HomeMy WebLinkAboutCCEDC 10.19.2022 Agenda Packet
Agenda
City Council
Economic Development Committee
Wednesday, October 19, 2022
3:00 pm
Emma Harvat Hall
City Hall
1. Call to Order
2. Consider approval of minutes from the October 27, 2021 Economic Development Committee meeting
3. Organization of Committee
4. Consider FY23 budget recommendation to full City Council for Community
Development Assistance funding for arts organizations:
• Englert Theater
• Film Scene
• Riverside Theatre
• Summer of the Arts
• UNESCO City of Literature
5. Staff report
6. Committee time
7. Other business
8. Adjournment
EDC 10.19.22 packet page 1
MINUTES CITY COUNCIL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE OCTOBER 27, 2021 EMMA HARVAT HALL, 4:00 P.M.
Members Present: Susan Mims, John Thomas, Mazahir Salih Members Absent: Staff Present: Wendy Ford, Geoff Fruin, Eric Goers, Sara Hektoen, Redmond Jones, Rachel Kilburg Others Present: Jill Wilkins and Mike Heaton, NewBoCo; Curt Nelson, EDC, Inc., John Kenyon, UNESCO City of Literature; Andrew Sherburne, FilmScene; John Schickedanz, Englert; Adam Knight, Aaron Stonerock, Matt Smart, Riverside Theatre.
Recommendations to council: Thomas moved to approve the recommendation of $10,000 for Entrefest for the FY23 budget to City Council. Salih seconded the motion. The motion carried 3-0. Salih moved to approve the recommendation of $25,000 for Entrepreneurial Development Center for the FY23 budget to City Council. Thomas seconded the motion. The motion carried 3-0. Salih moved to approve the recommendations of $50,000 for Englert, $20,000 for Englert festivals, $25,000 for Film Scene and $7,000 for Refocus Film Festival, $20,000 for Riverside Theatre, and $60,000 for City of Literature for the FY23 budget to City Council. Thomas seconded the motion. The motion carried 3-0. Call meeting to order: The meeting was called to order at 4:01 P.M. Chairperson Mims welcomed everyone and asked that those present to introduce themselves. Consider approval of minutes from the December 9, 2020, Economic Development Committee meeting: Thomas moved to approve the minutes from the December 9, 2020, meeting as presented. Salih seconded the motion. The motion carried 3-0, Salih absent.
Consider FY23 budget recommendation to full City Council for Community Development Assistance for Entrefest Ford introduced Jill Wilkins with Entrefest and stated later that they are requesting $10,000 in financial
assistance to host the conference downtown in June, 2022. Entrefest focuses on entrepreneur development and is two-day conference centered near the ped mall with various sessions at the Graduate and downtown businesses. The purpose is to bring business leaders and entrepreneurs
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together. Wilkins talked about the variety of speakers and topics presented and the expected attendance, hoping for 400 or more. The conference is designed for everyone from students to early-
stage entrepreneurs to those looking to scale up or even leave a business. This year, as in the psat two, there is a big focus on DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) efforts with a dedicated committee for planning. Mims stated her support for the event having attended in 2017. Salih noted that she had
never heard of it before and encouraged Entrefest to reach out to diverse communities for attendance. She also asked about the specific types of content and who the topics were geared for. Wilkins explained that the target audiences are varied from start-ups to mature businesses so there is usually something for everyone. Thomas moved to approve the recommendation of $10,000 for Entrefest for FY23 budget to City Council. Salih seconded the motion. The motion carried 3-0. Consider FY23 budget recommendation to full City Council for Community Development Assistance for Entrepreneurial Development Center Ford introduced Curt Nelson from Entrepreneurial Development Center and noted that the City has
supported EDC since 2016 with $25,000 per year. Nelson talked about the nature of his non-profit organization’s entrepreneurial development focus on interstate commerce businesses. About 1/3 of resources go to start ups and the rest to more mature businesses. He gave a lot of statistics about the
success of the businesses they have helped, mentioning Viewpoint Molecular (radionuclear medicine), which could have a revolutionary effect in the fight against cancer. Nelson also talked about Keto Kitchen, a little more retail-oriented than their usual client, but a consummate entrepreneur and they
have “teed up” Michal and Riley Eynon-Lynch to scale his business across the country. Nelson talked about the return on investment to Iowa City from the investment of $25,000 per year. Salih moved to approve the recommendation of $25,000 for Entrepreneurial Development Center for the FY23 budget to City Council. Thomas seconded the motion. The motion carried 3-0. Consider FY23 budget recommendation to full City Council Community Development Assistance for arts organizations: Englert Theater and Mission Creek, Film Scene, City of Literature, Riverside Theater
Ford introduced Englert Theater Executive Director, John Schickedanz who spoke about the last year and a half and how much earned revenue has suffered. He said they learned a lot and produced two
full digital festivals which has also supported more than 200 local artists in the process. He mentioned they are excited for opportunities in the new year with festivals and general programming coming back to in person. Schickedanz mentioned that one highlight of the year was a collaboration with the City
and the Downtown District for a free summer Mission Creek festival which went a long way in their DEI efforts this year. He said they are projecting a 40% increase in programming for the coming year. The (regular) Mission Creek expenses will increase 30-40% from 2019 levels making it one of the largest festivals they’ve ever produced. They are excited and ready to welcome patrons back into the space and thanked the group for their consideration of financial assistance. Mims expressed support and noted how many people she saw in line waiting for a live performance recently. Thomas noted a recent
performance that was extraordinary honoring John Rapson. Salih also voiced support and encouraged Englert to make sure to reach the entire community. Schickedanz spoke briefly about how they try to reach out using the Lift program designed to help with this.
