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2021-03-17 Economic Development Commission MinutesCITY OF EDMONDS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MEETING March 17, 2021 COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: LIAISONS PRESENT: Nicole Hughes, Chair Vivian Olson, Councilmember, ex-officio Darrol Haug Jay Hoag Kevin Harris, Vice Chair COMMISSIONERS/LIAISONS ABSENT: Scott Merrick Roger Pence, Planning Board, ex-officio Jamie Reece Bruce Faires, Port Commissioner, ex-officio Kevin Smith Greg Urban, Edmonds Chamber, ex-officio Charlie Lieu GUESTS: Carrie Hulbert None Evan Sittauer, Student -Rep STAFF PRESENT: COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Patrick Doherty, Director Megan Luttrell, Program Coordinator Economic Development Commission meeting conducted via ZOOM and called to order by Nicole Hughes at 6:01 p.m. Call to Order and Land Acknowledgement 1. Roll Call and recognition of absences: 2. Approval of Agenda: Jay moved to approve; Jaime, seconded, motion passed. 3. Approval of February 17, 2021 Meeting Summary. Darrol called out a correction to Item 6.e. Parking & Shuttle Service; where it was noted that there is currently "350 employee permits", it should have read "750 employee permits". With this edit Scott, moved to approve the minutes, Darrol seconded, motion passed. 4. Audience Comments: None. S. City Update: Patrick shared there is currently a survey to solicit public input for the Walkable Main Street program this year. The survey went public on March 111h and there have been nearly 900 responses as of today. There is overwhelming support to include Fridays as well as have the program start earlier in the year and/or last longer through the year. Responses indicate that a 3-block walk is supported. There is also a need to accommodate people that have accessibility hindrances. Approximately half of respondent's offered additional comments. A media release went out announcing the newly appointed Acting Police Chief, Michelle Bennett. She will be a noncommissioned chief administrative officer. The president signed the American Rescue Plan. The City will receive funds but there is currently no timeline. Vivian asked Patrick to share the survey with the EDC so that it can be shared on their social media platforms. She also requests to review the sales tax during last year's Walkable Main Street and compare to years prior. She mentioned the Housing Commission presented an array of zoning changes for Council to consider; Council will give staff direction on which options to move forward with. The Planning Meeting Summary Economic Development Commission March 17, 2021 Page 1 Department and Shane Hope are the leads. Any zoning changes will require public hearings prior to approval. 6. Project Discussion: Communication and Information Flow: Nicole led the discussion and shared a draft spreadsheet of four areas of communication: Reports to Council; Idea Exchange with Council; Project Committee Reports; Project Summaries & Progress. The framework has a set of criteria associated with each area to drive projects to evolve and provides guidelines for the committees to follow as projects move forward. Nicole created templates that each committee can use to track project progress, this will lend to concise reporting and work summaries. The goal is to share this information prior to the Commission meeting so the Commissioners have time to review and bring questions and ideas to the meeting. Charlie expressed concern that the template appears to work well for project -based Committees but not for data gathering. Nicole agreed and shared that this template doesn't have to be used if it's not helpful. Charlie envisioned a dashboard format for data. Kevin Harris added that this template is a checklist for the Committees to use as a double-check to ensure that components are not being missed as you move through projects. Nicole added, if Committee's find a different way organize info, go for it. Nicole opened discussion on the Council update. What are thoughts on sharing info with Council? Some suggestions: listening sessions; invite Councilmembers to join the EDC meetings. Kevin H. suggested preparing a presentation for late April and reaching out individually to your appointing Councilmember and/or Mayor. Kevin Smith agrees with Kevin Harris that presenting info and requesting feedback from Council would be wise to build support. Nicole asked for thoughts on presenting a formal report to Council (the last formal presentation to Council was in 2019). Jamie feels it's time but is not clear on what to share. Patrick suggested sharing the work plan for the next 18 months. Vivian agreed that outreach to your appointee would be valuable. Scott suggested using our meeting minutes as a tool to keep appointees informed on what is being worked on. Vivian shared that the liaisons share board and commission reports at the fourth Council meeting of the month, and she includes minutes. 