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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-07-13 Economic Development Council minutes/ City of Bozeman Economic Development Council (EDC) Meeting Minutes February 7, 2013 10:30 – 12 pm City Commission room, City Hall, 121 N. Rouse Members Attending: Anders Lewendal (Contractor) Cheryl Ridgely (Bozeman Deaconess Hospital), Stuart Leidner (Prospera Business Network) Daryl Schliem (Bozeman Chamber of Commerce), Deputy Mayor Jeff Krauss (liaison), Teresa McKnight, (Montana State University Innovation Campus) Members Absent: Tracy Menuez (Human Resource Development Council), Erik Garberg (Civil Engineer) Staff Present: Brit Fontenot (City Director of Economic Development and Community Relations), Aimee Brunckhorst (Deputy City Clerk) Guests / Public Present: Warren Vaughan (Gallatin County), Jason Bacaj (Bozeman Daily Chronicle), Chris Mehl, City Commissioner NOTE: These minutes are not word for word and should be considered in addition to the audio recording of the meeting. Call to Order Chairperson Daryl Schliem called the meeting to order at 10:37 a.m. Public Comment Mr. Schliem opened public comment. Seeing no public comment, he closed public comment. Minutes – December 5, 2012 Teresa McKnight provided revisions to the minutes. Motion and Vote to approve the minutes of December 5, 2012 as revised. It was moved by Stuart Leidner, seconded by Cheryl Ridgley to approve the minutes of December 5, 2012 as revised by Teresa McKnight. Motion passed unanimously. D. Non-Action Items 1. North Park Concept Land Use Plan (Fontenot); Mr. Fontenot spoke regarding this project, saying this was known prior as the Mandeville Project. The switch was made to provide a positive move forward, getting away from the name associated with the lawsuit that has since been settled. Mr. Fontenot explained that the City Commission recently provided direction that they would like North Park marketed more aggressively. He has been working on signage to go around the site. Mr. Fontenot provided a mock up of the signage, talked about working on a web site, and spoke regarding a North Park marketing brochure. The Commission also asked Mr. Fontenot to continue working on preliminary engineering. He is also trying to go after a Big Sky Trust Fund Grant through Prospera Business that would allow the preliminary engineering to be completed for the property. Mr. Fontenot said he is also proceeding with looking for and talking with potential tenants. He received a phone call from an out of state site selector yesterday inquiring about the site for a potential manufacturing facility. Finding an anchor tenant is important to get the first domino to fall. They will also be working on finishing the industrial tax increment finance (TIF) district that has been placed on the property. Mr. Fontenot also spoke regarding a bill that has been introduced in the Montana legislature regarding TIF’s. This is senate bill 279 and would collapse TIF designations down to the category, economic development district. Mr. Fontenot said the next steps for North Park are very specific. He suggested that EDC members could take on some of the efforts to push the North Park Project forward. For example, members with backgrounds as site selectors could help determine what site selectors are looking for, provide input and elbow grease into the project. He spoke regarding how Deputy Mayor Krauss has expressed interest in this body having a more active role in the projects we are working on. Mr. Fontenot would like the members to think about how they may be able to contribute and consider what time and resources members have to offer. Ms. McKnight referred to secondary motion language in the Commission memorandum from January 14th and asked whether the city can sell the North Park Property. Mr. Fontenot said that yes, the conclusion of the settlement left the city with a clear title and the ability to sell the property at anytime. 2. Armory Hotel Project (Fontenot); Mr. Fontenot provided an update on this project saying it is a large, infill, downtown project. The informal application has been submitted and the Development Review Committee reviewed the project yesterday. That meeting went well as there were no surprises because a city staff team has been working closely with the developer and a good working relationship has been established. A few hurdles are being worked out such as an agreement for hotel parking in the city garage. Another issue that will be vetted is the proposed building height, which would need to be approved with the City Commission. Mr. Schliem said this is a positive project to get the word out about. The developers are making progress and are already working on purchasing a liquor license. 