08.03.21 Work Session - Laserfiche WebLink

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City Council Meeting Minutes August 3, 2021 opportunities for the City and its residents, represent the City on proactive business retention & expansion and attraction efforts and respond to inbound requests for information, complete economic impact analyses for business retention & expansion or attraction projects requesting City support, coordinate City departments and address any questions or issues for new and existing businesses, work with community partners to enhance workforce development efforts, develop and support programming related to innovation, entrepreneurship, and business support, host prospect visits, coordinate prospect meetings, and solidify investment opportunities. Ms. Lee noted that currently, the term of the agreement is three years and the annual investment is $400,000. GSMP has asked for an increase in the annual funding to $450,000 for FY23 and $500,000 for FY25. Staff recommendation is to keep the investment the same amount and to increase the term of the agreement to four years to coincide with the Vision 2025 plan. Ms. Lee discussed and presented the current and proposed agreement and the proposed scope of work which include: Small Business Development, Business Retention & Expansion, Business Recruitment, Workforce Development. Enhancements to the agreement would include Partnership/City Coordination and Reporting. Ms. Lee noted significant activities during the past year during the presentation. Next steps include the incorporation of council's feedback and direction into the agreement, with consideration of the agreement to occur in September. Mayor Hughson asked Council for feedback on the proposed agreement related to Small Business Development. These include the following items: - Help grow local small and medium enterprises, including micro -businesses, with resources to include, business planning, access to capital, and search engine optimization - Facilitate a minimum of 4 educational events per year that focus on small businesses or entrepreneurial needs - Create and maintain a "one-stop shop" online database with resources specifically curated to assist small businesses - Promote small business counseling programs that are offered by the City of San Marcos or other community organizations in San Marcos Council Member Baker asked that, within section C. 1. of the agreement, that the GSMP do more to support minority and women owned businesses including required Spanish translations for all outward facing publications. City of San Marcos Page 3