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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAgenda - Economic Development Committee - 09/12/2023 South Burlington Economic Development Committee City Hall,180 Market St, South Burlington, VT 05403 Room #301 Assistive Listening Service - devices available upon request Online: https://meet.goto.com/SouthBurlingtonVT/economicdevelopmentcommittee09-12-2023 Via Phone: Access Code: 336-516-413 Phone #: (571) 317-3122 AGENDA Tuesday September 12, 2023 5:30 PM 1. Welcome, agenda review and approval 2. Public comments on items not on the agenda 3. ***Approve minutes from the August 8, 2023 meeting of the Committee. 4. Welcome Guest: Frank Cioffi, President, Greater Burlington Industrial Corporation (GBIC) 5. Discussion with guest regarding regional and local economic development priorities and useful economic development strategies of the City. 6. Member reports on projects. 7. Staff Report by Ilona Blanchard, Community Development Director (if not previously sent to the members). 8. Committee work plan and action steps. 9. Adjourn (approx. 7:00 pm) ***Attachments included South Burlington Economic Development Committee Room #301 at 180 Market St South Burlington, VT 05403 MINUTES of the Committee meeting on August 8, 2023, in Room 301 of City Hall, 180 Market Street, South Burlington, in person and remotely. Members present: Tom Bailey, Ken Linge, Sriram Srinivasan, Michael Biama, and Charles Johnston attended all in person. John Burton and Mike Scanlan attended remotely. Members absent: Others in attendance: Ilona Blanchard, City Development Director attended in person. Chelsea Condos, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Burlington Business Assoc. and Senior Account at Gallagher, Flynn and Co., and, Lisa Groeneveld, Co-Founder and Vice-Chair of OnLogic were in attendance as guests. Tom Bailey called the meeting to order at 5:40 PM and proceeded to address the items on the agenda. 1. Welcome, agenda review and approval: The agenda was approved. 2. Public Comments on items not on the agenda: There were no public comments. 3. Approval of minutes of July 11, 2023 meeting: The minutes were approved unanimously. 4. Welcome Guests and Discussion on Business Community needs and Economic Development Strategies for the City • Challenges provided by Guests: i. Housing Availability and Type of Housing ii. Lack of Childcare Availability iii. Lack of Mental Health Services iv. Increase in Crime & Drug Abuse/Public Safety Challenges v. Older and less Diverse Workforce vi. Difficulty to expand housing or commercial spaces due to permitting • Why did you select South Burlington to locate your business? i. Proximity to the Airport ii. At the time, School System • Looking at your expected growth, how many more employees do you expect to gain in South Burlington? i. OnLogic - approximately 180 employees but unsure if that can happen in here. ii. Gallagher – Not able to hire enough in the local market so opened an office in India. • Ideas for programs that South Burlington could implement? i. Increase housing, can’t afford to sit still. Increase density, i.e. more apartments vs single family homes for younger generations. ii. Incentives for hires from local colleges/tech schools to stay iii. Find a way to create access from Airport to Interstate. iv. Increase childcare provider capacity. v. Do something surprising. i.e. something fresh that neighboring communities have not thought about. Push the advantages of being in South Burlington vs other communities. • What kind of housing are interested employees looking for in South Burlington? i. $175k to $300k value. ii. Current housing stock seems old and outdated. iii. Looking for good schools. S.B. Schools woefully out of date compared to other schools in the New England region. If schools were in this condition when OnLogic was looking for location, it would not be in South Burlington. • How important is public transportation to employees? i. Routes do not reach businesses. ii. Public transportation seems unsafe. iii. Rates could be better supported by increased density. 5. Staff Report by Ilona Blanchard, Community Development Director 6. Discuss FY24 Policy Priorities and Strategies • Discussion about UMall • Funding opportunities for small businesses • Begin to strategize on Economic Development Plan 7. Adjournment: No other agenda items were considered. The meeting adjourned at 6:50 PM.