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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-22-2006 Council Economic Development Committee AGENDA City of Iowa City City Council Economic Development Committee Tuesday, August 22, 2006 9:00 a.m. City Hall Lobby Conference Room 410 East Washington Street 1. Call to Order 2. Approval of Minutes - July 18, 2006 3. Discussion ofTIF for a development project--Southgate Development Co. 4. Discussion ofTIF for a development project--Hieronymus Square Associates 5. Discussion of economic development work plan for Sept.-Dec. 2006 6. Committee time 7. Adjournment NEXT MEETING DATE: Sept5, 2006 MINUTES CITY COUNCIL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE JULY 18, 2006 LOBBY CONFERENCE ROOM PRELIMINARY Members Present: Regenia Bailey, Connie Champion, Bob Elliot Members Absent: None Staff Present: Karin Franklin, Tracy Hightshoe Others Present: Wendy Ford, Nancy Quellhorst CALL MEETING TO ORDER Chairperson Bailey called the meeting to order at 9:00a.m. APPROV AL OF THE MINUTES FROM JUNE 27. 2006 Motion: Eliot moved to approve the minutes from the June 27, 2006 meeting, as submitted. Champion seconded the motion. Motion passed 3:0. INTRODUCTION AND DISCUSSION WITH WENDY FORD: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COORDINATOR: Franklin introduced Wendy Ford, the new economic development coordinator, who will begin work on August 7th. Franklin asked if the Committee had questions for Ford and said that Ford would also appreciate input of the Committee's expectations for the position. Elliot said that many citizens don't pay attention to what the City Council does, but many others question why the City Council makes a particular decision. He asked Ford if, as she has witnessed the City Council's decisions, anything has occurred to her to question as she has considered the City's economic efforts. Ford said that first and foremost, in researching this job and looking at the economic development policies written eleven years ago, the thing that comes to mind is that it is a document that was put together by this community and presented back to the community as a largely agreed upon way to go forward. She said she thinks there is a perceived gap between the things the City Council does and the public's remembering its input into the process of either putting it together or electing the members of the City Council. Ford said that she sees bridging that gap as being an important part of her role in carrying out the wishes of the people with particular attention to the development of business and the health of the community. Ford said that, in general, people lose sight of the fact that the community wants to go in a certain direction and a particular issue polarizes a person into thinking something can't be done or that he or she disagrees. She said that when the person can back out a little bit and remember that the decision is really aligned with these policies, then perhaps that polarization or feeling that the City isn't doing the things they want to see done could be lessened a little bit. Franklin said that eleven years between policies is a long time. Bailey agreed that it is an old document. Bailey asked Ford how she would summarize the direction that it set. Ford said she did not know if it could be summarized. Bailey agreed. Ford said it may be time to redo it. Champion said that might be the first job - to look at it and come to the Committee with recommendations on how it might be changed to work better. Franklin said the policy includes all the financial assistance guidelines, which were put together quite a while ago. She agreed with Ford that it would probably be prudent to revisit those and see if, in fact, that is what the Council wants to have. Bailey said those were reviewed a couple of years ago, and her recollection is the document didn't set forth a particular direction but was just some general guidelines. Franklin stated that it identifies industries that are of interest and discusses the wages being an important factor in terms of financial assistance. Bailey said that industries can be identified, but then what is the next step. She said that you can create a plan, but it is like having a strategy without goals and objectives in the plan to implement. Bailey said she would be interested in knowing what steps were taken to go in those directions and then where do we need to pick up and are these industries still feasible as focal points. Ford said that as important as that is, it is also very important to communicate that and take everything back to that message. She said that one can identify a strategy, and when little steps are taken, it's all in the name of getting us here. Ford said that the more often that can be communicated, the more people understand that they may not like this decision, but it is because we're all trying to get to a given point. Bailey said that fundamentally that hasn't been used as a roadmap for this Committee or for any of the work. Franklin said that it certainly hasn't been marketed, which is what Ford is talking about. Ford said that the idea is to have a plan and then to reference the plan and the ways in which the day to day decisions are executed are going to fulfill that plan. Bailey said the