[0:03] How we doing?
[0:05] Good. Good. How's it going?
[0:13] How was your weekend? Yeah, Marissa,
[0:15] a baby shower on Saturday, so that was cool.
[0:20] Linda's sister. Okay. Does she live here?
[0:25] There on national. Okay. Yeah, they're
[12:02] Our workshops as well as our meetings.
[12:04] We are gonna get back to the premise that this is times
[12:08] to do city business with city staff in the public eye.
[12:14] We're gonna try to actually get refocused back on that, that
[12:17] during these workshops as well as our nightly meetings,
[12:20] we're gonna be doing business.
[12:23] So that's kind of a preface with what's coming up in some
[12:26] of our discussions today.
[12:28] So with that, I employ people to be efficient
[12:32] and to the point in their comments and their questions.
[12:35] And we're gonna start today's workshop with
[12:40] some feedback from our local organizations.
[12:44] Who wants to start first?
[12:51] Good afternoon, mayor and council.
[12:52] I'm Dana Pierce, I'm the economic development manager here
[12:55] at the city and each year the council dedicates a portion
[12:59] of a workshop to presentations from our economic development
[13:02] community partners.
[13:04] And so that's who we have here today.
[13:06] Each of them works closely with our division
[13:09] and provides different services that help
[13:11] to support recruitment, retention,
[13:12] and expansion for businesses and grants paths.
[13:15] So to start us off today, I'm gonna have still ready,
[13:19] Southern Oregon Regional Economic
[13:20] Development come up and speak.
[13:22] I'd like to introduce you to Blair Sandell.
[13:25] He's the executive director of that organization.
[13:31] All Right, thank you Dana,
[13:33] and very nice to be in front of all you today.
[13:35] So thank you for having me here.
[13:38] Blair Sundale, executive director of So Ready,
[13:39] the Region's Economic Development District.
[13:41] Thought I'd start off today by explaining a little bit about
[13:45] what sorey is.
[13:46] What is the function of Sorey in the region?
[13:50] So back in the mid sixties, the US Department of Commerce
[13:53] realize that what wasn't happening in communities
[13:57] that shared resources,
[13:58] whether it be workforce infrastructure
[14:01] and the overall economy, was
[14:03] that they weren't necessarily talking to each other
[14:05] or working on a regional strategy together.
[14:09] So they formed districts 400 of 'em throughout the entire us
[14:13] and ours was formed back in 1982 in order
[14:16] to help communities speak to each other.
[14:19] For instance, grants Pass wouldn't naturally pick up the
[14:23] phone and find out what ashland's up to
[14:25] and are there regional priorities we can work on together
[14:27] as a region or Medford or so on and so forth.
[14:30] So that is the original premise of
[14:33] what an economic DIS development district does.
[14:38] Every five years we take input from across the region
[14:42] and develop an economic development strategy for the region.
[14:45] We have input from Grants Pass
[14:47] and all other cities, private industry to understand
[14:51] what are some of the biggest things
[14:53] that we can work on together, what is
[14:55] that direction gonna look like?
[14:56] We publish that on our website,
[14:57] so you feel free to take a look at it there.
[15:00] And then whenever we do work
[15:01] and determine what should already be involved in,
[15:04] we tie it back to does it fit within that document
[15:07] to help keep us on the right course.
[15:12] We've got five organizations here today.
[15:14] So what I thought I would do was start off
[15:16] with explaining a little bit about the focus areas of each
[15:19] of our organizations
[15:20] because it can be confusing sometimes when you see a handful
[15:24] of organizations
[15:25] that are all working on this thing called economic
[15:27] development and what does that mean
[15:29] and what are their focus areas.
[15:31] So I've got a few things lined out here
[15:33] and I really don't wanna speak too much on behalf
[15:36] of the other partners that we have here in the room,
[15:38] but you can see that this is a broad scope of work
[15:41] and then not any single organization is fit
[15:44] to take on that work by itself.
[15:46] But by segmenting out what each of us work on,
[15:49] then we can all move these types
[15:50] of initiatives forward for So Ready.
[15:53] We are the regional organization in this group.
[15:56] So covering both Jackson
[15:58] and Josephine County, we have, like I say, two counties,
[16:02] 13 incorporated cities and 57 unincorporated communities.
[16:06] So it's a pretty broad reach for what our focus is and
[16:09] therefore the types of things that we're involved in have
[16:13] to be regional in nature.
[16:15] So it's hard for me to work specifically in some
[16:17] of these downtown, but that's why you have organizations.
[16:20] But Main Street, Some of the things we,
[16:25] we support our communities with are, we're known for our,
[16:29] our work in the business retention, recruitment
[16:32] and expansion area, legislative advocacy,
[16:35] which is actually fairly new to So Ready, I'll be honest.
[16:38] Incentives for expansion and infrastructure
[16:41] and direct loans to businesses as well.
[16:43] So we have a revolving loan program
[16:45] and make, make loans to businesses throughout the
[16:47] communities in Southern Oregon,
[16:51] I've broken down six key components to things
[16:54] that we focus on to help Grants Pass.
[16:57] Again, legislative adv advocacy is a fairly new one.
[17:01] It's an area that I have particular comfort
[17:03] in due to my background.
[17:05] It's also a, an area where I believe that we have an,
[17:09] a really big opportunity to bring all
[17:11] of the communities together throughout Southern Oregon
[17:13] and speak with a bigger voice in Salem.
[17:16] I think it's not a big surprise that there are a lot of
[17:19] business unfriendly practices, taxes,
[17:21] regulation that we all face.
[17:24] And it's hard for us individually
[17:26] as individual visual business
[17:27] or communities to represent
[17:30] how those things might impact economic
[17:32] development in Southern Oregon.
[17:34] So one of the things that I did this short session was go
[17:37] throughout the communities, make contact with each of 'em
[17:39] and say, these are some of the priorities
[17:42] that I'm seeing right now in Salem at this point.
[17:45] They're just legislative concepts,
[17:46] here are my positions on them.
[17:49] Do you agree and do you wanna work on those things together?
[17:51] And so I did have some communities come together
[17:53] and say, yes, we actually do wanna work on that.
[17:55] In fact, that's a, a hot button for us as well.
[17:59] Jackson County was one of them.
[18:00] We worked very closely through the last session.
[18:02] In the long session. I would like to invite Grant's Pass to,
[18:08] to work closely with, so rating through some
[18:10] of the other account communities across Southern Oregon in
[18:14] order to make sure that we know what it is that we're trying
[18:16] to advocate for or push back against Regional convening.
[18:21] I mentioned that that's where, you know, we're looking
[18:23] to try to get people on the same page.
[18:26] The enterprise Zone administration.
[18:28] So this is a tax abatement program
[18:30] that is all throughout southern Oregon.
[18:32] There are four main zones down here
[18:34] and we're the enterprise zone manager
[18:35] for all four of those zones.
[18:37] That provides some tax relief for businesses
[18:40] that are expanding or coming into the area.
[18:43] And as I mentioned, re recruitment and retention.
[18:46] So we work, actually you've just finished up the three year
[18:53] BR and E survey that the chamber just put together.
[18:55] I don't know if he's gonna talk about
[18:57] that at all today, so I'll, I'll leave that to him.
[18:59] But it's where we dive in
[19:01] and understand what kind of challenges exist
[19:04] and what kind of progress is being made.
[19:06] Each three year period, the Josephine County Chamber puts
[19:09] that on and we dedicate two staff to doing survey work
[19:13] to help support that effort.
[19:16] And then, as I mentioned the EDD designation,
[19:18] this gives us access to provide grant funding of available
[19:21] to communities with us as a conduit and,
[19:24] and actually some communities can do this on their own.
[19:28] The City of Grants Pass did, so
[19:30] for the Spalding infrastructure there was an EDA grant
[19:33] that was applied for by the city of Grants Pass.
[19:37] And if, if I can be honest, I that's an area
[19:39] where we really could have stepped up to help take some of
[19:42] that pressure off because that's one of the types of things
[19:45] that we are capable of doing.
[19:48] And then as I mentioned, the revolving loan fund.
[19:49] These are loans that we make to small businesses
[19:51] to help them get access to capital when,
[19:54] when the banking sector is not yet prepared.
[19:56] So a lot of newer businesses
[19:58] or businesses have maybe fallen on hard times,
[20:01] but have a good plan for success.
[20:03] We can step in and and help out there.
[20:07] Another thing I hadn't mentioned yet,
[20:09] but this is data and insights.
[20:10] I think it's really important. And we
[20:12] just launched a community survey.
[20:13] If any of you filled that out for us, I want to thank you
[20:15] because that gave us a lot of feedback on
[20:18] what the community feels.
[20:19] So Ready should be able to do well in order
[20:22] to support economic development.
[20:24] One of them was data and insights
[20:26] and we have just launched this platform on our website.
[20:30] I encourage you to go see it.
[20:31] We built it to go over numerous facets of the economy
[20:36] and focus on southern Oregon as a region.
[20:39] You can also break it down into just Josephine County
[20:42] and compare it to other areas throughout the state.
