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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCouncil Packet - 12/6/2021 COUNCIL WORK SESSION December 6, 2021 Time indicated below Harold E. Getty Council Chambers RULES FOR WORK SESSION PUBLIC COMMENT Iowa Code Chapter 21 gives the public the right to attend council meetings, but it does not require cities to allow public participation except during public hearings. The city council shall not receive any public comment during a work session. Roll Call Agenda, as proposed or amended Approval of Minutes 3:30 p.m. Update from Grow Cedar Valley. Submitted By:Noel Anderson,Community Planning and Development Director Approx. Discussion of updates to the 2021 International Property Maintenance 3:55 p.m. Code. Submitted By:Greg Allielm,Building Official Approx. Discussion of the Complete Streets Advisory Committee's sidewalk infill 4:25 p.m. project. Submitted By:Noel Anderson,Community Planning and Development Director Approx. Discussion of a resolution voicing support for local media and concern 4:55 p.m. about newsroom consolidations. Submitted By:Jonathan Grieder,Ward 2 Council member ADJOURNMENT Kelley Felchle City Clerk CITY OF WATERLOO Council Communication Update from Grow Cedar Valley. City Council Meeting: 12/6/2021 Prepared: 11/24/2021 REVIEWERS: Department Reviewer Action Date Clerk Office Felchle, Kelley Approved 11/24/2021 - 1:14 PM ATTACHMENTS: Description Type ❑ Presentation Backup Material SUBJECT: Update from Grow Cedar Valley. Submitted by: Submitted By:Noel Anderson, Community Planning and Development Director Recommended Action: Summary Statement/ Background Information: Neighborhood Impact: Data: Community Engagement Methods: Analysis and Strategies: Implementation,Accountability, and Communication:: Expenditure Required/ Source of Funds: Alternative: GROW CedarValley Business. Community.Offf-� Waterloo City Council Work Session — December 6, 2021 Cary Darrah CEO Rebecca Guinn Grow Cedar Valley Board Chair Danny Laudick Senior Program Director, Economic Development Lisa Skubal Vice President, Economic Development Agenda 1. Opening Remarks C. Darrah 2. External Marketing & Business Growth L. Skubal 3. Talent Initiatives D. Laudick 4. TechWorks Campus C. Darrah 5. Closing Remarks R. Guinn 360 Westfield Ave,Suite 200,Waterloo, IA 50701 ♦ Ph: (319)232-1156 ♦ Fax: (319) 233-4580 www.growcedarvalley.com Warl te o o it c o u n it U p d ate MAY 2021 — OCTOBER 2021 lie GROW cedarValley Business.Community.i` )p�v4✓G�yi Grow Cedar Valley 360 Westfield Ave., Ste 200 Waterloo, IA 50701 319/232.11S6 www.growcedarvalley.com Cary Darrah, President & CEO caryC growcedarvaIley.com Waterloo Economic Development Results A fundamental part of economic development work is to attract new businesses and support existing businesses to diversify the economy and reduce the region's vulnerability. Grow Cedar Valley (GCV) works very closely with the City's economic development staff and many other public and private partners with these collaborative efforts. Marketing Lead Generation • Identified and engaged 646 companies based in the Netherlands to identify expansion plans in the U.S.The goal was to have six virtual meetings and to date, Grow Cedar Valley had three with a fourth scheduled in November. • Project Engage-We can effectively monitor the interactions on the back end of Grow Cedar Valley's website as a way to track which companies are interacting with certain web pages.The list of companies engaging in GCV's website is reviewed by staff and select companies are added to the lead generation outreach. • Site Selection Guild -GCV staff participated in a virtual table talk with seven site selection consultants pitching Waterloo and the Cedar Valley as a new location for the consultants' expanding corporate clients. GCV was able to establish new connections and touch base with existing connections. Discussion with the site selection consultants also included sharing the current state of corporate site selection from the consultant's view. Firms in attendance include site selection consultants KPMG, Szatan &Associates, BeyondHQ,Tochi Advisors, LLC, DSG Advisors, CSRS, Inc. and Garner Economics, LLC. Other Economic Development Services • Collected wage and benefit data from existing businesses in Waterloo and the Cedar Valley to research publish the 2021 Cedar Valley Wage and Benefits Survey for the first time in 14 years. Survey was administered in May 2021 and report was published and distributed to " existing businesses who participated in June 2021. The survey was in response to business requests for real time data on wages and benefits to keep them competitive in a market where finding employees is extremely competitive. • Participated on the Hawkeye