2013-06-19 Economic Development Commission MinutesCITY OF EDMONDS
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
June 19, 2013
The Citizens Economic Development Committee meeting was called to order at 6:02 p.m. by Chair Evan
Pierce in the Brackett Room, 121 5th Avenue North, Edmonds.
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT
Evan Pierce, Chair
Bruce Witenberg, Vice Chair
John Dewhirst
Kevin Garrett
Roger Hertrich (arrived 6:26 p.m.)
Debbie Matteson
Nathan Proudfoot
Doug Purcell (arrived 6:11 p.m.)
Gail Sarvis (arrived 6:10 p.m.)
Rich Senderoff
Darlene Stern
Evelyn Wellington (arrived 6:26 p.m.)
Teresa Wippel
COMMISSIONERS ABSENT
John Eckert
Darrol Haug
John Rubenkonig
1. OPENING REMARKS
PLANNING BOARD LIAISON
Phil Lovell
CITY COUNCIL LIAISON
Councilmember Joan Bloom
STAFF PRESENT
Stephen Clifton, Community Services/Economic
Development Director
Cindi Cruz, Executive Assistant
Frances Chapin, Cultural Services Manager
Jeannie Dines, Recorder
PUBLIC PRESENT
Mayor Dave Earling
Council President Lora Petso
Ron Wambolt
Chair Pierce advised that Commissioners Rubenkonig and Haug have excused absences. He reported
Commissioner Knauss resigned because he moved to Marysville. There are now two vacancies on the
Commission. Chair Pierce reported the Council passed an ordinance last night to allow for a second
Council liaison on the EDC as well as to change the language regarding advertising EDC vacancies.
2. AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA
COMMISSIONER GARRETT MOVED, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER SENDEROFF, TO
REVERSE THE ORDER OF AGENDA ITEMS 4 AND 5. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
(Commissioners Hertrich, Purcell, Sarvis and Wellington were not present for the vote.)
3. APPROVAL OF MAY 15, 2013 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION MINUTES
VICE CHAIR WITENBERG MOVED, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER SENDEROFF, TO
APPROVE THE MINUTES OF MAY 15, 2013. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
(Commissioners Hertrich, Purcell, Sarvis and Wellington were not present for the vote.)
5. POTENTIAL ACTION ITEMS
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a. Strategic Action Plan Sub -group Update
Vice Chair Witenberg relayed his and Chair Pierce's appreciation for the tremendous amount of work the
subgroup has done on the Strategic Action Plan. The subgroup produced the EDC Sublist Summary
which identifies the subgroup for each action item. The next step is for the EDC to pass a motion to refer
the summary to the other subgroups for discussion at their next meeting. Each subgroup will review the
list of items assigned to their subgroup and report back to EDC with, 1) which items are already in
progress, 2) which items the subgroup does not want to work on and why, 3) what additional items the
subgroup wants to work on and why, and 4) priorities of action item in the subgroup and why. He noted
most if not all action items do not identify the EDC as a lead.
Vice Chair Witenberg recalled the consultant recommended groups in the City should be encouraged to
work on items in plan actions regardless of the priority of the item. Allocation of staff and financial
resources will determine which items receive the most attention; ultimately it will be up to Council via the
budget process to determine which items in the plan receive financial support. He requested subgroups
respond to the four questions by July 10 so the responses can be distributed with the next meeting agenda
on June 11. The July 17 meeting will primarily be discussion of the subgroups' recommendations
regarding Strategic Plan action items.
Chair Pierce commented there has been some confusion/misinterpretation regarding prioritization of the
action items. He asked the Strategic Plan Subgroup to create a simplified document that removed the
prioritization column with the goal of making it easily discussable by the EDC. The intent was not to
change or remove prioritization of citizens, it was only to allow the subgroups to evaluate and establish
their own priorities based on the original plan, whether an item is already underway, etc.
Discussion followed regarding the Strategic Plan Subgroup's creation of the summary, community groups
working on plan action items regardless of their priority, factors used to determine priorities in the
Strategic Plan, demonstrating success via accomplishing lower priorities, avoiding duplicative efforts on
plan actions, possibly asking the stakeholder groups the consultant interviewed if there were any plan
actions they want to take the lead on, the schedule for Council to allocate resources, and delay in
implementing Budgeting by Priorities due to hiring a new Finance Director.
Mr. Clifton suggested the subgroups also review the performance measures for each plan action in the
Strategic Plan. He has asked department directors to review the Strategic Plan and identify plan actions to
include as decision packages in the 2014 budget or to describe how they relate to work that is underway.
Sub .group Update
Commissioner Proudfoot reported the Strategic Plan Subgroup reviewed the 88 action plan items and
identified those that subgroups were already working on and/or that subgroups could address. The intent
is for each subgroup to determine the plan actions they are interested in pursuing. Some plan actions will
involve more than one committee and he encouraged subgroups to communicate with each other and with
other organizations who may be the lead for a plan action.