3. South Bozeman Technology District (Fontenot); Mr. Fontenot reported that he and Greg Sullivan have been working on drafting ordinance changes to create the Technology District Program and the Technology Board. The Ordinance should be going before the Commission in early to mid-March. Mr. Leidner asked whether the North Park TIF would need a board created. Mr. Fontenot said yes, eventually there would need to be a TIF Board for the North Park property per State law. Ms. McKnight provided an update on this project saying a request for proposal is going out for engineering services. Once funding is in place, they will move forward getting the engineering done. Once that is complete, they will release request for proposals for construction of infrastructure (road, curbs, gutter, sidewalks and utilities) leading into the 42 acre expansion. Once infrastructure is complete a request for proposal will be released for private developers to come in and begin construction of facilities. Mr. Fontenot spoke regarding the relationship between the work going on at North Park and the Innovation Campus and the strong desire between the two to work together. Ms. McKnight reported that two companies have come forward expressing interest in the Innovation Campus but did not fit the criteria for the Innovation Campus as they were heavy manufacturing. She passed both those leads onto Mr. Fontenot saying they are working in full partnership and collaboration. Ms. Ridgely asked about the overlap between the two as far as targeted industries. Mr. Fontenot responded saying the identified industries from the cities perspective are bioscience, photonics, optics, outdoor and general manufacturing. He also plans to suggest the addition of the health care industry. The Innovation Campus are also supportive of these industries but on a micro scale, proto-types, transferring intellectual property from the University into the Innovation Campus. In addition, they will have incubation space for small companies looking to grow and reach the next level. Ultimately, if a company in the Innovation Campus were to grow larger, the North Park property would be available to expand beyond the Innovation Campus. Mr. Leidner said that in phase 1 of the preliminary engineering report for North Park, the goal is to work on M-1 and M-2 which is the industrial / manufacturing side of things. Ms. McKnight suggested that the proposed sign be revised replacing ‘light industrial’ with ‘manufacturing’. Deputy Mayor Krauss joined the meeting at 11:05. 4. Funding Source(s) for Ongoing Economic Development Activities (Fontenot); (This item discussed after item 6 - see below.) 5. Economic Development Impact Fee Incentive Program(s) for Targeted Sectors (Fontenot); Mr. Fontenot spoke to a request from the Commissioners to gather information for a possible program for targeted sectors to receive some type of incentive to mitigate impact fees. The attached memo and exhibits try to outline what a program might look like. Other municipalities programs usually focus on the number of jobs created, the type of jobs being created and the wages being paid, as well as how long that business is committed to the area. Mr. Fontenot provided an example of this type of program from Florida. Prototype program will be rolled out to the Commissioner within the next few months, using the example from Florida with adaptations to the realities in Bozeman. 6. Impact Fee Deferral Program (Fontenot); and Mr. Fontenot referred to the discussion points the ED Council suggested to the Commission on this subject. These discussion points - deferral, targeted relief and education Council were discussed in detail at the Commission meeting and related discussions. There was agreement that education was a piece that needed attention. The City Commission also said they desire to have some sort of a deferral program. Ms. McKnight asked whether there was any discussion at the Commission level about abatement or reduction. Mr. Fontenot explained that this would refer to the mitigation program for targeted sectors that have been identified for a particular value that he referred to earlier in the meeting. 4. Funding Source(s) for Ongoing Economic Development Activities (Fontenot); Mr. Fontenot spoke regarding the need for a discussion about funding sources and how impact fee mitigation results in a decrease in available funds. He then spoke regarding the need for a broader discussion about funding of the city’s overall economic development program. He said the program has maxed out what can be done as far as personnel and funding. They will continue to do as much as we can, but more could be done with additional resources. Mr. Fontenot said he has been asked to present to the Commission in the future a broader program that would include among other things, marketing work that we don’t currently have the resources to do and also possible potential funding sources for broader economic development activities. Mr. Fontenot responding to a question from Ms. Ridgely said information he had provided to the Commissioners about a mitigation program was an example from another city. There will be other variables we will need to consider. Mr. Lewendal spoke to having all sectors be considered for mitigation as long as they meet the criteria. Ms. McKnight suggested that a detailed spreadsheet analysis would be easier to read than a lot of documents and could list cities on the left that have incentives with different columns on the right emphasizing what other communities are doing to incentivize business. Mr. Leidner spoke regarding tying back this program to state criteria programs such as the state abatement program