[20:44] So if there's an area in the state, state that you know is,
[20:47] is doing really well, you want
[20:49] to find out why you can select those two counties.
[20:51] Most importantly, you don't have to be an economist
[20:54] to understand what this means.
[20:55] There are summaries
[20:57] and you have the ability to pick three personas,
[21:00] a policy maker, an economic developer, or a business.
[21:03] And it will give you the perception of
[21:07] what does this data mean for you
[21:08] and what can you do about it as a policy maker
[21:10] or as a business owner or someone in economic development.
[21:13] So I encourage you to check that out
[21:15] and give us some feedback on it as well.
[21:16] It's designed to help give you more data so
[21:18] that you can make informed decisions.
[21:22] Some of the impacts that we've had over the last couple
[21:24] years in JO or well Josephine County
[21:26] and Grants Pass about a million dollars in
[21:29] loans deployed to small businesses.
[21:31] A $17.3 million worth of private capital investment due
[21:34] to our lending and tax abatement, incentive programs
[21:39] and creating 145 jobs.
[21:42] I do wanna make it clear those are not us creating those
[21:44] jobs, that's businesses creating those jobs,
[21:46] but us providing some tools
[21:48] to help catalyze that investment.
[21:52] If we go beyond the numbers
[21:53] and highlight a couple of different projects,
[21:55] I mentioned Spalding, and in as far
[21:57] as legislative testimony goes,
[21:58] we did support the $2 million ask
[22:01] and I'm happy to to know that the city was
[22:06] provided with that so, or will be provided with that.
[22:08] But that passed. And so that $2 million for
[22:10] that sewer infrastructure is gonna be huge in unlocking
[22:13] that other 60 acres right across the way there.
[22:18] Another thing we're working on with the city
[22:19] of Grants Pass is back in 2024, you approved Urban Renewal
[22:25] Agency grant and loan program and we reached out to Brad
[22:29] and Dana and JC reached out
[22:31] and said, is there a way that we can support since we do
[22:34] loans and administering
[22:36] and helping get this program on the street?
[22:38] And so we have a proposal into the city right now to be able
[22:42] to provide assistance for that.
[22:48] And Let's see here.
[22:50] So this might be slightly duplicative
[22:52] so we won't spend too much time on this,
[22:54] but this just gives you a few different scenarios,
[22:58] different types of projects that we would be involved in
[23:01] that would also involve partners.
[23:03] Again, these are partners that are here in the room
[23:05] and how a project comes together
[23:06] because it's not just saying, okay, so ready,
[23:09] make this thing happen, it's so ready.
[23:11] Also working with other partners to make something happen.
[23:15] And so this just gives you a few different examples of
[23:18] who would be involved in a, a working
[23:19] with a startup entrepreneur
[23:21] or an expanding manufacturer, relocating a prospect in,
[23:25] into the area or providing infrastructure investment
[23:28] and how we work with communities through that.
[23:34] And I will say, and I alluded to this with a survey,
[23:37] Sorey is looking, I've been here for seven months
[23:41] and one of the things that I found was that Rey's
[23:45] activities had become broad
[23:47] and lost focus from the original core
[23:51] economic development district mandate.
[23:52] And I'm looking to bring that back.
[23:54] So that's, that's reeling in a lot of different functions
[23:57] that the community does not feel are the highest value for
[24:00] what we can be providing.
[24:02] As well as looking at our own budget and our ROI
[24:06] and then looking to our core mandates.
[24:08] And so one of the, the one of those things
[24:10] that we're doing is reeling in our activities
[24:13] to focus more on regional initiatives so
[24:15] that if we have impact in something, it's a larger impact
[24:19] as opposed to working on something over here
[24:21] and then not being able to see
[24:22] that happen throughout the rest of the region.
[24:25] So like I say, working at a, at a more
[24:28] of a 30,000 foot level, I believe is
[24:30] what the community's asking us to do
[24:32] and that's where our focus is gonna be.
[24:34] I'll give you a quick story though on, just as an example
[24:37] 'cause I don't have any testimonies built into this,
[24:39] but just an example for how we act in
[24:43] that convener role on a day-to-day basis
[24:45] as opposed to regional strategy.
[24:47] There's a Grants Pass company
[24:49] that was working on a procurement in Jackson County
[24:53] and was running up against some roadblocks.
[24:56] So naturally they called
[24:57] and said, do you know anybody at the city that we can help
[25:02] that can help us get through this procurement process?
[25:05] I said, absolutely. And actually they mentioned that,
[25:09] that the process that they were going
[25:10] through was not very smooth and not what they expected.
[25:13] And I said, I, I know that city,
[25:15] that's not the way they operate.
[25:17] Let me give 'em a call.
[25:18] So I called the city manager
[25:19] and walked through the situation
[25:21] and asked if I could get them in touch with the business
[25:24] so they could understand the process better.
[25:26] They agreed and, and the next thing I know,
[25:28] I got a text message from the business that said, thank you.
[25:31] We actually now have a chance to bid on
[25:33] that million dollar project that's gonna benefit Grants Pass
[25:37] employees and a Grants Pass business working with a a,
[25:41] a business in or a city in Jackson County.
[25:45] I don't wanna speak on too much more of the specifics
[25:48] because that procurement is currently underway,
[25:50] but it's just an example of, of that convener role
[25:53] that we play throughout jurisdictions
[25:56] and with private industries to help cut some of
[25:58] that red tape so that a business can access the people
[26:01] within, within government that they normally would, not
[26:05] that they wouldn't be able to access them,
[26:07] but it's hard for them to know who
[26:08] to call and how to get there.
[26:11] You know, I mean you, you're, many
[26:13] of you are business people as well,
[26:14] but to businesses that are outside, they see the city
[26:19] and they don't know quite how to approach cities
[26:22] and that's, that's really universal across all cities.
[26:24] You can be the most business friendly city in the world,
[26:27] but when it comes down to it, businesses are intimidated
[26:31] by how to get through.
[26:33] And this helps us with recruitments as well
[26:36] because we're working on one in White City right now.
[26:39] And we asked him, what is the number one pain point
[26:41] that you're experiencing
[26:43] as you are expanding into new markets?
[26:45] And they said, really, it's permitting
[26:48] and dealing with the cities and counties.
[26:50] I said, perfect. Done.
[26:51] We'll get you direct contacts within the county
[26:53] and city so that you can make
[26:55] that an easier, an easier process.
[26:58] We did do that and notified the people within the city
[27:01] that this lead was coming
[27:03] and it made the process very smooth
[27:05] and they were very complimentary.
[27:06] So again, I think that's one of the, one of the things that,
[27:09] that we're well positioned to do is connect local government
[27:13] with private industry
[27:18] and I just wanna thank you
[27:20] for your continued investment in the work that we're doing
[27:22] and I hope we have some time left over in this 10 minute
[27:26] block because I would like to hear from all
[27:28] of you if there are things that you have for suggestions
[27:31] or questions or ideas for how Soread can, can continue
[27:35] or better support the city of Grants Pass.
[27:40] Thank you. We're gonna go around real quick
[27:43] to make sure we don't have any questions.
[27:44] Rob, have any questions for this presentation?
[27:47] Off the top. Thank you very much. Good presentation.
[27:49] Off the top of your head, how, how much does the city
[27:54] of Grants pass contribute to your organization?
[27:57] Dollar, dollar Wise, I
[27:58] Believe it's 28,000.
[28:00] Thank you. Yeah. Rick got any questions?
[28:06] Thank you. You mentioned you've been helping businesses in
[28:09] the city Grants Pass.
[28:11] Do you have like a, a name, like a couple
[28:14] that you've been able to help with financially?
[28:17] Yeah, actually some of them have
[28:19] been restaurants down here.
[28:20] I know that the Bohemian, we helped them. Okay.
[28:23] Yeah, and a great business down there.
[28:26] I, I'm drawing a blank for some of the other names.
[28:29] I, and I'm sorry, I I did get a list. It's in my phone.
[28:32] It should have, should have been prepared with more
[28:36] of those names, but go ahead.
[28:38] Okay, thank you Eric. Questions?
[28:42] Yeah, thank you for the presentation.
[28:45] The, you mentioned the grants pass $2 million,
[28:48] sanitary sewer infrastructure.
[28:50] Is there gonna be anything that, any follow up
[28:52] that your organization is gonna be dealing with with that?
[28:56] If not, or if so then what, what, what type of things?
[29:01] Sure. Thank you for the question.
[29:03] So right now I'm, I'm just happy to know that that,
[29:06] you know, I don't know that it was necessarily our
[29:08] testimony, but you know, the continued testimony
[29:10] of those on behalf of that, that support from the state,
[29:14] really we work closely with the community development
[29:20] and economic development folks here at the city.
[29:23] So if there is a need, a reason for us to step in and
[29:26] and further shepherd something along, we're definitely able
[29:30] and willing to do that.
[29:31] I believe for that particular ask that appropriation is part
[29:34] of a, a bigger project that I'm not aware
[29:38] that we are re required
[29:40] or been asked to provide further support past what we have.
[29:45] Victoria On the page.