Community College's Manufacturer's Conference planning committee with approximately 60 attending. Conference occurred in October 2021. Waterloo Economic Development Results Cont. Opportunities/Projects Capital Job External Existing Investment Potential Projects Projects New* $3.613 3,678 13 3 Total Active $3.76B 3678 20 5 *Includes new projects occurring between the months of May 30,2021 through October 37,2027;some projects occurring during this timeline minus those that may have eliminated Waterloo during that same period. Note:Job Potential and Capital Investment won't correlate;some projects don't provide both or either figure. Information available depends on the project's stage;some projects are more advanced than others. • New Projects me Total Active i Prospect Proposals/ lqlqW Projects Info sent to leads (does not represent multiple communications) Existing Business Services to Waterloo Companies • Information/services provided included discussion on Business expansion/retention and/or barriers such as workforce; including Services issues related to managing supply chain and businesses during COV I D-19. Innovation Initiatives Partnering with Cedar Valley Techworks, Red Cedar, University of Northern Iowa, Hawkeye Community College and Iowa Economic Development Authority on initiatives to support integration of technology and upskilling workforce for our manufacturing sector. N1 Waterloo Economic Development Results Cont. Innovation Initiatives cont. Supply Chain Integration Proof of Concept This is a long-term project addressing priorities identified in IEDA's Industry 4.0 report released earlier in 2021. GCV and TechWorks staff met with SMM (small/medium size manufacturers) to identify their status with adopting technology on the shop floor and distributed/discussed IEDA's grant program for SMM.According to Iowa State, approximately six manufacturers in Black Hawk County participated in the pre-application assessment though, GCV staff believes this number will be higher. Exact numbers will be revealed as funding gets awarded beginning in November and December during IEDA's board meetings. IGNITE Training Initiative TechWorks and GCV staff have been supporting Hawkeye Community College since the start of this program earlier this year. GCV will continue to support through their outreach with existing businesses to develop more partnerships with the program.This 8-week program builds stackable manufacturing credentials for high school students or adults looking to change careers by providing the upskills and workforce pipeline to support existing manufacturers in Waterloo and the Cedar Valley. The Cedar Valley Manufacturers Association/Sector Board Currently in the early stages of being restarted to be an association where manufacturers can discuss peer to peer and prioritize common issues they share.This group will be led by the manufacturers. GCV along with Hawkeye Community College, University of Northern Iowa, Iowa State University-CIPAS will provide support services. Airport Advocacy • GCV's advisory committee for the airport initially raised money to retain an airport consultant,Volaire Aviation,to help guide the Airport Director,Airport Board and the city on airport service, industry trends and introductions and conversations with other carriers.The city has now retained the consultant to continue to work on these important items. • The advisory group continues to provide feedback on the airport website and are revisiting establishing a Loyalty Program post COVID. WATERLOO • David Deeds and the Airport Director attended the Volaire Aviation Air Service Forum in August 2021 and was able to REGIONAL AIRPORT discuss the attributes of the Waterloo Airport with six different airlines. Workforce & Talent Development Refining Our Focus In addition to specific programs outlined below, Grow Cedar Valley provides advisory support and/or serves as a liaison to a range of training &development programs across the Cedar Valley. Workforce has grown into,without a doubt,the number one concern and foreseeable limiting factor to our region's economic prosperity over the coming decade. Grow Cedar Valley has hired on Danny Laudick, GCV's previous Director of Talent Development,to take the lead on GCV's workforce&talent development strategy in addition to his work on innovation &entrepreneurship. Q4 of this year has been a reassessment period for our workforce strategy as Danny comes on board with the goal of establishing a set of programming and focus areas to match the priorities expressed by employers and seen in our region's workforce data. Status of Current Talent & Workforce Landscape Workforce has become one of the leading issues facing a majority of our businesses- both locally and nationally. Nearly 