Test in one to test in one to test in one to test in one to test in one to Test in one to test in one to I missed him, so I figured what I did not do, but I didn't see you. You had no sense. You must have. I had to start cleaning up a little bit. What's up? Mr. Mann? Yes. He's a Ralph from Socter, so we can get started. It's pretty clear. We'll just go more detail than he cleaned himself. I don't want to do... Mr. Madura? Here. Mr. Madura. I'm sorry. Mr. Walsh? President Walsh? Mr. Vine? Mr. Davis? Yes, Mayor Benjamin. Thank you. Thank you. We pray that you give us the wisdom to conduct the work of the people of Columbia and give us a heart of compassion. You've got our work tonight and allow it to... Well, I would ask each of you to bear along with me today, Mr. Mayor and Council. We got a lot of ground to cover, so I'm going to try to keep us on task. And I really want to say thank you to all of our staff. We are working really as fast as we can to get the elevator back up and running at City Hall. Actually, I always wanted you to have your work session at Busbee Street, but we were going to have the evening meeting at City Hall. The ADA requirements are not having the elevator. We're going to be here this evening as well. And we will need to speak directly into these mics. Our staff has done a phenomenal job, parts and recreation, general services, public relations to make this work here. You've got Wi-Fi and live streaming and all of those things we've made happen. So I really want to send a shout out to staff for getting this done so fast. And with that, we'll get started with any additional questions for Mr. Palin regarding the financial reports. Seeing none, Mr. Mayor, good. Are you good on that, Mayor? Okay. We will move right into our first City Council discussion item, which is a presentation by our Office of Business Opportunities director, Ms. Melissa Lindler, with some program updates. Thank you, Melissa. Thank you. And her whole team. And the team.  We always call ourselves team OBO in our office. So that means I'm passing it off to one of our capable staff to provide some additional information. Good afternoon, everyone. Good afternoon. The Office of Business Opportunities, I know you've seen us a lot. We are trying to promote the city and all that we do and all the resources that we have available to our small business community providing resources to help our small businesses start, grow, or sustain their businesses. So through that, we have a number of different programs that I wanted to share and update with you this afternoon on. You're going to be excited. We are excited about the progress that we've made in different areas, but we really do see a difference. We see a difference in our small businesses. We see a difference in attendance at different trainings that we do. But we also see a difference citywide in how we work with recruiting our small businesses, our minority-owned businesses to be a part of our procurement process, but not only recruiting them to come to the table, but also providing ample opportunities for them to participate in our procurement process as well. So with that, I want to start by talking about the 10% citywide goal that our city manager Theresa Wilson implemented in 2015. As a result of our 2006 disparity study, it was shown that our minority women-owned businesses are very, very underutilized in our procurement areas here at the City of Columbia. And what we know is that by having a diverse supplier base, it encourages innovation. It also encourages the entrance of new products and services and solutions into your entity. But it also provides multiple channels from which you can procure goods and services. One thing that we've done with this goal, by having it in place, we've worked across our departments to look at it to make sure that each one of our departments utilize at least 10% of their budgets working with minority vendors. So I'm happy to say that in 2015-16, that fiscal year, we're only at 7.3%, 17 fiscal year, 6.34%, and last fiscal year, we actually met our goal at 10.17%. Yes, sir? When you say utilize 10%, is that just based on we have a number and that's our goal, or is that based at their supplying the product at a competitive price and everything else? What's your criteria for that? It wasn't clear in your statement, so I just wanted to go. That they're also, yes, it is still competitive. We have more vendors in place that are from a diverse population of people. So we have more minority women-owned businesses now that are listed as vendors that now have an opportunity to participate in that bidding process, in that procurement process. So I think the numbers show it's not only based on availability, but it's also utilization that we're also allowing them to participate in that process. Does that answer your question? It does, and just as we go through it, I'll probably have a couple more questions. Sure. You know, one of the things that I want to make sure is, is that, you know, that as we're moving forward, that we're actually helping folks grow, and we're not bandating, because that's been kind of the struggle with an approach they program and stuff we just can't seem to get, get people graduated and where we want to head, but also to make sure that when people bid, especially in groups, that everybody's treated equally, so that, you know, if you've got one group that's partnered with a DWBD, too many, too many. We know what you're talking about. That, you know, that they're competing head to head, because I think it makes for a healthy economy at number one and number two, helping environments that everybody start to grow. So just trying to dig into a little bit more how we get to where we are. I'm going to talk about that a little bit, and I can just mention right now that one thing we are doing is working more closely with Columbia Water. We probably meet with them more than Clint wants to meet with us, but we do depend on them, and that's where the bulk of our MPP programs and our CDBE program, that program falls in that arena. So we're trying to make sure, just like you said, that we're not only providing the opportunity, we're making sure that it's fair, it's equally done, and that we have some way of measuring those results. How do we know we're making a difference? And actually, Juliette's going to share some of that information with you later on in the presentation. But what we are doing is also providing some unique training opportunities, looking at their fiscal management of their businesses. All of that drives your ability to be competitive and sustain your business, but we're also looking at other hands-on training opportunities that we can provide to them to maybe grow what their focus area or their area of expertise is so that they have more opportunities based on their skill set to be able to participate in different areas of the process. One of the things that maybe y'all can hit on at a certain point and get back to us, and one of the things that I've heard from several different sources is that we haven't treated everything equally, so we have one project part of its treatment differently than the other. And I think the prime example of one that was brought to my attention we have on our agenda tonight, which is the leaders, where we're only taking $10 million, about 38 million or whatever the contract is, and putting that image, but the other ones we're making at 100% is part of it. And that's where I'm trying to understand that we have a different way of doing it for equipment versus projects. I know the project that you're speaking of, AMI, that project was unique in that it was a big project, but the percentage that we could apply the CDBE goal to was only for equipment. So it wasn't like it was- But why? I guess it's- That's part of our guidelines. And also, and at Juliet, you can speak more to this because that came up at- And Clint also, but we- You want to talk about it? And I think tonight also, Mr. Reconman, we're going to pull it off consent so we can explain that, because we knew you all would have that question. It also, and I'll let Clint talk about this, for some of these projects sometimes it depends on what we have available to us at that point in time in the industry, in the region. I think you were touching on the fact that that's why it's so important for us to be building the capacity of these SMWBs all along so that when these- So when these projects come up, we have enough people to pull from, so to speak. And I'll let Clint speak to that because with AMI, I think that might have been part of the issue. Well, and from what I heard from some of the minority contractors, their question was, you know, that limits what we can participate in because you're cutting anything, so why is this different than others? And that comes back to the growth and I think, you know, what else is in that contract that they could have participated in to help increase? And I guess that's where the real question comes from. And that's what we want to make sure we address.  I'm constantly asking the staff, are you sure? Are you sure? Are you sure? What other expertise is needed for the particular project? Have we gone back and double-checked? And they did. But Clint- But, you know, just trying to make sure that all of these projects are being treated the same- Yes, sir. Because we're asking people and, you know, if somebody loses a bid over it and then they look back and see that we apply different rules to a different thing, you know, how do we justify that? And that's the struggle I've had because I don't know the answer. It's a great question. And I think what we try to do is look at each project individually on its merit. How much is equipment? How much of that equipment might be manufactured locally or be represented by a local vendor? But for the AMI project, there were no CDBE suppliers of water meters that actually manufactured the meters. So it would have been simply a markup on the equipment cost. And that is so much of the cost of that project. So really, as we broke the project apart and said, what is eligible for our local businesses to support, that's where the 10 million in change came from. The rest is just simply buying meters from the meter manufacturer and a meter box. Does that clarify at all? It doesn't, it doesn't. Is there any other information I can... I think your question is why could we not purchase the meters directly from a minority vendor? Is that the real question? Well, I mean, it's just how do we proceed with other contracts, you know, and differ and require other requirements of them. And I think it's trying to really analyze that all we truly applying, you know, to me, I'm a big proponent of level playing field for everybody. Well, equipment has never been something that we would apply the CDBE goal to. That's part of our policy. So any equipment does not fall under the CDBE guidelines for one. But we also, again, going back to what Clint said, we do work very closely with the engineering department to break those projects down. And it starts in our office because Juliet, and when Aisha was here, you know, they would fight, you know. No, what else is there for us? Not physically, but... But, you know, really, they're advocates. They're advocates for the small minority vendors. And they want to make sure that there are ample opportunities for them to participate. Now, I won't mention it. I'll go ahead and mention it now. We're looking at more areas where we can have more protégé-led projects or more DBE participation. We can break some, maybe some larger projects down into smaller pieces that gives more people opportunities to participate. Not only our minority businesses, but more small firms an opportunity to participate. So we're looking at ways that we can probably do a better job at giving more people access to the process that we have before in the past. Well, I think those teams have been successful, too, to make sure that they're still getting the fair shot because those are the guys who have been doing it from day one. Mm-hmm. And I think that's important and I think trying for people to understand that it is a level playing field is very important. And as we move forward, if there are changes and maybe the notes of equipment, if that's standard operating them, you know, we need to, I think maybe get that word out so that... We can do that. We are looking at some ways to maybe revamp the CDBE language. That was passed in 2016. And so it's relatively new, but we did our MPP guidelines, but we do need to look at the CDBE guidelines. We've discussed that with our city manager. Clint knows that. Procurement also has been very involved in that process because they're like you. They want to make sure the process is fair and that we're not leaving the city open for any vulnerability when it comes to lawsuits later down the line. Any more questions? No, I had a comment, but why don't I just do it later? Go ahead. Okay. So we did meet the 10% goal. I was going to say, well, come back to that just briefly, Melissa, because I do think that, you know, that is good just as far as internal to the city and making sure that we... I'm very appreciative of across the city that sometimes, Mr. recommend to you, it's bringing that realization home with our internally, with our own department heads of looking at things differently, making sure they're giving