[29:48] Hi, thank you so much for your presentations on the page
[29:52] where you list the 991,000 and loan deployment.
[29:56] It's slide six. I don't know if someone can go to that
[29:59] or not, but, but it's okay if we can't.
[30:01] Oh, thank you. Yeah, yeah, they, you can thank you.
[30:06] Over what timeframe are we
[30:09] That is over a three year timeframe.
[30:10] Three year timeframe. I missed that if you said it.
[30:13] Oh, okay. Thank you. Appreciate it. You're welcome.
[30:18] Question Seth? Yeah.
[30:19] Hey, thanks Blair for the presentation.
[30:21] I just had one quick question on one of the slides.
[30:23] You mentioned tax incentive programs.
[30:25] Can you talk a little bit about those, if any
[30:27] of them have been utilized or how people can utilize them?
[30:30] Yes, so there are, there's a map that you can view
[30:35] that shows you all
[30:37] of the eligible zones within the Grants Pass Urban
[30:39] and then the Rogue, which is the Josephine County rural
[30:43] Enterprise zone area.
[30:45] Each of the zones has a total of 12 square miles worth
[30:49] of land that can be designated.
[30:51] So at some point in the past, certain tracks,
[30:54] or I should say parcels are included in an overall zone.
[30:58] What happens is if a capital investment is being made
[31:01] by a manufacturer or somebody in processing distribution in
[31:04] that traded sector in one of those zones, they,
[31:09] the capital improvements that they're going to make in
[31:12] that area, whether it be real estate
[31:14] or equipment purchases, are eligible for a tax abatement
[31:19] of three to five years.
[31:21] And that will provide them with the, the business
[31:24] with the ability to not have
[31:25] to pay those real estate taxes for that period of time.
[31:29] And that is used as an investment,
[31:31] or I'm sorry, as a, as an incentive to make
[31:34] that investment happen.
[31:36] And the $17.3 million is the amount
[31:40] that we have approved over the last three year period.
[31:46] And one thing that I will say is
[31:48] that this is a, this is a careful balance.
[31:50] Programs like this, I actually did oppose the expansion
[31:53] of this program in the legislative session.
[31:55] The governor had a bill, so did Senators Solomon
[31:58] that was going to
[32:00] and did extend that period optionally up to 10 years.
[32:05] I believe that some of the, the issues
[32:10] that businesses have with taxes are at the state level,
[32:14] not necessarily at the local level.
[32:16] And so I believe that pushing that incentive out to 10 years
[32:20] makes local communities shoulder too much
[32:22] of the burden of that.
[32:24] Because I mean, if you think about actually there's,
[32:28] there is a study, I will say this, there is a study
[32:30] that you can find out of the Brookings Institute that shows
[32:35] that about 80% of the enterprise zones
[32:38] or tax abatement programs just like this across the country
[32:41] are projects that would've happened anyway.
[32:44] And so I do take issue with over utilization
[32:47] and overextension of these types of programs
[32:50] because if you, if you take that into context,
[32:52] that's $2.4 million of, of revenue to the county that
[32:56] that was abated that maybe did not have to be.
[32:59] So one of the things that I'm making sure
[33:01] that we're doing it so ready is keeping tax incentive
[33:03] programs in our back pocket as opposed to leading with them
[33:06] because I believe there are other reasons
[33:08] that we should be attracting businesses to the area.
[33:11] There are other things that we can offer them,
[33:13] like would you like connections within local government
[33:15] to get your project done quicker?
[33:17] Would you like to be connected with other businesses
[33:20] that can tell you about the, the workforce
[33:22] and how that might benefit your business
[33:24] and, and be a good fit for you.
[33:27] And then make other B2B connections in order to help them
[33:29] with the supply chain and things like that.
[33:31] And then you have your incentive if you need it
[33:33] to make the tiebreaker for that business.
[33:36] But I don't like to lead with incentives
[33:37] because there's no free lunch
[33:40] and it's our local communities that do give up that tax.
[33:43] So I just wanna make that clear that it is a tool
[33:45] that we are in charge of, but it's, it's not something
[33:48] that I actively push
[33:52] Questions, Joel,
[33:57] we're going round table here.
[33:59] Pay attention. Do you have a question?
[34:01] Okay, thank you, endure. Okay.
[34:04] Thank you for being here.
[34:05] I'm really happy to see that the new leadership is pushing
[34:08] to make its value more known and accountable.
[34:12] So my question is with the RCC not being able to host SBDC,
[34:17] which in my view is a travesty unfortunately is
[34:22] so ready in any position to pick up some
[34:24] of those pieces. Thank
[34:26] You for that question because that is,
[34:29] that is initially something that we,
[34:31] we knew we needed to look at.
[34:33] It's, we've been being asked for a while, you know,
[34:36] with this vacuum, how can
[34:38] so ready step up to the plate and take that on.
[34:40] I have done a, a thorough analysis on
[34:42] what our organization is capable of doing and taking that on
[34:45] and what kind of funding is available there to make
[34:47] that a sustainable effort for us
[34:50] without it essentially burdening us on, on the reserve side
[34:54] or asking us to, to really have communities pitch in
[34:57] to a degree that I'm not quite sure if we can on a long-term
[35:02] sustainable level at this point.
[35:05] The SBDC is moving in a direction where,
[35:10] and I have been in talks with, you know, the,
[35:12] the ho the prior hosts, the RCC
[35:15] and SOU, the centers as well as the SBDC network.
[35:19] It is not their preference that's
[35:21] so ready be the new home for that.
[35:22] They have a channel that they would like to run that
[35:24] through, which is gonna be direct procurement.
[35:26] So, you know, this is something that I wanted to know,
[35:29] could we be a backup plan?
[35:32] There probably is a world in which we can, if, if that,
[35:38] if, if this new model needs to continue shifting,
[35:42] what we are trying to do to the greatest extent we can is
[35:46] create the visibility for that technical assistance so
[35:51] that businesses can still access that service.
[35:53] It was one of the things that ranked very low on the list
[35:55] of things that the community would like
[35:57] to see us step up and, and take on.
[35:58] Nor is it really within our charter,
[36:01] but it doesn't mean
[36:02] that we cannot be a champion of that service.
[36:05] So the businesses can still continue to get connected to it.
[36:07] Because I think to your point a a lot
[36:11] of people are not going to know that
[36:12] that service still exists.
[36:14] They're gonna see the shock
[36:16] and we need to make sure that the messaging continues to,
[36:18] to remain so that businesses can still access that resource.
[36:22] So I see us playing a bigger marketing role in helping
[36:26] businesses find that access as opposed
[36:27] to directly offering it.
[36:30] Thank you. Perfect, thank you very much.
[36:34] Any last further questions? Okay, so I, I forgot to prep,
[36:38] Sorry, hold on.
[36:39] I guess turn my mic on too.
[36:41] I forgot to preface this in the beginning.
[36:43] I'm trying to turn these workshops into a little bit
[36:45] more efficient manner here.
[36:47] So all the counselors have received the information
[36:51] presentation packets ahead of time,
[36:53] so they should have the ability to, you know, review this
[36:56] before it's presented and formulate questions.
[37:00] We're gonna go into a round table style questioning today.
[37:03] So basically I'm gonna start at one end
[37:05] and go down the other and then
[37:06] back if there's a second question.
[37:07] But I really will encourage counselors to be really
[37:11] poignant in their questions and to the point
[37:13] and so we can make this happen in an efficient manner.
[37:17] So Vic, with that Victoria, go ahead.
[37:21] I'm looking at the, on your website, the data dashboard,
[37:26] and I see some of the information
[37:28] that's in our packet there, which is really wonderful
[37:31] and I was, but some of the things
[37:33] that you were mentioning just
[37:34] before, can I find that on your data,
[37:39] like the percentage of
[37:43] of the LO loans and things like that?
[37:44] Can I find that there?
[37:46] Yes, counselor. So the, our, our data that we're,
[37:51] we do not have our data on there right now.
[37:53] Right now what that dashboard is, is all public sources.
[37:55] So 14 different data sources feed into that
[37:58] to show you the regional economy.
[38:00] And so as far as like our own report card, we don't have
[38:03] that online yet.
[38:04] We are working though on being able to
[38:08] produce such a scorecard that we can, you know, hand out,
[38:11] I mean RCC actually had a great one they shared with me
[38:13] and I thought, wow, this is, this is great if you're going
[38:16] to, you know, ask for your next annual membership,
[38:18] this is a great thing to put before somebody
[38:20] and say, hey, here's, here's what our impact has been.
[38:22] So like an impact scorecard,
[38:24] but we don't have that on that dashboard.
[38:26] So I would say that the dashboard isn't about us,
[38:29] the dashboard is about the regional economy.
[38:31] Right. Would would I be able
[38:33] to contact you then and maybe get
[38:35] Access to that information?
[38:36] Yeah, absolutely. Okay. Oh, thank you. I'll do that. Thanks.
[38:40] Alright, thank you Dana, you wanna introduce the next
[38:46] Thank you Blair.
[38:47] That was a great introduction, looking at the broad
[38:50] perspective of economic development here for the region.
