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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 05/25/2021 - REGIONAL REIGNITE STRATEGIC PLANDATE: STAFF: May 25, 2021 Josh Birks, Economic Health Director WORK SESSION ITEM City Council SUBJECT FOR DISCUSSION Regional Reignite Strategic Plan. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The purpose of this item is to provide an overview of the two county, Larimer-Weld, economic recovery plan which will provide a regional framework that can be adapted to meet local goals and objectives. GENERAL DIRECTION SOUGHT AND SPECIFIC QUESTIONS TO BE ANSWERED 1. Does Council have any questions about the City’s engagement in the regional recovery planning process? 2. What challenges and/or opportunities does Council see in economic recovery? BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION National, state and local governments took several public health actions intended to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus and reduce the impact on our public health infrastructure and institutions. These actions led to steep economic decline impacting our entire economy, including restaurants, entertainment, hospitality, retail, higher education, oil and gas, agriculture, food processing, beer production, manufacturing, hospitals, non - COVID-19 related health care, and personal services. Reigniting and rebuilding the eco nomy will take a concerted effort of private sector, public sector, non-profits, and membership-based associations. History of Collaboration Northern Colorado benefits from years of regional collaboration amongst economic development professionals and planning staff in Larimer and Weld counties. In 2019, the two counties formalized the relationship by executing a Memorandum of Understanding recognizing that significant benefit can result from collaboration on economic development activities that promote positive business attributes and amenities in Northern Colorado. As a result, the regional economic development professionals (formally organized through the Northern Colorado Regional Economic Development Initiative, REDI) responded rapidly as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread across both counties. Regional Solution Public health restrictions have eased significantly enabling the re -opening of businesses and an increase of economic activity. Nobody knows how quickly the economy will rebound . A consensus of economists indicates a slow recovery taking years or even a decade. Consumer, employee, and patient confidence will dictate economic activity. In the near term, that is determined more by perceptions of safety than by an effective means of controlling the spread of the virus. On the positive side, Northern Colorado is resilient, smart, economically diverse, and entrepreneurial. In the long run, the region will recover. That recovery will largely be done business by business, organization by organization based on a multitude of individual decisions. It will be grassroots and organic. A coordinated, collaborative regional recovery plan can provide the framework for local recovery enabling cooperation between the public and private sectors. Und erstanding and removing functional barriers to consumer, employee, and business re-engagement will be essential to success. It will be important for the recovery plan to focus on reducing disincentives and barriers to economic activity and to avoid creatin g new ones. May 25, 2021 Page 2 Principles for Success The plan will be guided by the following principles for success developed collaboratively with all the participating communities and entities in the Reignite process. 1. Re-instill confidence. Commerce will regain its footing as the public regains its confidence. Re-instilling confidence for both the customer and workforce comes with the removal of functional barriers to re -engage. Everyone shares responsibility in developing confidence - customers, businesses, government, institutions, and associations. 2. This work is both practical and symbolic. The symbolic nature of this work is equally powerful because it ensures the public and business know a coordinated, concerted effort is underway to help business, the economy and workers. 3. We all have a vested interest. Local governments benefit from a strong economy and rapid recovery, which generates tax revenue that funds quality government services and public sector quality of life amenities. Private business benefits from quality government services. This is a symbiotic relationship that recovery can reinforce. 4. Be data and experience driven. Do not lead with ‘solutions.’ Seek to gather and understand the data to drive strategies and tactics. Search and scour for best practices (regionally, nationally, internationally) to identify solutions, lessons learned as implementing, and pitfalls to avoid. 5. Focus on Economic Recovery. Keep recovery work focused on economic recovery; avoid mission creep. Focus on the economy and the rest will follow. Non-profits deliver services not provided by government and business. Their recovery is important to the quality of life of our region. 6. Focus on resilience. Resilience is the ability for the economy to bounce back from, weather, and/or avoid shocks. The nature of this shock means that recovery may be uneven with setbacks. Businesses that have quickly adopted new approaches and models - the disrupters - seem to be avoiding the worst of the downturn. These new approaches should be understood and translated to support businesses throughout the economy. Existing inequities will be exacerbated by the pandemic and economic recession - inequities are barriers to economic resilience. Northern Colorado has a pioneering and entrepreneurial histo ry that will aid businesses to rebound through innovative adaptation. 7. Re-open Economic Drivers. The key to economic recovery of the region rests primarily on reopening our vital regional economic drivers, such as higher education, primary employers, federal labs and offices, and key sectors (tourism, agriculture, manufacturing, etc.). 8. Do no harm. Businesses have suffered to support public health goals. The recovery plan should focus on actions that support the survival and revival of businesses while avoiding actions and words that cause further economic harm. The watch phrase for public policy should be “primum non nocere”, first do no harm. Every attempt should be made to avoid new regulatory and financial burdens on businesses. 9. Avoid being short-sighted. While addressing short-term needs keep long-term economic goals in mind. Focus on balancing the interest of both main street businesses and primary employers to maintain and strengthen economic resilience. 10. Let form follow function. The pursuit of perfect information and data should not become the enemy of forward motion. The structure for engaging in recovery planning should develop from the goals of the recovery process not vice versa. Phases of Recovery The timeline for recovering from the current economic recession remains unclear. Even so, identifying and naming the stages of recovery provides the foundation of clarity necessary to gauge progress and implement a coordinated response across our region. Figure 1 below provides common nomenclat ure for phases of the economic recession and recovery process: 1. Pre-crisis - Previous normal. 2. Response - Mitigating the decline. 3. Precovery - Awkward phase of shifting from response to rebuilding. May 25, 2021 Page 3 4. Recovery - Focus on rebuilding economic activity. 5. New normal - Arriving at a new and established foundation of economic activity. Figure 1: Phases of Recovery Alignment with City Strategies Engaging in the Reignite Our Economy planning effort aligns with several City strategic objectives. The list below contains highlights only and not a complete list: 2020 City Strategic Plan Alignment: ● ECON 3.1 - Facilitate government and local partners to achieve effective regional economic resilience . Regional collaboration has been a focus on the Economic Health Office since 2017. Since then, staff has helped to form the Northern Colorado Regional Economic Development Initiative (NoCo RED; ChooseNorthernColorado.com) which is a partnership of all the regional actors within the space across both Larimer and Weld Counties. This group has led several efforts including formalizing the partnership between the two counties. ● ECON 3.2 - Understand trends in local labor market and work with key partners to grow diverse employment opportunities. A significant part of the Reignite our Economy effort has been updating and maintaining important economic datasets about the region (found at https://nocorecovers.com/tracker/). This information provides useful labor market data to understand the opportunities to grow diverse employment. Previous Council Priority Alignment: ● Support Small Business - A key area of focus for the Reignite Our Economy plan will be Small Business resiliency. Working regionally, to develop consistent services that support local and small businesses no matter which community they operate in. Additionally, many of our small local businesses operate across multiple communities so consistency regionally will benefit them as well. ● Create Community Jobs - An indirect benefit of a strong economic recovery will be additional job