a wide look at what vendors they're using. So I think, if nothing else, that's been accomplished. And a lot of it also is about, you know, again, recruiting more minority vendors, bringing them to the table to make sure that they're aware of what services and products the city of Columbia actually purchases. And that's something we have not done, I don't think, not since I've been here, but that's something we're going to do more of this year to make sure that there's more awareness of what goods and services we provide, the process, how do you get on the EBIT system? We're doing all of that. And also to continue to educate staff citywide about the importance of having a diverse supplier base. I will say that administration exceeded the 10%, there are 82.85% Office of Business Opportunities. We, 38.8%. Public Relations, 19.7%. The Canal Water Plant, 13.45%. Collections, 11.45%. And IT at 9.85%. They tried hard, so we went ahead and just put them there even though they're not exactly at 10%. We wanted to recognize them. Marin Council, 9.67%. Engineering, 8.8%. Lake Murray Water Plant, 8.59%. Municipal Court, 7.86%. Business Licensing, 6.38%. And Police, I found the slide there. Police, 5.84%. And Support Services, 5.77%. Parks and Rec, 5.42%. So we're all working, again, diligently trying to increase the minority participation within our departments when it comes to making sure that they're part of this process. And hopefully it'll get better. Some of the highest-paid MWBEs that we had last fiscal year, Child and Associates, Ladd Corporation, Landmark Consulting LLC, and Shady Grove Construction. And I will also say that these firms are also part of our MPP program as well. And they're also registered CDBEs. So, listen, utilization numbers, those are of controllable, what's, that's 10% of what? Of your department budget. So... The, not overall budget, it must be the, the available for, for experiments. General fund dollars available for specific supplies, materials, just your budget in general. So, Office of Business Opportunities, our general fund dollars that we received for purchasing certain goods and services. It doesn't apply to you. I'm sorry? Salaries, yeah, or utilities or things of that nature. But it does apply to your operating budget. Those, those numbers that you have more flexibility in making purchases. So I want us to commit to, and obviously staff help on, on the mayor and council portion, getting it up to 40, 50%. Obviously, those are decisions we're making every day. Sure. I need your help and directing those dollars. Sure. I mean, no way. Very intentional way. Absolutely. Going back to the mayor's question. And you don't have that many opportunities to. Where, where is our money? I don't know. Mayor? Mayor? Mayor? Mayor? Mayor? Mayor? Mayor? Mayor? Mayor? Mayor? Mayor? Mayor? Mayor? Mayor? Mayor? Thank you for coming back. Any more questions before we move into our commercial revolving loan funds? We're on a tight schedule. Of course I'm not going to go too much detail here with our commercial revolving loan fund. Of course we have three different loan funds, available through the city of Columbia Office of Business Opportunities, our Columbia economic renaissance fund. We know drain. We also know that as is capitalization from the city council and with another 300,000 in 2004 bringing the total to 800,000 for that base loan startup that we had and to date we've made 33 loans from that fund. The community development block grant fund was started in 2011 through funds provided by our community development office. Thank you Gloria and that was the initial start of that fund was $381,766. The max loan for both the surf dollars and CDBG is $100,000 and to date we've issued 26 loans from that fund. Our economic development administration fund as many of you realize or remember there were some changes with the EDA guidelines so we actually had to come back to you last year to make some revisions to our overall CRLF policy and submit that to EDA. So this fund was actually started with a grant of $841,238 from economic development which is a unit of the Department of Commerce back in 1988. Loans made out of the EDA fund can go up to $200,000 to date we've made a hundred and seven thousand a hundred and seven loans from from this fund today. And keep in mind all three of the funds regardless of the source all have to go before our commercial revolving loan fund for approval and only businesses located within the city limits of Columbia South Carolina are eligible for these funds. Just to give you a little more recent update between January 15 January 2015 and January 2019 we've made a total of 31 loans of which 330,000 has come from CDBG, $564,450 has come from SERF and 1.634 million has come from EDA CRLF. Private dollar investment by actual individual applicants for CDBG, $5,041,183 SERF, $324,370 and EDA $820,900. Big participation CDBG, $250,000 SERF, $240,000 and EDA, $2,885,905. What's significant here is and we talk about job creation and retention and OBO does play a small part in that in that each one of our loans for every $35,000 that we make a loan for you have to create or retain at least one position one job and between these the dates here we've created or retain 124 full-time jobs and 34 part-time positions through our loan funds. Any questions? Some information that has not been shared yet recently or the loan write-off since September on September 30th 2017 there were some loans that were written off totaling $384,430. We wanted to share that with you because that did have an impact on default rates and again we wanted to make sure that you all were aware of the most recent loans that were written off. We can still pursue action to recover those funds. Writing them off actually just moves them off of our portfolio so it's no longer affecting our default rate and other encompasses within the office. But are we pursuing them then? We are legally. Right you want to say anything else? Yeah as Melissa alluded to we take them off our active portfolio but we do pursue with outside sources recovery of those funds and I know of and I won't discuss who but one of those persons or one of those companies on this list is actively paying back through an attorney that we have. Oh they predated me but I've only been here a couple of years. I don't know when they individually came because there's various dates on when they each individually closed but when I got here Tina said that these have been in the bad list for quite some time and it's time yeah yeah some of them yeah well many of them in the process of being pursued and others are attempting to because what's happened is that they recognize that we have placed derogatory information on them and they want to pursue something else and because of that they are unable to pursue it so that's kind of the initiative for them. Where we were a year ago our total portfolio was $2,757,528 of that 45 were actively performing loans totaling $2,388,441 at that time five were in default totaling $369,087 of the 50 loans that are listed 16 are minority-owned businesses four minority women-owned businesses 13 non-minority women-owned businesses and 17 non-minority-owned businesses. Question. Yes sir? I don't know what is the average standard on default loans in general? The national is 15% and internally ours is 10% or lower. I didn't know whether we're you know within the average standard. Thank you. So internally which is a great point it's 10% or below and nationally 15% which brings us to this slide right now or as of January this year our current portfolio is $2,842,064 of which 38 are actively performing performing only $2,745,484 which is 97% of our total portfolio and of that two are currently in default. We brought it down now to $96,579 which is 33% so our current default rate is 3% and for the total of the 40 active loans that we have are totaled yeah. Nine are minority-owned businesses six are minority women-owned businesses 11 are non-minority women-owned businesses 14 are non-minority-owned businesses. We've only written off two since October 2017 they're listed there but I will say a lot of that has to do with our staff and Brad has really been very active at going out meeting with our loan recipients talking with them and I mentioned this before discussing where they are what's their delinquent trying to get them out of that state before they reach default status so thank you Brett for those efforts. Going to our commercial loan balances as of January 31st. Our grand total is $4 million of that what's left of the ADA is $366,549. CDBG we have $230,560. CDBG $99,332. Our CERF dollars we have that's our largest one that we have right now available and that's that $488 cooperative initiative of $47,808. Our outstanding loans in our and we are looking at some other resources to increase these long balances we want to maybe look at some microloans but we also made look at some other ways to increase our CERF dollars. I'm going back to council for some of the resources but I will say one problem that we're looking at now because we do we're getting the word out that we the city is committed to working with our small business community and we have available resources for you and a lot of people are coming to us good loan recipients wanting to borrow money from us so which is one reason why our balances are going down as they are. Any other questions? Brett you want to share anything else regarding this? Yeah Melissa asked me when we got in here today the question she said what do you think has made the commercial loan how do you know well I'll answer that by saying we have more requests than we have money so we do need more money because there are great opportunities out there absolutely good candidates yeah yeah the other thing that I think has helped this portfolio since I've been here is that as as Melissa alluded to I'm trying to actively touch bases with folks I monitor a delinquent report like it's the Bible so I look at that and I actually engage those folks when I see them on there rather than wait for them to come in and need help and many times when that happens it's too late they're already at the point of default or at a point where I can't modify it to satisfy the imbalance so I think on both of those fronts we're going in the right direction and you mentioned it we are making good loans and I think that's something else that has has drawn our increase the positivity of our program is that we're trying to make sure that we're actively if you're not there to be able to you know accept or participate in our loan program we want to get you to the point where you can so even if you don't qualify today it doesn't mean that you won't qualify later we're making referrals to other agencies that can help them sometimes we're making referrals to other financial traditional and non-traditional financial institutions that may be able to assist them but we're trying to be more intentional about our loans and who we want to to make sure that their sound well listen let me ask you about the food core program of course an emphasis we started talking about a year ago of those funds included in the idea we sort of tussled with the food mobile grocery store I'm sorry yes sir I know that there have been some changes with the food cooperative how we initially started however it is still very much a priority of the city of Columbia so we realized we have left those monies there that were a previously approved by the CRLF committee because we know that is a priority and we know that we are discussing some other options on how we can still meet that need the food deserts in our targeted areas that were discussed so we that money's there and we're still having discussions and meeting with community members about how to address the need they are working with our mayor's food advisory council having them be very involved in that process and using them as a resource to help us get the word out and also come up with some type of initiative to still keep moving forward with creating valuable food options for those targeted areas but with the creation of food deserts sort of popping up everywhere in each one of our areas it's it's sort of incumbent that we look at this with some fresh eyes more recently there's been people we glade in several other of the food stores that has sort of dropped out of the race and it would certainly be to our advantage because there are food deserts there to look at that $47,000 perhaps with some additional farms being included to look at this in a very strategic way thank you ma'am I want to talk briefly about our CRR our commercial retention and redevelopment program not going to go into too much detail about this I think we gave a very very good overview in January December to like last month about our new targeted areas in December we mentioned and you approved us moving forward with looking at hard millwood and derwey and Taylor as our next areas for CRR and since then we've had our our lunch our press conference was held last week on Monday and we had two orientation sessions about the new areas with small business owners in the targeted areas on Tuesday at Drew Walnes set past Tuesday and it was very very well received and I will say and this is correct the correct correctly stated in your I don't know why this merge but so right now we have 151,000 $380 available in the targeted areas