HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/26/2017 Work Session City of Springfield
Work Session Meeting
MINUTES OF THE WORK SESSION MEETING OF
THE SPRINGFIELD CITY COUNCIL HELD
MONDAY JUNE 26, 2017
The City of Springfield Council met in a work session in the Jesse Maine Meeting Room, 225 Fifth
Street. Springfield, Oregon, on Monday June 26. 2017 at 6.28 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 Economic Development Plan and Priority Initiative Update.
Courtney Griesel, Economic Development Manager, presented the staff report on this item.
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. In May of 2017,staff presented to Council and stakeholders the regional
competitiveness and industry assessment to be included in the final plan. During the same week.
program and TadZo staff met with Council and stakeholders to identify priority projects and initiatives
to be further explored for incorporation into the Springfield Economic Look as 3 to 5 year action
'work plan' action items
Over the next month, staff will convene a series of working meetings to further define, understand and
build out each initiative Discussions are intended to convene those people who will have a role in
implementing the initiative,asking that the group think analytically about the initiative and.
• Further define the goal and intent
• Describe the importance of the initiative in terms of growing Springfield's economy
• Lay out specific tactics(action steps)to accomplish goal
• Define metrics for what we aim to accomplish—more specific than broad goal
• Identify who will do specific components of the work
• Initiate timeline for implementation of tactics(by quarter or month)
• Estimate budget for implementation
• Identify outstanding questions needing answers or information needed to proceed with
implementation
This work will be completed, incorporated into a first plan draft and provided back to Council for
review early this fall.
Ms.Griesel provided an overview of where they had been in this process The first piece of this was to
develop the strategy. There are a number of best practices of why economic work should be done.
looking at traded sector business,bringing in new dollars to the region that will circulate w'thin the
region,targeting wages and the types of jobs we want to keep long term, and maintaining
relationships, recruitment and retention. She wanted to understand what that work looked like and
how we are positioning ourselves best to be competitive. They went through the competitiy e
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Council Work Session Minutes
June 26,2017
Page 2
assessment which was discussed at the last work session During that discussion,they looked at other
regions outside of the Springfield/Eugene area,our advantages and where we can do more work. She
referred to the scores from that work in terms of competiveness, and how it helps staff know where to
focus Through this work,we have started to determine our target industries. Phose target industries
are identified by looking at the factors in our region that are desirable, looking at the workforce.
looking at the building infrastructure,demographics, etc Sonic of those targeted industries include
technology, advanced wood products, specialty food products, and medical technology. such as
innovation of medical services
Ms.Griesel reviewed how the priority initiatives were identified through input from the Council, input
from stakeholders, and input from leadership The list of priority initiatives was long.but all were very
good. Many of the initiatives were for staff to look for opportunities and w hich areas to focus, and
were more short term strategies. The Inmate es were shown broadly,but will be delved into in more
detail w ith staff and leadership who w ill do the work behind each initiative to determine what they
mean, why we are doing it,who we are serving,how this inov es the community forward,the next
steps,the resources, when we start and who's doing the work Over the next three days, staff will go
through all of the initiatives with community leadership. partnering organizations, internal staff that
would be responsible for implementing and helping to deliver on the initiatives to determine the scope
of the initiatives. There w ill be a follow-up conversation with Council after their summer recess to ask
about priorities and make sure they align with Council goals
Ms. Gnesel rev iewed the categories and elaborated on some of the discussion around each
City competitiveness: minimum development standards(how to better relay information in
clear way and/or look at process), world class service for development approvals, proactive
developer engagement: strategic development of priority sites, wetlands mitigation bank
(currently don't have experience in this,but need to address as it affects development); and
formalize business incentives.
Springfield Assets Innovation hub; fiber expansion: real estate product development; and
partner economic development team.
Business outreach existing businesses; HQ relationships: industry conference(industries host
conference and how to be location that is competitive); local industry storytelling(help
showcase what we have been doing), and recruit target industries
The next three days include very robust meetings facilitated by Ms. Larsen,generally lasting an hour
and a half each. The work groups are very well organized and getting into the discussion. Ms Griesel
is very confident that she will be able to bring back to Council something very clear and tangible in
terms of what these are and what we will be doing.
Councilor Woodrow said these look just like titles of concepts. It sounds like after the summer recess,
they will have specifics that fall under each initiative for Council to review and consider for moving
forward. They will then form specific tasks for each initiative.