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Next up was Andrew Sherburne, Executive Director of Film Scene, who talked about how he loves that
the arts organizations and business organizations come to EDC on the same day. He made the tie between the local economy, and the arts which make communities attractive to business and their employees. He mentioned that IC just received another Liveability award. The arts are a large part of
why this happens. Sherburne talked about how the Film Scene was still active throughout the pandemic and renovated the ped mall space (Scene One) including improved technology, new seating, etc. They also launched Film Scene in the Park next door to the Chauncey, and to date, have had 3,500 people attend these free films in the park. Movies in the park have helped build new audiences. They showed films in Chinese, French and Italian and it was all free, thanks to the City support. Finally, they had time to take stock of what they do, having time to work on Strategic Planning initiatives, such as enhancing programming that included focusing on female, the African Diaspora, and having open caption screenings every month so deaf and hard of hearing can come every week. The open captions have also benefited ESL patrons, some who may find that captions boosts their understanding. Finally, he thanked the committee for support through the years. Thomas noted how impressed he was with how Film Scene has stepped back to build the organization planning during the
pandemic and also recognized and appreciated the value of being able to host events outdoors. Mims echoed Thomas’ sentiments.
Adam Knight, Producing Artistic Director, presented next and said Riverside is alive and well and moving forward after 40 years. He said they didn’t really close during the pandemic – they were open the whole year. Said they had a choice and that was to deliver on their mission, to keep going and to
keep giving employment opportunities to local artists. He said in some ways he thought the theater was stronger than they were two years ago when they were last at an EDC meeting. More than 8,000 patrons bought tickets to the shows through the year. He talked about free Shakespeare in the park and how this year they did 2 full presentations, not one, so there was not a net loss of Shakespeare in the Park over the two-year period. He talked about how extremely excited about their new home in the Ped Mall in the Tailwinds project they are. He touted the 150-seat black box theater and that it will be ADA friendly for artists and patrons. He noted they will be moving from 100 nights to 150 nights of programming a year, because the new space will add capacity to the kinds and amount of programming they can do. He remarked that this is possible due to the TIF support provided to the Developers by the City and that they are finally in a place and able to grow. That growth includes adding professional staffers and paying more artists which is one reason they come to the city
requested continued operational support. Thomas expressed his support and said it has been interesting hearing from cultural orgs who have all been through a kind of stress test and came through it with a broader vision and more resources to bring to the community. He appreciated the
show of resilience and noted the future seemed very promising. John Kenyon, Executive Director, spoke next about his organization, the UNESCO City of Literature
and highlighted a few things they’ve learned over the past two years. First, they moved all programming to virtual and just this week started to transition to some hybrid programming for the first time. They learned that when they do things virtually, they reach different people in the community, regionally and internationally, which highlighted the need for increased accessibility. While, in the past, they used to post a recorded reading online later, simply live streaming allowed people to participate virtually. Allowing for continued hybrid programming will make events much more accessible. They’ve also enhanced collaboration with the other arts orgs, noting they don’t have a theatre, but they know a lot of folks who, so have worked together to present programming. Finally, the IC Downtown Arts Alliance was newly founded during the pandemic as a way for the organizations to share information, resources and ideas – and it has been a boon and those relationships will continue and be better going forward.