that we mentioned to you 96,000 of that is from our general fund dollars that were left there are left from 2018 and 2019 and we have CDB E John funds available of 55,348 that they they being community development Gloria has approved us using this fiscal year so with the funds that we have available of this 151,000 we have money available to do approximately six properties however the interest based on well the feedback that we received at our orientation sessions and since yesterday we have about 30 applicants that would like to participate in the program 25,000 you can get up to 15,000 for external facade improvements and up to 10,000 for internal commercial improvements safety lighting fixtures flooring things of that nature on both programs correct correct so I'm sorry are the 30 sites vetted already at least on a cursory level so you know that they're eligible they have been they have been you may remember from your presentation in the press conference that they've really beefed this program up a number of different ways including taking into account some of the properties that may have code issues so really trying to millerate some of the more problem sites and abate those challenges too so it's much more comprehensive well done thank you we're very intentional with that and I also want to command both Jerry Lynn and Brad on last actually was Valentine's Day they went out amongst themselves and each one they hand delivered brochures about CRR and talked with property owners at 70 different sites so they did that all day and again that we got more interest that way too anything you want to add Jerry Lynn yes thank you Melissa I'd like to say that the facade improvement program and now the CRR program has truly been making a difference throughout the city because we've had target areas throughout the city I don't know if you guys remember way back in 2010 you know 5 36 clock Main Street was a parking lot it is such a thrill to drive through there at night after I've been working late and see the activity not only on Main Street but walking the other cross streets to to get to the restaurants that are on Blanding or Hampton or etc it's really been great and what we've seen on Main and North Main has been tremendous we've got parallel improvement and development on Sumter Street night right now I'd say what's about four blocks that have totally been redeveloped by a partnership I think it's Frank Cason and his his group it's amazing what it's a little investment we don't have big numbers but just that little bit of investment and making a difference on key properties will spur the private developer to do more along those same corridors so we thank you very much whenever you get the opportunity to be able to appropriate more funding to this more than worthwhile program thank you we do not however encourage working late on Valentine's Day visiting 70 different sites again I just want to read it thank you Jerry Lynn and Brad they have really been very intentional we work with GIS at the city to make sure that we look at different areas in the city where we did have a number as the mayor mentioned co-violations because we really wanted to have an impact but we wanted it to be intentional and we also want to show some measurable results once this process is over and to see a real difference so hopefully we'll see a difference in co-violations in areas that we're working in as well as the visual difference that we'll see with the facade improvements that we're going to make thank you it's like that we're doing an OBO dance now we want to talk briefly about MPP and mentor protégé program and our Columbia disadvantage business enterprise program I'm not gonna spend too much time talking about MPP because we did make some revisions last year it is it's very successful MPP has been a very very successful project and we are constantly looking at ways to improve it currently we have 21 for current MPP protégés we have 21 construction services firms we have 26 professional services for our firms we have current MPP mentors 23 construction construction services and 35 professional services current MPP teams we have 11 construction teams and 34 professional services teams and we this is actually under development to it's still a process because we're adding teams constantly as projects become available to bid on that's we're seeing more of an influx of teams that want to actually develop partnerships how many protégés have graduated the program and are now on the other side so far we so far we have two protégés that have graduated to become mentor status but again the graduation that was expected for all the protégés to graduate was 2022 so that's actually really good that we have two protégés that have already met bidding separately now on projects or they still teamed up as an MP well they you need to be a team in order to participate and bid on projects but yes they have become a mentor status and they have also formed a team with a new protégé and they are currently bidding on products I'm sorry on projects just to mention one thing that we are doing the revisions that we made to the MPP program we're having our manual our manual our annual MPP training meeting on February 26 to go over the differences or the changes that we made to our revised guidelines but also to encourage networking amongst the participants that will be there so that they can actually start to form new teams that then already have one to talk a little bit about our Columbia Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program of course this was adopted by the Marin City Council in 2017 and we had our first project I'm sorry 2016 and we had our first project in February 2017 it was the canal water plant and it was 40 million dollars and we applied a 10% goal to this project the Columbia Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program it allows a lot of flexibility and it gives us more options to actually increase in SMWBE participation amongst our smaller firms it also ensures that priority is given to our local businesses and it considers the limited water sewer primes and subs locally and it also encourages the our projects are on time their quality and they meet budgetary requirements as well in defining a CDBE first you have to be a certified DBE and we do not do certifications through the City of Columbia that's actually done through either the governor's office the Department of Transportation SBA we use those certifications actually to certify you as a CDBE within the City of Columbia one other criteria that you have to make sure that you meet is that you have to have your business it has to be headquartered within one of our eight combined statistical areas of Newberry, Orangeburg, Newberry, Rich, I'm sorry, Saluda, Fairfield, Kershaw, Richland, Calhoun, Lexington, Orangeburg and Newberry that's the eight combined statistical areas that we look at and you also have to be a socially and or economically disadvantaged business in order to qualify so this policy does not replace MPP and it only applies to the subcontractor goals that we place on projects the prime bidder must be a subcontract and a percentage of its bid to certify must subcontract the percentage of its bid in order to certify as a CDBE subcontractor and Juliet wants to share some highlights of some recent projects some of the items that Melissa and I took a look at is you know how are we making a difference we constantly challenge ourselves and ask ourselves that amongst the team and as well as other departments so since our November 2018 MPP council presentation we've worked with Columbia Water, Clint and his team we appreciate all their help to ensure the growth of protegees within the MPP program we do this by ensuring that more projects that are procured will be procured as protege led or protege only which will help in the growth of the protege to become a mentor hopefully before graduation or within that 2020 time 2022 time frame in order to ensure hands-on training to aid in preparing protege firms for MPP graduation date we have also seen increases in mentors willing to go above and beyond the 20% minimum to the protege I won't list the actual projects but we have to where the mentor has given the protege 91% of a traditional MPP project now you I know we always hear you know well then why wasn't it just protege led or protege only the whole intent of the MPP program is to grow the protege into a mentor and for them to have that relationship so to us when we see that a mentor believes that their protege can handle 91% of a project and the other project the protege is actually handling 86% of the project that tells us that the mentors are very secure and what the protege knows and the type of work that they can perform and that's for MPP for CDBE which is our Columbia Disadvantaged Business Enterprise I think Melissa will get into this a little later but out of 133 million dollars in contracts we're actually at about 12% which is our 15 million in over 15 million in monies to CDBE which is our Columbia Disadvantaged Business Enterprise so we're seeing more dollars come back to local businesses here in Columbia and then I did mention about the protege that have graduated early before the 2022 date. Juliet mentioned that we have about 15 million 15.6 million that has gone directly to our CDBGs and here's a list of those CDBEs I'm sorry Gloria I know I love CDBGs I always confuse it too but CDBEs of 133 million 12% so this is right here is the list of the projects the combined list of projects that we actually started so in 2016-2017 we had two CDBE projects 2017-2018 we had six projects and here's the list of those projects and then these are projects that we assign CDBE goals to and what percentage was signed them to what percentage they're not completed they're not completed these are not completed these have been assigned CDBE goals these are projects that have been assigned a CDBE goal and what I want to say too is that even though we assign the goals and our goals are based on a very elaborate formula it's based on availability is based on not only that but people willing able and ready to perform the service so we use not only our in-house DBE numbers that we have but we also utilize DBEs through DOT and through the governor's office as well to determine availability and to determine our goals that we place on projects this is Juliet's part right here she's out there in the community so this is something else how do we know what how do we know we're making a difference how can we do better at what we do and Juliet has actually even though she's only one person right now she's actually making site visits to not only our CDBE sites but also our MPP sites you want to say anything about this the project on the left is a CDBE site visit and just to let you know Taylor Brothers our local and they were involved in this project as well as K&D masonry so some of the brickwork and the masonry work you see is is their their product on the right we had we have three I think we're gonna get to that in a second but we're actually having three so we have three readiness workshop series and February 13th was our first and that was how to be successful in a competitive marketplace went through the numbers and we had a 48 attendees over at Irwood Center so those were all of our attendees and actual Ronald Taylor stood up and discussed his his bidding how he's been involved in bidding yep so yeah he did and he shared you know some things that when you put a bid and you need to make sure that everything is in that bid package because if it's not it could cost you also want to mention Juliette has been promoted she is now our new compliance administrator so she's really taking a lead in our compliance office and she's really making a difference she's doing the work of three or four people and I want to go back to what councilman Rickerman asks what else are we doing to make sure that our businesses are ready and that they're able to not only start grow but that they're able to sustain and participate in our programs and this is one thing that we're doing we're trying to identify specific areas especially when it comes to construction and professional services where we can help them actually get more acclimated with the bidding process giving them the skill set that they need the training that we did the OBO contractor readiness program or contractor readiness workshop series that we started it's actually been done in conjunction with PTAC the procurement and technical assistance center which is part of the small business development center of South Carolina Scott bellows is the instructor for this course and he did a great great great job he did so well at eight o'clock they were not ready to leave I was but they were not so it was a very very very good attendance information that was shared was was great and hopefully we this is another way to reach and recruit more diverse vendors as well and this the other workshop that we did was on with this was the first one that we did for the year and it was the accounting and tax liability workshop for small businesses this is done in February as well upcoming we have on February 21st building an effective capability statement again a way to help strengthen our vendors and their ability to compete effectively not only within the city's procurement process but also other avenue other