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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/9/2022 - Meeting Minutes MINUTES FOR THE BUSINESS ADVISORY BOARD Wednesday, November 91h, 2022 8:30 a.m. -10:00 a.m. 1. Roll Call The following members of the Business Advisory Board were present: Darin Piccoli, Chair Sue Rice Abudujannah Soud Andy Robertson Pook Carson Jocelyn Kearl Alfonso Brito Karen Gunn The following members of the Business Advisory Board were absent: Jeff Carleton, Vice-Chair Scott Lyttle Also Present: Veronica Cavanagh, Department of Economic Development; Lorena Riffo Jenson, Department of Economic Development; Roberta Reichgelt, Department of Economic Development; Will Wright, Department of Economic Development; Cathie Rigby, Department of Economic Development; Peter Makowski: Department of Economic Development, Andie Feldman, Department of Economic Development; Brittney Hemingway, Department of Economic Development; Spencer Lawson, Department of Economic Development; Katie Matheson, Department of Economic Development; Lindsey Day, Department of Economic Development; Taylor Knuth, Arts Council; James McCormack, Building Services; Dan Dugan, Salt Lake City Council; Vinay Cardwell, Ex-Officio, Michelle Saucedo, Suazo Business Center; Jamie Stokes, Community and Neighborhoods. 2. Briefings by the Staff Economic Development Updates Ms. Reichgelt announced that Peter Makowski will be taking over the as the BAB liaison starting next month. Ms. Reichgelt said that BAB meetings will be hybrid starting next month so if members would like to attend in person they can. Ms. Reichgelt announced that Lorena Riffo Jenson is now the Director of Economic Development. Director Riffo Jenson thanked the BAB for their support with Economic Development and is looking forward to continuing working with the BAB in her new position. ARPA Ms. Rigby stated that the Community Recovery Committee (CRC) is reviewing 190 small business/arts business and 40 nonprofit applications for the ARPA grant funding. They received applications from all Salt Lake City districts. Once reviewed, the recommended applications will be sent to the City Council for final approval. Ms. Reichgelt added that Pook Carson from the BAB is part of the Community Recovery Committee. 3. Approval of the minutes A. Review and Approval of September 14, 2022, BAB Minutes Ms. Kearl made a motion to approve the minutes from September 14, 2022, meeting. Ms. Rice seconded the motion. Upon roll call, the motion passed unanimously. 4. Business A. Housing Salt Lake City Discussion Jamie Stokes, representing the Community and Neighborhoods Department(CAN), facilitated a discussion on housing concerns in Salt Lake City from the business community. CAN is in the process of updating its five-year housing plan, called Housing SLC, and is seeking to hear from various stakeholders input and feedback to create a housing plan that addresses the concerns of those stakeholders. Ms. Stokes asked BAB members about their experiences with the current housing situation and how it is impacting businesses. Mr. Robertson stated that the wages are not increasing nearly as much as home prices. Mr. Soud said that working for a small business doesn't pay enough to live in Salt Lake City. Gentrification is the biggest part that runs small businesses out. He knows firsthand as he is dealing with his own landlord trying to push him out as he wants to increase his rent. Mr. Soud is familiar with the tenant/landlord laws and knows the landlord can only raise rent by a certain percentage, so the landlord tries to find other ways get him out. Most people in the neighborhood are dealing with the same issue but a lot of them do not know their rights. He feels the community needs to be more aware of their rights, but the City needs to make changes in order for them to survive. Soon they will also be pushed out and local businesses will see the same fate as they can't afford to pay the same amount as larger businesses and corporations. A lot of small businesses are falling more into debt to try to stay afloat. Ms. Carson added that a lot of people are looking for employment in surrounding cities as it is cheaper to live there. Ms. Stokes asked if their employees are able to find affordable housing in Salt Lake City. Mr. Brito said he lost a couple of his employees because they can't afford to live here and have left. He would like to pay his employees more,but he is a small business and doesn't have enough to also sustain the business as food prices have also gone up. Some of his