opportunities for existing residents. Additionally, a direct focus of the plan is on skill development and bridging between a resident’s current occupation and industries actively hiring. May 25, 2021 Page 4 2015 Economic Health Strategic Plan Alignment: ● Think Regionally - A region that partners to address economic issues which extend beyond municipal boundaries. Many barriers to positive economic outcomes for our community members are not unique to Fort Collins nor can they be addressed exclusively at the local level. Partnering on issues such as Childcare Access, Affordable Housing, Transportation/Transit infrastructure, and other similar issues regionally can help to create more expansive local solutions. Engagement and Feedback Summary The planning process has just wrapped up the engagement process. A series of individual interviews with regional employers - large and small, with public and private economic developers, and with local area chambers has netted a wide array of input. Additionally, the engagement benefits from several listening sessions with small and locally owned businesses, surveys of regional businesses (four across the length of the pandemic), and other regional survey data. The result has been a growing list of worrisome challenges and exciting opportunities and actions listed below. Worrisome Challenges ● Workforce - Finding skilled workers ● Housing - Availability and affordability ● Small business recovery ● K-shaped/inequitable recovery ● Prolonged Pandemic ● Reduced tax revenues or tax based ● Anti-business attitudes ● Political division ● Infrastructure Exciting Actions and Opportunities ● Workforce development - Talent 3.0 ● Regional collaboration ● Supporting small and Main Street businesses ● Affordable childcare ● Sector Partnerships ● Re-envisioning remote work ● Targeting primary employers ● I-25; other roadway projects ● Healthcare synergies ● Continuing as a top place to live/work Engagement and Feedback Summary At the conclusion of the engagement phase of the project there are several areas of alignment and areas to investigate further. These are helping to shape both the focus areas (detailed later in the preliminary recommendations section) and the implementation approaches (forthcoming). Areas of Alignment Areas to Investigate ▪ Importance of regional cooperation ▪ Create actional implementation items. ▪ Define roles and responsibilities. ▪ Recent data trends still apply. ▪ Recovery with a focus on diversity and inclusion. ▪ Understanding real estate market impacts. ▪ Talent 3.0. ▪ Business attraction vs. retention. ▪ Industry cluster priority. ▪ Affordable housing. ▪ Childcare access. ▪ Future of Reignite: new corporate structure or continued collaborative model. ▪ Transportation investment. ▪ Transformative projects. Preliminary Recommendations The planning process has just entered the second phase - Opportunity - which focuses on taking the learnings May 25, 2021 Page 5 from the Discovery phase (data analysis and engagement) and translating those into focus areas and str ategies. This work is still in the preliminary stages; however, clear areas of focus are emerging that will shape the final plan. These areas are highlighted briefly below. Vision, Mission, and Guiding Principles The plan will be informed by the following vision, mission, and guiding principles. These align well with the emerging vision and mission of our local recovery planning efforts. VISION ▪ Create a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable economy in northern Colorado that brings long- term prosperity for all MISSION ▪ Strategically lead and align regional resources around implementing economic recovery actions to mitigate the economic impacts of COVID-19 GUIDING PRINCIPLES ▪ Diversity, equity, and inclusion are foundational to sustained economic prosperity ▪ Recovery is regional; implementation can be customized by communities ▪ COVID-19 has changed elements of the economy, creating unique windows of opportunity for the Northern Colorado region STRATEGIC AREAS: TALENT 3.0 - Talent Development ● Expand to the region (beyond Fort Collins-Loveland metro) ● Future of work post-COVID o Returning to work o Support services and resources (e.g. childcare, transportation) o Automation/AI o Remote/hybrid ● How companies identify bridge skillsets ● Talent attraction ● Diversity, equity, and inclusion SMALL BUSINESS RESILIENCY ● NoCo Business Resilience Forum leveraging the Regional Issues Forum ● Individual business transition plans (Defense Transition Model) ● Expand support and mentorship programs for small businesses during recovery (Pivot Larimer Program) ● Develop mentorship programs and technical