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12/11/2019 - Meeting Minutes SALT LAKE CITY BUSINESS ADVISORY BOARD 451 S. State Street,Room 335 Wednesday, December 11 t,2019 RECEIVED 8:30 a.m.— 10:00 a.m. MAR 12 2020 Minutes 1. Roll call CITY RECORDER The following members of the Business Advisory Board were present: Curtis Thornhill,Vice-Chair JD Smith Abudujannah Soud Sue Rice Darrin Piccoli John Lair Kestrel Liedtke The following members of the Business Advisory Board were absent: Angela Brown, Chair Karen Gunn Jeff Carleton Steve Labrum Also Present: Rachel Molinari, Department of Economic Development; Roberta Reichgelt, Department of Economic Development; Will Wright, Department of Economic Development; Andrew Wittenberg, Department of Economic Development; Allison Rowland, City Council Office; Kristen Lavelett, Local First Utah(by phone); Derek Deitsch, Downtown Alliance; Dee Brewer, Downtown Alliance; and Katie Lewis, Salt Lake City Attorney's Office 2. Announcements City Council Announcements Ms. Rowland of the Salt Lake City Council's Office gave an update on the following items: • Revenue updates for the "Funding Our Future" sales tax increment. There is a$20M surplus. • A draft ordinance to regulate dockless shared mobility devices(e-scooters) in the City. • The Board adopted a resolution approving a write-down for the Utah Theater property to Hines Interests, LP and The LaSalle Group. The write-down is contingent upon the inclusion of public benefits, including affordable housing units, green space for the public, and creating a detailed record of historical elements of the building. • Councilmembers Luke and Mendenhall served their last meeting as members of the Council Economic Development Announcements • Permit Roundtable Update Ms. Reichgelt said the convention center hotel group attended the last roundtable meeting to discuss the timeline for the hotel. It was determined that Bill Knowles will keep the affected businesses informed on the upcoming construction. She also said the convention center hotel is currently working through the permitting process. She mentioned that FFKR is the architect for the project, but an operator has yet to be announced. • Reminder for new Chair/Vice Elections in January Ms. Reichgelt announced that Chairperson Brown and Vice-Chairperson Thornhill will be stepping down from their positions on the Business Advisory Committee and elections for a new Chair and Vice-Chair will be held in January 2020. Board Member Announcements No announcements 3. Approval of the minutes of the November 13th, 2019 meeting Ms. Liedtke made a motion to approve the minutes of the November 13, 2019 meeting. Ms. Rice seconded the motion. Upon Roll Call,the motion passed unanimously. 4. Business Item: A. Open Meetings Act Training—Katie Lewis, Attorney's Office Ms. Lewis explained that each year there is a statutory requirement to provide Open Meetings Training to all members of public bodies who are subject to the Open Meetings Act. The main point of the act is to recognize that, as a public body, the business of the committee should be in view of the public, open, and transparent. Ms. Lewis provided training on the Open Meetings Act and asked if there were any questions. Mr. Lair asked what the best way to communicate with other members was if they were collectively working on a document. Ms. Lewis recommended having small group meetings to work on the document so that a quorum is not formed and then present the document to the larger group in an official meeting. She also suggested to not use `Reply All' when emailing Ms. Lewis closed out her discussion by mentioning that the Open Meetings Act training is now available online. B. Small Business and Rising Rents Downtown Discussion—Dee Brewer, Downtown Alliance & Roberta Reichgelt, Economic Development Ms. Reichgelt requested that BAB formulate a policy recommendation specific to Salt Lake City's rising rents to present to the Mayor and City Council for consideration. She proposed a study to collect real data that supports the rising rent and small businesses/tenant/developer struggles as presented in the Institute for Local Self-Reliance article. Mr. Brewer said every neighborhood is enriched by the unique businesses in the area, however, that is compromised when rent increases. He suggested publishing a State of Retail report which would show the specific retail details and needs for Salt Lake City to support local business operators who bring vitality to the area. Mr. Deitsch said that there is an overall awareness that rents are rising which is contributing to tenants leaving,but there is no hard evidence to support this claim. The data that has been collected is not compiled to this perspective. Real estate brokers have a portion of the data, but it is not Salt Lake City-specific,rather it shows the metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) as a whole. Ms. Reichgelt stated that BAB's recommendation to conduct a study would help support the funding request presented to the Mayor and City Council. She also said that if approved, an RFP would go out to solicit organizations that could collect the retail data needed. Mr. Deitsch said that he will research the cost of a potential study and provide an estimate which will help BAB when formulating their request. He suggested having BAB vote at the next meeting on whether a study should be conducted or not and to specify what the study should include. C. Salt Lake City Construction Mitigation Program for Businesses—Roberta Reichgelt, Economic Development Ms. Reichgelt mentioned that there is no City policy in place requiring who was awarded an RFP to inform neighboring businesses of future construction and possible obstructions to their businesses. She said the City currently has a liaison, Bill Knowles,to do this work and inform businesses of upcoming construction projects,but he has expressed that he will be stepping down soon. Ms. Reichgelt brought up the idea of making Bill Knowles' position a full-time position with the City. Mr. Soud added that someone should be brought on board now to gain the institutional knowledge from Mr. Knowles before he steps down. Ms. Reichgelt posed the question of who should be paying for construction mitigation. Mr. Brewer said that we should look to the developers as it is a relatively small investment for a developer to put money into a fund for mitigation services. Mr. Brewer gave the example of developers providing lunch coupons for Martine Cafe, a restaurant located next door to the Eccles Theater during the construction period because it was specifically disadvantaged during this time. The coupons would drive people into that business and let people know that it was open for business despite the look from