Loading...
2022-02-16 Economic Development Commission MinutesCITY OF EDMONDS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MEETING February 16, 2022 COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Nicole Hughes, Chair Darrol Haug Kevin Harris, Vice Chair Carrie Hulbert Keith Hamilton Jay Hoag Kevin Smith Charlie Lieu Evan Sittauer, Student -Rep COMMISSIONERS ABSENT: Scott Merrick - excused LIAISONS PRESENT: Roger Pence, Planning Board, ex-officio Greg Urban, Edmonds Chamber, ex-officio Susan Paine, Councilmember, ex-officio LIAISONS ABSENT: Angela Harris, Port Commissioner, ex-officio GUESTS: None. STAFF PRESENT: Doug Merriman, Interim Director CS/ED Megan Luttrell, Program Coordinator CS/ED Economic Development Commission meeting conducted via ZOOM and called to order by Nicole Hughes at 6:03 p.m. Call to Order and Land Acknowledgement 1. Roll Call and Recognition of Approved Absences: 2. Approval of Agenda: Charlie moved to approve the agenda; Kevin Smith seconded; motion passed. 3. Approval of January 19, 2022, Meeting Summary: Darrol Haug moved to approve the meeting summary; Jay seconded; motion passed. 4. Audience Comments: None. 5. Breakout debrief from 1/19: Nicole explained that time ran out at the January meeting and didn't allow for a debrief of the discussion topics at the last meeting, she would like to go over what the groups discussed tonight. a. Food Truck/Vendor Spaces Group: Kevin Harris shared that the group (Keith, Angela, Greg, Roger, Evan and Kevin H.) had a good brainstorm session. They focused on the vision and how to enhance the food truck presence in Edmonds. It was nice to have Evan's youth perspective in the group. Evan added that food trucks are more affordable for young people. Greg suggested checking with Megan for a list of vacant lots. Olympia has a food truck model to research as does Portland. How can we boost livability in certain areas in Edmonds? As a follow up, reach out to Scotty's, Shubert and other festival vendors to gain their perspective. Carrie suggested making food truck events. Kevin Smith suggested a food truck near the hospital as it could provide a stable customer basis as well as having a Hwy 99 presence. Darrol suggests a presence at parks. Carrie pointed out that near the hospital could also lend to the high school demographic. Greg Meeting Summary Economic Development Commission February 16, 2022 Page 1 shared that Shubert's issues were profitability. A steady customer base is key for the success of food trucks. b. Hwy 99 - City Facilities and Activities along Renewal Zone: Nicole, Darrol & Susan discussed opportunities on Hwy 99. Susan shared that over the next 5-10 years our Hwy 99 presence could shift and the need for car lots may not be necessary. Darrol and Susan discussed the future of car purchasing and how the needs may shift in the future. Darrol shared that he sees the goal for Hwy 99 to make it vibrant and attract non-residents to Hwy 99 zone. Susan suggests envisioning people's needs and what they might want if they're getting off public transit in this area. Nicole shared that the discussion led to a live -work -play neighborhood discussion. Ideas consisted of enhancing nightlife, shopping, and living in this neighborhood. Keith explained that the time frame for car dealerships shifting away from needing lots is more like 20-30 years. Darrol highlights that the Hwy 99 neighborhood needs to be engaged and seek input from the current neighborhood. c. Walkable City Concepts: Carrie shared that they first focused on what people liked about Walkable Main; they felt it was the sense of community. They like the idea of incorporating different cultures in Edmonds. Doug shared the socialization aspect of the events was a strong pull for engagement. Carrie felt it aligns with the food truck idea and with the Hwy 99 enhancement efforts. Susan wants to make sure that we have access to arts through the community events. Darrol included that the Mayor highlighted walkability in his State of the City address. Roger shared that it's helpful when these events come into fruition organically. The City should provide framework for events. 