Committee has also talked about the downtown market mix and figuring out how that falls into this plan. Then referencing the plan, the mix, and the next steps would be helpful. Elliot said that industry has been mentioned three or four times in the discussion, but business has not. He stated that expanding smaller businesses into larger businesses is probably the most prevalent and the most frequent kind of economic development, although we tend to overlook that while concentrating on industry and 100 jobs, as opposed to looking at 50 different businesses that are going to expand from maybe three people to eight people. Bailey said that the Committee facilitates attracting industry, and that is really what the Committee works with in regard to ICAD. Champion suggested defining the two terms, as she feels they are kind of interchangeable. Elliot said that when one says industry, people specifically think of factories and factory jobs. He said he thinks that economic development looks at the wide range of business. Champion agreed. Elliot said that a little grocery store becomes a big grocery store, a little clothing shop becomes a larger clothing shop, or a TV sales place becomes a larger TV place. Bailey said that or it stays in business. She said that larger isn't always healthy; growth isn't always healthy. Elliot said there are those people in Iowa City who think there is no reason for growth. He said he is very surprised at the people who have asked why there is always talk about growth and why can't we stay like we are - people who say I don't want to be like Des Moines. Ford said that is because we have the economic stability of a university and people whose jobs don't hinge on economic growth. Bailey said that how growth is defmed is also a factor - growing one's business to have full-time employees rather than part-time employees or growing a business to offer a more competitive package of benefits and differentiating one's business by services and skilled employees versus part-time, temporary workers is also a growth issue. Franklin said the position the City has worked from for a number of years is a combination of growing the tax base and quality jobs. She said that often leads to placement of new business entities within the community, because it builds the tax base as a building is built. Franklin said it could very well be the expansion of an existing business too, but what the City has focused on most is those two factors - that is f the basis for financial assistance packages - building a new building, how many employees it has, and what is the quality ofthose jobs. She said that is consistent with what the State's position has been in its programs too. Franklin said there has been difficulty with the CDBG funding for businesses for startups, in terms of looking at the property tax base. She said that sometimes they're just renting a space and may have two or three employees and pay very little. Franklin said one issue is how to massage the policy to address startups. Bailey said she thinks that is why small business does get overlooked, because they don't typically own; they typically lease, rent, or whatever. Champion said they are paying taxes, whether they're leasing or renting or buying. Bailey agreed but said it is not as obvious as it is with new construction. Franklin said that if someone is renting, it's not new. She said that one may be paying property taxes as a business, but it's already established there. Elliot said that Bailey and Franklin were saying that with that building paying property taxes, it would be the same taxes whether the startup company were there or an existing company were there. Champion said that if there was no one there, they could allow the property to deteriorate. Franklin agreed and said that therefore maintaining the tax base perhaps should be a piece of this also. Bailey agreed and said that is especially true in the downtown, because there is the possibility, with the University, of things being removed from the tax base and not necessarily deteriorating. Ford said, regarding Elliot's comments, she has thought about how to respond to people who ask why we need to grow. She agreed that growth is not always a good thing but asked where the equilibrium is and if equilibrium is even possible in a community. Ford said she would venture to say it is not possible, because things change so much. She said that if you can't achieve an equilibrium and if you're shrinking, that's certainly not healthy. Ford said therefore the best thing to do is to maintain equilibrium, which is almost impossible, or grow. Champion said people don't understand that growth is becoming a worldwide problem. She said that European countries are not even reproducing themselves, and Japan is in big trouble now, because its population is shrinking and growing older. Champion said it's a complex problem in that sometime the world has to stop growing, yet it is not economically healthy when things don't grow. Elliot said that budgets grow each year. He said that 70% of a budget is personnel, and personnel get increases every year. Elliot said that if the tax base doesn't increase, there is not enough money to operate. Bailey said that we need strategic growth. She said that one of the things people are concerned