the outside. Ms. Reichgelt asked BAB members how they've been affected by construction in the past. Vice- Chair Thornhill said his business has been impacted by traffic issues which caused logistical problems during construction on the westside of Salt Lake City. Mr. Lair mentioned that he thought it was important to identify the types of businesses that will be affected by upcoming construction because some businesses might not be affected at all depending on their industry, foot traffic and ability to provide parking. He said there should be a method for measuring the impact construction has on businesses. Ms. Rice suggested adding parking requirements into the RFP because the businesses would not have the required budget to provide and implement additional parking during construction. Mr. Smith said that the mitigation requirements should start during the permitting process to get ahead of potential issues construction may cause. (Attached is a Draft of a Proposal for Business Disruption Mitigation Program) 5. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. Ange o , hairperson This document and the recording con 'tu official minutes of the Economic Development Business Advisory Board meeting held December 11, 2019. Proposal for Business Disruption Mitigation Program—Salt Lake City Economic Development Statement of the Problem: It is necessary for Salt Lake City to undertake major infrastructure projects that contribute to the City's overall economic development goals with long-term benefits, but these major projects have potential to harmfully impact nearby businesses in the short-term. Mitigation activities are needed to measurably assist and maintain a healthy business community and viable tax base for the municipality. Below is a recommended system of actions to implement in order to mitigate the burden of major City projects and ensure businesses continue to thrive despite a major disruption. Public Meetings The City should hold at least one public meeting at the start of the design process for projects that are likely to affect at least two businesses for an extended period. More meetings during the design phase may be scheduled based on the response to this first meeting.Another meeting should be held one month before commencement of the project to alert stakeholders of the start of the project,the expected schedule, and to allow stakeholders to voice last minute concerns.They should be advertised initially through mailings or fliers, along with a notice placed on the City construction website. Communication Communication should initially be done face-to-face with business owners. More tailored information regarding a project can be disseminated through mailing and email lists, where the recipients are chosen based on their location (near the project) or those who signed up for alerts during the public meeting process.An accurate and up-to-date website that serves as a trusted source of information for all stakeholders is vital to the communication. Signage&Parking For any construction project, a plan for additional signage around the area to indicate that"Businesses are Open" should be required by the contractor for every project that affects businesses.The City may also consider relaxing zoning rules during project to allow businesses to post personally designed and funded signs in areas that would generally be restricted. Parking requirements should also be taken into consideration for major projects.This includes minimization of the effect of construction on parking space,working with contractors informally and securing alternate site parking. It is critical that the construction team's personal vehicles are not parked in the spaces that would normally be used by the local businesses. Business Education A stronger educational campaign pre-construction may help persuade businesses to take more proactive actions prior to the project than reactionary steps during. Create a "project survival guide" for broad dissemination to all types of businesses affected by project. The packet could detail what businesses can expect; how a business can prepare itself as well as its customer base,other actions to take before, during, and after project; and contact information for city employees working on the project. In addition,the packet should include information on the many additional resources that exist in Salt Lake City(see Biz Dev's products and services). • Can also hold a workshop: "Doing What's Best for Business"—a chance for the City to hear from community about how they can help them during the project phases and to provide suggestions for business to be proactive in their approach to mitigating negative effects. This could be included in project outreach consultant contract Financial If the businesses are facing significant revenue losses,forgivable loans are often a more effective strategy than traditional loan products. Money should be set aside for major infrastructure,construction or business disruption projects that the City undertakes. The SLC RDA already offers as part of the Revolving Loan Fund, a loan of up to$20,000 for businesses adversely affected by road or transit construction. Requirements for this loan should be extended to include major City projects like a Homeless Resource Center and, depending on the circumstances, some of these loans should could be forgivable.Other cities with similar programs have provided loans up to$100,000. The City could also consider offering defer payment on utility bills, business permits, signage permits and the city portion of the business and occupation tax. Another small assistance could be to underwrite business-specific advertising up to$500 during project disruption. Community Development Block Grants(CDBG)from HUD could be considered as a source of funding. Examples of financial assistance in other cities: Some cities provide a forgivable loan program for payments that were capped at$25,000 annually for up to two years based on demonstrated need for relocating businesses,and $30,000 for one year based on demonstrated need for non-relocating businesses during major construction projects. For a major rail project in St Paul, a $4 million Ready for Rail Business Support Fund was established. Up to$20,000 was made available for businesses along the corridor that have gross sales of no more than $2 million and could show a loss in sales due to the light rail construction.The loan was forgiven at a rate of 20 percent each year over a five year period. Things to consider: Providing financial assistance (forgivable loans)should only be considered for major City improvement projects, not private buildings being constructed It is important outright to define what would be considered a major"improvement project" by the City.