and other incentive criteria the state might have for some of those industries. It may help to dovetail the two together. Mr. Fontenot said what he was suggesting is already in line with what the state is suggesting for a manufacturing abatement program. Ms. McKnight spoke to the lack of statewide incentives and the opportunity now for writing legislation to help the state recruit businesses that offer high paying jobs. 7. EDC Goals and Priorities. Mr. Schliem asked the council where they feel the EDC needs to go in the future and whether members can be more active. Mr. Fontenot spoke regarding a survey sent out as part of a larger effort to understand some of the goals that the advisory boards feel are important. A response from an EDC respondent was included in the materials and will be considered in the broader goal setting session with the City Commission. Mr. Fontenot reported that economic development was still a high priority for the City Commissioners and staff. Mr. Kukulski explained that the survey went out to all advisory board members and was a simple survey monkey questionnaire. About 55 responses were received. Chris Kukulski said he would anticipate coming out of the retreat with economic development as a high priority from all the Commissioners. Mr. Fontenot spoke regarding the main goals of economic development being creating jobs and diversifying the economy. E. FYI/Discussion February 4, 2013 EDC (Re)Appointments Cheryl Ridgely and Tracy Menuez were appointed to another term on the Council. Mr. Fontenot and Mr. Schliem thanked them for re-applying. Role of the Economic Development Council Mr. Schliem asked Deputy Mayor Krauss what he feels the Commission and city staff would like to see from the Council members. He asked whether they would like members to have a more proactive, aggressive voice for supporting businesses throughout the process of going through the city approval process. Deputy Mayor Krauss said he will not speak for the Commission but as an individual Commissioner. He said this group has a unique position because many represent the private sector and run a business. One thing that bothered him was the ‘dog and pony shows’ at the EDC meetings. He spoke regarding the Council members working as salesman for the city and asking what are we selling, why are we selling and then how do we sell it and then selling that. Members of the Council should use the knowledge base of the members to help sell the city. Deputy Mayor Krauss spoke regarding why people love downtown and the growth of health care in this community. He feels the EDC should sell the advantages we have with education, jobs, safety and good schools. Deputy Mayor Krauss said he will be going out to Gallatin Airport today to speak regarding Gallatin College and how promoting things like that is important. He spoke regarding Council members considering how the city can leverage to attract vendors for conferences or promote Bozeman as a non-profit center that attracts money from all over the world. Council members are here for their non-governmental responses. Deputy Mayor Krauss also spoke regarding the need to have people like Will and Dr. McCoy to help us come up with a marketing plan for Bozeman. Mr. Leidner said Prospera has evolved but have not stopped recruitment efforts. He has shared his recruitment package and a package from the state as well as a recruitment package that Mr. Schliem provides. There are some tools they have been using over a long period of time. He then spoke regarding the opportunity with the Innovation Campus and the North Park project to put together a marketing package that gets out to the site selectors. He spoke about what council members have done to get to this stage. He also spoke regarding Krauss’ comments about ‘dog and pony shows’ and how it has been important for Council members to hear about those types of things like plans the school has, parks and trails and what has been going on with the airport so they can continue to be supportive of those things that businesses are looking for. Ms. Ridgely said that when the Council was originally set up it was as an advisory board to the Commission. When she hears that we need to take a larger role it would be nice to know what the expectations are. Ms. Ridgely spoke to the Economic Development Plan priorities and how the council has worked on the priorities identified in that plan. She spoke regarding the importance of not unnecessarily duplicating work that others were doing. She further talked about what goals and priorities might need to be added to the list now that many of those have been completed. Mr. Leidner spoke regarding all the behind the scenes meetings that members have been having that are addressing elements within economic development that may not be self evident back to the Commission or even the EDC. There are so many concentric circles that overlap with work that members are doing in the community that relate back to our objectives as a Council. Deputy Mayor Krauss spoke regarding metrics that the Council can use to measure the Council’s progress such as x number of jobs, x number of businesses etc. to measure economic success. He apologized that the Council was set up as