about is growth. Bailey said people think it is fme for them to live here, but other people shouldn't be. She said the residential growth is an issue. Bailey said to look how far out the population is going on to Lower West Branch Road. She said there are challenges with fIre services and other infrastructure challenges. Bailey said that is the primary concern. She said that she did not know that people necessarily argue too much with growing the business tax base. Champion said that might be true - that it is the sprawl that people object to. Bailey said she thinks that is how rampant residential growth is characterized. She said that if the City had more businesses, small and large, coming into town, she was not sure that people would object. Quellhorst said she thinks the City manages it very well. She said the City balances economic growth and its social responsibility and should be more vocal about it. Bailey said that is where the infrastructure questions arise. She said we have that expectation of service as the City grows. Ford said the City is very good at taking care of the neediest of the population. She said we need to do better, but the City balances it better than most of the communities she has worked in. Elliot said that Iowa City is the most schizophrenic community that he has ever witnessed. He said there is a sizeable group of people who say we are already doing far too much for, say the homeless, and then people on the other side who say we're not doing nearly enough. Elliot said we have to realize that we have to try to walk down the middle somewhere. Bailey said that is not schizophrenia but heterogeneity. Franklin said it depends on your perspective. Ford said this is not like some communities where everyone has the same opinion. Elliot said there are widely diverse opinions, which makes it an exciting community and a frustrating community. Ford said that is what contributes to a lot of the appeal and the growth in Iowa City; people have that sense of freedom and feel that they can fmd people who will agree with them. Champion asked Ford what experiences she has had that will make her succeed in this newly-created position. Ford replied that her eleven years as Director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau was a great foray into a branch of economic development and gave her a taste for growing a community, improving a community, making it appealing, and marketing that community to, in that case, the tourism community, whose ripple effect permeates every other aspect of the community. She said she had that tangent, or maybe deeper into the circle, as CVB Director. Ford said the activities that go along with that in promoting the community and creating partnerships in collaboration with community groups, such as the Chamber or ICAD and other groups in the community, provide a great base. Ford said that more recently in her roles as marketing director for the MBA Career Services unit in the School of Management and as Director ofthe Career Center for a year really helped her refme some of the skills that will be helpful in economic development, particularly building relationships with employers and helping them determine their hiring needs both currently and upcoming to help match our student bodies with those needs. She said it involved developing relationships and gaining the confidence of an employer to come to the University for employees. Ford said that a side benefit of that is realizing that there is a perceived lack, or a real lack, of high quality jobs in the Iowa City area. She said that we have this fantastic resource on our doorstep, the product of The University ofIowa, and if we could keep more of those people in Iowa and Iowa City, we would be better off. Ford said that between the CVB work and the Career Center Work are solid connections to economic development. Bailey (?) said that at the last "creaiive economy" session, Andy Stohl discussed the lack of creative jobs that attract young people to stay in the area. Bailey said she has thought about what that means, how we could accommodate that, and how to approach that. She said that some of these young people did have jobs, but those jobs weren't satisfying because they didn't have the creativeness that the people wanted. Franklin said that it was very resonant with the Committee's conversation at its last meeting about flexible jobs. Quellhorst said that is the key. She said it is not just about creative work; it's the flexibility as much as anything. Champion said that jobs that can be creative are the jobs that we don't have here. She said that her son and daughter-in-law would love to come back to Iowa City, but their jobs are highly scientific and also very flexible. Champion said those are the kind of jobs that offer creativity in the sense that no one cares what kind of hours you're working; you know what has to be done and you do it. Quellhorst (?) suggested this was a generational thing. She said she would love it if everyone would talk to five people in their twenties and ask them how they would be affected if they had a work possibility that might be conventional work, but they would be able to approach it in their own way. Bailey said that a lot of the people who have stayed here are the people who have found a