Nis Griesel explained how the work groups are going through the initiativ es,
Ms Larsen said all of the input and work the Council had already done was leading them to the key
initiatives. They are now vetting through all of them. In some cases, some of these are merging
together and becoming more robust She used the minimum development standards as an example and
how with the input of developers.they came out of it looking at opportunities to be world class The
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meeting was transformative w ith people taking responsibility and wanting to do things better. Council
will launch the leadership piece of that work. She invited them to attend any of the meetings.
Ms. Griesel said when these come back to Council, it will be an action plan answering the question
about the work to be done,by who and when, why and how to measure.
Councilor Woodrow said she appreciates what's been done. She said they may find some things that
the Council doesn't want to do or doesn't fit w ith what they want.
Ms Griesel said the goal is to give the Council enough information that they feel confident in saying
'yes' or'no'
Ms Larsen said many of the things in the plan include doing the work w rthin the resources in place
Councilor Moore spoke regarding a partner economic development team. She asked if the State gets
invoh ed at some point
Ms. Griesel said we have the regional solutions team with Jackie Mikolanis from the Governor's
office Additionally,they have Melissa Murphy who does business improvement and infrastructure
work with the City,Greater Eugene, Inc , the Springfield and Eugene Chambers of Commerce,the
City of Eugene and Lane County.
Councilor Moore said it would be nice if the State w ould contribute to economic development in our
region.
Ms. Griesel said staff is doing a lot of work to build relationships with state representatives, and
showing the opportunities in our region. There is a lot of discussion about how our State funds come
to this region. Much of the funding goes to the RAIN model
Councilor VanGordon this is a great list He will be interested in seeing how the Innovation Hub is
different than RAIN or FertiLab. They could also include innovation and the relationship with the
University of Oregon. It would be nice to see conversations about how to find a manufacturing
environment to help small business grow to full manufacturing. That is the same for many businesses
that want to grow. It would be nice to see conversations about expanding the medical sector as a
whole. He liked the piece about recruiting and said it is about trust. That will be a good retention
strategy. Ile hopes to see a corn ersation about understanding our value story(affordability, cost,why
do firms want to stay here,etc.) He asked if the Federal representatives were included in the economic
development team
Ms. Griesel said they don't have much of a role in this type of work and typically leave it to the State.
The federal role for the City is to know when to go to the right agency to identify EDA fund.
infrastructure dollars, or HUD funds.
Ms Larsen said up until a few years ago the federal government didn't try to recruit international
businesses to the United States, so Select USA was developed to to to bring international businesses
to the US The program has been very successful They have a Washington DC event and now have
international missions where local communities can go and meet face to face with businesses.
Lobbying by the International Economic Dey elopment Council and local communities helped to retain
this program
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Council Work Session Minutes
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Ms Griesel said it does require local agencies to use the tools. Out of their week there,two visits with
two different firms have been scheduled.
Councilor VanGordon asked about the agency w ith an office in Portland
Ms. Larsen said that is the FDA (Economic Development Administration)which is in the Department
of Commerce.
his, Griesel said City representatives meet with EDA every year as part of the United Front trip and
have strong relationships with the LDA in the hrownfields realm and hay e received several grants.
Councilor Stoehr asked if there was a focus on size or age or locality of businesses.
Ms Larsen said there is a report that goes into depth and includes data of why these target industries
are chosen. As they continue to look at these,there ma) be some international targets. but they will
look at where the Cit has that value. Size is part of the criteria,
Councilor Stoehr said he shares concern about mega-corporations and their strategy for staying in
Springfield. Smaller business starting here tend to stay and it also keeps money in the local economy.
The Chamber of Commerce and Main Street Alliance are both committed to developing small
businesses and he wondered if that would dovetail with any of our intentions
Ms Griesel said it is an important piece of the whole eco system when looking at building innovation
in business. It's important to have balance. Large firms do carry some financial lift in building out
some of the infrastructure and talent needs, which the smaller firms can lean into and use at a more
affordable rate. There is not one preferred size or type ofjob within each industry. A lot of it comes
down to knowing the industry we want to target,and looking at the specific pro forma of what the
company needs specific to the sites ay ailable, and the cost benefit analysis of what it would take to get
that company here and operating. That's when we start to understand if what we're looking to invest
as a community will gain a return All sizes are needed to make this work. Large firms with known
name sometimes have spin off businesses.
Councilor Stoehr said his concern is in maintaining the balance. There is a danger of the larger
corporations smothering the initiatives of the smaller businesses
h1s. Griesel said that is why the initiative around economic development partners is important. We are
all positioned to play well together in this arena. In some cases,where the City owns the infrastructure
and assets, it is a benefit when looking at some of the bigger business. We have great partners in the
School District, Lane Workforce Partnership,and the Chamber of Commerce who have the value
proposition and programming the small business culture needs.
