HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Economic and Community Development - 01/09/2012 KENT
ECONOMIC & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MINUTES
JANUARY 9, 2012
Committee Members Committee Chair Jamie Perry, Deborah Ranniger, Bill Boyce.
Councilmember Ranniger called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. in Perry's absence.
Perry arrived at 5:50 pm concurring with all motions made.
1. Approval of Minutes
Councilmember Boyce Moved and Councilmember Ranniger Seconded a
Motion to approve the December 12, 2011 Minutes. Motion PASSED 3-0 with
Councilmember Perry's concurrence.
2. City of Kent New Solutions Grant $20,000 December 1,2011-June 30,201
Economic Development Manager Kurt Hanson stated that the City received a United
Way King County New Solutions Fund grant for $20,000 that will implement Phase 1
of the East Hill Revitalization Project and fund the expenditures for the consultant
Pomegranate Center. He stated that this initiative will be a three-phase approach with
the goal of creating and fostering a diverse and thriving neighborhood within Kent's
East Hill through community collaboration and leadership development. This first
phase will focus on forming a stakeholder's group lead by community leaders and
including participants from several City departments. Economic Development
Specialist Josh Hall will be the staff liaison and will be working with the Pomegranate
Center between January and June 2012 on actionable strategies. The first meeting (a
community forum) will be held Saturday, March 2nd at East Hill Elementary School
with the intent to identify a key stakeholder group from the participants to help
implement Phases II and III.
Councilmember Boyce MOVED and Councilmember Ranniger SECONDED a
motion to recommend Council authorize the Mayor to accept the United Way
King County's New Solutions Grant in the amount of $20,000, amend the
budget, and authorize expenditure of the funds in accordance with the grant
terms acceptable to the economic and community development director and
city attorney. Motion PASSED 3-0 with Council Chamber Jamie Perry's
concurrence.
3. Economic Development Report
Hanson introduced a "Foreign Trade Zone" (FTZ) Seminar scheduled for January 19th
at ShoWare Center sponsored by Port of Seattle, National Association for Industrial
and Office Properties (NAIOP), enterpriseSeattle, and Dorsey and Whitney LLP. He
stated that a FTZ can be applied to every existing building and greenfield site in King
County. He stated that establishment of a FTZ designation would provide industrial
centers (businesses who import or export products) with opportunities that could lead
to the elimination of customs duties, reducing overall operating costs for these
businesses and would add to their success and profitability. Hanson stated that staff
has been working with the NAIOP in reaching out to the commercial business
ECDC Minutes
January 9,2012
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community and has promoted this seminar primarily to the aerospace industry and
commercial warehouse businesses.
Hanson reported that Frank Isernio, CEO and owner of Isernio's Sausage is moving
their facility to Kent from South Seattle into a 27,000 square foot facility bringing a
minimum of 55 employees to this area.
Economic and Community Development (ECD) Director Ben Wolters stated that in the
wake of city council's approval of the Midway rezone, Seattle Public Utilities (SPU) is
working with Kent on some new market interests. As the metro area becomes denser,
SPU has shown an interest in the Kent Highlands landfill site located directly off I-5
offering great visibility. Seeing the market interest perk up, Kent has reached a
tentative agreement with SPU to pursue evaluation and development of alternatives
for that site. SPU is aware that city council has rezoned that property for a higher
level of development and has hired Hartland Real Estate professionals to complete a
marketing analysis. Wolters stated that Senior Planner Erin George is researching
successful cases of land fill redevelopment elsewhere in the Country similar to ours.
Wolters stated that ECD has applied for $400,000 in Environment Protection Agency
(EPA) planning grants. The city anticipates receiving a response as to whether Kent's
application has been approved somewhere around March to May.
Wolters reported that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will restart their
search at the end of March to relocate their west coast headquarters to house 1800
people as part of a national effort to consolidate FAA facilities into three regional
headquarters. The competition will be confined to the original sites of Kent, Des
Moines, Renton, Tukwila and Seatac.
Wolters states that Kent's original proposal considered the Transit Oriented
Development (TOD) in Kent, promoted the downtown area as a promising location,
and offered up the Naden site in partnership with Hines and Mortenson construction.
A Request for Proposal (RFP) will be issued at the end of March where we will offer
the Naden site again. Staff will continue to explore other qualifying sites dependent
on what the terms of the competition. The TOD portion from the original RFP will
remain and could place Kent in a better competitive position. If Kent were to win the
competition, it would be a huge boom for downtown and would provide a boost to
Kent's historic downtown and the overall community.
After the RFP's are submitted, it will take 60-90 days for a selection to be made. The
selection process through design, construction and move-in should be completed by
2016. All sites under consideration will be constrained to within 9 miles of the existing
site in Renton due to budget limitations.
Wolters stated that the ShoWare Center won accolades in the Daily Journal of
Commerce, was picked as the project of the month, highlighting our innovative design
and what a great marquee attraction it is.
Informational Only
Adiournment
Committee Chair Perry adjourned the meeting at 6:10 p.m.
Pamela Mottram, Secretary
Economic &Community Development Committee
PIAPlanningAECDC\2012\MlnutesV01-09 12_Mln.doc
ECDC Minutes
ry Janua 9,2012
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