revenues other avenues as well as well so and the next one that we'll have is on February 26th and that will be the writing your business strategy what what writing your business what is your business saying some writing tips to help our small business owners develop their capability statements upcoming annual OBO events for the year next level of fast track they're ongoing they're actually taking place right now for next level we have about 16 participants fast track we have our largest class we've ever had we're at 35 participants and we've also had the highest number of family owned businesses ever to participate in the program so we're very excited about that women minority business opportunity conference that's going to be held on Wednesday April 10th and the City of Columbia small business week conference will be held on February I'm sorry Friday May 10th and the City of Columbia's access to capital symposium will be held on Wednesday June 19th and I just want to take a moment she left but to thank Lisa Utsi and her staff for all of their assistance in helping us put our programs in our our things together and helping us develop our flyers our social media posts and everything else they've really been really really have been a great help to us so I think that's about it are there any other questions thank you to the program all businesses come to me try to sense whether or not you know they're they're credit worthy I'm not a financial person there are some things that you discuss with them we can help them at that point or some of the other things that they need to do with you doing that so the numbers are looking better to what you guys are doing especially the areas from my perspective where we're trying to improve that sort of core development that sort of thing we have to do have a lot of small businesses we think extra we need to do is suggest that y'all bring that to our attention. Thank you. We want to see business there when we're trying to recruit other businesses to come to the area. Thank you and thank you for your guidance each one of you around the table. I think I think I've had a conversation with everyone at some point about how we can do things maybe differently to meet our small businesses where they are and you've helped us do that. I also want to thank other departments because what we do at OVO we could not do without the assistance of other departments city water I know they get tired of us but they're key to what we do and they've always been open and willing to help us out. Procurement economic development of course I mentioned Alicia I know she's tired of us her staff is tired of us too but never I guess you tell them but but but again it takes a group effort and especially when we're trying to meet these goals and be more inclusive it is something it's a cultural change and I think we're on our way to making that change so we couldn't do what we do without the city as a whole so thank you. Thank you. Mr. Mayor and Council so like I said earlier we wanted to come back to the location in which you all put in such hard work during your annual retreat. I think I heard from every single one of you when we retreated here at Busbee Street that there was a lot of good collective energy and work done to set your priorities. Tyler Sinclair your facilitator has done a great job of capturing everything that you all accomplished during the retreat and you have that before you. I want to say thank you to Erica in particular but the whole executive management team and Shanique and Ashley and others who helped assist me in getting your retreat report together but also participated to help give some guidance and thoughts during the retreat as well. Erica has worked with me we took a few liberties but not too many because I know you asked that we go ahead and look at what Tyler had put together and try to streamline it and put together a draft of your actual priorities. I feel like these priorities capture everything you said during the retreat just to make sure of that. You double check me the actual comments that you made are captured in the back of the folder that Tyler put together and sent to me so where you see yellow headers those are your actual comments during the retreat as best as she could capture them when you saw her taking notes on the flip charts and typing while we were working together. The blue headers from her section of the report reflect her attempt at streamlining what you all did that day but the actual priorities that the executive management team and I worked to edit are in the front and so we took Tyler's report we worked through it pretty hard and tried to streamline based off also things that I know directions that you are currently giving me regarding budget and some priority items big project items we think we've done a pretty good job of capturing everything so what we want to do is briefly go through the seven priorities I try to do that as quickly as possible but also listen for any feedback yes or not yet but you'll get it in just a minute you will get it in just a minute when we get to our enhancing Columbia's neighborhood it's something that I asked Missy to work on with her team the development corporation directors and Miss IE with community development and Krista Hampton with planning and development I know that we'll talk about that when we get to it Mr. Devall but this has to do with this focus that I know is very important on affordable housing right now but we'll get to that shortly so just getting started I put the disclaimer on your draft when we leave here today if everybody feels good about what we have then we'll clean this up and we'll let Lisa begin to help us brand again for the next two years the Envision Columbia work and priorities and I'll tell you straight up that Tyler feels like these are your focus areas and the priorities that go with them the seven we're gonna probably pull away from using the goals language if you recall with the Envision Columbia brand that you you've used for the last two years you had the seven focus areas and you had the five goals we're gonna streamline that we're gonna stick to these same seven focus areas but we've got these priorities now outlined underneath so let me know what you think about this as we go through starting out with focus area number one attracting and retaining talent clearly from the retreat there was an emphasis on economic development and the process the ability for us to revamp and restructure and better integrate our efforts for service delivery so when I looked at what Tyler captured from what you all said that day we feel like these five bullets here best integrate what what you would like to see us do going forward which is going to encompass a joint effort amongst our economic development teams a Ryan has looked at this closely with us Jeff has been working with Ryan on several of the things that you all shared with us during the retreat but also that in that integration of services would include planning and permitting water sewer and the Office of Business Opportunities in addition we think that our development corporations need they're doing great work but we need to be more intentional about what we annually direct the development corporations to do with their boards so we're all pulling in the same direction so if we have certain annual goals and priorities we want to make sure that our development corporations the executive directors and the boards are getting clear direction from council on the activities that they're engaging in as they are considered arms of the city we want to continue to streamline our business permitting procedures which we feel like we're well on the way with the integration of intergov which is going to be that system that helps best make the permitting process more efficient for those trying to do business with the city and clearly you all said bring all the tools that are available to us together so I left that in there and then talked about you talked about how to best provide assistance with referrals and funding strategies that encompasses your first priority the second would include updating the economic development plan so if you recall we've had a master plan for economic development strategically for a few years Ryan recently did a report to you all we feel like we've accomplished a lot in that plan but it's probably time to identify over the next year and refine the plan in some key areas so identifying target industries with a suite of services I know coming up he's going to be starting to do some of these trips where he will actually touch upon you know insurance IT and those type of business industry that we would be interested in bringing and focusing on in Columbia and in addition we heard from you all during the retreat particularly Mr. Rickerman talked about the program to go after small businesses retail restaurants as well and so we tried to include all of that here so that we can make sure we're giving Ryan and his team some clear direction on which way in which focus areas you want to see him cover they're limited resources we know so we want to make sure that we're being intentional with our partners there seem to be several economic development partners or people or groups who say they do economic development we're interested in streamlining that a bit and making sure that you all are on board with how we would streamline what strategies we need from which particular partners more specifically than just a host of people saying they're doing economic development is it really them truly pulling in the same direction as the city so yes sir my thought process is and please jump in i mean i'm i'm not trying to read to you but no i think we we need to have a work session on this we we need to be specific this is great for an open discussion but this isn't the detail that we need to do and for us to move forward in the budget i think we got to have a clear path forward so that we can make some tough decisions come budget time about where we're going to invest our money yes sir so yes time wise today i wanted to give y'all this get this back to you so you could then digest it and certainly we um you'll hear in a minute different budget workshops that or the different topics in our upcoming budget workshops that we need to work in some when missy goes over that calendar we certainly can do that but then i guess you know for this would it make sense for us as a group should we kick some of these items to committees to get work get the committees to be working on it and then bring it back to to the council as a whole so that you know we're able to kind of parallel pass so that we can move forward because if we try to wait till we have enough time as a group to do it we're never going to get done well as we go through this in a broad way today if you feel like there's anything here we need to get to a committee i mean i'm certainly open to that is that one of the items you think going through the uh i think a working committee definitely should yeah well i think it's an overall picture of part of the economic development what is what is our true goal and do we have all the tools in our quiver to achieve that goal and we don't know the answer to that so do you want updating the economic development plan which includes these various both strategies and tools to go to the economic development committee or a different committee a subcommittee i would just send it to the economic development committee it's already established okay it's the committee okay so miss erica who is keeping us on track she said recall that you've established your economic development subcommittee that's working on a few items now and then of course you've got the council economic and community development committee eric well is so that brings us back to the workshop budget workshop timing wise i mean so we're going to once a week now well right now we've got your budget workshops there's just no way you can get to it when we get to missy schedule which will be shortly let's make a final decision on if you want to add a few dates she's got your dates now still tied to your council meeting dates six or seven hours well let's let's not add six or seven yeah let's see what let's see what we get yes sir yes i had a comment on the top thing about streamlining business permitting procedures yes sir one of the things that the city economy has got to face sometime it's got to redo our business license it is not a modern business license it doesn't meet the state model the portal is being rolled out statewide will require us to be in compliance with the model there's a lot of reasons for us to to adopt something close to the model um and we need to put that on the agenda it's going to be a painful process but it's going to be a necessary transition i i think another thing another way to kind of do that i'm seeing a lot of stuff online of the cities are dealing with licensing and they've got some innovative approaches is that a is that an issue that we take up after the budget process as opposed to before well i don't think it's not tied with the budget process i'm just talking about time if we're talking about additional meetings it'll be revenue neutral so yeah i'm just talking about time if we're going to start having more meetings to to do this yeah sometime we got a lot with teams that's not gonna happen i think and i think it is as