an advisory board. Mr. Schliem spoke regarding long range planning and considering what economic development means. Many times we work on economic development as a process and maybe do not spend enough time working on what are the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities of Bozeman. He feels selling and marketing should be the direction the council should go. Ms. McKnight spoke regarding the idea of a report card on a quarterly basis to the Commission as to the accomplishments of this Council. She suggested the goals be examined and narrowed down. Mr. Kukulski spoke regarding how the Council have spoken in the past about the need for metrics but also spoke regarding how the Council considered the realities of resources to work on a report card and decided they did not want Mr. Fontenot spending a lot of his energy on reporting. Ms. Ridgely said she feels the Commission should also let the Council know what their priorities are and further a two way dialogue. Deputy Mayor Krauss spoke regarding how the Commission is not necessarily the best source of what the priorities should be for the city. He said the council should advise the Commission on what we really need to hear, not what we have indicated are our priorities. Mr. Lewendal would agree with what has been said. He spoke regarding inviting industries we have not thought about that could go into North Park, and encouraging anyone who meets the underlying criteria. Mr. Lewendal said he feels the City has gotten somewhat involved in real estate speculation. Mr. Schliem said Mr. Fontenot has reached out to the members. He also feels the Commission needs to better fund Mr. Fontenot’s position.. He spoke regarding the possibility of raising money for economic development that the city could then match. He spoke regarding ongoing discussions at the Chamber to help facilitate Mr. Fontenot and all the other partners such as Prospera. Mr. Fontenot said he would like some clarity on what he should do for the March meeting. He asked what they would like to direct him to do. Mr. Schliem spoke regarding compiling all the studies and data to ‘sell Bozeman’ gathered in one place such as a new website. The council should identify what we have to sell, what studies we have to back that up and then move forward. Ms. McKnight suggested that the Council identify top priorities for 2013. She spoke regarding Council members letting Mr. Fontenot know what their top five priorities are prior to the next meeting. Mr. Shliem said he feels the creation of jobs should be a top priority. Deputy Mayor Krauss said the Commission deals with competing goods. If he had to set a target it would be for council members to go out and find some people to talk to such as vendors that might want to move here. He would like to see a coherent approach to finding people to fill those parks and all the other commercial developments in town. Ms. Ridgely spoke regarding how the Council got to where they are. She said that a lot of the discussion that has occurred by the council in the past was focused on removing barriers. Mr. Kukulski said that though we have made significant strides in removing barriers that must continue and we are trying to continue moving in that direction. Mr. Fontenot asked what the Council would like to see in preparation for the March 5th meeting. Ms. Ridgely provided direction that she would like to take a look at the matrix and the priorities the Council set at the beginning of last year. We need to make sure the urgent doesn’t replace the important. Mr. Lewendal spoke regarding providing a white board to look at the matrix again and moving towards an economic marketing committee. Mr. Schliem asked everyone to bring the most comprehensive documents they have from their organizations. Mr. Leidner spoke regarding the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) through the Rocky Mountain Economic Development District being very comprehensive and tying everything together. He recommended that everyone bring it with them. Mr. Kukulski said he feels looking at the CEDS and other documents would be more useful than sending out a survey. Too many priorities and diverse projects going on at once cause problems. Deputy Mayor Krauss said there is only so much a survey can give you. What do employers that members come in contact with need is 3. Hiring Consultant regarding Convention Center Needs Mr. Schliem announced that the Tourism Business Improvement District Council will be hiring a consultant to look at whether or not the city needs a Convention Center and details. Interviews will take place February 12th with the report completed approximately March 31st. Adjournment Daryl Schliem adjourned the meeting at 11:58 a.m. * NOTE – Full audio of this EDC meeting is available at: http://weblink.bozeman.net/WebLink8/0/fol/46967/Row1.aspx ____________________________________ Daryl Schliem, Chairperson PREPARED BY: ____________________________________ Aimee Brunckhorst, Deputy City Clerk Approved on: March 7, 2013 Economic Development Council meetings are open to all members of the public. If you have a disability that requires assistance, please contact our ADA Coordinator James Goehrung, at 582-3232 (TDD 582-2301).