6. Discussion: Economic Development Idea Heatmap w/ Breakout Discussions a. Parking Solutions: (Keith, Kevin Smith, Evan, Darrol) As more people come to enjoy our Downtown areas: Central Business/Shops/Resturants District, Arts Corridor, Performing Arts Center, and City Hall we will continue to put pressure on our existing parking stall inventory. Competition for parking included, Employees, Residents in DT area, and customers and visitors in general. Goals/Objectives: Highlights / Notes: • What to do next: o Tasked to find some more public input o Gather more information from employers and employees o They bring in customers, they have people who have to park for work everyday o They are a good source of information for what parking needs from a business perspective of employees and customers • Darrol's thoughts on what should happen: o We are trying to bring people here to visit the downtown, the arts corridor, the shops, the activities, etc. o People are building bigger facilities to draw in more people, compared to what used to be in downtown Edmonds o We are going to end up with a demand problem where demand exceeds supply o It's not practical for people to walk from their home or take a bus because there aren't any o If you want people to come downtown, they have to park somewhere o Overtime we are going to just have more pressure on where to park Meeting Summary Economic Development Commission February 16, 2022 Page 2 Key Steps for continuing to assess parking challenges: • Will the business community be able to improve business with or without a parking solution? • Understanding the raw data of employees where they take an alternative mode of transportation will help us get an idea • There are 1000 stalls downtown • Need to figure out how many are occupied by employee parking to see how many are left for citizens • People may avoid Edmonds if they have no place to park • WE NEED DATA TO HELP PROVE THE THEORY. o With the data we will get a sense of the business community's willingness to pay for parking and to help solve the problem o If the employers make their employees park in a new garage, this will help free up spaces in Edmonds o It would get them off the streets and open them to more people • Try and keep parking on the agenda so it stays in the back of the heads of everyone • We are not looking for proof to build a place • The business community wants workers and consumers, is parking a problem for them • Current plan is to try and survey the business community and get input. Basic information. City was already going to do this as a parking study but they canceled it due to COVID. • The City could help us put this into motion, Council will most likely support a survey for the business community because it is cheap and easy to do. Describe the Idea — what would it look like if realized? 5/10/20 years A parking garage with solar panels, a walkway to the downtown area so they can interact easily with the shops and restaurants, if you open up more places for parking you allow for easier pedestrian traffic b. HealthTech Corridor Development: (Charlie, Greg, Doug, Nicole) - Sometimes have an incubator attached - Typically an obvious area - Options: o Healthcare o HealthTech o Patient Care o BioTech o BioPharma - Often located near university or hospital - Need transit stops nearby 1. Describe the Idea — what would it look like if realized? 5/10/20 years Office complex location housing multiple corporate operations under the category/segment of HealthTech. Key: one anchoring company with others. Edmonds College (Shoreline CC, Everett CC, CWU Lynnwood) has curriculum associated with healthtech. Swedish system has expanded partnership capabilities around tech development and/or clinical research. 2. Discuss Goals/Objectives of the Idea — list top two or three objectives of the Idea. Why would this benefit Edmonds and our citizens? Elevated profile for region, draw for high paying jobs, long term growth trajectory of industry and region. Meeting Summary Economic Development Commission February 16, 2022 Page 3 3. List the steps, actions or tasks that might need to be accomplished Explore partnership capabilities —Swedish, Virginia Mason, UW, Verdant (most likely partner) Understand land development capabilities in near and long term Identify potential anchoring company c. Ferry Reservation System: (Susan, Carrie, Kevin Harris, Megan) Vision: Capture some increasingly significant portion of ferry line traffic to divert into Edmonds to extend visitor's stay and spend money on goods and services and improve visitor's 'Edmonds Experience'. 