we go along management team have to help me remember we talked about this as we were going through the um editing and we may have invert that and in this item mr. Deval streamline and business permitting procedures but i can't remember if we specifically noted anywhere else in here business license review um item well i'm sorry let me finish to the the business is loaded local and unique to us to focus on those and then the strategies and tools to include a fund that prioritizes entrepreneurship and encourages startup companies i think we've done that um i think there's the need to continue with that and the promotion and awareness of opportunities on projects and leveraging the private sector investment we will be talking about number three more which is moving forward with the development of family park this is one of those bigger ticket items that you know obviously has budget implications and we'll also be talking about some um protected issues as of right now in executive session today so we'll go into that a little bit more and then of course there's still the canal riverfront development plans that are always on our horizon and you all mentioned that during your retreat for us to um as a staff give some time to action steps that could be more immediate also as it relates to the connection with the greenway system yes ma'am so i'm just also not committed to but that doesn't happen soon um i did go to the of the greenway and they had a lot of progress and so i would think that from for this council standpoint we might need to have a representative from them make a presentation to us so that all of us are aware regarding what is moving forward from that standpoint and then how we can be supportive and of what they're doing which greenway um this would be behind um is this the river lines greenway or any sales strategy neither it's this middle of this leadership group that they and they've established yeah he's asking what what entity oh yeah i mean well somebody's got to fund it so i'm trying to figure out where to go but that's also part of their presentation i mean they're talking about they've established um an organization they they're talking about seeking funds not just from local government for other things i just think we need to have we all need to be brief because not all of us were able to go to that presentation they tell you why they're establishing a third i'm asking that we have them come and we can ask those questions but no i mean i think this is this is in american ad i think this is a leadership group that wants to be a partner and i think that they know that in the private sector maybe there's things that they can do that we can't do so i think that's really okay there's a group i think that's uh looking at the area near the dam coming across uh Hyde Park during Monticello and across i-20 extension of the greenway yeah uh sell up from to miss branch yeah they have a meeting there's something that you all placed it in here as a priority right so we kept it and so i think that's probably right yeah but i think we need to know kind of what they're doing yeah so i think maybe a work session we can invite members of their leadership yes ma'am focus area number two planning together the priorities number one establish a formal new coalition venue for regional dialogue and cooperation you know as a staff we kept this a little broad i think one way to get started i know um mayor benjamin and mayor pro tem divine have had an initial meeting with county council chairman levinston and vice chairwoman mires um at a minimum having quarterly meetings like that but i assumed you meant even broadening that reach to um some of the other regional elected officials so we just kept this kind of broad and will certainly help you staff whatever you see fit to do yes i have a delegation school board delegation okay um continue the redevelopment of bull street to include mitigation of current obligations you know what those are i agree with adding the other two entities but we need to have meetings with county council yeah regularly but the others as well particularly yes sir um you know your the obligations for bull street obviously that needed to be memorialized here and it's certainly a priority um the implementation of the plan colombia land use plan to include the adoption of a new zoning ordinance and maps and support of its recommendations and as well the colombia compass comprehensive plan continuing the engagement of support which has been really well received so far um christa and her team and john all of them are doing a phenomenal job getting the word out people are engaged or seem to be to me um and i think y'all as council you all are doing a wonderful job too in your community meetings and dialoguing with citizens encouraging them to take the surveys etc so this is really more about what we're currently doing how we're going to continue to implement and support and engage the community around these processes reaffirm our strategy and implement strategic annexation to grow population and tax base this obviously you all want want this memorialized in your strategic planning and um this focus area as a priority we worded it the way we did to reaffirm the strategy we think you have a strategy um at the appropriate time you'll give us direction on how we implement that strategy continue investments in modern utilities while planning with partner agencies and stakeholders for smart city implementation this would be the priority that encompasses things like underground and utilities with the support of others obviously it's not something that the city can do go it alone on nor um items such as quiet zones and that sort of thing so we tried to just incorporate um those type of big ticket modern utility investments knowing that smart city implementation is a priority for this council and as evidenced by a lot of the work that clen and parents you know water clummy water and it have been doing already we've got i think the rfi we can move number six a little faster forward if we can actually get rfps done well the rfi for smart city implementation has gone out the next step would be an rfq i believe yes connecting our community priorities the focus area number three enhancing the intermodal connectivity throughout columbia um as you can see we would obviously continue implementation of implementation of walk by columbia and any other regulatory guidelines that need to be developed um fund an annual action plan to build sidewalks that will facilitate pedestrian mobility between communities quarters and amenities i know that this is very important to uh several of you i'm working right now with staff robert's pulling together some information i've asked for but um we're gonna to have an ongoing annual allocation towards sidewalks we would have to do something significant and hopefully we can try to put something together for you all to at least think about improved city gateways through a gateway enhancement program i've asked robert and his team through the budget process to also come back with some materials on that and uh develop and implement strategies to beautify neighborhoods evaluate alternative energy sources to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels um is to recommend you're right we've got several rfps um related to the three bullets there particularly solar and waste energy farm empowering our residents focus area number four improving park buildings and amenities as outlined in our park's master plan um mr davis has been working very hard with his team to strategize regarding not just the park the master plan but what would be the specific things we need to take from that master plan now and move forward so hopefully we will be bringing back some of those items throughout the budgetary process as well um we have an upcoming work session well actually it's a committee um i know mayor benjamin had asked that or referred this topic as far as the review of what our partner agencies are doing regarding homelessness to i think it's economic and community development in march and so we will um incorporate that as part of the budget anything that comes out of that as part of the budget would by reviewing and evaluating our current resources develop and implement a financial empowerment center wanted to get a little more feedback from you all and mr barn had brought this up during the retreat there was a lot of good um feedback on the idea of this as a staff we've talked about it um knowing a lot of things that gloria and her team are already doing but also um getting hr involved in some other departments we certainly think there's something we could do internally as a start wanted to clarify of you all remaining something broader than getting started with an empowerment center internal to the city for city employees or something broader than that um i mean when i brought it up i'm i'm talking something more public facing um it's i think we're doing a lot of the components of it internally for our staff right now and maybe we can do that and use that as a pilot but i would i'm thinking and to have the impact that we need it would be for our citizens um and miss wilson what i'd like to do is if we can if i can work with miss iita her staff um i know that other a lot of the cities that started financial empowerment centers several years ago um did it through some foundation funding that um he's agreed to present a proposal for me if i can get something written so if we can get staff to write something up maybe we can try and find some foundation or demographic dollars to start something um external sure and i'd include chris in that too just from a grant writing perspective she can be helpful to community development utilizing our neighborhood parts and community centers where partner agencies can provide services for the community as outlined mr byna know you it also raise this during the retreat as a service um that we certainly should be able to assist um our partners because we're just so centrally placed throughout various neighborhoods and communities so i think we're doing some of this here and there then it sounds like council is interested in more formally um embracing something with particular community centers so i just want to make sure we're capturing what the intent was focus area number five economic prosperity endless possibilities um the staff continues to work on the directive of council to develop an equalization plan for the tax revenue disparity between non tax paying properties and taxable properties um we'll have something else come into you all um either for you to take action on or not or discuss a little further in probably next month is that right that's correct missing okay promoting job training internships apprenticeships and leadership mentoring opportunities offered by partner agencies this was great to memorialize this here obviously this isn't something that the city necessarily does although we we do internally have our apprenticeship programs and internships that we sponsor but the council is very interested in us strengthening our relationships with others who um where that is their role and responsibility established quarterly goals to grow the capacity of our small minority women owned business enterprises and we just talked about that with melissa and her team and pass a band the box ordinance for all city vendors i know mayor benjamin you raised um this priority and we it's included here we're in a work with legal to make sure we're moving that forward legal to give us some draft languages so these we worked and i want to bring at the council for discussion yes enhancing columbia's neighborhoods focus area number six um so in recent weeks you know obviously there's been there's been a renewed discussion about the need for affordable housing that's nothing new um as far as being a focus of this council i think the energy certainly been renewed in recent weeks with something that you know everyone has witnessed and so i wanted to give just a brief comment on today's press conference where community development unveiled a new loan program which i think was very well received um by those in attendance however that's just one other additional tool in the toolbox and we know that it's got to be a multi prong approach to address this huge issue in our country um what i asked missy gentry and um goria and our development corporation directors to do i know mere benjamin has um convened a working um or a meeting or maybe a working lunch with with missy and those folks i wanted to pass out something that just will get y'all thinking about some of the opportunities i know i hear about a lot of things you all hear about a lot of things there are lots of developers private investors um other entities that are interested in getting into affordable housing and now more than ever with the discussion being so right we thought we put together a list just for for you to look at and as you look at the list and take it and digest it we certainly don't want to miss anybody but i think it's important as your priority says an aggressive plan for increasing the number of affordable housing units throughout the city with a timeline for the number of units that will come on line annually we can't do that alone as a city and so i just wanted to put before you at least some of the projects that we've even heard about summer in process