Economic Development Council

BLUE SPRINGS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL MEETING June 21, 2017 – 8:00 A.M. Journagan Family Community Room Howard L. Brown Public Safety Building 1100 SW Smith Blue Springs, Missouri 1. Call Meeting to Order 2. Council Members a. Recognition of Outgoing Members b. Recognition of Incoming Members 3. Approval of Minutes – April 19, 2017 4. Presentation of April 19, 2017 Visioning Session Summary 5. Activity Update 6. Other Business 7. Comments 8. Adjourn NEXT MEETING: Wednesday, August 16, 2017 – 8:00 A.M. Journagan Family Community Room Howard L. Brown Public Safety Building 1100 SW Smith Blue Springs, Missouri If special accommodations are required for citizen participation at this meeting please call (816)228-0111  CITY OF BLUE SPRINGS, MISSOURI MINUTES OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL MEETING April 19, 2017 A meeting of the Blue Springs Economic Development Council, was held on Wednesday, April 19, 2017, in the Journagan Family Community Room, Howard L. Brown Public Safety Building, 1100 SW Smith, Blue Springs, Missouri, with Mike Lally presiding. COUNCILMEMBERS Ron Baker Dave Meyer PRESENT Erin Curry Cindy Miller Kim Deveney Deb Ohnoutka - Absent Bill Essmann Kirk Sampson - Absent Trevor Goodwin – Arrived at 8:20 Lyle Shaver Yvonne Hall - Absent Steve Westermann Kathy Hunter Councilman Susan Culpepper Mike Lally Also present were CJCFPD Deputy Chief – John Grote, Councilman Jerry Kaylor, Deputy City Administrator - Adam Norris, Director of Community Development - Scott Allen, Director of Public Works - Chris Sandie, Economic Development Manager – Mark Stombaugh, and Economic Development Coordinator - Teresa Evans, and Mayor Carson Ross, Councilman Chris Lievsay each attended a portion of the meeting. Visioning session facilitator Sheila Shockey and Ann Frame Hertzog were present. CALL MEETING Mike Lally called the Economic Development Council meeting to order at TO ORDER 8:10 a.m. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Councilmember Essmann moved to approve the minutes of the February 15, 2017 Economic Development Council meeting. Motion seconded by Councilmember Westermann and carried with the following votes: Councilmember Baker - Aye Councilmember Lally– Aye Councilmember Curry– Aye Councilmember Meyer – Aye Councilmember Deveney – Aye Councilmember Miller - Aye Councilmember Essmann– Aye Councilmember Ohnoutka - Absent Councilmember Goodwin - Absent Councilmember Sampson – Absent Councilmember Hall– Absent Councilmember Shaver – Aye Councilmember Hunter – Aye Councilmember Westermann – Aye VISIONING SESSION Shockey Consulting Services, LLC convened a visioning and goal setting session with Economic Development Council members, City Council and City staff present. Notes will be provided by Shockey Consulting Services. ADJOURNMENT At 12:10 p.m. there was no further business to come before the Economic Development Council; Councilmember Essmann moved the meeting be adjourned. Motion seconded by Councilmember Meyer and carried unanimously. April 19, 2017 Economic Development Council Page 2 ___________________________________ Chairman ATTEST: ______________________________ Teresa Evans, Economic Development Coordinator 2  Blue Springs, Missouri Economic Development Council Planning Retreat PLANNING RETREAT MEETING NOTES DATE: Wednesday, April 19, 2017 TIME: 8:00 a.m. - noon LOCATION: Journagan Family Community Room, Public Safety Building 1100 SW Smith St. Blue Springs, Missouri PURPOSE: To develop a 5-year; 3-year work plan for EDC COUNCILMEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE: Ron Baker Mike Lally Erin Curry Dave Meyer Kim Deveney Cindy Miller Bill Essmann Lyle Shaver Trevor Goodwin Steve Westermann Kathy Hunter Susan Culpepper Also present were CJCFPD Deputy Chief – John Grote, Councilman Jerry Kaylor, Deputy City Administrator - Adam Norris, Director of Community Development - Scott Allen, Director of Public Works - Chris Sandie, Economic Development Manager – Mark Stombaugh, and Economic Development Coordinator - Teresa Evans, Councilman Chris Lievsay, and Mayor Carson Ross. Visioning session facilitator Sheila Shockey and Ann Frame-Hertzog were present. VISIONING SESSION Shockey Consulting Services, LLC convened a visioning and goal setting session with Economic Development Council members, City Council and City staff present. Blue Springs Economic Development Council Planning Retreat 1 April 19, 2017 Meeting Notes  Blue Springs, Missouri Economic Development Council Planning Retreat COMMUNITY VISION Sheila Shockey shared that the City of Blue Springs has a community vision that the Economic Development Council should consider when implementing new policies and strategies. The community vision is: Blue Springs is a thriving, prosperous community on the move with vibrant, connected places filled with innovative involved people of all ages. 2015 STRATEGIC PLAN In 2015, the City of Blue Springs developed a Strategic Plan that the Economic Development Council should consider when pursuing projects and partnerships with the City. The Plan is summarized as follows: Focus Area Goal Public Safety Maintain high level of public safety for citizens as safe neighborhoods are the cornerstone of a quality community. Infrastructure Plan and invest in infrastructure to support neighborhoods and business