HomeMy WebLinkAboutEconomic Advisory Commission - Minutes - 06/17/2020
Economic Advisory Commission
Regular
June 17, 2020, 4 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Laramie River Conference Room, 2nd Floor, 222 Laporte Ave
1. CALL TO ORDER
Called to order at 4:02 p.m.
2. ROLL CALL
List of Board Members Present
• Ted Settle
• John Parks
• George Grossman
• Connor Barry
• Renee Walkup
• Aric Light
• Braulio Rojas
List of Board Members Absent:
• Cole Langford
List of Staff Members Present:
• Josh Birks, Economic Health Manager
• Erin Zimmermann, Economic Health Staff
List of Guests:
• Kevin Jones, Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce
3. AGENDA REVIEW
4. CITIZEN PARTICIPATION
a. N/A
5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
a. Minutes approved unanimously with the correction of the spelling of Connor Barry’s
name.
6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. Josh to follow up on Reimagine Board and Commissions project for an update.
b. Tabled all other business to focus on COVID Response.
7. NEW BUSINESS
a. Business COVID Response and Recovery – Josh Birks
Open group reflection-
• George- As a small business owner and chatting with my neighbors, it
has been a crazy time for us on main street. Businesses are suffering-
layoffs, going out of business, downsizing. I’m really interested in the
For Fort Collins marketing plan and how that will be implemented.
Other big issue is working with our landlords.
• Renee- Thank you for the preview to NoCo Recovers. It’s important
that we continue to make sure our downtown is vibrant. That’s were
the heart of the city is. I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do.
• Ted- I’m pretty sensitive to the pandemic as a senior citizen. I have
canceled travel plans, learning Zoom, and helping where I can. I’m
struck by lack of leadership nationally and the racism issues.
• John- It will be interesting to see how this is all playing out from an
education perspective. There are a lot of disparities among students.
Kids who don’t have access to devises. Parents not being given a lot of
guidance. It will be interesting to see when kids go back to school. On
a personal note, I have resigned my position and have started a
Master’s program at CSU.
• Braulio- On a personal level, everything is fine. I’m continuing to work
but from home. Family level, everything is ok, and everyone is healthy
but going more to the social level, it has been a challenge
economically at the local, state, and national level. The new reality of
how people behave is going to change and the economy should
change in response to that. I think this is a great opportunity at the City
level to rethink our role of attracting jobs and residents. Opportunity to
improve our business to business relationships.
• Aric- Good to see everyone again. It has been interesting at work
helping families navigate the world of finance right now. How is my
retiring looking? It has been rewarding in some ways to connect with
people. We deal with financial advice, so I am happy to help anyone
who needs it. Have helped some businesses navigate the PPE
process. Have been spending more time with my roommates which I
have enjoyed.
• Connor- A couple of areas I want to focus in on a little more is the data.
What is it looking like for our community- vacancy rates,
unemployment, etc. Interested in what the data is saying how we are
doing. I have gone out a few times lately and has been heartening. We
are still a long way off from where businesses can be profitable. The
other thing that worries me is the potential for a second wave and the
impact of businesses and safety enforcement. Also want to focus in on
the impact on the City. How might we be reimagining tax dollars and
how they are allocated.
Presentation on what has occurred to date
• Josh gave a presentation on what the Economic Health Office has
been working on relative to COVID response and recovery. In context
of the Crisis and Recovery curve, the Economic Health Office has only
started moving out of the response phase and into “pre-recovery”
phase within the last couple of weeks. Still not sure what recovery and
new normal will look like.
• Presentation included overview of the timeline of events, overview of
regional collaboration and local action.
o Regional Highlights: NoCo Recovers website to provide updated
information and resources. Connect Now email feature and
phone line. Lately we have been populating section on
compliance. Noco Safety Supply which is like Craigslist for PPE
and hand sanitizer. COVID Relief Loan program through
Colorado Enterprise Fund, $5 million loan fund focused on
minority and women-owned businesses.
o For Fort Collins- Sharing local resources to help support an
participate in keeping Fort Collins Strong. Gives ideas on how to
take action to support the local economy. Will be starting an
ambassador program soon to have the business community
help push it out in their networks.
o Did a lot of business engagement- Town Hall meetings,
simulcast in Spanish.
o Adjusted sign code, did a sales tax deferral, patio expansion,
curbside pickup adaption, face mask ordinance, reopening
checklists.
