Economic Development Committee

TOWN OF MOUNT PLEASANT, SOUTH CAROLINA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Thursday, June 29, 2017 (July Committee Meeting) Municipal Complex, Building A, Public Meeting Room 1 100 Ann Edwards Lane Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 Minutes Members Present: Mark Smith, Chairman, Will Haynie and John Burn Staff Present: Eric DeMoura, Town Administrator; Amy Livingston, Business and Tourism Manager Mr. Smith called the meeting to order at 10:57 a.m. 1. Approval of Minutes from the May 1, 2017 meeting Mr. Haynie moved for approval; seconded by Mr. Burn. All present voted in favor. 2. Public Comments 3. Tourism Hospitality Transportation Survey Results Ms. Livingston stated that the Town partnered with CARTA and the Charleston Visitors Bureau (CVB) to push out a survey of East Cooper Hospitality workers. She said that the College of Charleston compiled the data and put together the presentation. She stated that in the first chart, of the 100 people surveyed, 70% of them were line workers and where they were coming from to work in Mount Pleasant. She stated that approximately 38% came from North Charleston/Hanahan area, 32% came from East of the Cooper, 20% came from West Ashley, etc. She stated that these are primarily hotel workers.  Economic Development Committee June 29, 2017 Page 2 of 16 She stated that what she thought was interesting is that 30% of these individuals have shift changes and 44% of those had weekly shift changes. She stated that as we look at public transportation, this is something that needs to be looked at.  Economic Development Committee June 29, 2017 Page 3 of 16 She stated that on average, the amount of time they are spending in Mount Pleasant, there are many variations between the minimum of 24 hours a week and 168 hours per week, which surprised her, with the mean at 72 hours. She stated in the next illustration, it was not surprising that 65% drive by themselves. She stated that what was interesting is that approximately 11% took CARTA and 1% walk. She stated that they keep hearing these conversations about Uber and Lyft, and they are only seeing approximately 1%. She stated that when it switches to the late night shift (which is considered working after midnight) there is a change, because CARTA does not run that late, so they would expect to see that change.  Economic Development Committee June 29, 2017 Page 4 of 16 This is when you begin to see more of the taxi and Uber type of activity. She stated that there is also the 3% who ride their bicycle. She stated that commute time is also an important element as to why it is difficult to get individuals to work in the Town. She stated that she expected it to have longer commute times; however, surprisingly, 26%  Economic Development Committee June 29, 2017 Page 5 of 16 found it took 16 to 30 minutes and 37% indicated it took 31 minutes to an hour to commute to the Town. Ms. Livingston stated that parking is not an issue because the Town does not have paid parking. She stated that when asked about an express shuttle option near their home to the Town of Mount Pleasant, 63% indicated that they would utilize this option. She stated that most would be willing to pay $3.00 to $4.10 for this service, if the option were available.  Economic Development Committee June 29, 2017 Page 6 of 16 She stated that survey participants indicated direct/non-stop routes as well as cheaper fares were the top factors to encourage them to use public transportation. She stated that the next step would be to look more closely at the 70% of line staff that would likely utilize public transportation. She stated that this will be very helpful as they continue the conversation on public transportation for employees in Mount Pleasant. She stated that she wanted to provide a brief overview and will provide a full report. Mr. Smith asked Mayor Page about a CARTA update and what the expectations are. Mayor Page stated that there are two large issues at this time for CARTA and that unfortunately she is discouraged that they are the same issues facing the Town of Mount Pleasant, which are state and federal regulatory issues. She stated that there is $250 million dollars coming from the referendum, and overall, there is $600 million coming from the federal government. One issue is that the Town’s representative, Mark Sanford, has put in a bill that will destroy all federal transit funding over  Economic Development Committee June 29, 2017 Page 7 of 16 time. She stated that the COG executive board and the CARTA board have all reached out to him asking him to reconsider that position. She stated that there is some challenge, because without federal match dollars, there is to BRT (Bus Rapid Transit). She stated that the second issue is once again regulatory. She stated that she and her colleagues are continuing to work at the executive level at the COG and CARTA to attempt to increase some effectiveness and efficiency when working through the environmental government regulations we face. She stated that funding has started to flow and the funding for BRT started being collected in May. She stated that the County will begin to see this in November. She stated that there are five additional employees that will begin working with Charleston County to manage this funding, and CARTA will begin seeing this funding as well. She stated that they do not expect to put a shovel in the ground for BRT on Rivers Avenue until 2025; 2023 at best. She stated that this is a challenge, and it is not acceptable. She stated that she would encourage each and every one of our elected officials to have conversations with SCDOT (South Carolina Department of Transportation), and all the State and Federal representatives about the processes we must go through. She stated that she is pleased that we took part in this initiative; however, it was initiated for downtown Charleston and does