Business Retention and Development Committee Agenda and Packet 2011 03 07

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BRaD Meeting Summary January 11, 2011 Page 2 of 4 DISTRIBUTION OF OPEN GOVERNMENT BROCHURE Bonnie Star asked members to read the Open Government Brochure provided in the BRAD meeting packet. APPROVAL OF POSTING PLACES Motion passed to continue to post the BRAD agenda at the following locations: City Hall at 749 Main Street Recreation/Senior Center at 900 West Via Appia Police/Municipal Court Building at 992 West Via Appia Library at 951 Spruce Street City’s Website at www.louisvilleco.gov CTC TRAIL UPDATE Rob Lathrop reported that the next step is for Parks and Recreation to hire a consultant to conduct a study on possible connections of the trail and the estimated costs to build. The estimate to complete the 2 month study is $6,500. Staff will determine how to pay for the study. PRESENTATION BY SHARON KING, DIRECTOR, SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTER The Small Business Development Center is a not-for-profit partnership funded mostly by federal funds through the Small Business Administration (SBA). There are a total of 15 Small Business Development Centers in the State of Colorado. Sharon King is the Director of the Center located in Boulder and the satellite office in Longmont. The Centers have worked with 3,500 businesses since the Centers began, currently have 325 clients that have used 1,200 consulting hours in 2010 (on average 4 hours/client). The Center matches up small to mid-size businesses with consultants who work as needed and on limited basis from all different areas of expertise. They also offer bilingual consulting. One example of assistance is writing a business plan. Consultations are confidential, no-cost, and custom-fit, one-on-one format. The Center is currently looking for a great restaurant consultant and a science/technology consultant. Consultants should be well-qualified people, a leader in their field, who like small to mid-size businesses. The Center offers workshops on specialized topics in coordination with Boulder Chamber and Longmont Chamber and other partners. Approximately 80 workshops totaling 1,250 attendees, have been offered. Shelley Angell, Louisville Chamber, offered to promote workshops through the City of Louisville Chamber Newsletter. The website, www.coloradosbdc.org lists all the workshops that are offered. The Center has helped to create 191 jobs and retained 193 jobs. Sixty-two (62) businesses were started after working with the Center. A Contract Opportunities Fair is scheduled for February 17, 2011 at UCAR. Boulder County, City of Boulder, City of Longmont, Boulder Valley Schools are just some of the agencies participating. This is a Fair where local governments are represented that are sometimes hard for businesses to reach. Sharon asked if the City of Louisville would like to participate.