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Mims thanked the group for what they do every day and every night and congratulated them on the hard work they’ve done to position themselves so well for dealing with such adversity. Without the
strong leadership these success stories may not have been told. She said it speaks to passion, knowledge, character, collaboration and caring about the arts and makes the Iowa City arts scene formidable. Salih echoed Mims and thanked them for providing amazing things for residents in Iowa
City and wanted to make sure they continue and that they work to include all residents in the community. Thomas was appreciative of all the work in providing access and the pandemic helped make this better; thinks we’ve all evolved from this experience through creativity. Salih moved to approve the recommendations of $50,000 for Englert, $20,000 for Englert festivals, $25,000 for Film Scene and $7,000 for Refocus Film Festival, $20,000 for Riverside Theatre, and $60,000 for City of Literature for FY23 budget to City Council. Thomas seconded the motion. The motion carried 3-0. STAFF REPORT:
Ford reported that she was working to assist advocates in legislative procedures to implement a South District SSMID. The next steps in the establishment of it is to have P&Z Commission review it for its merit and feasibility; and then forward to the City Council to set a public hearing in advance of three readings of an ordinance. She also reported on the Industrial Energy Efficiency grant program. There have been 11 applications and 8 of those had been awarded grants totaling $748,000 and hopefully, making a big impact on energy efficiency.
Next she reported that she is getting ready to roll out a similar program for most of the Downtown, Riverfront Crossings and Northside marketplace areas, where energy efficiency improvement matching grants will also be offered. The minimum grant size will be $20,000 for a total project cost of at least $40,000. The maximum grant will be $100,000 for a minimum project size of $200,000. Initially, up to ten grants will be awarded and depending on popularity of the program, another round
may be offered in 2022.. Finally, Ford mentioned the recent Climate Action at Work awards presented to ACT for Adaptation, Urban Fuel Express for Building, Bicycle Happiness for Transportation, Haunted Book shop for Waste Management and New Poneer for Sustainable Lifestyle. COMMITTEE TIME: Susan Mims said that this will be her last meeting on EDC, and expressed how much she has enjoyed
serving and getting to see new projects before they go to council. She really appreciates these meetings. Mazahir Salih also said this would be her last meeting. Geoff said that he is proud that we see the arts as economic development which is not the norm in the country. We have seen a lot of
projects come through and these committee members should be proud their fingerprints on that. Those projects are paying dividends now, he said, giving the example of the Tailwinds project’s $1.8 million in affordable housing fees in lieu being used to purchase 8 affordable residences in the south districts.
OTHER BUSINESS: None.
EDC 10.19.22 packet page 5
ADJOURNMENT:
Salih moved to adjourn the meeting at 5:25 P.M.
Thomas seconded the motion. Motion carried 3-0.
EDC 10.19.22 packet page 6
Council Economic Development Committee ATTENDANCE RECORD 2020
NAME TERM EXP.
01/27/20 07/13/20 12/09/20 10/27/21
Susan Mims 01/02/22 X X X X
Mazahir Salih 01/02/22 X X O/E X
John Thomas 01/02/22 X X X X
Key: X = Present O = Absent O/E = Absent/Excused
EDC 10.19.22 packet page 7
Date: October 19, 2022
To: Economic Development Committee
From: Wendy Ford, Economic Development Coordinator
Re: Support for Cultural Organizations
Introduction
The City has provided financial support for several organization over the years that align with
stated Strategic Planning Priorities. Each year, they seek your recommendation to City Council
to be included in the upcoming (FY24) budget under the Community Development Assistance
line.
Background
Our arts community has played a major role in advancing social justice, racial equity, and human
rights with events programming throughout the year. We regularly invite the leadership of these
organizations to provide an update on their operations and offer information supporting a request
for continued financing. Following this memo, you will find a request letter and additional
information from each of the organizations.
With the invitation to this meeting, and in hopes of managing expectations and setting the stage
for difficulty in considering any increases in support, staff explained that City budgets are going
to be under even more pressure in FY24. Almost all stressed the need for increased financial
assistance to deal with post pandemic expense impacts due to personnel, programming, and
general operations.
Below is a table of the last 10 years’ funding assistance.
