Economic Vitality Committee Agenda and Packet 2020 12 18

Home Browse Search

Economic Vitality Committee Meeting Minutes November 18, 2020 Page 2 of 4 The next steps are to review areas of responsibility, inform other parties involved in the plan, and discuss approach to 2021 initiatives. VII. Discussion- Recovery & Improvement Matching Grant Program Update: Director Pierce reviewed the memo and approaches to allocating and reconciling funds. She indicated there have been two applicants since the initial funding closed and that the application does remain open. Mayor Pro Tern Maloney said he did not want the $150,000 of approved funding to interfere with important improvements being made for those that had applied after November 6, 2020. Councilmember Leh clarified how many businesses had applied (36) compared to how many were approved for funding (29). He suggested reconciliation could be simplified through representation by each businesses since the program is a good example of public/private partnership and resulted in significant dollars spent on improvements locally. He also advocated for sharing the program broadly with the community to see the impact of tax dollars at work. Chair Dickinson said it was a well conceived program and participation was what the Committee hoped. He suggested an additional $50,000 of funding could provide leeway to accommodate those in the queue as well as let others know there is still funding available. Director Pierce responded that additional funding may be helpful but that she also foresees that business support may need to take a different or more targeted focus given the transition to Level Red and the impact on certain industries. VIII. Economic Vitality Committee Purpose and Function: Director Pierce introduced the item with a summary from the staff memo —including the various stakeholders to economic vitality and their current roles. Chair Dickinson said that the EVC was formed to create a strategic plan and now that work is done. If the Committee is to continue, then there should be a revision to the purpose of what the group is trying to accomplish. Councilmember Leh suggested the real issue at hand is related to the BRaD Committee and the role of business stakeholders. He believes the focus should be on the best organization vehicle for City Council to regularly receive feedback from business stakeholders and also for Council to disseminate information and collaborate. Mark Oberholzer, Chair of the BRaD Committee, provided a brief history of the Committee and shared that BRaD does not have a good connection to Council at this time. He suggested the new strategic plan could help to give a reformatted Committee a better focus. Agenda Packet P. 3