact, but the process of
getting projects before citizens is important. We all bring our perspectives and that has value. If
you ask people to fill out a form on economic impact, you are making them jump through a
hoop and put a square peg in a round hole.
• Blue said everything has an economic impact. But if there is a form that shows that this is
banging a square peg in a round hole, we can choose to pass on that item. After logistics and
lunch, we are down to an hour and half for agenda items.
• Mike said he doesn’t get the feeling we are listening to presentations we shouldn’t be listening
to.
• Denny asked if there is a better venue for citizens to voice their opinions on issues.
• Josh said there are 27 boards and commissions, so you are not the only gut check out there.
Some have an expertise related to the topic being presented. There is also other citizen
outreach in the formation of policies. You can be selective about where you offer your input.
• Sam said it is not so much about what we hear, but about what we don’t do. He has gone to four
boards and we don’t address the economic impact of the senior citizens and that topic is
woefully under-discussed. He doesn’t know what that discussion would bring, but we need to
have it. He went to the senior board and they have active projects they are working on. One was
a research project they did with CSU. It is also not visible at Council.
• Mike said this is a legitimate issue. This could be a 20 minute segment once a quarter. Having
this discussion once is not going to make a difference.
• Sam said he and Glen talk about economic sustainability and think it should be part of our
ongoing discussions. Glen has a different definition than staff or Council.
• Josh said if you pick up that topic, you need to have an idea of how to get it all the way to a
recommendation on a program or strategy. How are you going to move the idea forward in such
a way that you can articulate a full recommendation to Council?
• Sam added that citizen comment at Council sometimes is not meaningful.
• Ann said citizen comment is required at board meetings, but Council also has a public comment
period.
• Glen said members have different perspectives on economic health and can represent different
viewpoints from the community. Being on this board has to be about more than reviewing what
is coming down the pike. We should be able to give input on the direction we are going. We
need to give input on the long term strategies. If I don’t have a say on the long term goals, it
doesn’t matter how much money we give away. In the past we never thought about giving away
money to corporations to come here. Some people think sustainability means 2–3% growth
annually. That is the furthest away from sustainability as possible. If we don’t have these
discussions here, where will they happen? Natural Spaces doesn’t get an 82% to 18% vote
because people want growth. Do we really have to be the hottest economy in the country to be
okay? I am on this board to have these kinds of discussions.
• Blue said the topic is what does the 2015 work plan look like for next year? If we want to tackle
something larger, what does December 2015’s agenda look like? If we want to add this new
piece, what is the conclusion we are trying to come to?
• Denny would like to see a reduced number of box-checking presentations.
• Blue suggested having housekeeping, one hour of six month agenda calendar topics, and a half
hour of ongoing topics discussion for the agenda structure. The commission could have two or
three topics that alternate in that last half hour.
• Sam said those presentations that come through from Council’s agenda can become discussion
topics. Council would look for input from a group like this.
• Josh suggested the commission brainstorm a short list of topics to have as ongoing discussions
and add those to the work plan. At the end of the discussion, there must be a case you can make
to Council. He added that the best place to air topics is a Council committee or Legislative Affairs
committee.
• Members brainstormed topics and Josh took note. Topics include: economic sustainability
(population, water, land, energy, affordability, local economy), silver tsunami, transportation,
tax/revenue diversification, climate adaptation/resiliency, goals and metrics for economic
vitality, what is the goal of our economy, build out, citizen engagement/technology, role of
knowledge economy, large conferencing/event venue, economic dynamism, recession
resistance, and steady state economy.
• Glen said that governments have a natural momentum to continue on their paths; you need
significant push to change direction.
• Mike said some of these topics imply an answer.
• Ann said tax diversification is beyond our input.
• Josh said Bill’s success was getting the organization to look at it. We are operating at one of the
most diversified levels the state allows.
• Blue recommended having a historical book on what topics the commission has already tackled
for new members. It would be nice to have a learning document.
• Mike suggested looking at impacts of age groups and deciding what kind of economy we want,
and what its goal is.
• Glen suggested having a retreat to make decisions.
• Other members suggested voting on top topics to have something in place for the December
meeting.
• Members volunteered to spearhead topics, including preparing materials in advance:
o Economic Sustainability: Glen and Ann
o Goals and Metrics: Linda and Denny
o Demographic Shifts in Economy & Workforce: Mike and Sam
• Mike suggested having the commission discussions from 1:00 to 1:30, so as not to eat into staff
presentation time.
• Members agreed to allow the liaison, chair, and vice chair to filter staff presentations to those
relevant to priorities prior to meetings.
• Ann suggested having an update via email on the decisions made by the chair, vice chair and
liaison.
• Josh said the organization is looking at how to best use the boards and commissions. He is in
support of the “super-board” meetings, where an opportunity is given to all boards to attend
one meeting on a topic, rather than having staff present to 27 boards.
• Sam said the super board meeting structure needs a lot of work. He will give feedback to Josh.
• Josh took note of member edits to the work plan list and saved the document.
Meeting Adjourned: 1:30pm
Next Meeting: December 17, 2014 11:00am–1:30pm, City Hall, CIC Room
Approved by the Board on December 17, 2014
Signed
______________________________________ 1/2/2015
Dianne Tjalkens, Administrative Clerk II Date