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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05/08/2017 Work Session City of Springfield Work Session Meeting MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD MONDAY MAY 8,2017 The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Library Meeting Room, 225 Fifth Street, Springfield,Oregon, on Monday May 8,2017 at 5:30 p.m.,with Mayor Lundberg presiding. ATTENDANCE Present were Mayor Lundberg and Councilors VanGordon, Wylie,Moore, Stoehr,Woodrow and Pishioneri.Also present were City Manager Gino Grimaldi,City Attorney Mary Bridget Smith,City Recorder Amy Sowa and members of the staff. 1. Springfield Look Community Economic Development and Competitiveness Assessment& Report. Courtney Griesel,Economic Development Manager,presented the staff report on this item. She introduced Allison Larsen of TadZo Consulting who was here to present to Council findings of the Springfield Economic Development and Competitiveness Assessment. This assessment will ground the next phase the Springfield Look project as staff work with TadZo to begin building the priority strategic initiatives and work plan. In September of 2016,by the direction of Council,the City of Springfield Economic Development Division engaged Allison Larsen with TadZo Consulting to review and assess current economic development practices,priorities,resources and opportunities and generate a City Economic Development Plan.The plan includes a regional competitiveness and industry assessment addressing findings identified over the last 3 months. These findings were identified through market research, asset and opportunity site inventories and Springfield specific discussions with regional leaders in; • Real Estate and Development • Talent and Workforce • Permitting and Regulatory Environment • Business Incentives • Business Resources and Support • Utilities and Infrastructure; and • One-on-One Traded-Sector Employer Interviews Ms. Griesel said the assessment has been completed and a baseline determined.Ms.Larsen will be meeting one-on-one with the Mayor and Council to get input on where the City goes from here. The assessment provides some comparison of Springfield with other communities with our assets. They will look at what types of businesses they should be focusing on recruiting. Ms. Larsen presented a power point. The Strategic Planning Phase 1 is heavily loaded with research and goes pretty quickly. Once the City has their plan,they will be carrying out their Branding and Marketing and onto a more detailed Marketing Plan. She spoke regarding Traded Sectors,which includes anything that exports a product or service outside the region. They like that because those companies are bringing in wealth through those sales which helps the tax base grow and creates jobs for families with higher paying wages so they can buy homes and spend money on retail.As a result, City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes May 8,2017 Page 2 all of those businesses help get more property taxes and buy from other suppliers who pay property taxes and pay good wages which contributes to everyone having a better quality of life. Ms.Larsen spoke regarding factors that indicated how Springfield is doing economically. The first is population growth,which is an indicator of how well a community is doing with economic growth. The median age is also something to consider as it indicates our future workers. Springfield is the third youngest metro area among the comparable communities. That is a positive thing with upcoming workers.Assessed property value in Springfield is somewhat flat and she noted some factors. This is something they need to consistently track. New building permits were also an indicator, specifically those for commercial and industrial. In 2016 and so far in 2017, Springfield is doing well in that area. She would recommend that as they measure this,they break them up so commercial and industrial are separate.Job growth is a bit low compared to Lane County,the State of Oregon and the United States, as well as comparable communities. This source is the same used by Lane Workforce Partnership so it is accessible to the City.The City may not be able to control job growth,but can control things that may contribute to job growth. Ms. Larsen said they also look at average earnings. Springfield is trailing regionally,and about in the middle with other comparables. We want the earnings rate to increase. She referred to a chart showing the percentage of families and people below the poverty line. Springfield has the highest numbers below poverty in all areas in comparison with our comparables.The City has a way to affect that number through strategies and investments. Councilor VanGordon asked if there was data for productivity of our workforce. Ms.Larsen said there is not, but she has information about productivity that she will present later. The question is whether or not Springfield is in a good position to influence the numbers. To answer that question,they will look at a series of factors that help select the optimal business location. This usually takes a balance of start-up costs,operating costs, and minimizing risk. She reviewed the criteria for rating competitiveness and how Springfield ranked which included: transportation;real estate; utilities;permitting and regulatory environment;human capital; business resources; business climate; mitigated risks; sustainability; and incentives. Councilor Stoehr asked for an example of mitigated risks. Ms.Larsen discussed transportation and accessibility. Springfield is strong in this area. She noted the many positive transportation facilities in and around Springfield, including highways/interstates, local roads, air service,rail service,ocean ports and carrier services. The City is doing very well on the things they have control over. Ms.Larsen spoke regarding real estate and sites for businesses to locate.These include quality buildings and facilities that fit target prospect requirements,shovel ready sites, certified sites,public controlled sites, and competitive costs to purchase, lease and construct. Springfield did okay for sites, but not great. She discussed the different areas with land available. She noted several sites and how they could be best utilized.It is critical that the higher scoring sites are marketed and documented. Mayor Lundberg asked about certified sites. Ms.Larsen said Oregon has one of the best Certified Sites programs in the country. For a site to be certified, it must be fully documented and verified that the documentation is accurate. The more we City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes May 8,2017 Page 3 know about a site,the more opportunity. She discussed other developable sites in Springfield. This process will have them look at where to focus in the next 3-5 years. Councilor Moore asked if there was a cost to be certified. Ms. Griesel said there is a cost. Ms. Larsen said they could get information