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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-04-18 Business and Economic Development Committee Minutes BUSINESS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Tuesday, April 18, 2023 @ 5:15 PM City Council Chambers MEETING MINUTES City Councilors Present: Davitt, Fournier, Leonard, Schaefer, Sprague, Yacoubagha (via Zoom). City Staff Present: Bolduc, Krieg, Laurie. Chair Sprague called the meeting to order at 5:15 P.M. 1. UPDATE ON COMMERCIAL KITCHEN, Action requested to provide staff direction Economic Development Officer Steve Bolduc presented to the Committee. Stated that global consulting company has determined Maine has distinct competitive advantage in terms of locally-made food products, and feels Bangor should be taking advantage of that. Bangor has abundant water supply, affordable land, close proximity to large northeastern cities, and positive history of farming. Hurdles to taking advantage of these are primarily significant start-up costs that prevent people from taking advantage of these opportunities, as well as lack of facilities. Institution of a commercial kitchen would significantly help overcome these hurdles. City already owns building that can house this project. Councilor Davitt expressed support and noted that City also has already received federal grant for this project. Councilor Schaefer expressed support and commented this project will be important for encouraging entrepreneurship. Councilor Fournier asked if any of the federal funds have been spent yet. Bolduc responded they had not, but City funds have been used for asbestos removal, etc. Federal funds have not yet been received by City, as commercial kitchen project and contract are still going through approval process via City Council. Councilor Davitt asked to clarify this process and use of funds. Development Director Anne Krieg responded that next step will be to put out RFB for contracting work and determine full project cost estimate. Chair Sprague asked for any public questions/comments. Member of the public, Dwayne Roberts, presented to the Committee. Asked if there is any chance that kitchen would be open this year. Committee members responded in the negative. Roberts stated that he is looking for somewhere to clean and pack mushrooms, and that he (as well as other interested parties) will want to know details such as kitchen opening date, rental fee for use, rental term length, equipment availability, etc. Member of the public, Evan Richert, presented to the Committee via Zoom. Stated that he is on the Boards of both Upstart Maine and Banair, and has spoken with ED Officer Bolduc quite a bit re: commercial kitchen. Expressed support for project. Felt will also serve important function as community center, but will require business and management plans in order to be successful. Also felt project will be consistent with City's Economic Development Strategy. Member of the public, Sylvie, presented to the Committee via Zoom. Stated that she would like to provide advice on several points—(1) institute fund for purchasing products like flour in bulk, (2) invest in broader marketing strategy and economic development support, (3) institute business plan to hone in on proposed uses for kitchen to ensure they are cohesive, and (4) bring in management to oversee scheduling, cleaning, storage and security, and build trust amongst kitchen users. Member of the public, Allison Mayo, presented to the Committee via Zoom. Shared her experiences with other commercial kitchens and noted challenges present for business owners who are dependent on these kitchens to run their businesses. Felt that proper management will be key to success of project. Councilor Yacoubagha expressed that all public comments had been very helpful. Chair Sprague commented that project is a very exciting prospect, but felt that concept still needs to be further clarified (i.e. shared kitchen model vs. kitchen business incubator model). Hesitant to start spending funds and renovating building until these pieces have been clarified and business & management plans are in place. Councilor Davitt suggested moving forward with certain building essentials that will be part of renovation process regardless of final usage plans, as federal funds need to be used for this project. Councilor Schaefer recommended that request for funds to be used on building infrastructure be added to next Council agenda. Chair Sprague and Councilor Schaefer disagreed on this point. Development Director Krieg proposed having staff sketch out a rough development plan to include multiple kitchen use options that can be presented to Committee within the next six months. Councilor Leonard expressed his support to move the process along as quickly as possible. 2. REVIEW OF THE WORK FOR: A. BANAIR CORPORATION B. TARGET AREA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION ED Officer Bolduc presented to the Committee. Stated that both organizations are non-profits that started in the late 1970s to assist the City in creating development projects of all varieties. Since then, Target Area Development Corporation (TADC) has become focused on land development and industrial parks, and Banair Corporation (BC) has become focused on the airport and commercial properties. Both are managed by Boards of Directors. BC's Board is composed of three City Councilors and the Airport Director, and TADC's Board is composed entirely of inembers of the community who are not connected with the City's government. Bolduc also noted that TADC has recently begun to shift focus onto supporting entrepreneurial efforts. Felt that both organization's focuses complement one another quite well. Councilor Leonard noted that Councilors presently on BC Board are the Council Chair, Government Operations Committee Chair, and Business & Economic Development Committee Chair, and asked why the Chair of the Airport Committee was not included. Also asked if this was something that Council had the authority to change in the future. City Manager Debbie Laurie responded that only BC Board has the authority to change this, as it is written into their by-laws. Chair Sprague noted that amendments to by-laws were recommended at BC Board meeting in June 2022, and asked if those amendments had been accepted and finalized. Bolduc responded that he recalled them being considered but pending acceptance until certain points could be further clarified. Chair Sprague recommended that Committee provide guidance on the direction of BC. All Committee members agreed that further discussions re: relationship between City and both organizations will be needed. 3. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT PROGRAM (CDBG) A. DRAFT CONSOLIDATED PLAN, Action requested to provide staff direction Development Director Krieg presented to the Committee. Stated that draft of Consolidated Plan is being presented to Committee so that members can provide comments if desired. Councilor Davitt asked if funding recommendations were the same as last year's recommendations. Krieg responded that an increase had been made to proposed housing expenditures based on previous Committee discussions. Councilor Schaefer noted that the Social Services category had been left empty on the drafted plan and asked why this was the case. Krieg responded that there are still unused funds from previous years that have been earmarked for Social Services, and these will be used before recommending any use of new funds in this category. Chair Sprague confirmed that drafted plan is only representative of recommendations for new funds being received this year, and does not include unused funds from previous years— Krieg responded that this is the case. B. MANUFACTURED HOUSING IN REHABILITATION PROGRAMS, Action requested to accept staff recommendation Krieg noted that error had been made in text of agenda item — it should refer to the homebuyers' assistance program, rather than the rehabilitation program. Staff's recommendation is to allow first-time homebuyers purchasing manufactured homes to utilize program funds. Councilor Schaefer moved acceptance of staff recommendation, seconded by Councilor Yacoubagha. Vote unless doubted, no doubt. Meeting adjourned at 6:23 P.M. Meeting minutes respectfully submitted, Sarah Pritchard Admin. Asst. C&ED