Boulder crafts ‘economic vitality’ policy

BOULDER – An advisory group making recommendations on Boulder’s economic future is urging a “turning of the ship” as well as “flexibility, creativity” and even “compromise” to increase business development and help the city turn the tide on its diminishing sales tax revenues.

The city’s long-awaited Economic Vitality Policy was unveiled last week, and City Manager Frank Bruno is talking it up with interested parties from the Boulder Chamber of Commerce to the League of Women Voters prior to presenting it to the city council in mid-October.

Bruno, in a meeting with business leaders at the Boulder chamber, said he wanted to seek approval of the policy from the current council. “This is the council who hired me, and I was given marching orders to get the economy going,” he said. Waiting for a new council, he added, would only delay the entire process.

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According to the policy document, Boulder would pursue “a more deliberate policy of fostering economic vitality defined by flexibility, creativity and compromise.”

“I do use the phrase ‘turning the ship,'” Bruno said. “I’m not suggesting turning our back on the past, but we’re living in a new and harsh reality.” The policy is pragmatic and designed to solve problems, he said.

A change in Boulder’s economic development direction was in the wind even before Bruno took the helm in February. The city’s 2003-2004 budget included $250,000 for an economic vitality program, with funding to continue through 2008.

The annual allocation comes from the remainder of Boulder Urban Redevelopment Authority bond proceeds. In the early 1980s BURA issued bonds to fund improvements at Crossroads Mall. The bonds were paid off over a 25-year period that ended in 2003.

The money will fund the economic vitality program through 2008, but the funding has a “fuse,” Bruno said, and the program has to fund itself after the money runs out. “The beauty of it is . . . it needs to show a return on investment or else it won’t continue because it won’t have a funding stream,” he said. Part of creating the program will include determining quantifiable measures of success and accountability. The program will be reviewed and adjusted as necessary every two years.

The policy paper also proposes that the Boulder Urban Renewal Authority (BURA) will dissolve at the end of the year to be replaced by an Economic Vitality Advisory Board (EVAB), a subset of which will work on urban redevelopment. Along with BURA’s demise, its two paid staff members — Executive Director Brad Power and Planner Marie Zuzack will be out of jobs.

But the policy calls for the city to hire two staff people — an economic vitality coordinator and an urban redevelopment specialist — to develop economic vitality and redevelopment work.

Bruno said he envisions that several members of the current BURA board, many of whom have valuable experience, would continue to serve as a committee advising EVAB.

The policy paper was hashed out by an economic advisory group consisting of more than a dozen local business leaders and citizens led by Bruno, with input from three council members and city staff. The group has met every other Wednesday since spring, and spent the last six weeks working on the wording of the policy.

Council members have been kept advised of the policy, and several already have given their feedback about it. They all now have received the proposed policy paper. “I will ask that they (council) don’t tinker with it much,” Bruno said at the chamber gathering, saying he hopes there won’t be “too much wordsmithing.”

The primary message in the document is “Boulder’s open for business,´ said advisory group member Matt McMullen, a principal with Architectural Maneuvers. “That’s something that we really haven’t been able to talk about before.”

Arts: economic driver

Serial entrepreneur Meg Hansson said her main contribution to the advisory group was to remind the group of the sales tax impact of the arts. “They tended to think that the arts were not a sales tax driver where I think half of Boulder is artistically inclined,” Hansson said. “It’s not all mountains and Flatirons and business.”

Advisory group member Gordon Riggle is one of only three council members staying in office after November. Riggle called the policy a “fine piece of work.” He’s looking forward to working with his new colleagues and said he hoped the new council is “more financially and economically sensitive and aware than we may have been in the past.”

Outgoing council member Lisa Morzel is happy with the policy document and said “I hope we approve it without too much dickering.” She thinks with his economic development background Bruno is a city manager who could pull off reenergizing the city’s economic base. Morzel, who has served for eight years, is not running for reelection because of family and job responsibilities, she said.

Given his lengthy experience heading up BURA, Brad Power might seem to be a shoo-in for one of the new jobs, particularly the urban renewal specialist. But he would not talk specifically about it. “I’m hoping to continue in some role in terms of the redevelopment issues facing the city,” Power said. “I’d rather not comment on my personal plans for the future. All I can do is put my best case forward.”

Bruno also would not discuss Power’s future. But he’d like to fill the new positions quickly. “If council gives me the go ahead, we’ll work on job descriptions and try to hire people by the end of the year or early ’04,” he said.

Bruno was also reluctant to discuss salary levels of the two individuals, saying only he wanted them to be “market based but also reflective of the duties they will perform.” He did not want to use Power’s current salary of $75,000 as an indication of what either the coordinator or specialist would earn.

Fiona Simon is a small businesswoman who thinks she would benefit from a serious economic development effort in Boulder. Simon, who owns Fiona’s All Natural Granola, said she’s grown too big for her current facility and is considering building a factory.

“I could sure use help going to the next stage,” Simon said. “I think (the city) could probably help small people out as they are growing.” Simon said.

Simon had revenues of $30,000 during 2002, her first year of business, and said she is poised to do $90,000 in 2003.

Simon estimated she needs $200,000 to $300,000 and would be grateful for a “really low interest loan, some kind of break on the lease or equipment,” she said. “I work 15 hours a day, and I’m not keeping up. I’m putting the breaks on because I can’t do any more until I automate.”

Simon indicated she’d hate to have to leave Boulder in order to grow her business. “I really need to have that address. Boulder is a Mecca for natural foods.”

Business Report Editor Jerry W. Lewis contributed to this story. Contact Caron Schwartz Ellis at (303) 440-4950 or e-mail csellis@bcbr.com.