not affect the Town of Mount Pleasant as much with hospitality workers. She said that a hospitality worker downtown, depending on a $10 to $15 an hour wage, is paying as much in parking as they are in wages. She stated that parking was a large portion of this initiative. She stated that East Cooper Medical Center has a number of workers that ride CARTA; however, their stop is at the Arby’s. She mentioned that she reached out to CARTA and asked if they could extend the stop to East Cooper Medical Center. She stated that they could not extend the stop because it increases the route time, and the route times were already too long. She stated that what they are able to accomplish through this process is to look at all the employees coming to the Town and needing to be picked up and what shifts they are working. She asked if there could be special worker busses, not route busses that would go to these locations at the shift times; they would not run all day. She stated  Economic Development Committee June 29, 2017 Page 8 of 16 that this may be a way to assist CARTA to help address some of the Town’s congestion issues and employment issues. Mr. Smith asked if there is anything further that the Town is able to proactively do for the larger in-Town employers to further maximize this opportunity. Mr. DeMoura stated that he sees public transit as the only way to accomplish this. He stated that it is imperative to continue the Town’s work through CARTA, as anything else requires such a manipulation of the market and public expense. Mr. Smith asked if it would be in the Town’s best interest from a collaborative body’s perspective, to have the Committee make a recommendation to full Council to sign a petition, resolution, or an actionable item to take an active leadership role in cumbersome federal regulations through our federal elected officials. He stated that if we do not say anything, then the Town is not taking any action. Mr. Haynie asked if there is a way to find out through CARTA what the regulations are that are impeding progress, everything from Highway 41. He stated that when we have discussions with the State and Federal representative, they listen because they understand that these are their constituents, too. He stated that if there are some key items and staff’s assistance showing the high ranking priorities. Mayor Page stated that she has been tirelessly working with the SCDOT as well as all the Charleston County representatives, particularly as they are in the hiring process. She stated when having discussions with SCDOT’s director, who is doing a great job, she advised him that it is very difficult to be an elected official in a County that took it upon themselves to raise the half cent sales tax to have our own citizens pay more and still sit in front of a road that is failing and tell those constituents that although the County took their money, the road improvement will not even begin for another five years. She stated that the bigger challenge is now that the gas tax has been raised, orange cones are going to be going up all over the State. She stated that as this happens, there will be more  Economic Development Committee June 29, 2017 Page 9 of 16 competition, fewer contractors and higher prices. She stated that all of the Town’s projects will become more unreachable. She suggested that prior to drafting a letter, she will work with Mr. DeMoura and Mr. Morrison and bring the issues before this Committee. She stated that it is federal and state issues. Mr. Smith stated that his intent behind the request of the Committee for Council’s consideration is to put in writing that there is a unanimous front behind the Mayor. He asked if this could be put in writing for all of Council’s consideration. Mayor Page stated that instead of waiting another month for Committee meetings, she will work with Mr. DeMoura and Mr. Morrison and send out a list of concerns and have Council add to this list and then put together a letter. Mr. Haynie moved that the Economic Development Committee, Transportation Committee, Mayor’s office and staff work together to formulate a resolution to be adopted by all Council members that will be signed and send to State and Federal representatives, identifying what is slowing the Town’s progress in transportation infrastructure; seconded by Mr. Burn. Mr. DeMoura stated that he would like to add another item. He stated that in his view he believes it is critical that in conversations with elected officials at other levels, he feels that this is all about risk. He stated that the reason the Town is under the regulatory state we have is because something goes wrong and then there is an over correction. He stated that if there is a new policy or regulation, it is typically created as an over- reaction in order to lower risks so no one is sued. This type of reaction results in more policies and regulations. He stated that there needs to be some comfort with the risk. He stated that in our Town and procurement, Council provides more latitude in purchasing levels for speed; it is more risky, but provides speed. He stated that at some point when something does happen, we just cannot over-correct to fix the issue.  Economic Development Committee June 29, 2017 Page 10 of 16 Mr. Smith stated that these are excellent points to consider which is why he would like to ensure that it is a collaborative, positive letter, not a “shame on you” letter, identifying the issue. He suggested putting in writing where we currently are and how to collaboratively resolve this issue. He stated that at the end of the journey, it may result in nothing; however, believes that there has to be some type of solution. Mr. Burn stated that in light of Mr. DeMoura’s comments, he would like to reiterate that this document not be a “shame on you”, but more so, “how can we help you and is there anything we are able to do in order to push this process along for everyone” type of letter. Mr. Smith stated that he believes as a body that this is an easy exercise for the Town to go through for a united vision on a #1 issue in this region that we all share. All present voted in favor. 