VICE CHAIR WITENBERG MOVED, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER SENDEROFF, TO
REFER THE STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN: EDC SUBLIST SUMMARY (WITHOUT
PRIORITIES) TO THE INDIVIDUAL SUBGROUPS FOR REVIEW AND ANALYSIS AND
REPORT BACK TO THE EDC. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
As the Tourism Subgroup does not meet until July 9, their analysis may be distributed as an addendum to
the agenda.
b. Limiting Office Space in BDl Zone
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Chair Pierce explained the intent of this item was to forward a recommendation to the Planning Board so
they can schedule it on their agenda. Mr. Clifton is coordinating a second meeting with the affected BD1
property owners.
Mr. Clifton provided background on this this proposal which began in 2011. It was reviewed by the
Planning Board and the City Council and the Council referred it back to the Planning Board and the EDC.
The EDC Land Use Subcommittee developed a white paper entitled, Creating Economic Vitality, An
Edmonds City Center That Is Economically Strong, Thriving, Lively and Social.
Because the property owners in the BD1 zone are the most affected by the proposal, he invited them to a
meeting on May 13, 2013. Only 8-9 property owners attended; Roger Brooks described the benefits of
creating a festival retail environment. The proposal is not to allow pure office uses on the ground floor in
the BD 1 zone such as architecture, engineering, finance, etc. An existing business would not be required
to relocate; when a business ceased operation and was vacant for more than six months, the use would
need to be replaced with a festival retail type use. At the conclusion of the meeting, three property owners
wanted to continue the conversation, the remainder were supportive. There was a request to inventory the
uses in the BD 1 zone to see how the proposal will impact property owners. During the most recent land
use subcommittee, he agreed to invite property owners to a second meeting.
The executive summary in the packet also contains a table of permitted uses including uses that would not
be allowed on the ground floor adjacent to the sidewalk. The only change made to the table since the
EDC's last review was real estate would be an allowed use. Office uses are permitted on the ground floor
but they must be located behind retail or on the second floor. He noted 5 of 20 ingredients of an
outstanding downtown are directly connected to festival retail.
CHAIR PIERCE MOVED, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER SENDEROFF, TO FORWARD THE
PROPOSAL TO LIMIT OFFICE IN THE BD1 ZONE TO THE PLANNING BOARD WITH A
STATEMENT THAT THE EDC SUPPORTS LIMING OFFICE IN THE BD1 ZONE. MOTION
CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.
c. Incentives
This was discussed under Agenda Item 4c.
DISCUSSION
4. SUB -GROUP UPDATES & STATUS
a. Technology
Mr. Clifton reported fiber has been extended under SR 104 to connect Harbor Square but not to a specific
business. There are businesses on 5th Avenue interested in connecting including Averetek. IT staff and
Lane Communications is developing cost estimates. An issue affecting the cost is Snohomish County
PUD requires the last entity connecting to the pole clean up all wires above it.
Regarding the redundant network, the City continues to evaluate routing options to connect to Highway
99. The above Snohomish County PUD issue also affects the redundancy route. A meeting is planned
with Edmonds School District.
Mr. Clifton reported Commission Haug, Chair of CTAC, and Brian Tully, the City's new IT Manager, are
reviewing a draft RFQ/RFP he prepared for a business and marketing plan. The RFQ/RFP will then be
presented to the EDC Technology Subgroup and CTAC for comment. He recently arranged a meeting
with representatives of Averetek, Operation Military Family, Ten Gun, HDR Engineering and the City's
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IT Manager to discuss ways to attract tech companies with 10-25 employees to downtown to utilize the
fiber. Once the draft RFQ/RFP is completed, another meeting with this group will be scheduled.
Mr. Clifton reported on a meeting with Peter Wilson, BizMarketing.com, to discuss creating incubator
type spaces. Incubator spaces are typically rented for a short period of time; there are significant discounts
in rent and the businesses share office space and administrative costs. He contacted Port Executive
Director Bob McChesney who is interested in potentially utilizing Harbor Square for incubator space.
Mr. Clifton reported on a seminary in Seattle last week where a speaker talked about The Hatchery in
East Nashville that offers incubator space for hatching new businesses.
Discussion followed regarding proximity of the City's fiber network to the hospital, Swedish -Edmonds'
connection to Blackrock Cable, potential locations for incubator spaces, learning from other cities with
incubator spaces, incubator models, identifying organizations that invest in incubators, and structuring
leases for incubator spaces so that spaces turn over.
b. Tourism
Commissioner Dewhirst reported Commissioner Garrett worked with the Port and they have made major
changes to their website, modernizing it and including more information such as link to the City's
website. He continues to working with Edmonds Community College on interns for the Visit WA mobile
app. Mr. Clifton relayed Chuck Loomis, Edmonds Community College, said that may be done as part of a
fall class. The subgroup also discussed the need for baseline tourist numbers; Ms. Cruz is gathering that
information. The Tourism Subgroup is changing their July meeting to July 9 and will not meet in August.