7. Project Committee Updates a. Data Collection & Analysis: Charlie shared that the committee met for the first time this last month. They focused on working through high level data processes. Over the next month they plan to work on collecting data. They are also going to endeavor to create a template to request data. b. Neighborhood Districts & Business Zones: Kevin Smith shared that they have focused on identifying districts and educating on the history of each of them. They've narrowed down their focus to three districts: Highway 99 (southern stretch), Firdale Village & Perrinville. During their last meeting they discussed Highway 99, and the Burlington Coat Factory property. There's 11 acres of property, there is some opportunity there. Scott mentioned that Highway 99 could be a huge focus in and of itself. There was research already done regarding the healthcare corridor, Kevin H. is happy to share the research he's done with the Committee. Kevin S. added that the Highway 99 corridor rebranding is also of interest. Darrol feels that shifting focus to one of the non -Highway 99 might have more of an impact as there is already a lot of focus by other groups within the City. He feels Five -Corners has a significant amount of data already compiled that could be used and perhaps have a bigger impact. Firdale Village was chosen due to the number of vacancies and the redevelopment opportunity. Perrinville is growing as new townhomes going in the Lynnwood side. Patrick shared that the community renewal plan is starting up shortly and there is opportunity for EDC participation. Carrie shared that not only are they looking at the individual neighborhoods but they're also looking at an overarching umbrella for cohesiveness between all the neighborhood districts. Minutes Economic Development Commission March 17, 2021 Page 2 c. Edmonds Business Booster Portal: Kevin Harris led the update. There are 8 current providers on the site and there are 6 that have potential to be added. Based off the interviews that were conducted, there's a diverse, rich, pool of potential providers. They are taking the interview notes and summarizing them. Once they're compiled, they will be sent to the EDC to review and comment on. They will convene with the interviewees to have a brainstorming session; goal is to do this in April and will present the results of the brainstorming session in May. Susan Paine shared with Kevin H., Nicole and Patrick, a link for Build to Scale Venture grants for entrepreneurs, there's also capital grants available, deadline is April 29tn d. Waterfront Center Opportunities: Nicole led the update. The team spent some time at the Waterfront Center, touring and getting a better understanding of how the community gathering point will become a great asset to Edmonds. Daytime focus is on the Senior Center. After Spm, the building will open for classes and rental space as well as on the weekends. The team has discussed a variety of ideas: creative district collaboration; retail pop -ups; and beyond. The next steps are to meet with Daniel Johnson, CEA to learn what they're working on. Nicole will send an email to Daniel to setup a meeting with him. Scott mentioned that there's a parking opportunity, at the Waterfront Center, perhaps they would open their parking lot during Walkable Main Street. Also, the trolley would be helpful to connect folks downtown to the waterfront. Kevin H. shared that the Port of Edmonds' goal is for long term tenants. Anything we can do to assist the Port when there are vacancies would build a relationship between the Port and EDC. Kevin S. suggested the EDC assist in getting the word out about events to build a bridge between downtown businesses and the Waterfront Center. e. Parking & Shuttle Service: Darrol led the update. He pointed out that it's great to have Evan participate in their meetings. Parking is a hot button topic but data isn't readily available. The team as met a couple times to identify easy to accomplish improvements. They met with Phil Williams last week to discuss options. Public Works will be adding more tic marks to parking strips as they have proven to be effective. The Committee supports contacting private property owners to utilize parking lots during off hours. Public Works has agreed to help develop a survey to collect public input about downtown parking. Carrie added that the BID/Ed! is trying to expand after hours lots this year, if there are ideas please share. BID/Ed! is starting a be a good neighbor campaign to suggest employees not park in front of businesses. 8. Idea Pipeline: Nicole shared a that this will be a standing item on the agenda. This is the time and place to bring up new ideas or suggestions for the Commission to work on. Don't wait for the meeting to bring up brilliant ideas, email to Nicole, Kevin H. & Patrick. Scott suggests moving trolley program forward again, to be utilized once COVID restrictions allows. Kevin H. suggests putting some focus on the Highway 99 satellite City Hall. Vivian mentioned that adding hospital banners along Highway 99 from 212t" to 220tn 9. Liaison Updates (3 minutes per liaison) Vivian Olson (Council) suggested starting a mentoring program for Evan. 11. Roundtable Discussion: Jay, nothing. Kevin H. great meeting, amazed at the amount of content that is being produced. Kevin S. is really encouraged by the relief bills that have gone out over the last year; it's supporting our economy in a positive way. Carrie seconds, Kevin S.'s sentiment. Evan shared the superintendent just sent an email that as of 4/12 schools be opening to 2 days/week. Charlie is also encouraged by the group. Jamie is optimistic about the next few months. Darrol thanks to his team for meeting at a moment's notice this past month. Scott echoed that Edmonds is looking alive and thanked Nicole for all the work that she's putting into creating communication Minutes Economic Development Commission March 17, 2021 Page 3 formats. Patrick, Happy St. Patrick's day. Nicole is also excited about all the work, the group is doing Adjourn at 8:15 p.m. Next regular meeting: April 21, 2021, 6 PM location TBA Minutes Economic Development Commission March 17, 2021 Page 4