4. Staff Update Ms. Livingston stated that we are halfway through the year and wanted to provide an update on how the Town is doing from an economic standpoint. She stated that in 2016 the Town hosted 19 ribbon cuttings for the whole year and two economic development announcements.  Economic Development Committee June 29, 2017 Page 11 of 16 She continued saying that during the first six months of 2017, there have been 16 ribbon cuttings and two economic development announcements. She stated that speaks volumes in terms of not only how the Town’s economy is doing, but how to engage in the business community. She stated that they are seeking the Town out and vice versa. The business community is seeing the value of the relationship of working with the Town. She stated that the Town has consistently said, how do we continue to support these businesses as they are getting off the ground, continue to grow and expand. She stated that this is an opportunity to build a first-rate relationship with these businesses. She stated that they continue to receive positive feedback. She stated that over the last six months, the top Facebook posts for the Town have been all ribbon cuttings. She stated that all the comments have been positive. She said with #3, #4, and #5, this reaches over 30,000 people. She stated that she included this because this speaks to really trying to personalize the government through the Town. She stated that Council has done an amazing job with this.  Economic Development Committee June 29, 2017 Page 12 of 16 She stated that businesses consistently post how appreciative they are of the support from the local government officials. Mr. Smith stated that in reference to an earlier discussion on communication, part of that success is Ms. Livingston and the Town’s staff getting this information out and the timeliness of it. Ms. Livingston stated that they are proactively reaching out to businesses which is a new strategy. She stated that Council also launched the Town Proud Local Certified Business program in October 2016, and there are currently 84 certified businesses. She stated that they have held one annual event that Council attended, and believes 25 additional businesses signed up after that event. She stated that they felt they were past the phase of enrollment and now moving into the phase of the benefits for these businesses. She stated that they would like to begin a quarterly social for Town Proud businesses only. She mentioned that Town Council should have received their invitation, which will be on July 26th from 4 pm to 6 pm at Congress, which is also a Town Proud business.  Economic Development Committee June 29, 2017 Page 13 of 16 She stated that once the invitations went out, within three minutes they had 7 people sign up their businesses. She stated that they have launched a blog on the “Experience Mount Pleasant” website called Mount Pleasantries, which is a great opportunity for the Town to be able to not only promote businesses but the quality of life opportunities residents can enjoy. She stated that they have taken the approach of not only working for the promotion of businesses or tourists, but how it can be put in front of the citizens for the citizens’ benefits as well.  Economic Development Committee June 29, 2017 Page 14 of 16 Ms. Livingston stated that on the two illustrations shown, their team has started putting out weekly “Listicals” which allows them an opportunity to support several businesses. These blogs are also featured in our weekly “Around the Town” newsletter which was originally started for hotels. She stated that a key initiative that they have now is to start getting residents involved.  Economic Development Committee June 29, 2017 Page 15 of 16 Ms. Livingston stated that Mr. Smith asked her to provide a look at commercial construction permits. She stated that Mount Pleasant in the first quarter of 2016 had 25 permits valued at almost $23 million and in the first quarter of 2017, there were 50 permits valued at $50 million as an indication of the economy. Mr. Burn asked how it is looking for the rest of 2017 and if it was anticipated to continue on this track for businesses. Ms. Livingston stated that all the indicators from the data and studies that they have been doing over the past few weeks, which will be brought to Committee, Mount Pleasant looks to be a strong economic engine. Mr. Haynie asked that with the recent layoffs at Boeing that were announced, has Ms. Livingston experienced any negative impacts. Ms. Livingston stated that with the other larger employers in the region, such as Volvo and Daimler, who have been actively trying to hire, it would be a good strategy to hire those individuals. She stated that she is not feeling any negative impacts.  Economic Development Committee June 29, 2017 Page 16 of 16 Mr. Smith stated that Boeing also had another article talking about the significant number of planes they just received a contract from at an airshow, which would require a certain number of workers. He stated that the seasonality of manufacturing is likely a normal occurrence. Mr. Burn stated that as difficult as it is trying to find employees right now, it may be a good thing for Volvo, Daimler and others. It will provide the region with more diversification. He stated that Boeing is getting healthier. d Mr. Smith stated that the next meeting opportunity with the report partnering with Trident Technical Workforce Readiness, which is going to be discussed at the next meeting. He stated that there was a report in addition to the Port study as well. 5. Adjourn There being no further business, meeting adjourned at 11:25 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Barbara Ashe June 29, 2017