assistance for business owners who do not speak English (ex: Fort Collins cultural broker program or the Mi Casa Resource Center) CLUSTER GROWTH ● Identify reshoring opportunities as a result of supply chain restructuring. ● Host a forum for discussing new industry sector partnerships in tech and energy to develop connections between companies and promote career awareness in the community, modeled after existing partnerships in manufacturing and healthcare. ● Potential focus clusters o Bioscience and medical devices o Fabrication and production technology manufacturing o Energy o Agriculture/tech ● Conduct an analysis of real estate fundamentals for major commercial property types (office, industrial, retail) May 25, 2021 Page 6 that includes regional supply and demand as well as key market indicators such as rents, vacancies, and underlying drivers of demand. ● Ensure that a diverse inventory of sites (greenfield to shovel ready) are available to accommodate target cluster growth ● Work with commercial brokers, developers, site selectors, and existing businesses to establish key features needed for sites. ● Maintain an inventory of premier sites in the region that will be marketed to prospects. Info to share: zoning, infrastructure, utility availability, environmental assessments ● Maintain an inventory of soft-landing sites for graduates of incubators and accelerator programs, and work with graduates to find space in the region after graduation. ● Create a virtual site tour program. INNOVATION ● Leverage the innovation ecosystem in the greater Denver area to encourage growth in Northern Colorado. ● Develop a resource inventory and referral network for the regional entrepreneurship ecosystem, which is shared among local partners. ● Work with regional leaders, such as the CSU Research Foundation, to co -locate researchers, scientists, and engineers from the university with private industry. ● Promote the creation of regional capital investment funds centered on northern Colorado companies or disadvantaged populations. ● Host a national-level conference to bring together leaders in emerging technology that has a strong presence in the region. REGIONAL POSITIONING ● Develop a “one voice” prospect team that connects prospects with information about site and r eal estate availability, financial assistance, and local community contacts. ● Establish regular meetings with economic development contacts locally, with Metro Denver, and with the State. ● Bring community leaders in economic development, CSU, business, a nd other key stakeholders together to address high-level regional challenges (variations of the Loveland Strategic Partnership and Regional Issues Summit). o Childcare o Housing o Transportation o Water Next Steps The plan will be drafted and ready for review by the end of May or early June. It will then receive feedback from area stakeholders. ● Finalize Opportunities Analysis (May/June) ● Prepare Implementation Matrix (May/June) ● Share Draft Plan (June/July) ● No action anticipated by Council - o Local action is part of City Recovery Plan ● Final plan will be shared via memo. Partners The Reignite our Economy effort includes numerous partners: ● City of Greeley ● City of Loveland (funder) ● City of Fort Collins (funder) ● Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce (funder) ● Greeley Chamber of Commerce May 25, 2021 Page 7 ● Larimer County ● Larimer County Small Business Development Center ● Loveland Business Development Center ● Loveland Chamber of Commerce ● Town of Windsor (funder) ● Town of Berthoud ● Town of Evans ● Town of Johnstown ● Upstate Colorado - Representing both Weld County and several smaller communities (funder) ● Windsor Chamber of Commerce ATTACHMENTS 1. Powerpoint Presentation (PDF) Reignite our Economy: 05-25-21 Regional Recovery Plan Overview Josh Birks, Economic Health & Redevelopment Director Jacqueline Kozak Thiel, Chief Sustainability Officer ATTACHMENT 1 Questions for Council 1.Does Council have any questions about the City’s engagement in the regional recovery planning process? 