[38:53] So next I would like
[38:54] to invite up Roka Community College Small
[38:57] Business Development Center.
[38:58] Today we have Lisa Parks, the Dean of Business
[39:01] and Workforce Development here with us,
[39:03] but we do have Ruth Swain, the director presenting.
[39:07] Ruth has been the director of the R-C-C-S-B-D-C
[39:11] for the last five years,
[39:13] and she has 30 years of experience owning
[39:15] and managing business services
[39:17] and assisting with business success
[39:19] and regional economic development.
[39:21] She holds numerous awards and,
[39:23] and for excellence in branding and marketing.
[39:25] And so please welcome up Ruth Swain.
[39:39] Okay, Thank you.
[39:45] As Dana said, I'm Ruth, I'm here to report on
[39:51] RCCS BDCs services
[39:53] and recap our services from 2025
[39:59] and also
[40:01] to talk a little bit about the changes that are coming.
[40:04] As I thought of speaking you today, I thought
[40:09] of Margaret Mead's quote, never doubt that a small group
[40:13] of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world.
[40:18] Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has
[40:22] changed the world.
[40:26] I think of that because of my gratefulness in serving you.
[40:31] And with our partners, Oregon
[40:37] Sbd C'S mission is building Oregon's best businesses.
[40:43] Two services are provided confidential, no cost advising
[40:48] and very low cost business classes.
[40:51] Now, these classes are not a full term.
[40:54] They are targeted specifically for businesses
[40:59] to make them short, direct, and resourceful.
[41:05] The SBDC
[41:07] and RCC offers services at every stage of your business,
[41:11] whether you have an idea.
[41:15] Every year between 30
[41:17] and 40% of our clients come in with an idea
[41:21] and we send them to glasses and we meet with them.
[41:25] We help people find their certifications
[41:29] and launch their business such
[41:31] as the construction contractor pre-license program,
[41:36] once they pass the test
[41:37] and we help them secure their license online
[41:42] and become their own business.
[41:44] Expanding is a big part of what we do.
[41:46] We work with people who need to retool their message,
[41:52] look for a, a better marketing plan and renewal.
[41:57] We call it renewal. We, during the pandemic
[42:00] and during supply chain issues
[42:04] and during now with the economy the way it is,
[42:08] we still support people in that process.
[42:11] We don't do it for them. We help teach them how.
[42:15] We also work with people who are preparing
[42:17] to sell their business or want to buy a business.
[42:24] Mike and Jody Aplin gave us our, their permission.
[42:29] Our services are confidential, but Mike
[42:32] and Jody were, came to us a number
[42:36] of years ago and made a considerable number of changes
[42:40] in their financial performance, their employee programs,
[42:43] in their growth strategies.
[42:46] And they also, in the last couple years, we work
[42:50] with them on the transition to sell.
[42:55] Thank you to our funders, rogue Community College.
[43:01] I tried to make the logo a little bigger there
[43:02] because they have long traditionally
[43:06] provided the most funding.
[43:08] And the City
[43:09] of Grands Pass has been a faithful supporter for many years.
[43:13] Josephine County has also given us funding.
[43:17] Our core funding comes from Business Oregon and the
[43:20] SBAI
[43:25] Want to say I, yes, I've been working in management
[43:29] and business and economic development for 30 years.
[43:33] I have never met a more dedicated city staff,
[43:38] not only Brad
[43:40] and the community development department, Dana,
[43:43] with the economic development department, your city manager,
[43:48] public works director, all y'all really come together
[43:52] to serve small business.
[43:54] And that to me goes back to
[43:56] that Margaret Mead statement of people.
[43:59] A small group of people who are working together
[44:02] with a vision can make a difference.
[44:08] You, I probably haven't listed all the wonderful programs
[44:11] that you offer small business,
[44:13] but I want you to know that they are meaningful.
[44:15] One of your programs where it's called Micro Grants,
[44:19] provides 90% re tuition
[44:24] sponsorship for low to moderate income households in
[44:28] grants past Urban Growth Boundary.
[44:33] Why do we need so many agencies to work together?
[44:38] We get this often.
[44:40] Each of us has a different mission
[44:43] and we each collaborate to refer people to the right type
[44:48] of support that they need.
[44:52] Blair mentioned re's role in loans
[44:56] and we work with Sore
[44:58] and Ivy, CDOA number of the loans that
[45:03] have been achieved in Grants Pass have either worked with
[45:08] Ivy CDO Loan or So Ready Loan
[45:11] and there's also advising that goes along with that.
[45:14] Dana and the city staff are always
[45:19] responsive to needs and ideas.
[45:23] We, we also work with early childhood education
[45:29] and it's amazing how,
[45:33] how it all comes together and we get to know each other
[45:37] and support each other.
[45:41] I do wanna say a special thank you to our advisory council
[45:46] and community partners.
[45:49] Dana Pierce has served on our
[45:52] advisory council at the R-C-C-S-B-D-C since she started,
[45:57] and Terry Hopkins also.
[46:01] And actually Blair served on our advisory council
[46:04] for many years when he worked for Business Oregon.
[46:07] Thank y'all.
[46:13] Kevin and Helen Gill came to us 20 years ago
[46:19] and they were taking over their uncle's business
[46:23] and they went through our training programs.
[46:26] We worked with them through drought, supply chain,
[46:29] their employee programs,
[46:32] and now their second generation, third
[46:35] or fourth generation leadership with Ryan stepping in as
[46:40] I think his title is, president, vice President
[46:45] in 2025.
[46:46] We served 580 clients through
[46:50] advising and classes.
[46:53] We also, we don't, we don't retain the jobs,
[46:57] but we support businesses in how to retain them.
[47:02] That $4.2 million in capital likely had some
[47:07] so ready and obviously they owe loans.
[47:11] We collaborate very closely with our partners
[47:15] who provide loan programs to help our clients.
[47:20] You have to have a business plan.
[47:22] Even if you've been in business many years, you still have
[47:26] to have a rationale
[47:28] and factual information in order to get that loan.
[47:33] We help start nine new businesses. There are lots more.
[47:38] There are at least four or five that we can get documented
[47:41] because they have to sign a piece paper
[47:44] and when they're off starting a new
[47:46] business, they're pretty busy.
[47:49] We all, we also helped companies
[47:52] with 29 new jobs created.
[47:58] I wanna tell you what a joy
[48:00] and honor it is to work with our team.
[48:03] Kenny, Hal. Kenny. Hal came today.
[48:08] I didn't, he snuck, snuck in.
[48:11] I didn't know the advisors knew about it,
[48:13] but Kenny knows about everything.
[48:17] These people have spent thousands of hours
[48:21] supporting small business
[48:23] and in one-on-one confidential advising.
[48:28] They don't do it for the money, trust me,
[48:32] because they're part-time faculty
[48:35] and they have owned a business.
[48:38] They've made all the mistakes business people make.
[48:40] They've learned some lessons
[48:43] and they want to give back to this community.
[48:51] Starting July one, Oregon SPDC
[48:55] advising services will continue to be offered here,
[49:00] confidential, no-cost advising.
[49:03] It will be run through the Rogue Valley,
[49:05] SPDC Outreach Center
[49:09] and all types of small business can come
[49:14] to accept those services.
[49:16] People will be able to register online
[49:18] or send email or make phone calls.
[49:21] We don't have the definitive information
[49:24] yet on that, those numbers.
[49:26] But we will that contact information,
[49:29] but we will be proactively promoting
[49:32] those as soon as we know.
[49:36] And thank goodness for Lisa Parks.
[49:41] She is Dean of Business Community and Workforce Training.
[49:46] She has been my supervisor since coming here
[49:49] and she truly believes in supporting small
[49:53] businesses one by one.
[49:55] I was thinking this morning that quite often in a class
[50:00] it's more effective, efficacious, is that word
[50:06] more meaningful
[50:08] because you're in a class with other colleagues
[50:11] and you can interact with other persons
[50:15] who are trying to learn that same.
[50:17] And we're gonna continue with how to start a small business.
[50:22] We have a program that's called Business Accelerator
[50:26] and it is basically you come out with your own tailored
[50:30] business plan, the construction contractor, pre-license,
[50:34] bookkeeping, and understanding
[50:37] business financial statements.
[50:39] Many businesses are too small to pay QuickBooks
[50:43] for QuickBooks, they just need some basic
[50:45] understanding as they get started.
[50:48] We also have human resources
[50:53] advisor, an instructor
[50:55] and a marketing instructor
[50:57] to turn your website into customer generation
[51:00] and Google Business page.
[51:02] A lot of people don't know
[51:03] that they even have a Google Business page and it's free
[51:08] and you can promote it.
[51:10] And QuickBooks is also a very popular program
[51:16] in its short, it's 15 hours over several days
[51:21] and it's really kind of a get in
[51:23] and how to get your, your legs on the ground
[51:26] with an online QuickBooks program.
[51:31] I wanted to close with a quote from a couple
[51:35] of quotes from Maha Ma Gandhi,
[51:39] we must be the change that we wish to see in the world.
[51:45] The best way to find yourself is
[51:47] to lose yourself in the service of others.