(in $1000s)
*included $20,000 for capital improvements
**included $7,000 for ReFocus. ’22 was not spent.
Fiscal Year 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Englert Theatre &
signature festivals 59 62 82.5* 90* 70 70 70 70 70 70
Film Scene &
Refocus film festival 0 35 25 15 25 25 25 25 32** 32**
Riverside
Theatre 25 20 0 16.5 15 20 20 20 20 20
Summer of the
Arts 67 67 67 67 67 67 67 67 67 67
UNESCO City of Lit &
Iowa City Book Festival 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60 60
EDC 10.19.22 packet page 8
Englert Theater is requesting $50,000 for the operation of the theater and $20,000 for the
operation of its signature festivals which have historically included Mission Creek Festival and
more recently Witching Hour. The City has supported the theater since it was purchased and
renovated in 2004, saving the City’s last historic theater. This past year, emerging from an 18-
month pandemic hiatus, has been particularly challenging to the budget as they have increased
programming by 33%, while attendance is still down 30% from pre-pandemic numbers. Englert
audiences tend to be distributed 60% local and 40% from 20 miles or more away. Those travelling
in are likely to spend more money in Iowa City on restaurants, lodging and shopping, creating a
significant visitor economic impact.
FilmScene is requesting $25,000 for operations and $10,000 in support for ReFocus Film Festival
(a $3,000 increase in festival support). FilmScene has become a mainstay in the arts and culture
scene in Iowa City. When corporate theaters closed years ago, an entertainment void remained
at a time when alcohol consumption downtown had become problematic. FilmScene opened in a
historic building that previously had been home to one of Iowa City’s largest college bars. When
the Chauncey was complete, FilmScene’s operation expanded into state-of-the-art facilities there.
Just as they were finding their footing in the expanded space, the pandemic hit. They attract
almost 25% of their patrons from outside the market, while enjoying a strong local, even
neighborhood draw.
Riverside Theatre is requesting City funding of $20,000. In its first full season at their new home
in the heart of downtown, they too, have increased programming and offered more educational
programming than before, while continuing to offer Free Shakespeare in City Park, which hosted
a record-breaking attendance in 2022. In its diversity and inclusion efforts, Riverside has strong
results, having employed 32% BIPOC actors in the 2021-22 season. Additionally, 48% of
performers identified as male, and 48% as female, while 4% identified as non-binary. Of the 100
artists employed in 2021-22, 79 were Iowa-based. While the opening of the new venue downtown
has been cause for celebration, the increase in paid staff and programming to fit the new venue,
the pandemic-impacted audience behavior, and the increased costs in the new home have proven
a heavy lift.
Summer of the Arts is requesting an increase from $67,000 to $80,000. Summer of the Arts
produces many cultural events every year and all are free to attend. Signature annual festivals
and events include the Iowa Arts Festival, Jazz Fest, Soul and Blues, and the Holiday Thieves’
Market. Weekly summer events include two music concert series, one downtown and one in the
northside marketplace, the Free Movie series in various locations and Music on the Move, also in
various locations throughout town, which was also recognized as a Best of CRANDIC event for
pandemic adaptation. Summer of the Arts has increased the number of events they produce and
the number of neighborhoods where events are hosted. These changes, along with the loss of
sponsorship from the University have severely impacted their budget.
UNESCO City of Literature is requesting $60,000, which includes $50,000 for operations and
$10,000 for the Book Festival. The City of Lit promotes and encourages the love of literature and
by doing so, contributes to the literary fame the City has enjoyed for decades. Noteworthy annual
EDC 10.19.22 packet page 9
events include the popular One Book Two Book Children’s Literature Festival and the Iowa City
Book Festival. The organization’s reach goes well beyond our own community, however, and into
the entire state, with programs such as the Glory of the Senses for all Iowa high school kids, and
a partnership with a UI MFA program around Literary Translation. Additionally, the director, John
Kenyon, is involved in the wider UNESCO organization coordinating efforts with other world Cities
of Literature.
Recommendation
Because of the difficult budget year ahead, staff is only able to recommend level funding for each
of the organizations in FY24.
It is worth noting that each of these organizations may be eligible for an Iowa City Tourism Grant,
a new matching grant program operated by Think Iowa City for up to $30,000. Funding for this
program came through the City of Iowa City’s allotment of American Rescue Plan Act dollars and
was approved by the Iowa City Council in June. Program information is at this link:
ThinkIowaCity.com/IowaCityTourismGrant
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