Economic Vitality Committee Agenda and Packet 2025 08 14

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City Council Economic Vitality Committee Meeting Minutes July 24, 2025 Page 3 of 5 Public comment from Gillian Millar: Gillian Millar, Executive Director of the Louisville Chamber, spoke on behalf of several Chamber members that would likely be applying for assistance for their events. She agreed that she would like to see more clarification around the language prohibiting funds from being used for the purchase of liquor. She stated that she would like to see multiple application windows throughout the year rather than just one at the beginning of the year. She concluded that she would appreciate some clarification on whether this policy would be applicable only to single -day events or whether it would include multi-day/long-term events. Public comment from Mike Kranzdorf: Mr. Kranzdorf suggested that some of the language regarding for -profit events without benefit be revised to fundraising events. He agreed with Ms. Millar's comment that there should be more than one application window and also suggested that staff be able to review and approve these applications administratively rather than requiring them to go to Council for approval. Mayor Leh asked for Committee feedback about when the application window should open. Councilmember Kern asked whether the applications do need to go to Council for approval. City Manager Langley responded that administrative approval would prevent the opportunity for a transparent public process, and may create the impression that the could be some staff favoritism at play. Manager Zarate suggested that staff would be comfortable with two application windows per year for the first year. She stated that number could increase to three times per year based on demand. Councilmember Fahey agreed that twice per year is a good place to start. She questioned whether the financial assistance component could be removed for the first year, with the possibility of adding financial assistance in the future if there are requests for it. Manager Zarate responded that, in her experience, there are almost always requests for financial assistance for programs like this. Mayor Leh suggested that the policy be effective for events starting in January 2026. Manager Zarate responded that the budget will be approved in mid -November which will make it a quick turnaround to close the application window by January 1. Councilmember Kern asked whether events that occurred during the window could be eligible for participation. Manager Zarate responded that best practice is generally to require approval before the event takes place and suggested that the two application windows be in Q1 2026 (for Q2 and Q3 events) and Q3 2026 (for Q4 and Q1 events). Mayor Leh reiterated that he would like to include events beginning January 1 2026. Manager Zarate responded that if the program were to start January 1 2026, staff would recommend that Q1 and Q2 applications be due October 1 with City Council approval scheduled for November 4. Q3 and Q4 applications would follow a similar timeline with applications due around May.