employees have moved to Park City because they pay higher wages. They have tried to help employees try to find affordable housing and have looked at areas such as Rose Park. Right now, it is very difficult to find places that have three bedrooms or more and Mr. Brito does what he can to help his employees. He suggested to incentives developers to make more three-bedroom apartments to help families. Mr. Robertson asked if the City has looked into what other cities have done in fighting these issues. Ms. Stokes responded that they are engaged in conversations with other cities to see how they are handling these issues. People want rent control, but the State prohibits that. They City is looking into how other cities go around that and how they work within their state laws. Salt Lake City currently has limited tools, but they are using all of them. Ms. Gunn asked if there is a model that Ms. Stokes has seen where there is a sliding scale based on applicants' income for housing. Are there any developers or building owners willing to support the community by having a sliding scale for rent. Ms. Stokes said the City has been working with developers to incentivize them in providing subsidized housing for applicants who make 80% of the area median income. Right now, the City needs more housing for the people who make 30% of the average income and it seems that the people who are better educated or have the time to research have found cheaper apartments/units. Ms. Soud suggested that informing the public, either social media or TV, letting them know tenants' right. He added that having one place with all the resources could help. Ms. Rice asked if the City has been working with the developers in committing a certain amount of units to be affordable housing. Ms. Stokes responded that they have looked into it but the City cannot force developers or landlords. The City tries by creating incentives through loans and on a smaller scale. The City also offers the Good Landlord program. Ms. Stokes added that they are working with community partners in making the Good Landlord program more enticing. Chairperson Piccoli said that he does the Good Landlord program and it could require more from the landlord. At the moment the City only requires a training and when completed, they get 95% off licensing fees. There could be more requirements for the landlord in order to get the discount on fees or provide guidelines on when landlords are allowed to raise rent. Mr. Robertson suggested to see if there are any current programs the City has that can close the gap between the renter and the landlord or cover the difference between the affordability gap versus fair market value. Ms. Stokes said their department sent out a survey asking questions regarding renting and home ownership and received 3,500 responses. From the responses they realized that most people would prefer home ownership over renting but feel like they are priced out. The people want the City to build more housing and provide more access to homeownership. 5. City Council Announcements A. None. 6. BAB Member Announcements A. Small Business Development Working Group Updates Chairperson Piccoli updated BAB members on the gap analysis that Ms. Rice and Ms. Gunn created which broke down the top pain points for businesses under 50 employees in Salt Lake City. BAB members have met with different departments within the City and feel like they are making progress and they hope to get more solutions by next year. Adjournment There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned. deWAr '000G� darin picc0 (Feb 17,202316:38 MST) Darin Piccoli, Chairperson This document and the recording constitute the official minutes of the Economic Development Business Advisory Board meeting held on November 9t', 2022. BAB Minutes 11 .09.22 Final Audit Report 2023-02-17 Created: 2023-02-17 By: Veronica Cavanagh(veronica.cavanagh@slcgov.com) Status: Signed Transaction ID: CBJCHBCAABAA7ubutv4OCUrUbtVi4eVdomgj_gPVwnt9 "BAB Minutes 11 .09.22" History Document created by Veronica Cavanagh (veronica.cavanagh@slcgov.com) 2023-02-17-9:33:42 PM GMT C. Document emailed to d@thestateroomslc.com for signature 2023-02-17-9:34:00 PM GMT Email viewed by d@thestateroomslc.com 2023-02-17-9:55:02 PM GMT �¢ Signer d@thestateroomslc.com entered name at signing as darin piccoli 2023-02-17-11:38:39 PM GMT r Document e-signed by darin piccoli (d@thestateroomslc.com) Signature Date:2023-02-17-11:38:41 PM GMT-Time Source:server C� Agreement completed. 2023-02-17-11:38:41 PM GMT Powered by f Adobe ": y' Acrobat Sign