Economic Vitality Committee Agenda and Packet 2024 03 01

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Cityof ECONOMIC VITALITY COMMITTEE Louisville COLORADO • SINCE 1878 SUBJECT: EVC BUSINESS OUTREACH MEETINGS DATE: MARCH 1, 2024 PRESENTED BY: VANESSA ZARATE, ECONOMIC VITALITY MANAGER SUMMARY: During the December 2023 and January 2024 Economic Vitality Committee (EVC) meetings, the Committee discussed the desire to conduct business outreach meetings. The intent of these meetings was to have a more open dialogue with the business community, to learn more about what is going well and what can be improved upon. The EVC discussed various approach options at the January 2024 meeting, with an initial thought of conducting meetings my geography and then re-evaluating after a year to determine if adjustments are needed. There is a desire to include additional city staff, not just EVC and Economic Vitality staff. Additional staff could include leadership team, sustainability, planners, resiliency personnel and EDI staff. The timing and location of the outreach meetings were also discussed. There is a desire to have multiple businesses and property owners in attendance, to have a meaningful conversation. In order to have the desired attendance, the timing of the meetings needs to work for the invited businesses and have a location that invitees can easily find. FISCAL IMPACT: Fiscal impact will be determined on the number and structure of the outreach meetings. Costs could include things such as marketing materials, presentation materials, space rentals (if/where applicable), and food/drink. There is an existing budget for the business forums that could be utilized for these outreach meetings if desired. If not, additional budget will need to be allocated for implementation. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends considering an industry approach or business size approach to the outreach meetings. This will allow the EVC and staff to focus on businesses that overlap in size or industry, and will more likely have common concerns. Common successes and barriers allow conversation to be more targeted and potentially more in depth, versus more surface level conversations.