way to make this work. Ford said she says it is generational, because there are a lot more people in their twenties who just won't put up with the nine to five routine. She said that younger people aren't willing to do it, and a lot of them want to go the entrepreneurial route, even though some of them don't want to take risks. Franklin said that many young people are willing to move someplace without ajob and fmd ajob when they get there and say that they will not take something that's eight to five and stick to that. She said that would be way too risky for her and a lot of people she knows. Franklin said it is all part of work ethic, how much risk one is willing to take, and that those in their twenties and thirties are willing to do that a little bit more. She said she did not know how to approach this in terms of looking at businesses locally. Franklin guessed that those businesses that are smaller will have greater flexibility. Bailey said it is easier for them to be a little more nimble with a work force that seems to only want to be employed on their terms, whereas in a corporate environment, it is a lot harder to move the entire organization toward that. She said that maybe that is the difference. QuelIhorst said that developing an awareness is so critical - that employers understand that this is an issue and there is a way to approach it. She said the Chamber has gone down this road, and it is a huge issue. Bailey said the challenge is that the gatekeepers and the policymakers are often of a different mindset, because gatekeepers are often in corporate, or governmental, or university. She said that people who seek those kinds of jobs tend to be risk averse. Elliot said that it is changing significantly. He said that a person like him who came out of the depression would find it inconceivable to take some kinds of risks after seeing what happened to unemployed people. ElJiot said that young people now have never seen that and have no awareness of it. He said they have confidence because things have always been taken care of, they assume that will continue, and generally it does. Elliot said there is also the flexibility that will trump career possibilities. He said he knows people who would be happy to move to Boulder or San Diego and tend bar to earn sufficient money to have the lifestyle and the freedom that they want. ElJiot said that one ofthe things happening in this country is that the jobs that are safe are the creative jobs, and the jobs that one just has to learn how to crunch the numbers for are going overseas. He said this is a great time to have the creative, flexible workforce coming up. Franklin asked what the Chamber is doing with regard to this discussion. QuelIhorst said the Chamber is working on a plan. She said it starts with building awareness and helping enough people understand that this is an opportunity and that the need exists. QuelIhorst said she thinks we wiII be pushed into it, because the work force is not going to be there. She said it is not just about young people but is about retirees too, who wiII be looking for the exact same thing. Bailey asked what large employers could get on board with this. She asked what latitude, the City, for example, has to set the example of a more flexible work force. Franklin said there is flex time within her department in which people can choose their hours within a range, with the expectation that a work product wiII be completed. Quellhorst said that one shouldn't think of this just in terms of work hours, because it is much broader than just flex time. She said it is much more than that, including things like working from home, having a flexible environment, and having the ability to leave during the day to participate in some kind of community or service activity. Elliot said the person who ran the entrepreneurial center at the College of Business felt that it was in the wrong college, as he felt the College of Business was too conservative to have the entrepreneurial center. Elliot said that some forward thinking and flexible thinking managers can see the cost savings from working at home. He said that flexibility comes from managers, and there are still way too many managers who don't understand. Elliot said one has to understand that we should evaluate people on their productivity, not on their attendance. Quellhorst agreed and said that, on the continuum, we start with building awareness. She said there is potential to market and brand this corridor with this. Quellhorst said people could be drawn from all over the place. Bailey said this wiII involve not only awareness but training managers to a degree. Champion said that as younger people become managers, all that will change anyway. Quellhorst said that there are a lot of ways that people can approach their jobs with flexibility, and it has to do with taking ownership, taking responsibility for their areas, and flexibility within that. She said that it is a broad mindset. Franklin said that what it requires is that managers have to define jobs and outcomes much more precisely. Elliot said that is what people are being trained to do in a lot of our traditional institutions. Ford said that she thinks there is a shift toward that now, and that's why there is a lot of talk about aligning