Economic Vitality Committee Agenda and Packet 2020 05 06

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Economic Vitality Committee Minutes April 13, 2020 Page 3 of 5 There was a discussion of the program timeline. Should it be a rolling timeline of defined period? It was agreed there should be a window with a short timeframe, 3 or 5 days. Director Pierce said bond counsel has been consulted about use of Urban Renewal Authority (URA) funds working in conjunction with the Revitalization Commission (LRC). Bond counsel advises we can legally use those funds. The LRC will discuss this at their meeting on Wednesday, April 15, 2020. Individual grant amounts were discussed. Mayor Pro Maloney likes some of the ideas from other municipalities that Director Pierce provided in the packet. He likes the idea of businesses using the money for assistance with rent. We would like to provide as many businesses with assistance as we can – $5k – $10k sounds good but needs to see what needs are uncovered during application process. Mayor Stolzmann said, given funding amount, the way to provide the most funding is to provide $5k. Mayor Pro Tem Maloney agrees. He thinks we will get more requests than we have funds for even if LRC contributes. Director Pierce said there will be people who are not approved. We will need to provide context as to why they were not approved. Regarding use of LRC funds, Director Pierce said the LRC can elect to enter into agreement with City as to amount to be used in URA. It is up to the LRC to define the amount of contribution to the program Amount determined in advance will help with efficiency of process. Mayor Stolzmann noted that the scope of the program, the Colorado constitution prohibits giving money to corporations but there seems to be an exception for public purpose. Should we limit the scope to entities that provide sales tax, contributing to city well-being? And can we make an argument to assist businesses that had to close completely due to government mandate? City Attorney Kathleen Kelly said there are a number of cases where the court has found public purpose finding and that case law can support a collection of businesses to which the City Council wants to make the funding available. The Mayor would like to use sales tax revenue categories. Sales Tax Manager Penney Bolte reviewed various industry categories of businesses that generate sales and use tax for the City. Director Pierce said other communities have prioritized by type of business. We would have to help businesses know what bucket they are in.