about the cost and any possible grants. Ms. Griesel said they have worked with two property owners about the Certified Site process. They are looking at internship opportunities to start building some of that paperwork.A lot of property owners are trying to define what it means to them to have their property ready to market. Ms.Larsen spoke regarding utilities and infrastructure. Springfield fares very well in utilities. Things aren't the cheapest,but reliability, quality of service, and reputation rates high. There are some rumblings from developers about the system development charges(SDCs). There is a cost in putting in infrastructure,but they need to make sure it is not all on the backs of businesses. Ms.Larsen spoke regarding the permitting and regulatory environment. The City says they have short turnaround times and other good things,but then she hears grumblings from developers. Grumblings are not fact,but affect the perception of the City. It's important to fill the void with the good things that are happening. The intent of the staff is to be on board with this.As an example,the Development Issue Meeting(DIM) is a great proactive approach. There is a fee,but was told for the right project the fee could be deferred. There are deferrals until the building is occupied which is great. Incentives can play a part here in speeding up the timing, deferring a fee,etc. which seem to already be happening. They now need to put those things into a policy. The rating could be increased quickly by doing those types of things. She commended them for meeting with the private sector in the Development Advisory Committee. Some of it is marketing and packaging what the City is doing well. There is a good reputation in Springfield. Ms.Larsen spoke regarding Human Capital and whether or not the community has a labor pool in place that is trained, cost effective and available. Springfield rates very high in technical manufacturing. One of the issues is housing. One advantage is that this part of Oregon is a desirable place to recruit talent from outside areas. Some of the occupations that are difficult to fill in Springfield are difficult in all communities. Springfield has relatively competitive wages. Historic timber industry areas are typically unionized, and the fact that Springfield is not very unionized and strong in this industry is a positive thing. There are some concerns about soft skills. Showing up on time is an example of a soft skill. Ms.Larsen spoke regarding the training resources in the community including universities and colleges. Working on tech careers is a good thing. Lane Workforce Partnership's leadership on the sector strategies is very helpful. They need documented results about where people are coming from to work here. Councilor Pishioneri asked if they could add Northwest Christian University(NCU)and Pioneer Pacific College. Ms.Larsen said they could certainly add those. Springfield business resources are also very strong. She noted the many organizations that contribute to that strength. These organizations not only do well individually,but they work off each other which strengthens them all even more. There may be City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes May 8,2017 Page 4 other opportunities to look other types of enhancement to some of these organizations with commercial modeling. There are an impressive amount of resources in financing in our community. Ms.Larsen spoke regarding Business Climate and how the community supports new development now and planning for the future. Springfield has a solid reputation,but there is more opportunity to be more intentional and strategic about that outreach. It is great that the Chamber of Commerce plays an important advocacy role. Councilor Stoehr had to leave the meeting at 6:15pm. Ms.Larsen spoke regarding Mitigated Risks and if the community recognizes the risks and works to mitigate the risks. Springfield ranks very high in this category with their emergency operations plan. She suggested making sure economic development is working closely on preparedness.There are resources from the International Economic Development Council about disaster recovery, communication and outreach with businesses. That would be a great opportunity to be intentional about business retention and expansion. Ms. Larsen spoke regarding Sustainability and how it is important.The City doesn't have a city sustainability plan,probably because they take it for granted. They are doing a great job with infill and development,and using unique products such as the cross laminated timber(CLT). The City also has energy conservation and curbside recycling. Documentation about all of this proves the point. Businesses today have sustainability officers and they are looking at how communities align with what they need to reduce waste. Councilor Moore referred to a program done by BRING. Ms.Larsen said this is more holistic. They need to quantify what the City is doing. She discussed what some businesses are looking for in this area that the City provides. Councilor Wylie said our mass transit system is one of the best in State. She feels they should add that to the list.Part of having the system helps reduce vehicle miles travelled. Ms. Larsen spoke regarding Incentives. Much of it is how to help with clarification of services, getting through the process more quickly. The State has most of the incentives and how the City uses those effects economic development. Springfield was rated a C so they may need an incentive policy and a package that outlines the incentives that developers can access on the website. Ms.Larsen gave an overview of Springfield's Competitiveness overall. She identified those things that could be addressed. Ms.Larsen spoke regarding which businesses Springfield should target,and the steps to take to identify those targets. She reviewed some of those target industries,which provide diverse and good paying jobs. Ms. Larsen said they have completed all of Step 1 of Phase I, and most of Step 2.By the end of this week,they will have an outline of what the key initiatives are for their strategy. She will be meeting with each councilor over the next couple of days, and will also have a Springfield Stakeholder Input Session tomorrow afternoon. Thursday,May 11 will be a priorities work session with the Springfield Economic Look Leadership Team. She also noted that this week is National Economic Development Week. City of Springfield Council Work Session Minutes May 8,2017 Page 5 Mayor Lundberg said Council will be spending time with Ms. Larsen this week. Ms. Griesel said they will finish up the deeper reports and get them to Council in the next two weeks. Mayor Lundberg said it ties in to everything they are working on right now from jobs,growth, students, and products. This will have a big impact on this process. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m. Minutes Recorder—Amy Sowa i1 Christine L. Lundberg Mayor Attest: / Amy Sow. City RecorI er