'Don't waste time in the ferry line!' Assumptions: • A ferry reservation system will free up 'bonus' time for people to spend more time and treasure in Edmonds (may not be true). • A ferry reservation system is needed to implement the following suggested ideas to maximize people's time spent in Edmonds (certainly NOT true, which suggests that the issue might be more accurately described as 'How to better economically capitalize on ferry traffic'). Goals/Objectives/Potential Barriers: a. Entice ferry travelers to spend more time in Edmonds, either on the outbound or inbound portion of their ferry trip. b. Target restaurants and other venues that attract visitors. c. Use the ferries to promote Edmonds services using 21'T century media. d. Increase the quality of the 'Edmonds Experience', to create a virtuous cycle of return visitors and 'word of mouth' referrals. e. Barriers (relayed from Patrick): WSDOT gave Patrick a negative response, noting that the ferries run too frequently on the Edmonds/Kingston run to make a reservation system worthwhile. Also, that the physical layout of the ferry lanes wouldn't permit 'reserve and park' capacity to enable a ferry reservation system. Mitigating point: Susan noted that there are upcoming WSDOT plans to reconfigure the existing ferry lanes, to make them broader by about six feet. Worth an update from WSDOT to see if they still believe in their noted barriers, or have changed their minds. Potential Work Steps: a. Meet with WSDOT to discuss (see above). Susan has contact with John Vizina, WSDOT's Governmental Affairs representative. b. Contact City/Chamber folks in Anacortes to learn from their experience with ferry reservations and impact on econ outcomes in their town. Do they have shuttle operations to take visitors who are holding in the ferry lanes to their downtown area? Or is that necessary in Anacortes? c. Create solutions for better promotion of Edmonds on board the ferries - Distribute new Edmonds Visitors Guides on board and in terminals - Hire entertainers/story-tellers to ride the ferries during the summer months to promote Edmonds history/services/etc. - Use of QR codes or other promo spots ('What's happening now in Edmonds') - Use geofencing to target ads to people on the ferry and in the line; the city currently has an agency contracted that can do this type of work, and may already be d. Create solutions for better sign age/artwork/etc. directing people to Edmonds after the inbound trip ends and people depart (to leave people with a positive impression of Meeting Summary Economic Development Commission February 16, 2022 Page 4 Edmonds as they drive through DT or up Edmonds Way to get home). This may entice people to spend more time in Edmonds on their next ferry trip. Public artwork at street level; strategically placed at ingress/egress to Edmonds Different signage/banners. - Messaging to stop at a restaurant and pickup food (from DT, other districts, Highway 99, food trucks) to take home after their long trip. Is there a way to digitally post restaurants and their specials on board the inbound ferry? Many of these ideas tie into the prior brainstorming re: Puget Sound Express/whale watching and other waterfront activities. Doug noted that new Creative District signage on 1-5 will improve showcasing of Edmonds. Is there a way to include a URL reference on that signage that steers visitors to 'What's Happening Now in Edmonds' type of site? 7. City Update: Doug shared the satellite office is getting close to opening. The sign should be in place in approximately three weeks; furniture now is going in now; PD is about ready to move in. He submitted a grant application for 4th Ave Cultural Corridor project to ArtsWA. 8. Liaison Updates a. City Council (Susan Paine) not much to report. Council is reviewing the 2022 budget. Public Hearing for electric vehicle standards is coming up. b. Port of Edmonds (Angela Harris) via Megan: continuing to move forward with new administration building which will create open space where current building is, as well as seawall repairs and boardwalk improvements. c. Chamber of Commerce (Greg Urban) trying to get feedback from the City on the 41h of july event. Working on other scheduling other events for the year. The Chamber is partnering with L&I to provide workshops to businesses. The Salish Sea Brewing Boathouse ribbon cutting is planned for March 16th d. Planning Board (Roger Pence) Planning Board has its annual retreat on March 9th. Let Roger know of any issues they should be considering this year. 9. Roundtable Discussion: Carrie: Gave a brief update on what Ed! is currently doing. Kevin Harris: Biz Booster 2.0 has been launched. Thanked Carrie and Scott, a lot of work and effort went into it. Thanks to Greg, Patrick, Doug, and Megan as well. Also, thanks to Kelsey Foster for the assist on the Media Release. Darrol: having dinner in Edmonds to celebrate anniversary! Kevin Smith: congrats on Biz Booster. Niles Peacock Pizza best in the City! Keith: good job on the biz booster! Evan: good work and good meeting! Nicole thanked everyone! 10. Adjourn at 8:09 p.m. Next regular meeting: March 16, 2022, 6 PM location Zoom Meeting Summary Economic Development Commission February 16, 2022 Page 5