[51:52] And it's truly been
[51:57] an honor to serve you
[52:01] and to serve with my partners in support of small business.
[52:08] I was gonna do a joke.
[52:10] Maybe I should have instead of ending that way. Thank you.
[52:17] Thank you very much. It,
[52:19] it shows the passion in your voice.
[52:21] It shows. Thank you very much for your support.
[52:23] So questions for Council Indra?
[52:27] Yes, Ruth, I so appreciate you
[52:30] and your passion for what you do.
[52:32] And I know how valuable the small business development
[52:35] center, I've used it many times.
[52:37] I've taken many classes.
[52:40] The passion of the instructors that just go above
[52:44] and beyond give you their numbers, let you contact them
[52:49] outside anytime and just offering help.
[52:52] So I'm, I hope to see this go on and,
[52:56] and get stronger.
[52:57] Do you know where the outreach center is going
[53:01] to be at this point?
[53:03] We do not. Locations are being scouted right now.
[53:08] Okay. Well I'm a big advocate
[53:11] and I hope things come together with that.
[53:15] And certainly as a community, all the partners need
[53:19] to get together because the services
[53:22] provided are so valuable for
[53:25] Business.
[53:26] Thank you. Thank you. Questions, Joel?
[53:29] Thank you, mayor. It's been my personal experience.
[53:34] In the business we were in, there was a lack of
[53:40] interest in a generational thing.
[53:45] They would rather have a 40 hour job than
[53:49] have their own business.
[53:52] And so we had a existing business that was very thriving,
[53:56] was very healthy, and no one was willing to take it over.
[54:03] Is that, is that a trend in Grants
[54:07] path for the future or, or not?
[54:12] And if so or not, what are the effects of that?
[54:18] When you want to retire, sell a business,
[54:23] it is important to find the right person for leadership
[54:28] who has experience.
[54:30] What we have found is that many businesses, if you want
[54:35] to look like you're not making money on your taxes,
[54:38] then you don't wanna show that you're making money.
[54:42] But when you wanna go to sell it, it needs
[54:45] to be the other way around.
[54:47] And what we have found is that takes some time to prepare
[54:52] and to identify the right person.
[54:54] I, you are absolutely correct that second
[54:57] or third generations often do not want
[55:01] to step into the job
[55:03] because they've seen how hard their parents have worked
[55:07] and they'd rather have a reliable source of income.
[55:12] Thank you. Thank question Seth.
[55:16] I don't really have a question.
[55:17] I just wanna say thank you.
[55:19] I, I think the SPDC is an invaluable service.
[55:22] I go way back to 2014, taking courses, teaching courses.
[55:28] So yeah, it's, it's upsetting to see the shift
[55:30] and hopefully we can, we can get back to where we were at.
[55:33] Thank you Questions Victoria.
[55:37] So I can see where, thank you
[55:39] so much for your presentation.
[55:41] I can see on your website when your classes are available,
[55:44] but this is just
[55:46] for people in the community that might be listening.
[55:49] How do they just go to the RCC
[55:54] Small Business Development Online and sign up
[55:58] or, yes. Okay.
[55:59] Yes, they can call, they can email
[56:02] sbdc@roguecc.edu.
[56:06] Those contact information will change after July one,
[56:10] but RCC will still continue to offer those classes.
[56:14] Wonderful. Thank you. Questions Eric,
[56:18] Thank you for the presentation.
[56:20] I just wanted to see, as we all know, Oregon is not the best
[56:25] state for for businesses.
[56:27] I wanted to know some of these classes that
[56:30] that are offered there at RCC.
[56:32] Are they, do they directly contribute
[56:35] or do they directly talk about some of the problems
[56:39] to overcome in in Oregon as far as businesses go,
[56:45] some of the major problems that businesses have
[56:47] and how to curtail
[56:50] or how to fix those issues
[56:55] In our classes and advising, we do inform
[56:59] what the regulations are and the stipulations.
[57:03] We're not a political or lobbying group.
[57:08] We do give testimony,
[57:11] but we are non-profits so we have to walk a fine line.
[57:16] We are aware of those issues that our clients face
[57:19] because we hear about them every day
[57:23] and offer.
[57:26] Sometimes it's important just to have a listening ear
[57:30] and then some ideas on how financially you can approach
[57:35] increasing your revenue and
[57:37] or pivoting some things that you're doing in order
[57:40] to be more efficient.
[57:43] Thank you. Questions Rick.
[57:46] Thank you. Today a lot of educational
[57:51] institutions are struggling financially,
[57:53] so when you're offering these services
[57:56] and so forth, what are your sources of funding these days?
[58:01] I did show sources of funding for now,
[58:04] our base funding comes from Rural Community College.
[58:08] We also receive funding from the city
[58:11] and the county through this fiscal year, June 30.
[58:16] We also have a base funding from Business Oregon,
[58:21] which comes through the legislature on a two year basis,
[58:26] as well as the small business administration
[58:28] that federal funds that come down through the
[58:33] small business administration.
[58:35] Thank you. Thank further questions, Rob,
[58:41] Nice presentation.
[58:42] Thank you. And everything
[58:44] that was on my mind has been
[58:45] covered by the other counselors. Thank you. Thank you.
[58:47] Thank you for your time. Dana, you wanna come up
[58:50] and announce the next,
[58:58] I just wanna say thank you to Ruth
[58:59] for your dedication support over these years.
[59:05] Let's see.
[59:11] So we were looking at RCC, they, you know, cover
[59:15] the broader scope of Josephine County and Grants Pass,
[59:18] but also the Chamber of Commerce does.
[59:21] So I'd like to introduce to you Terry Hopkins.
[59:24] He's the president, CEO of Chamber of Commerce
[59:26] and I'm sure you all know him well.
[59:28] Come on up.
[59:32] Good afternoon Mayor Council.
[59:34] Thank you Dana for the introduction.
[59:35] And thank you for the opportunity for all of these partners
[59:39] to present because oftentimes it is a bit of a challenge
[59:42] to figure out who's in what lane
[59:44] and make sure that we are being efficient without stepping
[59:46] on each other's toes.
[59:48] And I can assure you the folks behind me I communicate
[59:51] with quite regularly to continue to develop that level
[59:55] of support, defining what economic development is, defining
[59:59] who we are as a city, who we want to attract.
[1:00:02] And we work very consciously to make sure that
[1:00:05] that Venn diagram stays in alignment.
[1:00:08] So as I look back on previous presentations, oftentimes,
[1:00:12] you know, these economic development partners came
[1:00:14] to the city to present the programs that you support.
[1:00:17] And I will honor that and do that.
[1:00:20] But to just be very clear, I'm gonna kind
[1:00:23] of break it into two pieces.
[1:00:24] The Chamber of Commerce is very happy to have a contract
[1:00:28] with the city of Grants pass to run the visitor center.
[1:00:31] It really makes
[1:00:32] and empowers much of the work that we do much easier
[1:00:35] by simply having that space, that building,
[1:00:38] and the opportunity to connect with our community.
[1:00:41] But that is the only piece of funding
[1:00:43] that we receive from the city.
[1:00:45] The traditional chamber functions are all served by income
[1:00:49] that comes from membership events
[1:00:52] and other fundraising program.
[1:00:55] So about, well I'm not gonna guess at the timeline here,
[1:00:58] but the chamber building, the visitor center as we start on
[1:01:02] that piece was originally Caveman Park.
[1:01:05] The city entered into an agreement with the Chamber
[1:01:07] who built the building that exists there today.
[1:01:10] And then we have a contract to run those services
[1:01:13] for the Visitor Information Center.
[1:01:17] So this is just the visitor center outward facing.
[1:01:21] We serve just over 3000 in-person visitors this year
[1:01:25] that represented 30 states in nine different countries.
[1:01:28] Phone calls to the visitor center, the front office,
[1:01:31] not my office, not our membership
[1:01:33] development or events team.
[1:01:35] Over 2000.
[1:01:36] We do still, believe it
[1:01:37] or not, mail out good old fashioned snail mail
[1:01:40] and relocation packets.
[1:01:42] And surprisingly enough,
[1:01:43] that number doubled this year compared to last year.
[1:01:45] You figure people are still gathering all
[1:01:47] that information online.
[1:01:49] But we mailed out 85 relocation packets.
[1:01:52] And then we also provide welcome packets.
[1:01:55] We don't necessarily call them relocation packets,
[1:01:57] but quite honestly it's a lot of the same information.
[1:02:00] Oftentimes we'll go to local merchants
[1:02:02] and find deals to slip in there too.
[1:02:04] But we like to help be welcoming
[1:02:06] and accommodating for some of those visitor facing events.
[1:02:10] Like fabulous fifties rotaries district conference,
[1:02:14] multiple tour buses passing through our area.
[1:02:17] We did a youth exchange program
[1:02:18] and a five four out 1 5 4 Outlaw car club this year.
[1:02:23] So that visitor center remains healthy.
[1:02:26] We are largely staffed with volunteers.
[1:02:29] We do have paid staff that helps administer that too.
[1:02:32] We make sure that a volunteer never left their
[1:02:34] on their on their own.
