Business Retention and Development Committee Minutes 2008 08 04

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City Council Business Retention & Development Committee Meeting Minutes August 4, 2008 Page 2 of 3 Hogan gave an overview of the proposed budget for BRaD for 2009. She asked for input on the following areas: Shop Louisville, Professional Services, and the Chamber of Commerce Allocation. Lathrop asked if the professional services would be tied to the recommended uses or if there is a new project that comes up next year, could the money be used for that. Hogan stated it could be moved around depending on the new programs that come along and the Committee’s willingness to move the money. Michael Menaker, 1127 West Choke Cherry Drive, stated he would rather see money spent on Shop Louisville than other projects. Hogan asked if the Search Engine Optimization should be continued. Members were generally supportive of it but would like staff to follow the number of hits on the site to determine if it is worthwhile. Dalton asked about the specifics of the allocation to the Chamber of Commerce. Hogan stated that this year staff would like to require that the Chamber meet some specific expectations in return for the City funding of $5000. This would include maintaining a major employers’ database, using $1500 for the Chamber directory (possibly for a Shop Louisville ad), and matching $2500 with Chamber money to be used for small business training seminars/classes. Regarding funding for Shop Louisville, Fleming reminded members that in 2007 it was clearly stated that 2008 funding would be dependant on the business community coming forward to financially support the plan. That has not happened. Dalton stated that more time is needed to truly measure the effectiveness of the campaign. Yarnell asked if there is a reasonable expectation that after an additional year the business community would be ready to take over the program. She added that if the amount for 2009 is $15,000 to $30,000 what is the best use of that money. Fleming asked the representatives from the DBA and Chamber what they thought the best use of the money would be. Elari stated that the Chamber is already telling its members to Shop Louisville, so perhaps this is a duplication of services. He added that the Chamber is still unable to quantify the success of the program so they cannot tell their members if it was successful or not. Krueger stated that the DBA is very supportive of the program, but is too early to fully understand if the program is successful. She stated the residents still need to be educated about the benefits of shopping locally. She added that the DBA worked hard to help get the word out about the program to their members and their clients.