activity. Housing Facilitate the development of housing for all ages. Neighborhood Preserve and strengthen neighborhoods and neighborhood Preservation centers. Parks & Recreation Increase access to open space and recreational amenities to promote a healthy community. Revenue Stability Create a sustainable revenue structure with adequate, stable and diverse revenue sources. Development and Retain and grow existing businesses, attract new businesses Redevelopment that create jobs and that are of strategic benefit to the community, revitalize key transportation corridors and downtown. Blue Springs Economic Development Council Planning Retreat 2 April 19, 2017 Meeting Notes  Blue Springs, Missouri Economic Development Council Planning Retreat STRATEGIC INVESTMENT AREAS DISCUSSION Sheila Shockey facilitates a discussion regarding strategic investment areas. She asks, “What is Blue Springs’ vision & action plan for each of these areas?” She explains that Strategic Investment Areas are areas where public and private sector investments should be coordinated to create development opportunities that serve the broader community. They are areas where the city may currently own property, where significant infrastructure investments can improve development options, and/or where property conditions exist to warrant private redevelopment. Future Growth Areas are unincorporated or undeveloped areas that provide opportunity for long-range growth of the city. These areas warrant careful attention to infrastructure investment, development patterns and transportation systems in order to best support all of the city-wide frameworks. Sheila Shockey asks the Economic Development Council what they think they should do when it comes to strategic investment. Their ideas are summarized below. • We should identify strong opportunities and weak links • We should report assessment of these areas and status report • We should discuss existing stories as a model • We should advocate for policy change and investments at City Council level • We should look at incentive policies to impact these areas and put tools in place to support them • We should develop pursuit strategies and priority business hubs • We should identify resources for business hub • We should support visual perception and beautification efforts Blue Springs Economic Development Council Planning Retreat 3 April 19, 2017 Meeting Notes  Blue Springs, Missouri Economic Development Council Planning Retreat STRATEGY: REVITALIZING KEY TRANSPORTATION CORRIDORS & DOWNTOWN The Economic Development Council discussed ways to revitalize key transportation corridors and the downtown area. Strategies discussed include: • Perform an assessment of assets and livability. • Pursue projects within each node and develop both a strategy and a vision for each pursuit. Business nodes are contagious and build from one another. We need to make an effort to market to the community what is happening in nodes and hubs. • Inform the City Council so that they can make decisions. • Support visual reinvestment. The first impression matters. • Provide incentives to encourage business development. • Identify the resources that outside entities can bring to support node development and fulfill our vision. In conclusion, ways in which the Economic Development Council will support the strategy to revitalize key transportation corridors and downtown include: Adams Dairy Parkway: Pursue a mixed-use business park on the north side of I-70 east of Adams Dairy Parkway. Corridor Reinvestment at priority nodes: Incentivize incremental infill and redevelopment at the following nodes: • 7-Highway and Downtown • 40-Highway and 7-Highway Downtown Reinvestment: Redevelop city-owned lumberyard site on Main Street Southern Residential Area: Fill executive housing gap Economic Development Department Program Areas With a focus on economic growth and prosperity, the Economic Growth and Development Division works with the guidance of the Economic Development Council to retain, support, and collaborate with existing businesses while also recruiting new businesses that are in line with the city’s long-term strategic plan. Blue Springs Economic Development Council Planning Retreat 4 April 19, 2017 Meeting Notes  Blue Springs, Missouri Economic Development Council Planning Retreat The Division provides a centralized resource to connect business owners with business information, technical assistance, and can help guide through the City's development process. The participants discussed recommendations for the program areas of the Economic Development Department as follows: STRATEGY: RETAIN AND GROW EXISTING BUSINESSES The Economic Development Council discussed ways in which they can retain and grow the 1,600 existing businesses in Blue Springs. These include: • Enhance business to business communications • Support workforce development • Make businesses feel included and welcome by providing them with a support system • Learn more about businesses by target different businesses with a short survey • Council members add value by reaching out and forming relationships with businesses • Bring businesses together to work together • Raise awareness about the Economic Development Council and its resources • Identify target industries • Promote job creation • Monitor the health of business in Blue Springs • Think of ways to incentivize