HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Futures Committee - 07/13/2015 -
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MINUTES
CITY OF FORT COLLINS
FUTURES COMMITTEE MEETING
Date: July 13, 2015
Location: CIC Room, City Hall, 300 Laporte Ave
Time: 4:00–6:00pm
Committee Members Present: Committee Members Absent:
Wade Troxell, Chair
Kristin Stephens
Gino Campana
City Staff:
Jacqueline Kozak-Thiel, Chief Sustainability Officer
Darin Atteberry, City Manager
Dianne Tjalkens, Admin/Board Support
Sam Houghteling, Industry Cluster Coordinator
Josh Birks, Economic Health Director,
Invited Guests:
Community Members:
Ann Hutchison, Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce
Dale Adamy, citizen
Wade Troxell called meeting to order at 4:08pm
Chairman Comments: Jackie Kozak-Thiel is now staff liaison to Council Futures Committee.
She and Wade will be meeting to discuss scheduling.
Approval of Minutes:
Kristin moved to approve the June minutes as presented. Gino seconded.
Motion passed unanimously, 4-0-0.
Future Agendas Discussion: None.
Think Tank Item 6-2015: Innovation Ecosystem—Sam Houghteling and Josh Birks
Innovation and calculated risk is in DNA of the community. Foundational pillars include 1870
Colorado Agricultural College founded, 1976 water laws began here, 1935 electric utility
opened, 1977 HP, 1991 New Belgium started microbrewery phase of Fort Collins, 1998
OtterBox, and in 2007/2015 Woodward Governor selected Fort Collins for headquarters.
Flywheel effect of drawing in other innovative businesses. Fort Collins is one of six university
cities in US that stand above the rest. Key metrics: educational attainment, business starts, crime
rate, real household income, patents issued, and arts and entertainment.
Fort Collins exceeds in innovation categories. Additional accolades
include #1 healthiest city, #2 highest startup density, #1 best place to live,
#4 best place for business/life. Good place to do business, healthy, nice place to live. City is
mapping innovation assets/connections in order to make more strategic investments. Incubation,
creation, and production are key elements. City has invested in FoCo CCC, RMI, Galvanize, etc.
3 Cs: convene, catalyze, and collaborate; have led to creation of Sustainability Services Area,
support of industry clusters, revitalization of Engines Lab, building of Innosphere, etc. Triple
Helix is foundational and includes university, business, and government coming together to
address common goals/challenges. Leads to alignment around triple bottom line: clean energy,
water, local food systems, etc. Beers, bands and bikes: relationship between tech innovation and
culture/arts. Also seeing innovation in all three of these pillars. Nonprofits starting around music,
innovation in bike designs, changes in breweries. Innovation is messy and complex, not easy.
Hearing from community that this is hard work and need to be intentional in maintaining
innovative culture. How would Council like Economic Health Office (EHO) to track innovation,
continue to interface around this topic, where can we break down silos and create efficiencies,
how can we measure innovative spirit and collaboration? In 25-50 years what do we want to
have? Can we become a supplier to manufacturing? EHO will continue innovation asset map
project. New projects: Southeast Community Center, Carnegie Creative Center, and community
fabrication facility (largest public makerspace in US—interested in partnering with City).
Comments/Q & A:
• How were six cities selected? What are criteria or commonalities?
o Certain classification for “University Cities.” Plotting data. These six stand out
among others. Tend to be in communities that are mid-sized. Needs economic
base to support the university.
o Investment in innovative industries, patents coming out of institutions/industries.
o Quality of life, crime rate included in data as well. Faculty lives in the
community.
• Triple Helix should be branded, as well as co-creator community.
o People ask secrets of Fort Collins, so starting to use this language. Do we want to
be intentional and deliberate in labelling and using language? Becomes part of
identity. One thing to tell our story, another to add language to strategic plan so it
becomes who we are.
o Idea of co-creator is moving away from paternalistic model of city fixing
problems. Co-creator involves responsibility of all members of community.
Involves initiative on everyone’s part. Builds sustainability.
o Out of discussion about exhibit at Smithsonian: video talks about collaboration
and partnerships. Broader engagement. This is differentiator.
o Building stronger relationships and redundancy for sustainability/stability.
o Blending between community, university and business. Ex: parking issue doesn’t
start and stop at a particular boundary. Relates to housing as well.
o Gets us away from separating issues such as stadium as only university issue.
Stadium was not a broader discussion with engagement. That would have
changed the dialogue.
• Fort Collins highlighted in Places of Invention book. Exhibit at Smithsonian will be on
display for 5 years. Having similar exhibit at Discovery Museum. After exhibit at
Smithsonian Brian Wilson invited Fort Collins visitors and started discussion on next
steps and future planning.
• Innovation ecosystem?
o EHO has been using this term inside office for some time. Innovation economy
comes out of support network. Ecosystem describes interconnections that allow
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for many activities. Like metaphor when deciding how to
support innovation. Need interconnected resources to allow
good ideas/companies to emerge. Ecosystem has changed
with Galvanize, expansion of Power House, etc. Need to assess ecosystem today.
o Map in presentation is connections from “maker” perspective. Could make other
maps for other pillars such as agriculture tech, etc.
o Suggestion to define from City perspective. Can start weaving into other
discussions. Ex: broadband, I-25, etc. Specific industries, highlight gems in
community, where can we move the dial, where do we affect the ecosystem, how
do we stay out of the way? Provide graphical representation.
Can show what already investing in. Will stay invested in RMI as asset.
• Innovative workforce: What are they looking for?
o Beers, bikes and bands.
