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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Economic and Community Development - 10/11/2021 Approved Economic and Community Development Committee CC ECDC Regular Meeting Minutes October 11, 2021 Date: October 11, 2021 Time: 4:03 p.m. Place: Chambers Attending: Bill Boyce, Committee Chair Marli Larimer, Councilmember Zandria Michaud, Councilmember Agenda: 1. Call to Order 4:03 p.m. 2. Roll Call Attendee Name Title Status Arrived Bill Boyce Committee Chair Present Marli Larimer Councilmember Present Zandria Michaud Councilmember Present 3. Agenda Approval Moved by Councilmember Larimer, Seconded by Councilmember Michaud, approved unanimously. 4. Approval of Minutes 1. Approval of Minutes dated September 13, 2021 MOTION: Move to approve the Minutes dated September 13, 2021 RESULT: APPROVED \[UNANIMOUS\] MOVER: Marli Larimer, Councilmember SECONDER: Zandria Michaud, Councilmember AYES: Boyce, Larimer, Michaud 5. Information Items A. INFO ONLY: Business Support Communication Tools Michelle Wilmot at the podium to discuss the trusted community partner network project. This effort is built on the network created initially to distribute Kent's small business grants during the Summer and Fall of 2020. The goal was to offer and distribute those grants equitably. Many of Kent's small business owners are also members of communities who probably aren't looking at the City Website or other places which communicate primarily in English. These small business owners were known to have been especially hard hit by the initial stay at home order. Page 1 of 3 Economic and Community Development October 11, 2021 Committee CC ECDC Regular Meeting Kent, Washington Minutes Last summer, economic development identified the executive directors of several Kent-based community organizations that were providing support to BIPOC entrepreneurs, in various ways - finding employees, finding financing, navigating insurance needs, marketing etc. and this became the basis for the Trusted Community Partner Network. As we and our regional counterparts are still working to address the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as new funding opportunities from Federal and State sources are coming online, we have begun to coalesce with oneRedmond to expand and refine this network of community partners into a regional resource, a directory of Kent and South King County service providers. We are building this with the help of the National Development Council, and funded in part by a grant from the Port of Seattle. This resource will identify the type of help on offer, an organizations language capabilities, how to reach them, in a simple to use jargon free format. But, these organizations are already experiencing high demand, between ongoing COVID impacts and other circumstances, including in some cases newly arrived refugees to help settle. So we are asking for help from our counterparts in other cities to fund and sustain these navigators together, to avoid duplication of effort, and to streamline the contracting and other management tasks required. Partner cities might contribute funds from their ARPA $, their own Port grants or even from general fund revenues per their abilities, to increase capacity within these community organizations, and then promote and utilize this resource in their own communities. By capping a partner contribution level at 50K, we have identified a potential Partnership network which could provide 900K worth of annual funding to increase capacity among the business support service providers included in the regional directory. B. INFO ONLY: Housing Resources Website Update Kaelene Nobis, Long Range Planner provides an update on one of the first implementation items for the Kent Housing Options Plan. Create a City of Kent web page that presents internal and external resources related to housing in an organized, cohesive and easy to understand format. The product presented tonight is called "Housing Resources" and can be found here: https://www.kentwa.gov/doing-business/housing-resources Creating this page was a collaborative effort between Long Range Planning, Human and Resources and Multi-media. The timing was great because it coincides with an overall city Website refresh which provided new web design tools and resources we were able to utilize in creating our new page, like hot Page 2 of 3 Economic and Community Development October 11, 2021 Committee CC ECDC Regular Meeting Kent, Washington Minutes links to navigate lower on the opening page, and quick links to other city pages and external resources too. First we determined what information the city already was providing, and gathered it into one place. Next we talked about what questions get asked and made notes of it is was possible to find this info currently on the City Website, or if it was not possible. If it was possible, was there a way to make it easier to find? This led to the design you see presented which addresses housing resources under these six banner categories: Homelessness Resources, Rent & Utility Assistance, Permit Center, Rental Housing Inspection Program, Kent Housing Option Plan, and Affordable Housing Search. It also provides information for those seeking to better understand housing policy, including rights of tenants, rights and responsibilities for landlords, and even resources for homeowners or those who wish to become homeowners. 6. Adjournment 4:39 p.m. Rhonda Bylin Committee Secretary Page 3 of 3