70%of Cedar Valley employers are struggling to find the employees they need, and this difficulty has increased over the last decade.The Waterloo/Cedar Falls metro was nearly break-even in terms of overall population growth from 2010 to 2020. Digging into the numbers,that statistic includes nearly 7,000 domestic residents who chose to move elsewhere but was buoyed by enough net births and international in-migration to make up for the loss. There are several important nuances to note: • Over the last decade,100%of our community's net population growth is non-white (we lost an estimated 2,300 white population from 2014 to 2019). We're increasing population in the age range of 35-44 as young families move back to the area, but we continue to lose 18-to-34 year olds and 45-to-65 faster than we gain those young families.The baby boomer population segment is increasingly reaching retirement age, leading to a lower overall number of people in the labor force. • Of the nearly 2,200 net jobs lost in that same period (2014-2019),which coincides with a similar amount of population loss,2,600 of that loss is attributable to "lower-skill" occupations (those that require no previous experience or some on-the-job experience) while we gained 1,100 jobs in "higher-skill" areas that require more education and/or on thejob training.About 700 jobs lost fall in between, and about 900 of that total job loss is attributable to the manufacturing industry as the ag industry slowed down in 2015 through the late 2010's-while at the same time we are now hearing manufacturers across the board saying they can't find enough skilled workforce to hire. Workforce & Talent Development Cont. Status of Current Talent & Workforce Landscape contintued... • We additionally have a lower labor force participation rate in our region than the state average, representing nearly 3,500 people who aren't actively employed who would be otherwise if we were at the state average.This is the result of several barriers to employment, including transportation, child care, language, and others. • What all of this shows is that the dynamics of our workforce are complicated. Our population is becoming more diverse, has increasing mobility in where they choose to live and work, and,while it is true that we are a great place to raise a family and we see people moving back for that,we continue to lose labor force as our working-age population declines and we see an increasing rate of retirement accelerated by COVID. Despite overall job loss in 2014-2019,the overall total wages earned increased because of the shift to higher-paid, more highly-skilled occupations- both in newer industries like software development and in our manufacturing sector with a growing demand for more highly-skilled trade and technology-enabled occupations. And our region is not alone in this. Rural communities and mid-sized metros across the country are struggling to retain talent,with many individuals opting to move to larger metropolitan areas, especially in the South and West coast,for the recreation, arts, culture, and entertainment amenities they offer. There are however outliers in this national trend, and the good news is that we're in an enviable position as a community to address these trends. We have a high-ranking quality of life, a good fiscal position as a community, and all of the necessary assets (i.e. a University, strong jobs market, range of both rural and metropolitan styles of living available, genuine level of quality of life and low-cost of living) to be a place people choose to invest their lives,their families, and their careers. But doing so will require intentional,focused effort and investment by our community, and a focus notjust on immediate needs but on the long-term priorities we need to invest in. Grow Cedar Valley's workforce &talent development priorities in this coming year will reflect a focus on addressing both those short-term business support needs as well as supporting our region's longer-term community development work. A strategic plan, including a plan of work, is currently underway for workforce and talent and placemaking initiatives are a key part. Some of those initiatives are identified on the following pages. • TXE VALLEY Talent Attraction and Retention Anchored by the Live the Valley brand, Grow Cedar Valley will be prioritizing talent attraction and retention as the key 0 priority for addressing our region's workforce needs over the next decade. This coming year will see a heavier focus f on and several new talent attraction & retention initiatives launched. � I_r PEOPLE PLACE oPPpin11r11E5 PELcean% -All Upcoming Programs & Resources • Bi-annual newcomer events Summer Intern Event Series New relocation welcome package & Live the Valley