Economic Vitality Committee Agenda and Packet 2023 07 31

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Economic Vitality Committee Meeting Minutes June 16, 2023 Page 4 of 5 outcomes of the 2022 survey. He concluded that this input needs to be used to move towards objectives and focusing efforts. Chair Leh continued that there may be a perception that government does too much setting of agendas, brainstorming solutions and framing questions, citing programs that were introduced during COVID as an example. Director Zuccaro added that there is good information in the survey, but it doesn't necessarily indicate what is wrong. He commented that adding a third party consultant may help create a process to identify what is wrong. He envisioned that this process could include stakeholder interviews, on which the consultant would prepare a report to be presented to staff. Councilmember Most agreed that the way the survey is currently written makes it hard to identify actionable items. She added that there are two different categories in the existing survey, one on demographics and one on business experiences. City Manager Durbin agreed and added that the survey does not allow for additional follow up regarding business experiences. Manager Kroner added that the process would likely include business focus groups. Public comment from Mike Deborski: Mr. Deborski commented that City Council could do a better job of understanding business issues and recognizing these issues as an opportunity to improve. Chair Leh responded that having a consultant unaffiliated with either City Council or City Staff should help identify these issues and present the opportunities to Council. Public comment from Mike Kranzdorf: Mr. Kranzdorf commented that the City used to do a facilitated forum and that bringing back this event could be very helpful. He also wondered whether this could be accomplished without relying on a third -party consultant. Councilmember Most responded that demographic data can be captured through a survey and may not need to be included in the consultant's scope. The qualitative data will likely need to be collected by an experienced professional. Chair Leh stated that one of the purposes of government is to provide a platform for discussion. City Manager Durbin commented that he appreciates the discussion and hopes that conversations between people that care very deeply about the community can continue. He also noted that while working with the business community is very important, there are other priorities that City Council will need to balance. He closed his comments by reminding the EVC that if they were to want to pursue this approach to the Business Satisfaction Survey, there are other priorities that will likely need to be reassessed or paused. Agenda Packet P. 6