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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-01-17 Business and Economic Development Committee Minutes BUSINESS & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Monday, January 17, 2024 @ 5:15 PM Penobscot Room, Lower Floor of Penquis CAP MEETING MINUTES City Councilors Present: Dean, Fish, Fournier, Hawes, Leonard, Pelletier (via Zoom), Schaefer (via Zoom), Tremble, Yacoubagha. City Staff Present: Krieg, Saavedra, Thibodeau. Chair Hawes called the meeting to order at 5:36 P.M. 1. HOUSING PROGRESS QUARTERLY UPDATE, No action requested Development Director Anne Krieg presented an update on the City's web page devoted to housing progress, recent Planning Board decisions, rehabilitation loans and homebuyer assistance programs, short-term rental management bids, rental registry project, CDBG funds for housing projects, and other staff efforts. Chair Hawes asked the Committee for any questions or comments. Councilor Fournier asked about the housing development on Broadway, stating that it looked like some land had been cleared —wondering if this project is moving forward. Krieg responded that it is, and that is included in the most recent figures on the housing web page. Fournier asked if there has been any interest in the mall area from developers. Krieg responded that Market Rate Housing was interested for awhile but then staff had not heard from them; when staff reached out recently to follow up, they were told that current construction costs have been prohibitive. Krieg added that this further supports staff's desire to look at City-owned properties for development, as they can control the non-construction costs of these projects. Chair Hawes expressed appreciation for staff's work on housing initiatives. 2. MID-YEAR REPORT FROM DOWNTOWN BANGOR PARTNERSHIP, No action requested Betsy Lundy of Downtown Bangor Partnership presented to the Committee. Gave an overview of the mid-year report and noted that most pending projects have been completed now. Chair Hawes asked if the Umbrella Sky project will be reinstalled in the spring. Lundy responded that it will, and that it is intended to be up from May to October. Noted that the project will be installed in full this year with benches and planters that were not available last year. Lundy and the Committee discussed the positive effects of decorative lighting downtown and the desire to expand its use. Councilor Yacoubagha commented that she has seen in increase in people downtown going to shops and restaurants, and feels overall that there has been an uptick in positive activity in the area. Asked about the Folk Festival. Lundy responded that the Folk Festival was run by an independent organization that has since dissolved. Noted that DBP will soon be embarking on a project to unify the downtown with the waterFront area. Councilor Dean expressed appreciate for the work of DBP. Noted that she is interested in having more concerts downtown. Asked if there are any plans to host events in the downtown-to-waterfront area before proposed improvements have been made. Lundy responded that DBP has shifted their focus in recent years to supporting events rather than producing them, and clarified what this supportive role entails. Councilor Pelletier commented that she enjoyed the holiday events this year and felt the lighting installed on the outside of the parking garage was significantly beneficial to providing a sense of connectivity and welcoming to the area. Councilor Fournier commented that he would like to see the decorative lighting continued further down the streets. Lundy responded that this has been a multi- phase project due to the expense, but the next step will be installing lighting under the bridge to help connect that area to the rest of downtown. Councilor Fish suggested providing City maps with street names and businesses in the proposed kiosk in Pickering Square. Lundy responded that she is hoping to install one or two digital kiosks, which would provide a more user-friendly experience for visitors and could be used as an advertising tool. Noted that it would be nice to install these City-wide eventually. Councilor Schaefer expressed support for the kiosks and added that some businesses open especially for cruise ship visitors, so the digital kiosks may aid in advertising this. 3. PROPOSED SIGN CODE CHANGE, Action requested to provide staff direction for possible edits or further research, or move forward to Council action Development Director Krieg presented the proposal. Chair Hawes asked if staff has received any inquiries from the owner/tenants of the Washington Street plaza, who have been having issues related to their sign and the restrictions of the sign code. Krieg responded that she has not but will follow up with them. Chair Hawes asked the Committee for any questions or comments. Councilor Fournier asked if this proposal has been presented to the Planning Board. Krieg responded that it has not, as it is not part of the Land Development Code and therefore only requires Council action. Councilor Yacoubagha asked if any public feedback has been received about this proposal. Krieg responded that, as the proposal aims to make sign operations easier, especially for multi-tenant buildings, she does not feel any negative feedback will be received. 4. UPDATE ON AIR SERVICE DEVELOPMENT INCENTIVE PROGRAM, No action requested Airport Director Jose Saavedra and Marketing Manager Aimee Thibodeau presented to the Committee. Provided background and an update on the incentive program. Chair Hawes asked the Committee for any questions or comments. Councilor Tremble asked if there is data showing whether this has been effective in attracting alliances. Saavedra responded that the goal is to bring Bangor up-to- speed, to a reasonable degree, with other airports that have more infrastructure to tap into. Detailed some of the specific incentives of the program and noted that the program will provide opportunities for future growth. Thibodeau added that the program provides tracking information that they did not previously have access to, and asks participants to provide additional data of use. Noted that this allows the Airport to use their marketing funds more wisely. Noted that the service that they currently have at the airport has continued, so feels this is a positive indicator. Noted that gaining new service to the airport is a lengthier process, so the 2-year period allows for the best assessment of whether the program is effective or not in this area. Saavedra added that the program is also designed to encourage year- round service, so the 2-year period also allows for the consistency of this. Chair Hawes asked when and where this program is presented; Thibodeau responded that Jump Start is the primary conference attended and presented at each year, but conversations are had with potential participants year-round. 5. EXTENSION OF LEASES — INNOVATION CENTER AND FOREIGN TRADE ZONE, Action requested to accept terms and forward to Council for possible endorsement Development Director Krieg presented the agenda item. Councilor Fournier moved to accept the terms and forward to Council for possible endorsement; seconded by Councilor Leonard. Councilor Leonard requested a report on the Innovation Center's active projects. Development Director Krieg responded that this can be given and that the request is timed well, as a Business Development Specialist has been hired who will be overseeing this. Krieg introduced Business Development Specialist, Brad Wall. Chair Hawes echoed the request for project updates. Councilor Fournier strongly recommended that Councilors tour the Innovation Center area, as he feels this gives more insight into what is happening there. Roll call vote conducted on the motion—all in favor, none opposed. Motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 6:15 P.M. Meeting minutes respectfully submitted, Sarah Maquillan Admin. Asst. C&ED