magazine • Enhanced focus on quality of life & �;•, •� ❑ placemaking as regional economic development priorities •� r� r Expanded job marketing &career 1 awareness 4 nf.11 r Engagement of young professionals moo' LL; 'L 1 — + — it ok Use the QR code to the left to explore the Cost of Living Calculator. Workforce & Talent Development Cont. Direct Business Support Grow Cedar Valley provides several direct business support services to area employers. These services have historically been available informally to employers at request, but we will be formalizing these offerings in Q1 of 2022 into a widely available program of support that employers can utilize to support their recruitment and workforce development. Community Tours As a service, Grow Cedar Valley helps Waterloo businesses by providing custom tours of the city to help newcomers and/or prospects and their families become acclimated to the area. These are usually high-earning positions.This quarter we provided this service to three new Medical Professionals. Spousal Relocation Grow Cedar Valley can additionally help with relocation by partnering with our business community to help find employment opportunities for spouses of key potential hires.The goal is to provide a full range of support for key talent attraction needs to the area. Single Point-of-Contact Grow Cedar Valley acts as a single point-of-contact to connect Cedar Valley businesses with key talent &workforce support organizations, services, and resource partners. We maintain on-going relationships with our K-12, college/University, nonprofit, and both local and State government entities to help employers connect with the relevant resources to address their workforce needs (and partner to help those resource partners continually improve their programs). Technical assistance includes but is not limited to: • Talent recruitment • Developing current workforce • Develop and implement diversity, equity, and inclusion plans and • Reach new workforce demographics, including ex-offender, disabled,veteran, immigrant & refugee, and other historically excluded populations Workforce & Talent Development Cont. Training & Education (aligning training) In addition to specific programs outline below, Grow Cedar Valley provides advisory support to a range of training &development programs across the Cedar Valley, acting as a liaison to help connect the business community and our region's educational partners.Those partners include, but not limited to,the following: • Waterloo Community Schools&Waterloo Career Center • Cedar Falls Schools&Cedar Falls CAPS • HCC program advisory boards and regional industry sector boards • UNI Career Services IGNITE - Quality Pre-Apprentice Program This highly innovative program continues to set the pace in early workforce development. It is currently built around introductory manufacturing skills that can lead to advanced certifications, and is a major collaboration between John Deere, Hawkeye Community College, and several other manufacturing partners. The program has graduated several cohorts now,with 100% placement of graduates into either short-term work experiences or full-time careers.The program currently has both a high school senior cohort in partnership with Waterloo Schools and a returning citizen/ex- offender cohort to graduate this semester, currently aligning graduates with available job opportunities. We're currently recruiting with Waterloo Schools for next semester's cohort, expecting a significantly increased class size of up to 20-30 students to enroll. Economic Inclusion (improving labor force participation) Economic Inclusion Partnership Grow Cedar Valley's Economic Inclusion Partnership has historically focused on identifying the primary barriers to employment (i.e.,transportation, child care, language translation, etc.) and addressing them through partnership with both business and institutional partners.The group's previous work includes starting the Economic Inclusion Conference, convening early conversations around expanded childcare in the region, and supporting employer best practices for tapping into and hiring an increasingly diverse workforce. The Partnership is currently undergoing a review of its working model and focus areas, and we will be establishing next steps in Q1 of next year for how to continue working toward addressing the key barriers to labor force participation in the region. ECIC INCLUSION Grow Cedar valley Workforce & Talent Development Cont. Economic Diversity & Inclusion Conference The Economic Inclusion Conference is Iowa's premier conference on Economic Diversity, Equity linclusion 4* ENGAGE • EMPOWER • ACT and Inclusion. This joint conference is between the University of Northern Iowa and Grow Cedar Valley and is made