Ms. Chapin explained some very specific changes to Port website were requested based on broader ideas.
She met with Mr. McChesney and Port Commissioner Block who connected her with their webmaster.
Within two days, changes were made in the way information was presented on the Port's website such as
Sea Jazz and Artists in Action and the Port's home page now has art and music events. The Port is
looking at other ways to make their website more accessible.
c. Land Use
Commissioner Purcell reported the subgroup discussed limiting retail in BD1 and economic incentives
such as Qualified Small Bond Issue Sponsorship, multi -unit housing development tax credit, single source
limited tax source general obligation bonds, temporary property waiver for a business development zone
and a building fagade improvement program. The subgroup is also discussing how to use development
fees to attract developers. Mayor Earling has asked staff to study how Edmonds' fees compare to other
cities. The subgroup is discussing potential incentives that would be funded by City or latecomer fees, for
example an areawide SEPA. He summarized the Land Use Subgroup is developing a six point incentive
program for review by the EDC and recommendation to the City Council.
Discussion followed regarding the time savings to developers via an areawide SEPA and examples such
as the plan action EIS done for the Mountlake Terrace Town Center and Paine Field.
d. Communications & Community Outreach
Commissioner Stern reported following a spirited discussion, the subgroup ultimately decided to delay
review of the Strategic Plan action items until the Strategic Action Plan: EDC Sublist Summary was
prepared.
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Commissioner Proudfoot relayed the subgroup's mission statement: to improve communication to the
committee by drawing out of subcommittee reports information for distribution to the community.
Chair Pierce summarized the ultimate outcome of the Communications and Community Outreach is a
succinct report of all the subgroups' efforts. Commissioner Proudfoot relayed the subgroup discussed
ways to distribute information such as in the City's quarterly emailed newsletter, My Edmonds News, etc.
Vice Chair Witenberg recalled Commissioner Whippel offered to edit subgroup reports.
e. Strategic Plan
This update was provided during Agenda Item 5a.
6. UPDATE ON USE OF CITY E-MAIL ACCOUNT POLICY
Mr. Clifton referred to the Email Policy that was distributed to Commissioners. At the Council's recent
mini -retreat, the City Attorney described the importance of public records. As a volunteer body appointed
by the City Council, Commissioners' communications constitute a public record. City emails have been
issued for all Boards and Commissions; there has been some concern with the ease of use. He referred to
an option in the Email Policy that if a Commissioner uses his/her own email account for the conduct of
any business, that individual will be responsible for retaining those communications in a secure manner
for two years.
Mr. Clifton offered to confer with the City Attorney regarding an option suggested by Commissioner
Senderoff, Commissioners utilize a non -City issued email address such as Gmail and copy a City -issued
email so that communications are stored on the City's server. Discussion followed regarding other options
such as a master email address that is the repository for copied EDC email and Commissioners using an
email provider such as Outlook to access City email.
8. AUDIENCE COMMENTS — None
7. MISCELLANEOUS
Mr. Clifton reported Friday, June 21 is City of Edmonds Night at the SeaWolves. Anyone who works or
volunteers for the City, the Port, the Chamber of Commerce, or Senior Center can purchase adult tickets
for $5; tickets for guests are $7.
Mr. Clifton relayed he has asked DEMA for help recruiting businesses for the corner of 4th & Main and
Dayton & 5th. Two restaurants are interested in the 4th & Main location but the owner will not lease to a
business serving alcohol. He invited anyone who knew of a business that wants to expand or locate in
Edmonds, to contact him and he will connect them with the leasing agent.
Mr. Clifton distributed a program for the June 29 Arts Summit at the Edmonds Center for the Arts. The
Summit is a way of getting all arts organization together to discuss promoting Edmonds as an arts
community. Mayor Earling initiated the event; Ms. Chapin has been spearheading it. Ms. Chapin reported
the event is free, entirely sponsored by community partners including Lynnwood Honda, Edmonds
Landing, Windermere Edmonds, Swedish, Edmonds Community College, Panera Bread, Edmonds Arts
Festival Foundation, Hazel Miller Foundation, Hubbard Family Foundation and others. Registration is
online at the Arts Commission website. She encouraged Commissioners to attend at least for the keynote
speaker, The Arts Mean Business, by Randy Cohen, VP Research & Policy, Americans for the Arts.
Breakout sessions with experts from the local community will follow the keynote speaker.
9. ADJOURN
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:01 p.m.
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