goals, objectives, and strategies toward that end goal. Ford said that in the College of Business, a class that she taught was all about career management and self management, as well as some of teamwork. She said that one of the most interesting aspects of the class was the fact that she was assigned to teach goal setting and marry the two ideas of corporate goal setting and personal goal setting and look at creating that triangle with the ultimate goal at the top, with the steps taken to achieve that goal mirroring your personal life and your business life. Ford said there was dialogue about if one is going to work and punching a clock, where are you going with that. She said the discussion focused on having all activities aligned with what the outcome is supposed to be. Quellhorst said she thought we are all better served by that. She said she did not understand that mindset of being on time and being at your desk. Quellhorst said the important thing is to get the job done. Franklin said that workforce development has never been a strong focus of what the City is involved in. She said that is true for a variety of reasons, mostly because workforce development has been done in other segments of the economic development community. Franklin said that if there is a way, as the planned strategy is put together, to be useful to that, she would like to hear about it. Ford said that one idea might be to go to the Society for Human Resource Managers. She said that to have a chamber and/or Iowa City led program or track within their meeting that focuses on creating the creative workplace might be a real branding opportunity for our area. Elliot said that HR is an emerging profession. He said this conversation gives a feel for where the thought processes are. Franklin said the Committee put a work list together before the position was advertised. She said there is a lot of basic information for Ford to learn about the different financial assistance packages and programs, State programs and how the systems in the City work also. Ford said she is looking forward to starting her job. Champion said it is important for Ford to know that people are willing to adjust and change. Bailey said she is interested in moving forward on the market mix/event mix downtown issue as quickly as is feasible. She said that envisioning opportunities for what the downtown is and could be should be created, and that will be helpful to those interested in developing south of Burlington. Bailey asked Ford if she had any questions for the Committee. Ford asked each member for his/her expectations from her in this job. Champion said she would like to see some positive economic development to grow the tax base in a proper way. She said the City seems progressive and seems to have everything, but it is behind. Champion said the City probably needs two fire stations at this point. She stated that has to somehow become a priority, because public safety really has to be provided for people, or the community disintegrates. Elliot said he expected that Ford would be very knowledgeable and within, at least a year, be able to tell the Comtnittee if there is a profile of the kinds of businesses and industries, commercial properties, that are interested in Iowa City, and if there is a profile of those that are not interested and why not. He said that he would expect Ford to be on top of things and be able to give an idea of which is the best way to go - to direct what can be done to encourage those who are interested and how to identitY the ones that will be beneficial for Iowa City. Champion said there are things that she does not personally consider economic development, including gambling and malls. Bailey said she would expect that Ford would be a visible player in economic development and bring the City as an equal partner to the economic development table. She said that the Committee doesn't do this alone but should be part of the conversations that are happening. Bailey said she also expected Ford to approach the job creatively and expected her to think in terms often and 15 years, not now and five years from now. She said that we tend to default to retail, and she thought that is not always the best strategy. Bailey said that she is interested in looking at how to build the retail centers creatively and sort of tightly, instead of rezoning all of our commercial to retail or to less lucrative economic development approaches. She said she was also interested in developing the aviation commerce park and looking at areas east to grow that tax base and also to grow the diversification of the business that we have here. Ford said she is interested in a creative, intense and focused approach. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 9:50a.m. Minutes submitted by Anne Schulte (1) ~ .- E E o o ... C CI)"C E ~ Q.U o CI) -0:: Cl)CI)CD >UO (1)CO CCUN CJ-g .- CI) E= 0<( c o CJ w - .- CJ c ::s o o QC ~ X X X ~ t-- ~ X X X '-= ::::!: X X X ~ => ~ X X X ~ lI'l ~ X ><: ><: - ~ => ~ ><: ><: ><: - ~ '-= ><: ~ ><: ><: - M QC ~ ~ ><: ><: - 0 ~ en 00 00 00 S ~ 0 0 s.;:: - - "p. N N N Q) ><: s.;:: s.;:: 0 - E-<~ - - - 0 0 0 I: = t' 'j$. - El ... = = ;: = ..CI = U = := ... - ~ ~ I: li'l ... ~ I: .c I: ~ = = Z = U "C:l Q) en ::l u ><: ==~ Q) Q) I:: en en Q) Q).o ~ ~<< II II II ~ ~ ~><:OO