many or not some um people have come to missy or me or others saying they're interested so we've tried to put down any and everything we know about want to hear from you all and if there are others you see the number of estimated units that just this short list produces but it's a start and if in fact council is wanting us to be aggressive about this and come up with a goal annually then we're going to have to go after some of these private investors to work with us i think leveraging that and i think there there are people on the tn board who can help with that they did that in other life i don't think that we've tried to do so much within the city that i think we we've actually handicapped our our development core and being able to get more stuff done and i think we ought to take that talent leverage it i think the bigger discussion that we're going to have to tackle as we move forward with all these agencies and talk about it is how do we how do we help folks all the way across because i think one of the things that we learned and with the abc is that you know they're people who have been there for 20 15 20 30 40 years that was never the intent of public housing and to me i think we we're missing something and you know how do we we've got to help those folks at a certain point get to where they can to move on and i know there's there's some folks that are ill and disabled and other things that can't but you know i talking to some of the families over the last several weeks it just was i was a little shocked at how long some folks have been living there and to me i thought you know we really were making strides to get people it's the housing stuff i mean it's transition elsewhere yeah you don't have the housing stuff but part of it is the taxing situation and other things too because if you're trying to rent or lease to own or other things property tax plays into that as well but i do hope that we can have a further discussion about that down the road well i was thinking i mean we're mentioning the state of the city about reconstituting an affordable housing task force and i took out the report from the old other task force and i i mean it's 10 years old that report is 10 years old so i think it's it's very timely to have to reconstitute and have a task force i think the the issues that Daniel was talking about but you know you really need someone like a task force to dive deep because there's there's of course there are families that have generationally been in public housing and there's lots of studies and lots of data that suggests why that is and so you have to address that in one way there's the housing stock as mr davis is talking about it's the taxing structure and making sure that you've got private developers who can do it it's you know quite frankly we've talked about before it's the you know nimbyism and you know when there are private developers who do want to do good quality affordable housing in in areas the fight and that they get from communities about placing the housing there and whether or not there's a will of the you know elected and appointed leaders to stand behind developers and and let them do those developments so i think that all of those are discussions that need to be had and maybe through this task force we can have those and come up with some real concrete things to say these are the things we're going to work on but what we need to do and i was here so i'll say i'm guilty of it as well what we need to do is if we have a task force that comes forth with recommendations that we need to stand behind recommendations and put the action behind getting them done because i was you know as i reread the affordable housing task force recommendations we hadn't touched even half of them and so you know we've got if we ask about people to volunteer give their time give their expertise and come forth with recommendations for us we need to figure out a way to get those things done making and that that playbook that was developed that strategic plan and those suggestions also need to be passed on the cha and other places once we've decided where we're headed in that direction as well and they i mean i think we're gonna have to have a more active board and that board's got to be more accountable to us but our issue is bigger than public outcome right yeah absolutely it's bigger than but but if we're not even implementing you know having them take part in those implementations i think you know we're making a mistake well the the city our development corporations private developers particularly those that specialize in the space using the nine percent tax grid of the four percent program the state housing the housing authority partners at the at the county and the school district we really requires a really comprehensive approach in which we we're really using all of our different levers that primarily will find us if we do it right not and there'll be large projects that will require significant commitments of public funding some will be general funds some will be passed through but we want to provide the leverage that that attracts a lot of private sector investment into that space and recognizing that we're talking about yes helping with acceleration of development by more public housing we're talking about people at 30 percent AMI we're talking people at 80 percent we're talking about workforce housing and all the up to 120 to 150 percent AMI i mean it's it's going to require a whole lot of folks bring a whole lot of different tools to the toolbox and we've just got to find the very best ways to to create some models that will require us just as taxing authority us and the school district and the county at the table and and sometimes it's going to be us driving and sometimes it's going to be us getting out of the way and allowing some things to happen with some guarantee of affordability for 15 years or 20 years whatever happens to be and and just letting our financing decisions kind of represent our values but but we have to make it as as robust and clear and uncomplicated as as possible as we as we do it but we really want to try to attract private sector capital we i think the last few years we've made some we've made some significant strides forward just making a commitment that we're targeting our funds and i think some of the work that obio laid out it's becoming much more strategic in the way in which we're committing our funds but we really do have to fortify and unleash our partners as well and and make it clear that we can't do everything it's just not it's just not it's just not possible uh so we need everyone kind of standing up but it's going to require a whole lot more just constant dialogue constant dialogue constant dialogue and it's uh it's obviously a priority it has been a priority council for you know forever so we just got to figure out ways again let's set some let's set some ideas up it's going to require we're we're not a city a state of a hundred cities we're a state of 46 counties so much of the creativity that that we're going to be able to engage in we got to get county council on on board with so we just got to keep on just developing that relationship most of the tax dollars go to the school district so we've obviously with some of those solutions we either have to have them on board literally on board voting or at least supportive of the directions in which we're going to go but there are lots of tools out there just through state housing alone that we've got a we've got to level up and you got a whole lot of folks i mean i know that therese and missy and everyone we i mean we get calls regularly and i mean a goal of ours is ought to be every every single lot owned by any of our development corporations ought not sit vacant you know no matter the size we got to stop thinking that everything has to be big get it get it exactly get them all get them all get them all built i mean so creative positions now my gender that they've been acquired different ways we don't we have we have an arms length relationships these are independent corporations but whatever relationships we have with them we need to level them up to get good quality housing built on them the the tool that community development rolled out today is adding on to a a home ownership product that i still think is still already one of the best in the country and now this the what they rolled out today is easily is is part of this the very the most the sweetest deal to get an additional dozen or two dozen families into affordable housing in the city and we continue to iterate and be innovative we just got a week we got a we got to keep taking our major baby steps 20 units here 50 units here 16 it's there every once in a while we're going to get get several hundred units and several hundred units and we're just helping again helping create the the opportunity and getting the heck out of the way we got to continue to think creatively i think some of the lots you're right but also with some of the lots that can be creative i i still like a combination that's something you can settle within an existing neighborhood if you don't do single family it still blends in some of your 70 properties that we have that are not being lobbied would not be land banking anything right now but in the current environment so kind of keyed in on the aggressive language that you all utilized during the retreat and we kept that in here um i understand the need for reconstitution of the task force and waiting on recommendations to be made i think the purpose of showing you this though is that the yeah the the time is now i think people are extremely interested right now in in doing something we have people coming sometimes saying you know we got the land we got the money what can we do to partner to the city we got the land yes but i mean some private entities or either churches i'm just don't i mean they've got land and they've got money and they want to do something and so we just want to have your blessing that aren't being put rq out for these yeah no i so make sure i'm clear on my comment was just kind of a response to right mr rickamendon mr davis no i i think i at the retreat i was the one who said aggressive and really the what i was really thinking of is is what charlotte has done yeah um you know charlotte a million dollar yeah they they have they made their council pass the resolution and said of the next five years ten years i don't remember exactly what it was we want this number of units added to affordable housing stock in our community and then they put their their money behind it now they you know their laws are different they went to the community and got a bond referendum pass um to fund their housing trust fund but you know that's another thing we in midlands housing trust fund was established and you know i think there's so much private dollars that we've never leveraged in this time for us to leverage those private dollars and this gives us leverage with them i mean if we got one dollar for every piece of property here but we got houses on it and we got people in it we've achieved something so that's part of what i'm saying i'm what i but i'm i guess i'm wanting to to clarify from miss wilson when i said aggressive i meant aggressive and say you know we say you know we want to add you know 200 affordable housing units this year then we say that you know we partner with people we put that out there we put the will out there we've got developers and schools and saying who are coming saying i want to do something but they want to know you know even if i had a had a community developed had a meeting with a developer last week and you know really what all he wanted and he's got the money he's got land identified what he wants to know is when he comes and says i want to do this that council is not going to back down because the community gets upset because he wants to do a development and so those are the types of things that we have to we witnessed that a couple of times so when the community show up and reject the project you know we so we you're right we need to stay we need to stick with the plan and go for it and see what happens that's in a big big unit what we what we haven't encouraged is smaller developments you know i mean i drive i drove by the the the pocket out at house today and i thought godly just think that could be two units that two families could move in and there we were sitting there just stalemated on it because of you know i mean it's just that there's so many lots like that i think and i think we're gonna have to look at working with the development community on if we got a men's zoning or whatever to give them flexibility be creative and some of these projects take forever to get done i mean what's the what's the percentage completed on gondola's garden i mean not all i saw was like a couple of buildings and that's been going on for a while i mean some of it takes forever i think i think i think daniel is right maybe we should concentrate on a smaller complexage rather than big buildings i mean smaller units we gotta have fewer apartments to get done open to it all but we also have to think either mayor mr recommend the point but we also have to recognize we're not doing everything and when you say gondola's work we've not been in charge of gondola's right it's not taking that i mean it took a long time to get to the point where it finally got