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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-11 Economic Development Update Economic Development Update Notes December 19, 2011 1) CoB a. Facilitate development of a downtown hotel as identified in the downtown development plan (Fontenot) a.Commission recently determined that the Carnegie parking lot was no longer necessary to the conduct of city business, staff directed to draft a hotel-centric rfp for infill development; RFP due in January 24, 2012. b. Implement the adopted ED plan: 1. Support the expansion and retention of existing businesses and economic clusters that will continue to strengthen and diversify the economy and create higher paying jobs in Bozeman. (Photonics biosciences and manufacturing) 2. Maintain and upgrade infrastructure to support current and future needs of business. (Water Treatment Plant,Water Rec. Facility, south 8th) 3. Support education and workforce development initiatives to provide Bozeman with the qualified workers to meet the needs of business. (Support for Gallatin College Programs) 4. Leverage local, state and federal economic development resources to enhance economic growth in Bozeman. (CDBG, MCDC, Prospera RLF, Tax Abatements, etc) 5. Create a more collaborative and effective working partnership between the business community and the City of Bozeman and effectively manage the City of Bozeman's regulatory environment to accomplish goals without hindering business expansion and economic growth. (McHarg/Risk—planning and building) 6. Maintain the high quality of life that is considered an important asset to the business community. c. EDC's Priorities and Recommendations 1. Econ Devo Summit and survey (with prospera and gallatin county, MSU/SIFE) a. Conducted an entrepreneurs summit; and b. Considering a development summit. 2. Bozeman Video Tour Book branding/marketing project (BDH, BSD7, Streamline, Gallatin Field,private business) 3. College of Business internship (MSU) a. Gallatin Business Resource Network [GBRN] (Chamber/SBDC/MSU/CoB) http://gbrn.org/index2.htm1'. b. Dashboard of Economic Indicators; c. ED Report Card; 4. Montana Site Selector (City/County/Prospera, Commercial Realtors)http://www.montanasiteselector.com d. Stabilize existing local incubators and create a full service business incubator program to achieve a healthy business ecosystem (Fontenot) a.City staff have been assisting Tech Ranch in the following ways: 1. Assistance, advice and support concerning TR's $25,000 FY12 general fund budget request; 2. Assistance, advice and support concerning the Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge Grant application; 3. Assistance and advice on relocating TR to downtown Bozeman; and 4. Working collaboratively with Teresa McKnight of the MSU Innovation Campus (formerly the Tech Park). e. Workforce Development (Kukulski) a.Approve 2012 and 2013 fiscal year budgets that includes 1.5 mills for Gallatin College programs; b.Member of the GCP Workforce Study Committee - GCPs workforce study is now underway. f. Mandeville Farm (Fontenot) a.Lisa Hammer, MPA student and summer intern is providing support to the EDT on proposals and possibilities for the Mandeville farm. b.The EDT is currently discussing Mandeville Farm possibilities; c.Researching a free-trade, or free port zone status; d.Planning Manufactures Summit to discuss the feasibility; e.Researching CDBG funding possibilities; f Researching MCDC funding possibilities. g. Reconstitution of the Northern Rocky Mountain Economic Development District (NRMEDD) (City of Bozeman/Livingston, Gallatin County, Park County, private sector business) h. Creation of Director level ED position a.Raises priority of ED to commission and community i. Creation of the EDT a.Met on 2 projects and Mandeville farm j. CDBG Planning Grant application for Mandeville Farm and State Trust Lands (DNRC) 300 combined acres k. CDBG Planning Grant awarded, RFP in the works for an early January 2012 release EDC meetings are held the first Thursday of each month from 10:30 a.m. to noon in the Madison Conference Room at Bozeman City Hall, 121 N. Rouse Ave. Bozeman's EDP and the EDC's Priorities and Recommendations as well as meeting agendas and audio minutes are available at www.bozeman.net. I'll be on Open for Business this Saturday, June 25 from 11 am -12 pm, KMMS AM 1450. Partnerships are just good business In 2010 the City Commission declared that Bozeman would become the most business friendly community in Montana. That is a tall order. How do we get there? Partnerships. For example, Montana State University, the largest economic engine in southwest Montana, has partnered with the city in strategic and meaningful ways. MSU partnered with the city to create the Gallatin Business Resource Network, a virtual one-stop-shop for local and area business resources. The Chamber of Commerce and the Small Business Development Center(SBDC) are also important partners in the GBRN project. Additionally, the city's Office of Economic Development has created partnerships with the political science department and the College of Business to create several meaningful internships wherein the best and brightest students from MSU bring their skills and enthusiasm to bear on local economic development challenges. Partnerships. In February, the city of Bozeman hosted a two-part economic development summit. The first event, in partnership with Prospera, featured Dan Ripke, an economic development expert who discussed the principles of economic gardening, the entrepreneurial focused, grow your own strategy for economic development. The second session included round-table discussions and a business survey. The next summit will likely include a partnership with Gallatin County, furthering the reach of economic development in our area. Partnerships. Recently, the city commission committed funds to assist the Gallatin College Programs (GCP) in their effort to create quality and relevant two-year programming synchronized with local workforce and training needs. To that end, the city has partnered with GCP in the soon-to-be launched Workforce Assessment Study. Partnerships. In an effort to brand our community in a fashion attractive to non-local businesses and entrepreneurs, we are working on the Bozeman Video Tour Book project in partnership with private, public and nonprofit organizations like the Bozeman School District, Bozeman Deaconess Hospital, Gibson Guitars and Mystery Ranch backpacks just to name a few. Partnerships. The city is currently working with Prospera, Gallatin County and local commercial real estate professionals to design a site selector program. Eventually, this could leverage the strengths of city and county GIS platforms and data. These assets paired with additional local, state and national demographic, trend and other data will provide local, accurate and timely information to entrepreneurs about starting or expanding their business. Partnerships. A commission policy initiative priority is to "enhance downtown development opportunities by facilitating the development of a downtown hotel."To that end, on June 13 the commission unanimously found that the Carnegie parking lot, located to the east across North Black Avenue from Bridger Park Downtown, is no longer necessary for the conduct of city business and directed staff to draft a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the development of a hotel-centric downtown project. The RFP drafting process will include input from the local banking, hotel and development communities, among others. Partnerships. Lastly, within the last few months the city manager created an internal economic development team (EDT). The EDT is a small group of staff professionals who bring their knowledge and experience to bear at the nascent stages of development projects and provide an initial, informal review of a proposal with an eye toward the identification of potential issues that may surface later in the review process. Additionally, the EDT utilizes the skills of other staff professionals from various departments in cooperation with partners from the private and nonprofit sectors. Partnerships. How can Bozeman become the most business friendly community in Montana?We must continue to build and maintain strong, trusting and effective partnerships. And we will. EDC meetings are held the first Thursday of each month from 10:30 a.m. to noon in the Madison Conference Room at Bozeman City Hall, 121 N. Rouse Ave. Bozeman's EDP and the EDC's Priorities and Recommendations are at www. bozeman.net. Brit Fontenot is the director of economic development and community relations for the city of Bozeman.