Loading...
10/08/2018 - Minutes 1 City of Port Orchard Economic Development and Tourism Committee Meeting Minutes Monday, October 8, 2018 Committee Members Present: Council Members Bek Ashby (Chair), Scott Diener, Jay Rosapepe City Officials and Staff: Mayor Rob Putaansuu, Community Development Director Nick Bond, City Clerk Brandy Rinearson, Long Range Planner Keri Sallee Guests: Chris Piercy, Kitsap County Solid Waste Department; Jack Edwards, Days Inn The meeting was called to order by Chair Ashby at 9:31 a.m. 1. Discussion: Plastic Bag Ban. Chris Piercy provided information on the proposed plastic bag ban, as a followup to the October Committee discussion. He said that he attended a Bremerton City Council meeting where the subject was discussed, and the Council members appear to be generally supportive and committed to moving forward. A public open house will be held in the next two weeks, so that the Bremerton Council members can listen to citizen concerns. He also made a presentation to the City of Poulsbo, and Poulsbo will add the plastic bag discussion to an upcoming Council committee meeting. Piercy reached out to several jurisdictions to see if they had any regrets about imposing the plastic bag ban, or about imposing a surcharge on plastic bags. The jurisdictions indicated no regrets with the ban or surcharges, but San Juan County indicated that they wished they had also banned thicker (i.e., greater than 2.25 mil) bags as well, because now they are finding thicker bags as garbage and litter instead of the thin bags. Kitsap County is committed to moving ahead with a 5-cent surcharge on plastic bags, as an incentive for consumer change. Retailers have also indicated opposition to a bag ban that does not include a surcharge, to cover their cost of changing to alternative bags. Chair Ashby said that she would prefer that any surcharge on plastic bags be voluntary instead of mandatory. Mayor Putaansuu provided the results of the City’s online plastic bag ban survey conducted in September. The survey, which was limited to City residents and business owners, had 190 respondents. Of that number, 111 (58%) supported a ban. The Committee agreed to bring the plastic bag issue, including the draft ordinance and proposed surcharge, to a December Council meeting as a discussion item. Prior to the meeting, the Committee members will reach out to other local governments that have a plastic bag ban, to get additional feedback on implementation issues, costs and public reception. Piercy will provide the Committee with any updates to the County’s draft ordinance prior to the City Council’s discussion. 2. Discussion: Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC). City Clerk Rinearson said that the LTAC has prepared a recommendation for the 2019 award of LTAC funds, which will be provided to the City Council for consideration at the October 9 meeting. Putaansuu said that the Finance Department has prepared a biennial budget that proposes awarding a maximum of $100,000 in LTAC funds each year, which is intended to be conservative and sustainable over time. The award amount will be re-reviewed with each budget and may be adjusted annually according to actual lodging tax income. Ashby said that until Port Orchard has more hotel beds, it’s unlikely that LTAC funding will significantly increase. 3. Discussion: Summer Foot Ferry Ridership Review. Rinearson gave an overview of the summer foot ferry ridership numbers and income. The ridership count was somewhat lower than last year, corresponding to a smaller number of downtown/waterfront events. Approximately 50% of this year’s ridership was on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. Ashby noted that starting last year, the City funds the foot ferry only on Sundays and some 2 holidays, with other times being funded by Kitsap Transit. She said there will be a meeting of the foot ferry partners within the next 30 days to review this year’s activity and discuss next year’s funding. 4. Discussion: “The Cash Flow of Urbanism” Video. Community Development Director Bond said that at a recent conference, he was introduced to a video that modeled the economic value of different types of development (residential, commercial, etc) based on the amount of tax revenue they generate which goes to their local jurisdiction. Bond encouraged Council members to view the video and the ideas it presents. This information can be useful when preparing land use and zoning codes, and when analyzing the cost vs. value of installing and maintaining City infrastructure and services for new development. He provided a number of example development types for comparison, based solely on property tax generation. A four-story office building was the top property tax generator per acre, and a commercial parking lot was the lowest generator. Newer, smaller-lot residential development also generates more property tax per acre than homes on larger lots. Grocery stores are one of the lowest performing development types per acre, because food sales don’t generate sales tax, the stores are almost always limited to one story, and they tend to have large surface parking lots. “Urban model” grocery stores in multiple-story buildings with parking garages can be encouraged where appropriate for greater tax revenue. This concept can also be applied to self-storage facilities. Ashby said that the economic value of employees in City businesses should also be considered, since even if they don’t live in the City they contribute to the City’s tax base by shopping, eating at restaurants and using personal services here. Bond said that he will continue to work on a model that includes sales tax. Sales tax is relevant to both residential and commercial land uses, since online sales are now taxed according to their delivery location, which is often a personal residence. Approximately 10% of all retail sales are now conducted online, and the share of online sales is increasing each year. Ashby and Council Member Rosapepe both noted that it was important to preserve diversity in building types, building heights and neighborhood character, and to consider design and compatibility issues as well as revenue generation from new development proposals. Putaansuu said that he had discussed the City’s “Visit Port Orchard” video with the original video creator, who said that it would be more time- and cost-effective to create a new video that highlights the City’s most recent achievements and attractions, instead of trying to update the existing video. A new video will cost about $5,000. Putaansuu will bring the proposal for a new video to Council on October 9 for consideration. Next Meeting: The scheduled November meeting was canceled. The next meeting is scheduled for December 10, 2018, at 9:30 am in the Council Chambers.