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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-23-17 Economic Development Committee MinutesCouncil Economic Development Committee Planning Conference Room City Hall March 23rd, 2017 1:30 p.m. Members: Staff: Others: Councilmember Coffey Councilmember Cousens Councilmember Gutierrez Cliff Moore, City Manager Sean Hawkins, Economic Development Manager Jeff Cutter, City Attorney Sara Watkins, Sr. Assistant City Attorney Rob Peterson, Airport Manager Joseph Calhoun, Sr. Planner Randy Bonds Jr, Web Applications Developer/Administrator Colleda Monick, Economic Development Assistant Luz Gutierrez Teresa Sanchez Verlynn Best Chelsea Mack Executive Minutes  Lease Agreement – Former Tiger Mart – 1808 North Front Street Cutter provided an update regarding the lease agreement with Dean Owens and noted that the agreement is contingent on obtaining a NFA (no further action) letter from the Department of Ecology. Councilmember Cousens made a recommendation for City Legal to negotiate a potential lease with Dean Owens and to bring the lease to the City Council for final approval if negotiated. Seconded by A. Gutierrez. Motion was approved 3-0.  Comprehensive Plan Presentation – Economic Development Elements Calhoun made a brief presentation to councilmembers regarding the economic development highlights of the comprehensive plan update. The plan is currently in a 60 day comment period; public entities have been notified; the plan is available on the website; and a public hearing for accepting the plan is tentatively scheduled for June 6th, 2017.  Economic Development Plan and Millsite Web pages on City Website Bonds provided a brief overview of the improved Economic Development page on the City website which now houses the Economic Development Strategic Plan in its entirety. The page includes links each of the plans initiatives, program documents, and partners involved. Bonds also previewed the Cascade Millsite website in progress which includes an FAQ section, timeline, documents pertaining to the project, historical information on the site, as well as an interactive map of the various phases of the project. Councilmembers requested early access to the site so that they might provide feedback before it goes public.  Code Updates – YMC 8.30 (Street banners) and YMC 11.08 (Sign Code) Watkins walked through proposed changes to the current ordinances which were initiated due to a recent federal ruling that affects our policies. There was a recommendation by the committee to bring the proposed changes to full council for further review.  JEM Development Parking Agreement Hawkins shared the city’s existing parking agreement with JEM Development for use of two parking lots. Currently the city is paying $7,000 a year along with maintenance to lease both lots. No action is necessary to keep the agreement in place, but an alternative revenue source will need to be sourced if council would like to keep the agreement in place for future years. Councilmembers were in agreement that they would like to explore parking lot usage during the next month as well as a breakdown of each parking lot’s individual cost. Update Items Economic Development Plan – Next Steps Hawkins shared with the councilmembers a list of upcoming meetings discussing the various initiatives of the plan. To date, 5 of the 7 councilmembers have expressed interest in participating in various aspects of the plan and at any time, any councilmembers may get engaged in any of the phases of the project. Airport Update- Peterson provided an update on airport activities; including the recent attendance at the annual NW AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association), brochures and flyers that were shared with attendees of the conference; 2016 load factor numbers; possible interest converting the 1600 sq/ft old terminal building into a coffee and pastry shop; and a brief update on the hiring progress of an Assistant Airport Manager. Audience Participation – Councilmember Coffey requested that ‘Review Minutes’ be included to the top of all future Council Economic Development Committee meeting agendas. Councilmember Coffey requested Hawkins to extend an invitation to Jonathan Smith of YCDA to attend the next Council Economic Development Committee meeting and share with the group any insight he might have on why ‘Autozone’ chose Pasco over Yakima (in reference to a recent article in the Yakima Herald). Sanchez noted a spelling error in the minutes of one of the attendees to the last meeting – the correct spelling should be noted as Haddia Nazer.