businesses to stay in Blue Springs • Practice best practices • Identify strengths and weaknesses of our competition • Gain insights from the Top 10 businesses and smaller dynamic businesses • Connect existing businesses to each other • Develop capacity by reporting best practices Blue Springs Economic Development Council Planning Retreat 5 April 19, 2017 Meeting Notes  Blue Springs, Missouri Economic Development Council Planning Retreat • Target non-retail businesses with over 40 employees • Implement an HR Consortium • Focus on the technology sector • Elected officials develop relationships with and work with large employers • Prepare a summary of businesses in Blue Springs • Review and analyze the report every two years and update as needed In conclusion, ways in which the Economic Development Council will support the strategy to retain and grow businesses are as follows. • Gain insights in a targeted way focusing on Top 10 businesses and smaller dynamic businesses, conducting 15 business visits annually. • Connect existing businesses to each other and available resources, assisting with valuable business information to promote business expansion. • Use connections of the Economic Development Council members and elected officials to make introductions to business owners, building trust and participation in the business intelligence gathering process. • Support workforce development efforts through the establishment of a workforce consortium and leveraging relevant resources. STRATEGY: TARGET AND ATTRACT NEW BUSINESSES The Economic Development Council discussed ways in which they can target and attract new businesses in Blue Springs. • Reach out to potential partners for risk capital • Ensure website information is consistent • Bring high speed fiber to businesses and report progress • Continue to build partnerships • Take advantage of cooperative marketing opportunities and reach • Continue to budget infrastructure money for extension to make sites shovel- ready when the developer is ready • Don’t extend too far until plans are in place • Create a funding mechanism to support water and sewer when needed Blue Springs Economic Development Council Planning Retreat 6 April 19, 2017 Meeting Notes  Blue Springs, Missouri Economic Development Council Planning Retreat • Report what is going on and include a list of who/where • Change the perception of Blue Springs to make it more business-friendly • Educate and inform businesses on what they need to do • Educate people on how to start a business • Solicit feedback on how to streamline and simplify the process • Learn from the Downtown Live model • Identify business park/space for new businesses • Use marketing tools with consistency • Encourage new infrastructure to implement high speed Internet • Take advantage of partnerships In conclusion, ways in which the Economic Development Council will support the strategy to target and attract new businesses are as follows. • Target new business recruitment on companies that have a supply chain relationship or complement existing businesses. • Develop consistent and comprehensive information for properties available and list advantages of Blue Springs. • Strengthen regional and statewide partnerships. • Connect potential small business start-ups to services and educational opportunities, while developing an environment and connectivity necessary for those firms to be successful. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICY DISCUSSION Sheila Shockey facilitates the development of a written economic development policy. First, she asks the Economic Development Council, “What are the key components of an economic development policy that are helpful elsewhere?” Sheila refers to the agenda packet that contained the following information regarding some components recommended by GFOA. 1. Goals and Objectives. Goals and measurable objectives create a context and accountability for the use of economic development incentives. Common goals used in economic development include: target economic sectors, business retention and/or recruitment, geographic focus, job creation, blight mitigation, Blue Springs Economic Development Council Planning Retreat 7 April 19, 2017 Meeting Notes  Blue Springs, Missouri Economic Development Council Planning Retreat improving economically distressed neighborhoods, and environmental improvements. 2. Financial Incentive Tools and Limitations. An economic development policy should define the types of incentives and the extent to which the jurisdiction will use them. For example, governments may choose to grant an entitlement to any firm that meets minimum qualifications, or may choose to provide incentives based on an assessment of individual firms. Governments may also establish maximum funding for a particular program. 3. Evaluation Process. A clearly defined evaluation process should be outlined in an economic development policy for the purposes of consistency and transparency. 4. Performance Standards. An economic development policy should require that specific performance standards be established for each project receiving incentives. Not only will these performance standards help a jurisdiction gauge the effectiveness of its overall economic development program, but may also be used to recover promised financial benefits, through clawbacks or linkage agreements, of recipients failing to fulfill their commitments. 