demolished but it was just but it was just demolished last year so it's actually not taking that long to get the development but all that is correct and the mayor's right we have to be engaged with everybody else it's not all about we can't do everything we we have to get everybody involved all right yes that's your answer okay thank you but um and of course i mentioned you mentioned um as uh missy and jeff and you they give me lunch with the cgcs obviously recognizing their independent agencies but we we help staff them but we we need to make clear what we want from those boards and that we want to move forward aggressively we do not want to bank any more land we got it we got it and there's a lot of good things that are already going on but let's take a comprehensive approach at moving things and moving them at at light speed yes we we need that absolutely um continuing with the priorities and enhancing columbia's neighborhoods develop and approve a residential housing strategy strategy that will reduce the number of substandard structures annual annually um this also complements what we were just discussing this is more in david hatchers wheelhouse and he looked over these um this priority and helped worded um he's really done a good job of moving cdbg dollars along um that gloria and her team have appropriated for demolitions and um just honestly with the um load of inspections that they have been doing here lately in this upcoming budget we are including some additional staff for them and the government value had inquired about that in particular and um the urgency of now is requiring that we do that and so i work with chief holbrook and david and his their team to to move that along develop plans and recruit partners for commercial corridor development adjacent to the neighborhoods mr davis i think this is something that you had mentioned earlier and encourage the development of a neighborhood leadership strategy consistent with neighborhoods usa's guidelines i think that gloria and her team worked with a lot of our neighborhood leaders a lot of times on developing um their leadership skills and what they're doing with their neighborhoods so we just formalized that with this language it was pretty consistent with what you all had said during the rich during the retreat and enhancing funding for code enforcement efforts eric i think i may have reorganized i reported it a little bit different number seven our final focus area leading the way and innovative and high quality municipal services we'll be talking about priority number one today um and a little more depth in executive session just due to some contractual items um but this is the establishment of a new municipal complex strengthening our mission and focus on customer service to include rebranding the city's customer care center um we want to get all of you through the new location for customer care i think you'll be surprised those of you haven't had the tour but it's not just about the facility it is about leadership and a total rebrand and uh emphasis on customer care what that really means from top down i think we've done a good job of restructuring um it's now time to build the culture and um pam and clint are working with me currently on that we've got um some actions that will happen probably this current budget year if not very early in the new school year does that include command center no when you say that tell me what exactly you mean by that because we feel like the customer care center that's relocated is is at is more than adequate um but tell me what you mean my vision of a command center is rude with his name on the desk okay to include warm sort of public works and have a person that has the authority to make decisions they could certainly call you if it was a big decision but they would be able to react 20 more seven they wouldn't have to be in that room 24 seven but they would be able to coordinate the work orders for the water system the sewer system and the public work systems right there in that room and all that should be shown on a water system a sewer system and a public works gis display on a big tv screen using the the capability we have to say show exactly what the projects are the commander can click on the number on that particular project and it'll bring up all the particulars of it it would it would automate all the work orders that are coming in it's like the sewer system is now the sewer system has most of that i think the water systems is beginning to implement that right that time but i think all three of the units need to be coordinated so that that when the water system finishes with a plate on a major highway that the whoever goes that picks up that plate can get out there and get it off the road and they ought to be avoided we could prioritize our work orders so it is a major work break on jervais street it has a hyper hard inverses that there is a work break on mcgracken drive it's got very little traction so it ought to be all coordinated and you want to have somebody with authority in that room to make to make the call on who gets first service i shouldn't have to worry about finding clint or joey on the weekend when the forestry is as a fire eat the fire off uh i totally agree with you on that i say that to clint um all the time that i call him way too much on certain things the physical or physicality of what you're describing mr. deval is we probably have that capability right now um and like i said i want y'all to tour where we've relocated customer care i think that's getting to the leadership aspect of what we're trying to address as far as how those things are functioning together um but all of those departments you just describe report to clint so i'm gonna say clint's the person that's not gonna be in that room every minute of the day obviously but he does have a great grasp on how all of the public works functions utilities functions should integrate together we it should be and it's supposed to be now we're having an issue i think with um the human asset and how we are driving that asset and i'm for lack of a better way of me getting into personnel discussions i think we know what we need to do we need to do it sooner than later and we will because that's the number one complaint i supposed to do this morning number one complaint again it's it's it's impossible it is in process that's the term i was about to say and and you you all know me well enough to know that um i'll i'll give lots of opportunities for improvement and we haven't gotten there yet on that level and i know clint has done a lot of things um to help us get there it's it's a more compelling uh need now for us to do something a little very different and so we're going to do that i don't know i don't want you to think though we're gonna unveil this new big center with a new name and that's gonna do it i understand i get it we need we need to empower people to make a decision to deal with the public and that's where we don't have the people who are capable of doing it i'm saying and that's that's that's what what she's had it because i don't know clint are you in the room what howard you're not getting a job all right i've had an opportunity to visit the new center and of course had an opportunity to talk in depth with both the manager and the employees and in the call center we recognize that there are some issues there but during that conversation there was there was a good feel about where we are going with particularly with uh call center uh questions and demeanor and morale and that sort of thing the majority of the folk that i talked to that were in that call center stressed that it was tough before moving to the new place and that there was some vision down the road somewhere to do exactly is to infuse persons in the call center with a kind of enthusiasm not a digital board with uh names on it which could possibly be something we do somewhere down the road but i think you got a good good grip on what we tell you and andi a good grip on where we where we are now in that new center as opposed to where we were and how do we move past that and i think that was the journey of that conversation and great feedback and i really appreciate it and um and i don't want to sound defensive at all by the the few comments that i'll make i what makes it difficult for a call taker is if they don't have the information the real-time information and i think about making sure those folks have the right tools and making sure our folks in the field have the right tools and and we've talked about mobile city works and what we've implemented on the wastewater collection side and we're in the process of rolling that out on water distribution and and that will allow us to have more real-time feedback and councilman devol i think at beltline we've got a great place to have somewhat of that command center where water and wastewater public works can be integrated building our gis system our mapping capabilities on the water system side to match what we've done on the wastewater side is also a very critical step and we're doing that he all allowed us to do that the last two budget cycles and that's something that's got to continue but a good gis map and the good city works mobile tools then would allow us to kind of close the loop back to the call taker in more real time so they can report the status of something and it'll simply to get rid of things getting lost in the system and pieces of paper that were shuffling around from a district back to the main office to be keyed in that's not very efficient we recognize that but i i want y'all we very much understand uh safe drinking water protecting the environment and customer service absolutely paramount and some of the AMI project that's one of the steps i think that helps with some of the water billing water meter reading that's going to help a lot you'll see that project tonight but that's another tool that customers can use to empower themselves to look at okay what's my bill and those sorts of things and clear it up so all these things working together improving our processes but also our morale and our attitude and how we manage folks that human capital piece of it very very important so they all work together but i do hear you loud and clear it's a non-negotiable we've got to address it i appreciate you saying that yes sir i appreciate you saying that it's just it is just so important to me that customer care is is i mean that's what we do as public servants and it has to be um something that every single one of us and i know we're talking a lot about water customer care issues but just all across the city i mean we it's something that's a constant that we have to work on with our staff i mean there's just it's non-negotiable as clinton that's a long way from where it has it absolutely has but we're we're going to keep going because it's that important yes sir okay i hear you okay um yes console we've talked already about our smart city concepts of course we included that here and with a little more specificity under the paquale municipal services priorities and clint really just touched upon this use of technology to increase productivity and decrease response times and then finally developing a process to bring forward council specific ideas concepts and projects to determine if there's council consensus prior to staff involvement and commitment of resources that's something that i miss divine and mr rickham and i've talked a lot about missy has put missy kaufman has put together a draft of a document that hopefully we can after this budget gets approved beginning to utilize with you all so those are your focus areas and the priorities as you work through them during your retreat i hope that we've captured them in a way that is satisfactory to you the final page is just tyler had captured some of those specific initiatives that we talked about at the end of the retreat the fendley park municipal complex which we'll talk more about today shortly bull street the convention center other financial options and again the next step would be for us to take any feedback from you on these priorities if we're going to work through any in work sessions we'll talk about that in a few minutes and then we'll be developing the city managers two-year work plan for the next two fiscal years that incorporates the actual steps that we take to get these priorities done any feedback any changes other than the ones you've noted rock and roll awesome awesome awesome okay yeah it is but you all have really um over the last few years got a good process i think you're going for every two years i'll ask us jeff and missy to come now and go through our general fund revenue projection which will take you into your community promotions funding that you you can allocate tonight the $150,000 for community promotions hopefully you all saw that in your packets it's really a reasonable list of applicants for i think a reasonable pot of funding um and didi will pass out your spreadsheets if you didn't print yours missy jeff we are we're going to stop at 4 30 okay that's what i'm claiming so that you have plenty of time and executive session we're not just this we're not we're not acting on this right now right now the community promotions no sir it's on your agenda to add to plan tonight if you so choose walk away too far good afternoon everybody as miss wilson indicated we will keep this short