Mayor Lundberg said there are lots of opportunities for the healthcare sector. There were discussions
about having doctor training here which was tied in with the Oregon Health and Sciences University
(OHSU). Peacellealth had purchased surrounding acreage near the hospital for that type of facility so
there is still potential growth for things such as a research facility
Ms. Griesel said medical technology gets into discussions about research and development The
medical sen ices side is driven by the community. If we look at medical technology that will feed into
other regions, that is here they are saying we have opportunity
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Council Work Session Minutes
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Mawr Lundberg said she doesn't want to overlook that there are intellectual properties and it still puts
us on the map for a medical hub that is outside of other areas They could still put a school here like
OHSIJ for medical students, perhaps in the research and des elopment side.
Ms Larsen said that is clearly an initiative that should be vetted She is not sure of the goal, but it
could he flushed out. It's about expanding the hospital for more value-add.
Mayor Lundberg said Springfield has both hospitals, but the piece that is missing is having more
research or training
Ms Larsen said one of the things that was successful today, and should continue through the week, is
that the real experts were in the room with the right technical expertise. The same will he true for the
topic of medical expansion
May or Lundberg said she has heard there is a desire to do certain things in this field. The thought
generated from the practitioners at both hospitals Understanding where we want to go could help
with a number of discussions, including emergency ser'ices and mental health.
Ms. Larsen said the strategy piece is the actionable work. Phase 2 goes into the branding,value
proposition and marketing pieces so they won't have that fully built up when the strategies are done.
2. City Manager Compensation 2016-2017
Chaim Hertz, Human Resources Director,presented the staff report on this item.
According to City Manager Gino Grimaldi's employment contract, each February the City's Human
Resources(HR)Department will average the percentages from four different index sources to
determine what, if any, amount of salary or cost of living adjustment to recommend to the City
Council. in addition, Human Resources staff completes a survey of comparable agencies. Results of
the survey and the average of the indices are attached and reflect the justification for a 2 36% salary
adjustment for Mr. Grimaldi
The Human Resources Department has averaged the percentages from four different index sources and
has determined the average to be 2.36%. Along with this average, HR has conducted a compensation
package survey of comparable agencies and has determined that Mr. Grimaldi's current compensation
package is 1 06%below ay erage(including geographic factors) These numbers are used in
determining what, if am, amount of salary or cost of living adjustment to recommend to the City
Council
The Human Resources Director is also recommending a change in when compensation changes are
applied to Mr. Grimaldi's pay and the rey iew period for his performance evaluation. Currently,
compensation is retroactively adjusted back to November of the previous year to match the timeframe
for his evaluation. Given that achievements of the City directly relate to Mr. Grimaldi's performance
and that those achievements are based on a budget/fiscal year,HR is recommending that annual
compensation changes be applied in July instead of back to November
The City Manager recently received a very favorable performance rey iew from the City Council and
from those who report directly to him Gn en the financial analysis, combined with his excellent
performance e'aluation and greater work load expectations, and estimating for a delayed application
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Council Work Session Minutes
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of compensation. staff recommends a 2.36% salary increase to be effective July 1, 2017.with a one-
time lump sum payout to cover retroactive costs hack to November of$2,485
Councilor VanGordon said he was fine with the percentage increase and appreciated the information
prodded
Councilor Pishioneri said he has looked at the City of Eugene and Lane County's compensation. lie
likes the pay increase proposed and feels we have a better manager. He supports the raise and would
like to go retroactive to November and start Juh I for the future.
Councilor Wy lie agrees Mr Grimaldi is not an average City Manager and should not be below any
other City Manager. She appreciates him and supports the increase and retroactive pay.
Councilor Moore said she is pleased and knows the work Mr Grimaldi does is immense. The city is a
large corporation and he runs it well She appreciates his commitment to the City and feels this is well
desen ed.
Councilor Woodrow said she is supportive of the recommendation and agrees he is worth more. She
agrees with the retroactive amount as well.
Councilor Stoehr said he agrees with the percentage recommended and supports the retroactive pay.
Mayor Lundberg said she will support the retroactive pay as long as they move to the fiscal year for
the future annual evaluation and compensation
Mr. Hertz said going retroactive and changing to the fiscal year model better aligns with the goal
setting of the Council. It would be paid out in a lump sum
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 7:31 p m.
Minutes Recorder-Amy Sowa
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Christine L. Lundberg
Mayor
Attest.
Amy Sow >�-w[A_
City Recorder