[1:02:36] So we always have two staff members
[1:02:38] present on site at all times.
[1:02:42] As I move from the traditional visitor center operations
[1:02:46] into more of the chamber operations, I'd like
[1:02:50] to just start with mission statement.
[1:02:53] What the heck is it that we do to promote
[1:02:55] and support commerce in our community?
[1:02:58] And this changes and evolves.
[1:02:59] The Chamber's 101 years old
[1:03:02] and ironically enough, chambers started to help businesses
[1:03:06] with networking share ideas.
[1:03:08] And the piece either we're not very good at
[1:03:10] or we just get in a complete cycle is, is
[1:03:13] that over a hundred years ago they came together
[1:03:16] to talk about how they could battle tax
[1:03:18] tariff and trade issues.
[1:03:20] And 101 years later we're still working on the same issues.
[1:03:24] So you can be the judge there.
[1:03:27] But here locally,
[1:03:28] our chamber in 2025 saw 98 new members.
[1:03:33] We had an 88% retention rate on those
[1:03:36] membership organizations.
[1:03:37] Over the years, those have declined.
[1:03:39] 85 to 90% retention rate is considered very
[1:03:42] good in my industry.
[1:03:44] So we had a, a really good re retention rate.
[1:03:47] I'm not shy to admit that we worry about that a little bit.
[1:03:50] As we move into 2026, businesses are struggling.
[1:03:55] Our work helps highlight business achievements
[1:03:58] and new startups.
[1:03:59] We had 44 ribbon cuttings.
[1:04:02] Our networking events that happen on Wednesday morning,
[1:04:05] we had over 3,100 businesses attend greeters
[1:04:09] over a half million clicks on our digital version
[1:04:12] of the business profile.
[1:04:14] We also print about 10,000 of those, part
[1:04:16] of the relocation packets
[1:04:18] and also a local guide here for us to use
[1:04:22] our event calendar, one of the top visited pages on our site
[1:04:25] that's not just for chamber members,
[1:04:27] anybody can upload their community event.
[1:04:29] There is a small approval process.
[1:04:32] We don't just let anything pass through the gates,
[1:04:35] but a free community resource.
[1:04:37] And I think one of the top event calendars for the city
[1:04:40] and county, we send out weekly e-news updates.
[1:04:45] We had 40, over 42,000 reads on those.
[1:04:48] I mentioned the Profile magazine.
[1:04:51] Moving a little bit more into that digital
[1:04:53] and social communications, our home Facebook page,
[1:04:57] not the concerts in the park or Young Professionals Network
[1:04:59] or some of the auxiliary pages,
[1:05:01] but the Chambers page enjoyed 1.5 million views this year
[1:05:05] and that's a 95.5% increase over prior years.
[1:05:08] Part of that strategically us pushing out a little
[1:05:11] bit more messaging there.
[1:05:13] And then part of that's just how the industry's moving
[1:05:15] and how they consume their information and data.
[1:05:17] You're seeing more and more social media engagement.
[1:05:20] I'm, I'm sure you're very well aware some
[1:05:24] of the work we do is not just direct support to businesses,
[1:05:29] but really making sure
[1:05:30] that we're building a better community.
[1:05:31] And again, oftentimes that's in partnership
[1:05:34] with you up there on the dais with the city
[1:05:38] and with the other partners in this room
[1:05:40] and in this category very specifically visit Grants
[1:05:43] Pass and Main Street.
[1:05:45] But the Chamber puts on these events
[1:05:47] to make Grants Pass a better place
[1:05:49] to work, live and do business.
[1:05:51] I mean we know that retaining employees is a challenge
[1:05:54] that we're facing today.
[1:05:56] So our next generation of workforce,
[1:05:58] making sure this is a place that they want
[1:06:00] to either come back home to
[1:06:03] or stick around, start their own business or,
[1:06:05] or maybe come work for one of you.
[1:06:08] So through that work, we enjoy doing the concerts in the
[1:06:10] park, wine stroll, tap walk,
[1:06:13] and hosting that community calendar Lemonade Day,
[1:06:17] although it's a fantastic event and,
[1:06:18] and I think beloved by the community,
[1:06:20] that one falls a little bit more under the workforce
[1:06:23] development and then the awards banquet.
[1:06:26] Just an opportunity to celebrate success in business.
[1:06:30] The other piece that we do, as Blair said on his slide,
[1:06:33] thank you for clearly defining
[1:06:34] that Blair is just helping businesses expand their network.
[1:06:38] What, you know, I, I heard a question up here previously
[1:06:40] about succession planning.
[1:06:42] Maybe it's growing your business, maybe it's knowing how
[1:06:45] to source locally and integrate
[1:06:47] with other folks in the community.
[1:06:49] Maybe it's just picking their brain
[1:06:51] or having a support staff around you of like-minded folks.
[1:06:54] So I, I showed the statistics on greeters,
[1:06:57] I showed it on ribbon cuttings.
[1:06:59] We do business after hours.
[1:07:01] Peer perspectives is a learning opportunity.
[1:07:03] We take that business retention expansion survey
[1:07:06] that Blair mentioned and we presented to you
[1:07:09] and to find some of the key challenge areas
[1:07:11] and put on some learning opportunities there.
[1:07:14] We have a business retention and expansion committee
[1:07:17] and then of course a very strong advocacy
[1:07:19] and government affairs committee.
[1:07:22] In doing so, we share space with partners in the area
[1:07:26] in workforce and education.
[1:07:28] We host Lemonade Day,
[1:07:31] recently launched the Rogue Leadership Training experience.
[1:07:34] We have a very strong young Professionals network.
[1:07:37] We help engage both with hosting interns ourself
[1:07:40] through PY plus Grants Pass High School Boys and Girls Club
[1:07:43] and Three Rivers School District.
[1:07:45] But we also try
[1:07:47] whenever possible to be matchmakers for those youth wanting
[1:07:51] to do some career exploration.
[1:07:53] Happy to connect them with our local business community.
[1:07:57] We show up and participate in several different high school
[1:07:59] Career Academy courses.
[1:08:01] We do a very small amount
[1:08:03] of our own advising and connecting.
[1:08:05] And then finally our Young Professionals network
[1:08:08] and ambassadors are happy to raise money to give
[1:08:11] to local kids for scholarships.
[1:08:14] Those scholarships are maybe just a little
[1:08:16] bit outside the norm.
[1:08:17] We're not given kids scholarships to go off
[1:08:20] to four year universities.
[1:08:22] Although we support that. Our scholarships will always be
[1:08:25] focused for kids going in to trades that are staying local,
[1:08:30] maybe RCC or a trade school
[1:08:33] and plan on keeping their skills in our valley.
[1:08:37] Finally, as we look to growth in 2026, it is
[1:08:41] of course maintain those pro programs
[1:08:43] that you're used to seeing.
[1:08:45] We hope to expand our Lemonade Day offerings
[1:08:47] to encompass a little bit more of the county.
[1:08:51] We are just finishing up a Venture Hub website
[1:08:53] that will help connect building owners if there's a space
[1:08:57] for lease with upcoming entrepreneurs.
[1:09:00] That platform is almost complete,
[1:09:03] almost completed on a
[1:09:04] small business health insurance program.
[1:09:06] Oftentimes, you know,
[1:09:07] what we see here in our community is we're fortunate
[1:09:09] to have a ton of mom
[1:09:11] and pop, small industry, small business,
[1:09:13] not the big box stores,
[1:09:15] but those businesses struggle to find access
[1:09:18] to group health insurance.
[1:09:20] So with the Chamber being a larger umbrella, we're working
[1:09:23] and have identified that as a challenge.
[1:09:25] We hope we can be part of it.
[1:09:28] Publishing has start a business manual.
[1:09:30] The city and Dana's department does a great job.
[1:09:32] This will expand a little bit more depth
[1:09:35] and also include the county looking
[1:09:37] to expand our involvement in workforce development.
[1:09:41] I met, you know, you asked questions about the SBDC.
[1:09:44] I've met with Lisa, who's here in the room today, Ruth,
[1:09:48] this afternoon I meet with the state's SBDC
[1:09:51] and then Lisa's gonna come to our Business Retention
[1:09:54] and Expansion committee tomorrow.
[1:09:56] To address some of the concerns I heard earlier is just,
[1:09:59] first of all, I'm very, very excited
[1:10:01] and proud of the fact that RCC provides so much
[1:10:04] of these resources already.
[1:10:06] They've been an incredible partner.
[1:10:08] We refer a lot to rccs SBDC
[1:10:11] and we will continue to do so with RCC.
[1:10:14] But as you mentioned earlier,
[1:10:16] just making sure there are no gaps.
[1:10:17] How do we continue messaging and referrals
[1:10:20] and make sure that we're the front door when people need
[1:10:23] to get those resources.
[1:10:25] And then finally, I heard up here
[1:10:27] today, succession planning.
[1:10:29] So there are also a few organizations in the work.
[1:10:32] So I can't take credit for being the tip of the spear
[1:10:34] because one of our local rotary organizations
[1:10:37] is really looking at propping up a mentorship program.
