Here.

Trustee Hughes.

Here.

Trusty Coneg.

Here.

Trusty McCarthy Lang.

Here.

Trustee Novi.

Here.

Trustee Torres.

Here.

All right.

First up, we will open the public forum.

If there's anyone wishing to address the board, please feel free to come forward now.

Seeing nobody, we will close the public forum and move on to new business.

Under new business tonight, we have uh item F1.

Kevin, come on down, sir.

Let's write red is go.

Blue is not.

Okay.

Take some getting used to.

Well, hello there.

Uh so tonight I am here to talk about the uh economic development incentive award program, otherwise known as the grant program, um, and some potential changes to it uh that we wanted to bring for discussion.

Um so to kind of uh set the table here, the uh economic development incentive award program goes back to 2014.

It started as a facade improvement program, so basically anything on the exterior.

Uh there weren't a whole lot of takers at the time when it was approved.

Uh so in 2018 it was revised uh to allow interior and exterior improvements, uh, and that is still the case today.

Um and so there is a um additional uh criteria, eligibility and program criteria that we review incentive requests on.

Um so essentially we want to see permanent functional improvements that um enhance the overall quality of the real estate and also improvements that improve the overall marketability of the space, um which is in uh that's exhibit B in your uh packet there.

So the uh the program goes back um the overall intent uh is really to, as I mentioned, enhance downtown real estate.

Um and that has been the case going all the way back to 2014 and based on the uh past precedent of applications that have been approved by the board, uh this board and previous boards, um, that is always been the case that we want to see those permanent um improvements that are affixed to the property.

Um and typically we want to see them for sales tax generators, uh but not always the case as long as they are um functional improvements that improve the quality of the real estate that could also be professional services, uh office users, etc.

Um but uh most recently after we approved uh three grants or excuse me, three recent grant applications for Freddie's off the chain, um happen stance excuse me, not happen stance goods, Freddie's off the chain, um, my sister's little donut shop, and then we also did one for Nash Vegas Saloon, which were all um functional improvements uh to the property.

Uh but shortly thereafter we received a uh couple of applications uh for what we describe as maintenance related improvements, so that's um improving parking lots, uh painting the building, um things of that nature, and there was some uh misunderstanding from those applicants as to why those types of improvements uh were not allowed.

And so we've never historically going back ever supported those types of improvements, nor have we approved applications uh for those types of improvements.

So we wanted to bring this to the economic development commission for some preliminary discussion on one if parking lots and painting should be included in the grant program, uh, and two um what limit, if any, should we be putting on these uh applications and then if there are uh additional clarifications in our current program that we need to make.

Um so the EDC came back.

Um they said that they understood that the the most important part of this program is to enhance the quality of the real estate, uh, but that some consideration should be given to general beautification, including some maintenance items.

Um so they did advocate for um potentially allowing for parking lots and painting to be included as part of a grant application and being um uh eligible for one, uh, but that we consider putting a cap on it if we were to include that.

Um and with that too, they also wanted to include some verbiage in the existing criteria that states basically providing a list of examples of what's eligible, partially eligible under these new maintenance programs, and completely ineligible.

Um and so I did put that in uh the memo tonight is kind of a draft list.

It's not set in stone, it's um easily uh manipulated, uh, but something I wanted to at least give for guiding discussion.

Um and one other additional point I want to make too is they said that they wanted to make sure that any maintenance-related improvements should be seen from the right of way, so basically from the street.

Um and they were not an advocate for roof replacements or roof repairs, uh, which currently is a permissible expense or exp permissible expense under the program.

Uh so with that, I entertain some discussion.

Thank you very much, Kevin.

Really appreciate it.

But what do you guys think?

Michelle, good.

Luca, you want to say something.

Yeah, um, okay.

So uh I I guess what I'm trying to understand is when we look at like the eligible eligible versus partially eligible, like some of the things that are on eligible are not viewable from the street.

So I'm trying to I'm trying to understand the list that that we were given from the EDC, and I was on the EDC, so I totally appreciate you know the effort and I know who's on that committee or commission, and um can you elaborate a little bit on like electrical work um and plumbing improvements, how that's I understand that that improves the value of the of the um location, but with the caveat of it should be seen from the street, obviously that's not.

So you hit the nail on the head there.

That's the functional improvement that the board has historically wanted to see.

It would be the maintenance related items, so the parking lots, the painting, et cetera, that would be considered the partially eligible for a smaller grant amount.

Okay.

So like I guess my only concern, and I'm I'm kind of throwing this out to all of us, is that you know, obviously would love to have a money tree to be able to give every business as much as we could to help them succeed.

Um, but we also don't want to have be giving, you know, giving out incentive awards and then have businesses not be able to come to us we go because they they can't uh do what they need to do.

I had asked um about maybe some some kind of a scorecard or some kind of an evaluation.