• Also highlighted Survey results from Business survey on April 22nd
(155 surveys completed, 62 percent of business open, 65 percent
made employment changes, 72 percent indicated grants would help,
74 percent implemented both social distancing and increased
sanitation. Put second survey out May 29th (69 surveys completed, 88
percent of businesses at least partially open, 75 percent applied for
CARES Act funding with 92 percent receiving some funds, 74 percent
have information to operate safely. Primary concern was customers’
perception of safety.
• Also presented Sales Tax data from May and Year-to-Date as well as
current Employment Statistics. See presentation slides.
• Reignite our Economy
o Principles for Success: Restore confidence, work is practical
and symbolic, we all have a vested interest, be data and
experience driven, focus on Economic Recovery, Focus on
Resilience, re-open economic drivers, do no harm, avoid being
short-sided, let form follow function.
o Josh will share Regional Reignite our Economy Framework.
• Discussion:
o Has the revolving loan fund been used to get to small
businesses?
o Josh- We worked with our partner and they gave the City its
loan loss funds back and the City then reinvested that into the
Recovery Loan program. We may be able to revisit this with
CARES funding.
o George- Impressive presentation! Curious about the
Ambassador program and where you envision that and the For
Fort Collins concept going?
o Josh- At its core it’s about getting businesses and customers to
connect. We are hoping to get the ambassadors to help tell
these stories. We also want to start doing some traditional
marketing about engaging with your local economy. Not just
about shopping local because there are lots of local businesses
in a variety of sectors who are struggling. Also looking at what
we want to do instead of Business Appreciation Breakfast. We
see it being community-owned.
o George- Call to action is missing the focus on shopping local.
Reverse showrooming where people do research online and
buy local.
o Ted- It appears this crisis has accelerated regional
collaboration. Do you think that will be the new floor?
o Josh- I think we have made measurable movement.
o Connor- Curious what the enforcement model looks like for face
coverings.
o Josh- We do not have the capacity to actively enforce so it is
complaint-driven. It is written in a way that businesses have the
ability to deny service, but that they have that choice and are
empowered.
o Connor- Other question is around the data. How to we track
progress over time?
o Josh- We are looking at some things that aren’t lagging and are
seeking out other sources of information such as un-insurance
claims and job postings. Sales Tax is good overall proxy for
economic impact. Consumer confidence is a little elusive for us.
o Renee- Where are we as a community going to see cuts?
o Josh- We are going to use $10 million from reserves. Nothing
we can share publicly about what cuts will be made. Every
department was asked to submit their cuts and asked people to
go beyond what the anticipated need was. Should be final for
internal consumption end of the month and Council in July. We
did furlough 600 part-time seasonal employees.
Future priorities and projects
Discussion on EAC opportunities
o Braulio- You summarized a very complex issue very well. When
you compare the economic index, we are in pretty good shape
compared to state and national level which is good. I wonder if
we should write a memo expressing our support for the actions
you have taken to keep the mark that we are reviewing the data
and information. It could happen now. It could happen later.
o Connor- Open to the idea but would want to make sure we are
specific. These are the specific things that we as a commission
see as most important and continue to support those specific
actions.
o Josh- I think this group can start thinking about what role should
Economic Advisory Commission play and think there will be
more opportunity to do this moving forward and with more
influence such as how do we do engagement during recovery?
o Connor- One area I think would be of interest is funding as well
as metrics and marketing.
o Josh- One program we are looking at is a grant program to
support rent for businesses. One potential role would be
participate in review of grant proposals. Have also talked about
nonprofit support as well.
o Renee- I would like to see the EAC get more involved. We have
a lot of talent and we want to help.
8. BOARD MEMBER REPORTS
9. OTHER BUSINESS
10. ADJOURNMENT
AJOURNED AT 6:01 P.M.
UPCOMING TOPICS
July:
Open Slot
Open Slot
August:
Open Slot
Open Slot
Unscheduled:
Affordable Housing Priorities and Affordable Housing Strategic Plan