[1:10:41] We're working in partnership with that Rotary group,
[1:10:44] the Hive, the Chamber,
[1:10:45] and some of our members to see what we can do
[1:10:47] to help launch a mentoring program that would help again,
[1:10:51] as you move through those life cycles of your business.
[1:10:56] And with that, it looks like about 43 seconds left.
[1:10:59] I'm gonna stop and see if there's questions.
[1:11:03] Thank you Terry. I I, I, you got a lot of words in there.
[1:11:07] There's a lot. You're, you're, you're a good one.
[1:11:10] You're very efficient. Thank you very much.
[1:11:12] Questions to counsel Rob.
[1:11:17] Thanks Terry. 101 years worth of good work
[1:11:20] and I appreciate you dividing out the, the two aspects
[1:11:24] as far as what the visitor center, just a small part,
[1:11:26] but a very important part and I
[1:11:27] appreciate you dividing that out.
[1:11:30] I just also want to thank you for making extremely easy
[1:11:34] with regards to anyone who wanted to provide testimony
[1:11:37] for the Spalding Industrial Park grant money.
[1:11:41] Frankly, the emails that you sent
[1:11:43] to council made it very easy for anyone who was interested
[1:11:45] to provide testimony and mostly
[1:11:48] because of that is one of the reasons.
[1:11:49] Well it's one of the main reasons that I
[1:11:51] provided testimony, so I appreciate that. Thank you.
[1:11:53] Thank you. And to that point,
[1:11:55] 'cause somebody else offered, asked Blair earlier, you know,
[1:11:57] there are a lot of opportunities.
[1:11:59] We are obviously very fiscally conservative organization,
[1:12:02] are always trying to lower the tax burden,
[1:12:05] but sometimes when that money's already going to the,
[1:12:07] the state or the feds, it's also our job
[1:12:10] to help make sure we put it to work here locally.
[1:12:13] So whether it's Widen, Merkley, Ben's staff, you know, I,
[1:12:17] I'm hopeful that Chief Sanchez has an opportunity
[1:12:20] to have a community initiated project
[1:12:23] for the Hillcrest Fire Station.
[1:12:25] I'm always happy to be talking about the BRI grant
[1:12:29] and getting that $50 million back to the city
[1:12:32] that was awarded.
[1:12:33] So yeah, work in advocacy is a lot.
[1:12:36] I appreciate the recognition, Rob.
[1:12:38] Yep. And thank you very much Terry.
[1:12:40] 'cause that was a great effort from, from all,
[1:12:42] from all sides to get that money in. Questions Rick,
[1:12:46] Thank you.
[1:12:47] Terry, you indicated the phone calls this
[1:12:49] past year have doubled.
[1:12:51] How was the number of people visiting the center as well?
[1:12:54] Yeah, I'm sorry. It's,
[1:12:56] it was actually oddly enough the number
[1:12:58] of relocation packets re that we sent out.
[1:13:00] The doubled phone calls were almost identical at just
[1:13:04] over 3000.
[1:13:05] The number of in-person visitors increased just slightly
[1:13:10] compared to prior year.
[1:13:11] And I attribute that to the work
[1:13:13] that Visit Grant's Pass is doing.
[1:13:16] I think generally speaking, we're seeing an increase
[1:13:19] in traffic and especially compared
[1:13:20] to some of our competitors.
[1:13:22] I won't steal his thunder,
[1:13:24] but phone calls pretty close to the same
[1:13:26] as prior year in-person visits have increased
[1:13:29] and that small number of 85 was the odd one that doubled.
[1:13:32] And how does that compare to other chambers in the state?
[1:13:35] Great question. I don't know the answer to that.
[1:13:37] I could certainly do a little bit of research and find out.
[1:13:39] Thank you. I bet, I bet Dan's got all the data on
[1:13:42] who came to our town.
[1:13:45] Perfect. Thank you. Further question, Derek,
[1:13:48] Thank you for everything that, that you do.
[1:13:50] It's really, I really appreciate it
[1:13:54] and I'm sure the community does as well.
[1:13:55] You are a very busy man
[1:13:57] and it's clear, it's obvious that what you
[1:14:00] and your, what the Chamber
[1:14:01] of Commerce put out is, is excellent.
[1:14:04] I don't have anything to, to really,
[1:14:06] I don't have any questions, but I just looked through this
[1:14:08] and this is a, a a a
[1:14:10] Lot of of great info in here for Grants Pass.
[1:14:13] Thank you. Thank you so much. Without a question,
[1:14:15] I'm still gonna take a moment to respond
[1:14:17] and say it's all my team.
[1:14:19] I get to be a strategic leader,
[1:14:20] but I have an incredible staff.
[1:14:22] Awesome. Thank you. Questions of Victoria?
[1:14:26] Yeah, I just wanna, wanted to reiterate the thanks
[1:14:29] and I love the Lemonade Day was just so wonderful.
[1:14:33] It's great to volunteer for that.
[1:14:35] And it, I really like that you are looking to expand it
[1:14:40] and that will be exciting.
[1:14:42] Just thank you for what you do.
[1:14:44] I'll call you for judging again. Yes,
[1:14:47] I, I'll, I would love to do it. Thank
[1:14:49] You.
[1:14:50] Awesome questions, Seth? No. Any questions? No questions.
[1:14:54] Thank you Joel. Any questions?
[1:14:56] Terry, appreciate what you do.
[1:14:57] As we all do both up here
[1:14:59] and in the audience, this is an opportunity
[1:15:04] for you to teach
[1:15:07] us a little bit.
[1:15:10] We got six months left this year.
[1:15:13] We got another year coming up.
[1:15:15] What do we need to learn
[1:15:16] to make Grants pass even more successful
[1:15:18] in an economic model?
[1:15:20] And how do you feel about it?
[1:15:21] Thank you for that question, Joel.
[1:15:23] Because again, that's a lot of the co the conversations
[1:15:27] that this room is having, that's not just me.
[1:15:29] And you know, there's data that I did
[1:15:31] through the BRE survey.
[1:15:33] This new platform that Blair just presented is incredible.
[1:15:36] I'm a data-driven person.
[1:15:38] Dana and her team has been super responsive
[1:15:41] and you know, now they're gonna be deploying a,
[1:15:43] a new tool for data.
[1:15:45] But you know, we've had conversations like when a business
[1:15:48] closes, who's doing the exit interview
[1:15:50] and who knows, you know, the, through the city's department,
[1:15:54] you know, of course when you start a business you have
[1:15:56] to get a business tax certificate, a business license.
[1:15:59] But when you close, you don't come tell them
[1:16:02] until you just don't renew again next year.
[1:16:04] And sometimes the same thing is true at Secretary of State.
[1:16:07] And so, Joel, I think to answer your question,
[1:16:10] because it is a big, big question, we start
[1:16:13] with the data, right?
[1:16:14] And then from there,
[1:16:16] I think Dan's gonna talk about this a little bit.
[1:16:18] We talk about the story of who we are
[1:16:21] and whether that's Blair
[1:16:23] who might be working a little bit more
[1:16:24] on business recruitment.
[1:16:26] And not to say that he doesn't,
[1:16:28] but the Chamber may be working a little bit more on business
[1:16:31] retention when we're talking about retention, recruitment,
[1:16:34] attracting visitors, bringing traded sector to,
[1:16:37] we're bringing more money into our community
[1:16:39] than we're sending out.
[1:16:41] It comes down to our storytelling.
[1:16:43] It comes down to being in alignment with the folks
[1:16:46] that are both behind me and in front of me.
[1:16:48] And I'm gonna just say it, it, we need
[1:16:51] to have more positive headlines in the news than negative.
[1:16:57] Alright, thank you. Further questions, Indra?
[1:17:00] Yes. Hi Terry. I have a few, so I'm just curious,
[1:17:04] the phone calls, a lot of phone calls.
[1:17:06] What's the major thing people call about?
[1:17:09] Yeah, like the top one or
[1:17:11] Two.
[1:17:12] You know, my staff will love the fact
[1:17:14] hopefully they're watching right now.
[1:17:15] They have a book up at the front office
[1:17:17] of the craziest phone calls they get
[1:17:20] and it is all over the board.
[1:17:22] I, I cannot do this,
[1:17:24] but I I heard overheard a phone call earlier this week
[1:17:28] of one of my volunteers giving somebody directions
[1:17:31] that they were writing down on what highways to turn on
[1:17:34] to get from Reno to here.
[1:17:36] And I was like, who doesn't have Google Maps? Right?
[1:17:38] There's a lot of people. And
[1:17:40] so the phone calls might be directions on how to get here,
[1:17:43] road closures, what's the smoke like when I get there?
[1:17:48] You know, what, what opportunities are there?
[1:17:50] If I've got kids under five years old,
[1:17:54] they are all over the board
[1:17:56] and it's, I mean, it's fun to just listen to and hear them,
[1:17:59] but most of those are just gonna be
[1:18:00] general visitor questions.
[1:18:02] How do I get to the Oregon caves? When are they open?
[1:18:05] We get a lot of when do the bears
[1:18:07] that Evergreen Federal Bank do go out, you know, what time
[1:18:11] of the year can I see the bears or the Christmas cards?