2.What challenges and/or opportunities does Council see in economic recovery? Strategic Alignment 3 Strategic Plan Al ignment: §ECON 3.1 –Facilitate government and local partners to achieve effective regional economic resilience. §ECON 3.2 –Understand trends in local labor market and work with key partners to grow diverse employment opportunities. Council Priority Al ignment: §Support Small Business §Create Community Jobs Economic Health Strategic Plan Alignment: §Think Regionally –A r egion that partners to address economic issues which extend beyond municipal boundaries. Regional Recovery Planning Context Regional Recovery Planning Context 5 Regional Recovery Planning Context 6 7Regional Recovery Planning Context 1.The Economy is Regional 1.Labor shed is regional 2.Industry Sectors are regional 3.Service Delivery is often regional 2.Provide a framework for local recovery action 1.Opportunities for coordination amongst partners 2.Potential to deliver consistent service across the region 3.Many impacts are regional and require local action 1.Ta lent development / re-engagement 2.Supply Chain concerns / opportunities 4.Does not replace but meant to enhance local action. Why Plan Regionally Together? Regional Recovery Planning Context 1.Re-instill Confidence 2.Work is practical and symbolic 3.All have a vested interest 4.Be data and experience driven 5.Focus on Economic Recovery 6.Focus on resilience 7.Re-Open Economic Drivers 8.Do no harm 9.Avoid being short-sighted 10.Let form follow function 8 Principles for Success Regional Recovery Planning Context 9JB1 Slide 9 JB1 Need the updated schedule Josh Birks, 5/10/2021 10Regional Recovery Planning Context VISION §Create a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable economy in northern Colorado that brings long-term prosperity for all MISSION §Strategically lead and align regional resources around implementing economic recovery actions to mitigate the economic impacts of COVID-19 Draft Vision and Mission Engagement and Feedback Summary Engagement and Feedback Summary §Workforce –Finding skilled workers §Housing –Availability and affordability §Small business recovery §K-shaped/inequitable recovery §Prolonged Pandemic §Reduced tax revenues or tax base §Anti-business attitudes §Political division §Infrastructure *NOTE: Not in rank order; includes thoughts from public and private partners. 12 Wo rrisome Challenges Engagement and Feedback Summary §Workforce development – Ta lent 2.0 §Regional collaboration §Supporting small and Main Street businesses §Affordable childcare §Sector Partnerships §Re-envisioning remote work §Ta rgeting primary employers §I-25; other roadway projects §Healthcare synergies §Continuing as a top place to live/work 13 Exciting Actions or Opportunities 14Engagement and Feedback Summary Areas of Alignment Areas to Investigate §Importance of regional cooperation §Create actional implementation items §Define roles and responsibilities §Recent data trends still applies §Recovery w ith a focus on diversity and inclusion §Understanding real estate market impacts §Ta lent 3.0 §Business attraction vs. retention §Industry cluster priority §Affordable housing §Childcare access §Future of Reignite: new corporate structure or continued collaborative model §Tr ansportation investment §Tr ansformative projects Preliminary Recommendations 16PreliminaryRecommendations 17PreliminaryRecommendations 1.Ta lent 3.0 1.Expand to two county region 2.Future of work post-COVID 3.Diversity, equity and inclusion 2.Small Business Resiliency 1.Individual business transition plans 2.Support and mentorship programs 3.Te chnical assistance support for business owners who do not speak English 3.Cluster Implementation 1.Reshoring opportunities 2.Focus on specific clusters 3.Inventory soft-landing sites for graduates of incubators and accelerator programs Strategic Areas 4.Innovation 1.Resource inventory and referral network 2.Co-locate researchers with private industry 3.Promote creation of regional capital investment funds 5.Regional Positioning 1.Develop a “one voice” prospect response team 2.Bring together leaders to address major barriers: 1.Childcare 2.Housing 3.Tr ansportation 4.Water Preliminary Recommendations 18 Strategic Areas Preliminary Recommendations §Finalize Opportunities Analysis (May/June) §Prepare Implementation Matrix (May/June) §Share Draft Plan (June/July) §No action anticipated by Council – §Local action is part of City Recovery Plan §Final plan will be shared via memo 19 Next Steps 20Our Regional Recovery Planning Partners Representing both Larimer and Weld Counties: §City of Greeley §City of Loveland (funder) §City of Fort Collins (funder) §Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce (funder) §Greeley Chamber of Commerce §Larimer County §Larimer County Small Business Development Center §Loveland Business Development Center §Loveland Chamber of Commerce §To wn of Windsor (funder) §To wn of Berthoud §To wn of Evans §To wn of Johnstown §Upstate Colorado –Representing both Weld County and several smaller communities (funder) §Windsor Chamber of Commerce Questions for Council 1.Does Council have any questions about the City’s engagement in the regional recovery planning process? 2.What challenges and/or opportunities does Council see in economic recovery?