possible with the tremendous collaboration of other area stakeholders and organizations. The day-long Summit welcomed more than ' 200 attendees and was held in the newly renovated Waterloo Convention Center in , Downtown Waterloo.This beautiful new venue allowed us to safely host an in-person event while integrating technology to make for a more robust Summit. Feedback from attendees was positive with - M, many tangible take-aways after listening to several area practitioners share their r experiences in creative inclusion practices to - F help grow their organizations and enhance the workplace culture.The keynote address provided by Cedar Valley native Sailu Timbo (now executive for Hy-Vee Corporate) highlighted how one of the largest grocery retailers has embraced diversity, equity and inclusion as they grow their workforce throughout the Midwest. The 2022 Economic Diversity& Inclusion Summit is tentatively scheduled for October 21. N1 Cedar Valley Leadership Institute The CVLI Class of 2022 is made up of 42 emerging leaders who represent Cedar over 30 businesses in the Cedar Valley. Waterloo businesses and �O i organizations represented include: O • Beecher Law Firm • Hogan-Hansen • Bergan KDV, Ltd. • Invision Architecture a • Black Hawk County Gaming Association • ISG eY ` • Cardinal Construction • John Deere Leadets� • Cedar Valley United Way • Lincoln Savings Bank • Child Care Resource and Referral of NE • Peters Construction Corp. Iowa/EPI • RSM US LLP • PDCM Insurance • Tri County Child and Family • Dupaco Community Credit Union Development, Inc. • Farmers State Bank • UnityPoint Clinic • Goodwill Industries of Northeast Iowa, Inc. • VGM Group, Inc. Added Benefits Other Services to the City of Waterloo 0 0 Times the City's directory Ribbon Cuttings for Jobs posted by the City of listing was searched on the Waterloo Waterloo on the Grow Cedar Grow Cedar Valley website Businesses Valley job board have been (over the last 12 months) viewed 1,659 times in the past 12 months. Government Affairs & Advocacy Grow Cedar Valley staff attends Waterloo Council Meetings on a regular basis and, as needed,will speak on projects relevant to GROW 1` the growth and development of the City of Waterloo. \N1 CedarValley Government Affairs Grow Cedar Valley is currently working on the legislative priorities for the coming year pending Board of Directors' approval in November 2021. GCV will share with city council members and city staff at that time. Two Friday Forums occurred between May through end of October with a total engagement of 70 people. N1 Annual Celebration Grow Cedar Valley offers the yearly celebration to recognize individuals, businesses and organizations in the Cedar GROW fAg tke- Valley. On October 12,2021,six Waterloo based CedarValley businesses/organizations or individual representing a N1 business or organization received an award: Business.Community.Off-r—.. • Cedar Valley Partner Award: UnityPoint Health - Black Hawk Grundy Mental Health, Inc. • Cedar Valley Innovation Award: O&Pl • John Deere Treating Capital Well Award: Lincoln Savings Bank • Cedar Valley Business of the Year Awards:1-50 Employees - SERVPRO of Black Hawk County • Cedar Valley Business Leader Award - Katy Susong, Cardinal Construction • Legacy Award -Jim Waterbury CITY OF WATERLOO Council Communication Discussion of updates to the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code. City Council Meeting: 12/6/2021 Prepared: 11/24/2021 REVIEWERS: Department Reviewer Action Date Clerk Office Felchle, Kelley Approved 11/24/2021 - 1:15 PM ATTACHMENTS: Description Type ❑ Building Code Updates.pdf Backup Material SUBJECT: Discussion of updates to the 2021 International Property Maintenance Code. Submitted by: Submitted By: Greg Alhelm, Building Official Recommended Action: Summary Statement/ Background Information: Neighborhood Impact: Data: Community Engagement Methods: Analysis and Strategies: Implementation,Accountability, and Communication:: Expenditure Required/ Source of Funds: Alternative: Code Adoption Purpose • The City of Waterloo adopts the most current addition of the International Building Codes every 6 years . • The Purpose of the building codes are to ensure life safety throughout the residential and commercial construction industry. CITY OF WATERLOO BUDGE a Code Adoption Purpose • In keeping up with the latest edition of the code cycle we stay current with designers within our jurisdiction and nationally. • Adoption of the most current code cycle helps to ensure a higher BCEGS ISO rating . ( Building code effectiveness grading schedule ) CITY OF WATERLOO BUDGE Code Changes • Business occupant load — Changed to 150 sq . ft . / person . Previous code cycles calculated a business at 100 sq . ft . / person . ( Change