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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Economic and Community Development - 01/10/2022 (2) Page 1 of 4 Pending Approval Economic and Community Development Committee CC ECDC Regular Meeting Minutes January 10, 2022 Date: January 10, 2022 Time: 4:00 p.m. Place: Chambers Attending: Toni Troutner, Committee Chair Marli Larimer, Councilmember Zandria Michaud, Councilmember Agenda: 1. Call to Order 4:00 p.m. 2. Roll Call Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Toni Troutner Committee Chair Present Marli Larimer Councilmember Present Zandria Michaud Councilmember Present 3. Agenda Approval Minor change to the agenda as published. John Hinds, General Manager of Kent Station, was unable to attend in person. 4. Approval of Minutes A. Approval of Minutes dated November 8, 2021 MOTION: Move to approve the Minutes dated November 8, 2021 RESULT: APPROVED [UNANIMOUS] MOVER: Marli Larimer, Councilmember SECONDER: Zandria Michaud, Councilmember AYES: Troutner, Larimer, Michaud 5. Business A. Downtown Kent Business Activity In place of John Hinds, who could not attend, Kurt Hanson provided a few highlights related to the occupancy rates at Kent Station: Kent Station is currently enjoying its highest occupancy rates since its opening in 2005. Economic and Community Development Committee CC ECDC Regular Meeting Minutes January 10, 2022 Kent, Washington Page 2 of 4 Daiso, described as a "Japanese variety-store chain with housewares, toys, stationery, decorations, bento supplies & gifts" will occupy the long empty space formerly occupied by Coldwater Creek. An Urgent Care facility to be operated by Multicare has also signed on to lease multiple thousands of square feet. Gaila Haas, Executive Director of Kent Downtown Partnership is also excited about new and emerging retail trends for Historic Downtown, including a newly signed lease for the old Spiro's space, with an up and coming retail/recreation/social venue company called Game Castle. The business model is to sell games, provide space for social gaming activities, and stage special events related to gaming activities. While they will not initally have food service they plan to explore cross promotional opportunities with nearby restaurants. While Kent Teaching and Toys is no longer in business, the space is getting a careful lookover by an entreprenuer interesting in creating either a restaurant or private social club space A lot of fun activities are also being planned to bring new traffic to the Historic Downtown area, including a "Meeker Street Nerd Party," scheduled for February 26th, being coordinated by the Retro Emporium and Page Turner Books. Depending on the public response, a second Nerd Party event may take place in September. Other new events include a Cider and Ale Trail, debuting in March, along with the return of Wine Walks, and the Cajun Festival in August. Project Feast is also planning a modification to its current space to provide barista training, as well as new place to grab a specialty coffee downtown, sorely missed since the closure of the 4th and Meeker Starbucks. KDP itself has also hired a social media coordinator on contract, to provide focus on spreading the word about the many great businesses and special events in Downtown Kent. B. Update on build out of Trusted Community Partner Network The Trusted Community Partner Network (TCPN) is an emerging resource resulting from a region wide effort to help our smallest business owners succeed. Leaders of this effort include the Port of Seattle, The Seattle Chamber, Reach King County and multiple King County cities, best described as a collaboration umbrella, to share best practices and share resources, Economic and Community Development Committee CC ECDC Regular Meeting Minutes January 10, 2022 Kent, Washington Page 3 of 4 providing efficient and equitable service delivery to our most vulnerable business owners. The seeds of this effort was the city of Kent's own network of resources identified and utilized during our effort to disburse small business emergency relief grants in 2020. After working with the National Development to identify and categorize additional business assistance providers, our partnership with regional organizations will provide the needed oversight and management capacity to set up and deploy the TCPN as a regional resource. Work has already begun to get contracts in place, establish methods of outreach and begin the pilot phase of the program by mid 2022. Learnings from the pilot will inform refinements and the addition of new partner cities during the 2nd phase and proceed to a sustainably funded, permanent and flexible resource network for the regions small business owners. C. Kent Valley Food Entrepreneurship Center Feasibility Study Results King County, the City of Kent, and the Port of Seattle spearheaded a Kent Valley Food Entrepreneurship Center (KVFEC) feasibility study with the goal of providing needed infrastructure to support the scale and growth of food businesses and the food manufacturing and processing industry for the region. The proposed multi-functional facility will support small food business development and entrepreneurship, urban farmer and producer capacity, and training for job seekers or those looking to hire workers in the food manufacturing and food processing industries. The vision for the KVFEC is to support the diverse cultural communities that make up southern King County, to encourage economic development and job creation, and to provide needed resources and assets for the growth and scale of businesses owned and operated by these community members. A multi-functional facility will provide the infrastructure that this community needs to realize this vision and sustain long-term growth and economic opportunities for its members. The feasibility study was funded by King County as an extension of the 2014 Local Food Initiatives effort, building local infrastructure and related resources to support a growing and developing food system throughout the county. New Venture Advisors (NVA) was engaged to conduct the study. The scope of work included evaluating several components and use cases of the proposed facility. The primary focus of the KVFEC will be to provide spaces to support the scale and growth of food manufacturing and food processing businesses, including the following: Economic and Community Development Committee CC ECDC Regular Meeting Minutes January 10, 2022 Kent, Washington Page 4 of 4 · Food hub, warehouse, and storage space · Shared processing, production, co-packing, and kitchen facilities · Private production space · Supporting spaces, such as event, retail, and office spaces. The study was designed to evaluate the feasibility of integrating programs and uses for the proposed spaces, including business incubation to support scale and growth, workforce training and job placement opportunities, support for food access programming, and community engagement and place-making spaces and programs. South King County is already home a number of organizations which support community food access and food related entrepreneurship efforts. The Kent Valley is also home to a variety of food manufacturing businesses ranging from century old industry stalwarts to up and coming new establishments. Food related ventures often benefit from clustering together with like businesses, especially when a spirit of support and collaboration can be fostered by the creation of a unique, flexible and sustainable resource. 6. Adjournment 5:19 p.m. Rhonda Bylin Committee Secretary