So invest in those as well. Also helps tell story for industries who are
interested in coming her. Ex: Boulder businesses are looking to relocate
because don’t have workforce, can’t house employees, etc.
o Rise of the Creative Class: data on diversity, access to broadband, etc. Talks about
successful communities of future will be those who cater to creative class—
people who can live anywhere as they can work remotely. What is it that makes
places attractive to millennials who can go anywhere? It’s not about growth but
about staying competitive and vibrant.
o Ecosystem approach is about diversity and resilience. Habitat that provides for
keystone species.
Lack of diversity in community. People recruited from other places not
ultimately comfortable staying here. How can we make them comfortable?
I-25 will be huge. Lack of high-speed broadband.
Lack of affordable housing will be a problem too. If can’t see selves being
able to buy a home, won’t stay in town.
o Sustainability versus thriving. We are community that thrives in its ecosystem,
which is sustainable. Can’t have elements that die off. Complicated system. Have
gone to TBL. As relates to clean water, energy, housing, broadband, environment
that fosters creativity. Sense of place.
• How do we get younger people involved? Work with PSD to make sure kids are aware of
things like coding and potential jobs of the future? Everyone has a role. Expose them to
3D printers, technology, labs. Build excitement young and show where their place can be
so don’t develop segment that is not a part of the innovative community.
o Partnership with manufacturing sector: Need to combat perceptions that
manufacturing is unpleasant work. Having field trips, kids play with robotic
welders, etc. Middle-skill space is people who are taking innovation and changing
into product on shelves. In ecosystem are we just an idea place or are we also a
supplier? Central in Economic Health Strategic Plan: jobs across spectrums of
education and income.
• Kids need exposure to varied job opportunities.
o Will have opportunity for that at Southeast Community Center.
Do at Aztlán as well.
o This is first attempt. And schools are working on this as well; working with urban
agriculture, 3D printers, etc.
o University is engaging STEM. All play into initiative of private sector that is
working with SeonAh. When expose to new big ideas, opens doors. Niches that
are open to public. Experiential. Begin Again Toys, could have lathes and mills as
educational items. Provides crafting and allows sourcing in our community.
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• Southeast Community Center, offer naming space for a period of
time and have business provide equipment for that period of time.
Education and showcasing.
o Early conversations with PSD, want that engagement.
o Became interested in architecture as a child due to exposure from family, which
lead to city planning, then management. Create exposure tours for younger
students. Want people to come into their industry, so normally looking at high
school and college kids, but passions develop at younger age.
If haven’t been exposed by high school or college, then not going to
happen.
• In triple helix idea, with City as convener role, can put this idea into the business
community. Triple helix gets everyone looking toward same horizon. City can look at
longer horizon and bring that perspective.
o Doing this work today, as precursor for 2017/18 budget cycle. Start rolling into
strategic planning and budgeting. Knowing baseline allows us to determine where
can move the dial.
• Climate Action Plan. This is an area that allows us to be successful. Global need;
solutions can be innovated and demonstrated here.
• Need more quantitative and metrics in background information. More data to show
positive impacts of innovation in community.
o That is in plan moving forward. Establishing baselines and looking at past 10-20
years.
o Have clear vision about where going and why, and develop action plan.
• Peter Kageyama coming to community. Thought leader. Would like to meet with Scott
Shapiro around data.
o Ray Martinez at conference. Keynote from former CEO of Ford. Have had many
influential keynote speakers in Fort Collins as well. Get enthusiasm when they
come. Chatter occurs afterward and builds optimism. How do we support?
o University is bringing people who are world class in their fields.
Thought leaders/provocateurs, how do we build on this?
Portland has First Stop Portland: public/private clearing house partnership
to curate experiences for guest groups and speakers. Convening CSU,
Visit Fort Collins, Chamber, etc. to think about how to host groups from
other communities that come to learn.
1200 bassists came to Lincoln Center and had workshops, concerts, etc.
Renowned musicians. They stayed in downtown, got Max passes, etc.
• Hone in on messaging of ecosystem from the beginning in presentation. What is the
problem, what is the vision? Talk about thriving concept, identify metrics, and then give
remaining information of how to achieve goals.
o We don’t have to do it all. Have triple helix. Jim Collins and Good to Great is
part of how businesses operate. Maybe City helps support more of this work
through Chamber.
Collaboration.
Don’t have resources to do it all ourselves.
o Ecosystem is about niches, triple helix activates threads. What is government
sector best positioned to do? Private sector? Nonprofits?
DO: Next Steps
• Framing, branding and language. Setting stage in presentation for Council presentation.
• Metrics and data. Creative Class, best practices, and local context.
• Action plans/leveraging City’s role in triple helix.
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• Asset map, make sure macro approach to the map: “habitat and
keystone species.”
• Exposure tours: Investing in next generation/exposing to
innovation.
• Naming and sponsorship policy
• Attracting thought leaders (one-stop Portland model).
• Workforce, livability, affordability. Visibility to opportunities.
Future Agenda Items
Unscheduled: Diversity, Civic Leadership, and Boards and Commissions update.
Other Discussion
• Futures Committee is a novel concept. Not happening everywhere.
• Elected official from Lakewood said has citizens who are interested in being involved in
“Bench Sessions.”
• Two goals as mayor: innovation and civic leadership. How do we sustain what has made
our community great?
• Council Members can move boards towards work plans. Boards are to advise Council.
Boards and Commissions structure has served well in the past, but need to be poised to be
valuable over next 30 years.
o Also not to direct staff. The people who serve want to feel work is valuable.
o Super Board meetings, people are excited about new topics. Be collaborative in
restructuring boards.
They want to be doing valuable work.
How does the City anticipate how the next generation will participate?
Need to prepare.
Meeting adjourned at 5:31pm.
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