5. Monitoring and Compliance. A process should be established for regular monitoring of the economic development incentives granted and the performance of each project receiving incentives. The policy should also provide for organizational placement and staffing of this activity. The monitoring process should examine performance standards relative to each economic development agreement and determine whether the goals for each project are achieved within the defined timeframe. Ongoing monitoring of these projects should become part of an overall economic development program. Blue Springs Economic Development Council Planning Retreat 8 April 19, 2017 Meeting Notes  Blue Springs, Missouri Economic Development Council Planning Retreat The participants recommended the following regarding the development of an economic development policy: • Create tools for new and existing businesses • Create incentives case-by-case based on property not business • Leverage developers as the single source of information especially in terms of what the council is looking for • Inform the council • Connect our goals to an incentives policy, this includes economic development incentives, infrastructure (water/utilities) incentives, and business retention incentives • Set the tone and temperament within our internal Standard Operating Procedure • Identify target audience • Be considerate of the tax incentives impact on schools and the fire department • Incentives should be property specific • Address business retention • Describe priorities and outcomes • Use a simple, clear positive tone • Our policy is an external document but it is engrained into the Standard Operating Procedure • Avoid complex formulas and language Blue Springs Economic Development Council Planning Retreat 9 April 19, 2017 Meeting Notes  BLUE SPRINGS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL STRATEGIC PLAN 2017 COMMUNITY VISION: Blue Springs is a thriving, prosperous community on the move with vibrant, connected places filled with innovative, involved people of all ages. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL MISSION: To provide strategic direction based on economic insights to create opportunities and prosperity. OBJECTIVES FOR By 2022, PROJECTS SUPPORTED: support $50 By 2022, add By 2022, million of $10 million in increase net new new capital new payroll jobs by 250 investment Community Indicator: Community Indicator: Community Indicator: Assessed Valuation and County Average Wage and Total Number of Jobs Business Activity Taxes Median Household Income STRATEGIES: ACTION ITEMS: Priority Areas Business Retention & Expansion Target New Business Economic Development Council Adams Dairy Parkway Gain insights in a targeted way focusing on Target new business recruitment for companies 1. Work with leadership from all departments • Facilitate the mixed use development of 104 the Top 10 businesses and smaller dynamic that have a supply chain relationship or those to develop an economic development policy to acres north of Lake Remembrance businesses, conducting 15 business visits that would benefit from the communities support economic development programs and • Pursue a business and logistics park north annually. competitive advantages. tools. of I-70 east of Adams Dairy Parkway Connect existing businesses to each other and 2. Provide input regarding the use of Develop consistent and comprehensive • Seek development of City owned land available resources, assisting with valuable infrastructure money annually to make strategic information for properties available and list adjacent to Adams Pointe business information to promote business properties more accessible and ready for future advantages of Blue Springs. Corridor Reinvestment at priority nodes - expansion. development. Strengthen regional and statewide partnerships. incent incremental infill and redevelopment at Use connections of EDC members and elected 3. Become familiar with Comprehensive Plan, nodes: Connect potential small business start-ups to Downtown Plan and participate in other area officials to make introduction to business owners • 7-Highway and Downtown District services and educational opportunities, while planning processes. building trust and participation in business • 40 Highway and 7-Highway developing an environment and connectivity intelligence gathering process. 4. Review yearly report card of Economic necessary for those firms to be successful. Downtown Reinvestment - redevelop city- Support workforce development efforts through Development Council Strategic Plan and make owned lumberyard site on Main Street Develop activity tracking strategies that detail necessary adjustments. the establishment of a workforce consortium and all aspects of the project pipeline. Southern residential area - evaluate housing leveraging relevant resources. 5. Leverage the relationships of the Council market potential and the possibility of executive members to further advance the goals and housing community mission. Blue Springs Economic Development Council 2016-17 Third Wednesday of Even Numbered Months, 8 – 9 a.m. Journagan Family Community Room Howard L. Brown Public Safety Building October 19, 2016 December 21, 2016 February 15, 2017 April 19, 2017 (Half Day Retreat, 8 a.m. - noon) June 21, 2017 August 16, 2017 October 18, 2017 December 20, 2017