but glad to answer any questions that you have um as part of our budget process we always start one of our sessions with looking at general fund revenues and where we are starting out with the budget process i was wondering wow i know we want to be fast erica but uh so yeah so first thing we want to talk about a little bit is just sort of where we are with our with our general fund revenue projections i've given you a hard copy because we'll flip back and forth a little bit as we sort of go through the commentary on our revenues that we are projecting at this point and again as we always state this is early we're early in the process we're just beginning to look at take a look at where we think we are going with revenue so these numbers will continue to change but it gives a good insight as to where we're where we're starting from so general fund revenues at this point we are projecting to be at about 148 million um it's an increase of approximately seven or 64 thousand which is less than one percent over the current year two things most specifically to note um as we talk about specifically just that's general fund revenues and transfers in general fund revenues alone without the transfers is projected at 130 million which of course is where you can see where the increase is coming in and that is really a net increase because we have some growth that we were glad to see but then also too with the franchise fee reductions where it will net out it will take away some of that increase that we have where we're seeing the growth is a two percent 2.8 percent increase over current year budget or 5.7 percent over actual year for property tax growth um you'll see on the charts coming forward we'll talk about what those dollar amounts are and that's a good sign that's something we haven't seen in the past couple years but we have seen of course the trends with our assessed values is a lot of fluctuation throughout the years but at least at this point we are seeing a good sign um so growth is being attributed some of the um property assessed values well again we'll talk about those on some of the next slides licenses and permits is a net reduction of 1.2 almost 1.3 million and again that is a net reduction that's being offset as a result of reduction projected from the franchise fee that will come in as a result of the electricity rates with the sale of se and g to dominion energy no we're reducing by I think 1.3 in in hospitality franchise fees is in license and permits franchise fees is in licenses and permits no there's some increase there's some some growths in in the categories under licenses and permits but overall the net reduction from franchises is resulting in a net reduction no no is it yes it's 15 percent obvious things is high well we know what we're collecting so far so so these aren't final numbers either so when we had our meeting with dominion staff two months ago it was a little over 15 percent is the reduction in what what the agreement is in the purchase so something changes between now and then between now when we take final vote we can obviously adjust revenues but that works out to about 1.6 to 1.8 million dollars as a decrease to our budget so that net decrease is less than that because there's certain other areas within our revenues are growing so that's that 1 million was it 1.2 something yeah right at 1.3 that's kind of the net when you take out the approximately 1.6 I think is what we were deducting out for the franchise fee we will continue to adjust we're early in our process thank you we will take your insight into consideration for certain the other areas to talk about our transfers in and other financing sources and uses at this point we're projecting those flat we did in the current fiscal year as you all recall we were able to utilize less fund balance in the budget so we're keeping that at the same levels this year of course we will adjust that and as in the past there's been a desire to reduce our reliance on the use of fund balance so we would like to continue on that path but again as we go through the process and as we continue to adjust revenues that number will fluctuate as well so just looking at the chart again revenues are 130 million which is not even 1 percent over current year and then transfers in are and other financing sources and uses are flat so total revenues and transfers in right now are 148.8 million and that's for the just the general fund that's a in comparison to prior your actuals that's we into the year at 140.9 million so it's pretty generous over the current year prior your actuals just advancing a little forward to our assessed values again pointing out where we see our history let me ask a question but the transfer from parking the fact that we're transferring over so we haven't been charging in the garages is that are we projecting that to impact our revenue in the parking fund there are some adjustments I think to be made to end the parking revenue funds we'll have to continue to look at that as we go into next year's so that might be a number that we also adjust but at this point I don't think we are expecting much of an impact on the revenue collections the garages how long is that going to happen until we get our the garages back up I'll let Missy answer that but I do know that one of the um it's probably budget work sessions needs to include a report from L on um these so I'm not sure yeah she's going to go ahead and do that we've kind of been holding off but it really is time we do yeah I've had that question when folks are presently pleasantly surprised that they're not having to get charged but and I tell them why and then they say does that mean the fees are going to go up because you're doing this so before that's not that's not why and I will have to communicate that because that's that is certainly not why because we hadn't been charging for a while no they're saying because we're upgrading because I tell them we're upgrading system is why we're not charging well we haven't been at yeah we haven't been at trend for sometimes so so we're only not charging for the daily parkers the monthly parkers are still paying the gates are up they're scheduled to go back down March 4th so we're coming up on the time frame that they'll drop again March 4th until March 4th there were a lot of parents from out of town getting $10 tickets this weekend I can tell you that I watched them as I was eating lunch okay any other questions about the transfers all right so graphically just looking at our final assessments we can see you know over over time we have a fairly good trend we get some level years and then we then we're able to see some growth hopefully that trend will continue to stay especially with some of the efforts that are being discussed with regards to our developments in the city so at this point this is just informational for you background information looking forward at our budget schedule as miss wilson mentioned earlier for March we were planning to look possibly the parking system that may be adjusted a little as we continue our discussions one things we will bring up our we don't have this do we yes it should be on your last page this calendar here yes the this one no the there's just extra page I think those were just topics from prior presentations it's not on the slides but those are just topics that we outlined before the schedule is just is what we're talking about now special revenues will be our projections for our hospitality accommodations tax other special revenue streams and then nonprofit fee as mentioned will be bringing to you all a draft for discussion regarding the nonprofit feed that has been discussed previously with city council and then March 19th just to point out at the in the January city council meeting the mayor referred the tight budget you think we could turn on the heat I would be closer to going through that than you and I've been telling Randy to adjust so if you you can't see him but Randy Davis is back there up and down on the thermostat uh Randy you can heat it back up if y'all haven't seen me I've been telling him up it gets hot though when it hey if you get hot and you feel yourself you can't take it go outside for a little bit it is nice and cool out there uh Randy please uh warm us up thank you we're talking about budget so let's make everybody comfortable yeah we don't need any extra stress no we do not we don't need any extra stress on this discussion so February and March Mr. Rickman you see the different topics well to me a workshops when we're getting down and we're talking point by point line by line because that's what we need to be well we got blank space we can fill in so you what I hear you suggest to Mr. Rickman is that in addition to the council work sessions that we were going to treat as workshops and be diligent about just keeping those topics it does take time you're right well there's two in March and um I mean we can probably we can work in two and a half years yeah the May 7th is the last meeting before um we advertise the again many of the topics don't necessarily require that we be advertised but there's at least six sessions between now and the public hearing and the way that we had program or homelessness which was actually referred to a committee and then economic development as you've mentioned parking and the you know the non-profit fee or whatever we decide to do with that can be incorporated and I think any of the big ticket items ought to be a separate discussion as well so can we uh because I heard Mr. Rickman say something about nine I guess can we get that set because I know um I want to we yeah some of us need a plan I have court my nf planner over there needs to get it down I have court but we are here to serve so whichever way you all want to do it we'll make it happen I'm goal oriented in the planning that's right yeah yeah yeah right I need to know so I can only no not yet we're in budget presentations now every department I just think we need to make sure we have maybe halfway through those I don't know my my schedule's been a little weird this week because that's about normal when we would present you with a proposed budget probably first of May oh do you want us to put Mr. Vines I think is right just for us to have a feel for your schedules are you looking at doing something longer than the you know starting earlier than two o'clock that's day on your normal day I really enjoy spending my entire day with y'all well we could we could we could do it every other week and then that way you could spend one day a week every week with us the um and I've got some compression issues on the existing calendar so I think let's let's build in I'm do you think with two three workshops what do you think two three at least let's let's just figure out what we'll talk to us with it but I think I think it's usually the best thing that you and Erica right Erica's suggesting you start at noon um I know April 30th is the issue mayor um that we need to talk about yeah so um I think I think early early is there a time that's about it does not work for you um no it's just they're they're doing the next schedule the next mental health court schedule like now so I would need to know this week so I can let them know if there are Tuesdays I'm not available yes or the Tuesdays that you we currently have for counsel okay with you or sometimes things like today happen too late yeah and today happened because yesterday was a holiday and I so they put more today so if we stick with our current day schedule we should be fine you just need to know if it's earlier you're right okay is there a consensus from you all to start as early as 10 I'll start whatever's convenient you just tell me when to be on the same days that you've already done whatever works for everybody's schedule I'd rather see them on a separate day from the council because it's a long day when we start at 2 and go to 8 30 we go and if we start at 9 and go to 8 30 I think Tuesdays for the most part are the best days to do it so how do you want to schedule okay so we let you know if it's additional Tuesdays you can work on I may not we do it like the old work sessions where we had a work session every week well you know we're all oriented to do that I don't have problems no from through budget yes sir we'll we'll work on it we'll work on additional Tuesdays we're starting earlier on y'all been doing good in the evening let's keep it that way by the way it's 4 30 4 29 okay well I'm done we're done so we've mr. mayor if you all could entertain a motion to go into executive session thank you mr. agent oh yeah no are we supposed to give you feedback on this sir you all will take it up tonight so you might want to give feedback with each other we we have to process the 20 second time pursuant yes we've advertised as forward as 78 water discussion of matters related to proposed location or expansion of services to encourage location or expansion of industries or other businesses pursuant to 78 to friendly part municipal complex re-simplify discussion of negotiations instance proposed contractual arrangements pursuant to 78 to boys and girls club sub lease of norman Arnold center receipt of legal advice related to matters covered by attorney client privilege pursuant to 78 to housing authorities we will move across the hall into the conference room across the hall to your left do I need to take all this