gives designer more options ) • Emergency egress and rescue — No longer required in groups R - 2 / R - 3 ( Apartments / Condos ) if a sprinkler system is provided throughout . CITY OF WATERLOO B U D G E T New Code Additions • Puzzle Room definition — This is a new definition that classifies puzzle rooms under the " Special Amusement " classification . • Automatic Door Openers — Automatic door openers are a new requirement based on the building occupancy and occupant load ) ( Groups A , B , M & R - 1 occupancies along with an occupant load greater than 30 CITY U P WATERLOO B U D G E T Model Building Codes • 2021 International Building Code ( IBC ) • 2021 International Residential Code ( IRC ) • 2021 International Mechanical Code ( IMC ) • 2021 Uniform Plumbing Code ( UPC ) • 2020 National Electrical Code ( NEC ) • 2021 International Fuel Gas Code ( IFGC ) Existing codes to remain . • 2009 ICC A117 . 1 Accessibility Code • 2012 International Energy Code ( IECC CITY UF WATERLOO BUDGET CITY OF WATERLOO Council Communication Discussion of the Complete Streets Advisory Committee's sidewalk infill project. City Council Meeting: 12/6/2021 Prepared: 11/24/2021 REVIEWERS: Department Reviewer Action Date Clerk Office Felchle, Kelley Approved 11/24/2021 - 1:18 PM SUBJECT: Discussion of the Complete Streets Advisory Committee's sidewalk infill rn o-ject• Submitted by: Submitted By:Noel Anderson, Community Planning and Development Director Recommended Action: Summary Statement/ Background Information: Neighborhood Impact: Data: Community Engagement Methods: Analysis and Strategies: Implementation,Accountability, and Communication:: Expenditure Required/ Source of Funds: Alternative: CITY OF WATERLOO Council Communication Discussion of a resolution voicing support for local mediaa and concern about newsroom consolidations. City Council Meeting: 12/6/2021 Prepared: 12/1/2021 REVIEWERS: Department Reviewer Action Date Clerk Office Felchle, Kelley Approved 12/1/2021 - 5:10 PM ATTACHMENTS: Description Type ❑ Resolution as proposed Backup Material SUBJECT: Discussion of a resolution voicing support for local media and concern about newsroom consolidations. Submitted by: Submitted By: Jonathan Grieder, Ward 2 Council member Recommended Action: Summary Statement/ Background Information: Neighborhood Impact: Data: Community Engagement Methods: Analysis and Strategies: Implementation,Accountability, and Communication:: Expenditure Required/ Source of Funds: Alternative: RESOLUTION VOICING SUPPORT FOR LOCAL MEDIA AND CONCERN ABOUT NEWSROOM CONSOLIDATIONS Whereas, local media, especially newspapers, serve as necessary and vital conduits of information for communities across the United States including Waterloo, Iowa; Whereas, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier has been in existence for 162 and serves a vital role in the well-being of Waterloo and the Cedar Valley; Whereas, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier has covered essential local stories keeping citizens informed of the social,political, and economic activities vital to their lives; Whereas, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier represents a vital link between citizens and local government; Whereas, a free and fair press is essential to an informed citizenry, an accountable government, and the health our democratic republican political institutions; Whereas, newsrooms across the country including here in Iowa have been consolidated and cut in the name of profit while leaving citizens less informed and less engaged in local life; Whereas, it was reported on November 22nd, 2021 that Alden Global Capital had made an offer to acquire Lee Enterprises, the current media company owning the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier; Whereas, Alden Global Capital has a reputation for profit seeking at the expense of local newsrooms and local coverage; Whereas, any further loss or staff reduction to local newspapers represents a real threat to the vibrancy, vitality, and future of local communities including Waterloo, Iowa. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF WATERLOO, IOWA, as follows; 1. That we express our concern and dismay about the potential further consolidation of media in this nation and especially in our community under the proposed media merger of Lee Enterprises by Alden Global Capital. 2. That we stand in full support of the 1St Amendment to the United States Constitution and the protections of a free and fair press. 3. That we support of local reporters, writers, editors, and media staffers who do so much to keep our community informed. 4. That we firmly believe that local media is essential to local communities, their economies, and the foundation of good, democratic government.