[1:18:14] And then a lot of those times, you know,
[1:18:15] we're referring back to our own event calendar,
[1:18:18] we're referring to visit grants, pass assets,
[1:18:21] you know, huge increase.
[1:18:23] And I see Speedo here today
[1:18:26] in the mountain biking community.
[1:18:28] Lots and lots of people reaching out about, you know,
[1:18:31] can I ride my horse on this trail?
[1:18:33] Or is it mountain biking, hiking only?
[1:18:36] And so that we've seen a huge increase in people
[1:18:39] talking about outdoor rec.
[1:18:42] Great. And then
[1:18:44] likewise, your, your doubling of relocation packets.
[1:18:47] Who do you find out,
[1:18:49] are those mostly retired folks coming here or families
[1:18:52] or It's all over the board.
[1:18:54] All over the board. I mean, it, it might be
[1:18:56] somebody who's, I will say, although it's all over the board
[1:19:00] and age group, there is a little bit
[1:19:03] of a common thread there.
[1:19:05] And usually it has to do with family.
[1:19:07] You know, my mom is getting up in age and is retired
[1:19:11] and I want her to come live with me
[1:19:13] or flip side, you know, my mom lives there
[1:19:15] and I'm coming to make sure I take care of her.
[1:19:18] So a lot of it is,
[1:19:20] if they're actually looking at moving here,
[1:19:22] there's a family tie there somewhere.
[1:19:24] But the number of relocation packets, if I had to guess,
[1:19:28] steer a little bit older at least on the ones we mail out
[1:19:32] because all of this information is available online.
[1:19:36] And then I'm curious also, how do you work together
[1:19:41] with the visitor center?
[1:19:43] So they kind of do, do they do the same kinds of things?
[1:19:46] It seems like, do you have the same materials?
[1:19:49] Do you refer people to the visitor center as well?
[1:19:53] Yeah, first of all, and
[1:19:55] and again, this is as we work right now with city staff,
[1:19:59] but you know, eventually, hopefully that becomes Dan
[1:20:02] even getting the naming right,
[1:20:04] because I am the visitor center,
[1:20:06] they're the downtown welcome center.
[1:20:09] But in the past, yes, there have been opportunities when,
[1:20:13] you know, there's been customer service training, you know,
[1:20:16] whether that's just how do you greet folks
[1:20:18] or we've done downtown exploration tours to
[1:20:21] where we go visit local stores.
[1:20:24] So in the past there has been a little bit
[1:20:26] of crossover since the remodel of the
[1:20:31] downtown welcome center.
[1:20:32] They have a lot less print materials and flyers.
[1:20:36] I think that the hope moving forward is, is that
[1:20:38] that's folks that I've already got in the door
[1:20:40] and sent into to town or the county
[1:20:44] or whatever, that maybe they're popping in then
[1:20:46] to become a little bit more hypo hyper-local could stop in
[1:20:49] and taste some wine.
[1:20:51] But the the short answer is, is yes,
[1:20:54] the communication is there.
[1:20:55] I think that we have an opportunity to do a much,
[1:20:58] much better job on both the training
[1:21:01] and the storytelling between the two locations.
[1:21:03] And that's just been a recent thing.
[1:21:06] But I've been in regular, regular contact
[1:21:10] with Visit Grant's Pass
[1:21:12] and say, if they take over that location,
[1:21:14] how can we cross train, cross-promote, tell the same story?
[1:21:17] Because the visitor doesn't understand which ones the
[1:21:20] visitor center and the welcome center
[1:21:22] and the, the visitor doesn't understand
[1:21:24] that the chamber's running this one
[1:21:26] and the city's running that one.
[1:21:27] And so it, it's a very exciting opportunity.
[1:21:30] Thank you for reminding me.
[1:21:32] I should know the difference. Welcome center.
[1:21:34] I, I bet you could ask my own
[1:21:36] staff and they'd give it wrong.
[1:21:37] So I'm glad that it would be working together.
[1:21:40] Yeah, do do people sometimes go to one
[1:21:43] or the other without visiting the other one?
[1:21:46] I would, yeah. I mean, so one
[1:21:48] of the big differentiations is, is that the North visitor,
[1:21:51] the one that I have, you can pull an RV
[1:21:53] or a tour bus, so on so forth.
[1:21:55] So big group tours I would generally always get.
[1:22:00] But folks that maybe, again, they've got family living here,
[1:22:04] they're not just coming in, I've never been here before
[1:22:07] and they're already with their family in downtown,
[1:22:10] they probably bypassed me
[1:22:12] and then we'll say, Hey, we're already here.
[1:22:14] Let's pop in and see
[1:22:16] what other opportunities present themselves.
[1:22:19] Thank you. And last question, you mentioned the county,
[1:22:23] including the county several times, is,
[1:22:26] are you actively now working with them
[1:22:28] and would you look to also contract with them in some way?
[1:22:31] Oh yeah. And I mean I think it's just by nature
[1:22:33] of who's hosting this event today, right?
[1:22:36] I mean you're getting all the contractors that work
[1:22:38] with you in the city, but a lot of the work
[1:22:40] that I'm doing out in the county already involves,
[1:22:42] so already of course it involves the SBDC,
[1:22:45] I mean the partners that you don't have in front
[1:22:47] of you today by virtue of location, you know, I-V-C-D-O
[1:22:51] or Ivy Cando is an incredible organization.
[1:22:54] There's an Illinois Valley Chamber of Commerce.
[1:22:55] And even though I'm the Josephine
[1:22:57] and Grants Pass Chamber, we overlap with them
[1:23:00] and their phenomenal partners.
[1:23:02] You know, when we're talking with the Oregon caves,
[1:23:05] greater Applegate
[1:23:08] or the wine trail, the wine, the food trail, the wine trail.
[1:23:12] And so there are a lot more county partners
[1:23:15] that look a lot like this room.
[1:23:19] Thank you for your time today. We
[1:23:21] Got further question.
[1:23:22] I got Rob. No,
[1:23:23] Yeah, Terry, thanks.
[1:23:26] So you've got, you know, all the, the events
[1:23:29] that you guys are responsible for concerts in the park
[1:23:32] and the wine stroll and all that, is that
[1:23:36] all financed just from your membership and
[1:23:39] or possibly sponsorships or how is that fine?
[1:23:42] Is that, are there taxpayer dollars involved
[1:23:44] with you putting on those events
[1:23:45] or is that from membership dues?
[1:23:47] Yeah, I want to be very, very specific in this answer.
[1:23:50] I mean also very transparent.
[1:23:52] I mean, some of those events are revenue generators.
[1:23:55] They help bring me money so
[1:23:57] that I can keep the membership dues affordable
[1:24:00] and not raise them year after year.
[1:24:02] So in, in the sake of transparency, some
[1:24:05] of those generate revenue that help
[1:24:06] with the chamber operations
[1:24:08] to directly answer your questions.
[1:24:11] Those are supported by membership dues, sponsorships,
[1:24:16] very, very rarely grants,
[1:24:18] but also in the sake of transparency, the city
[1:24:21] of Grants Pass is the mem a member
[1:24:24] of the Chamber of Commerce.
[1:24:25] And at a level to where the you guys are sponsors of
[1:24:31] concerts in the park by virtue of your membership level,
[1:24:34] you know, you guys, I'll, I'll be back later this week
[1:24:37] or next week to ask you to waive park fees
[1:24:40] for the use of the park.
[1:24:41] And so I want to be really honest when I say that
[1:24:45] I don't want to be over generalized when I say no,
[1:24:48] there's no tax dollars involved
[1:24:49] because the city does have a chamber membership
[1:24:52] and the city will waive fees
[1:24:53] for an event like concerts in the park.
[1:24:55] But to the point of your question, I think the answer is no,
[1:25:00] this is not taxpayer dollars.
[1:25:02] With those slight, slight caveats,
[1:25:04] Thank you for that detailed, detailed explanation.
[1:25:08] And then what typically, you mentioned different levels
[1:25:12] of membership, I guess what typically is a are are dues
[1:25:17] for a what, what levels of dues does it cost to be a member?
[1:25:21] The majority of our members are at a level
[1:25:24] that's $320 a year.
[1:25:26] Our second most popular is $590 a year.
[1:25:30] But we have membership tiers that go all the way up
[1:25:33] to $7,500 a year.
[1:25:37] Great. And then you mentioned 98 new members
[1:25:40] and 88% retention of old members,
[1:25:43] but I don't see a number there for how many members
[1:25:45] You have?
[1:25:46] 606 as of this morning. Wow.
[1:25:50] So that seems to lot Up a lot.
[1:25:51] Joel's one of the 98 new Thank you Joel Indra is one
[1:25:55] of the 88% retention.
[1:25:58] Thank you Indra, Seth.
[1:26:00] Yeah, I mean the diocese has, you guys are business folks?
[1:26:03] I have, I have business members up here.
[1:26:05] So roughly the number of members now compared
[1:26:07] to say 10 years ago.
[1:26:10] Yeah, It seems like it's gone up, but I, I could be
[1:26:13] This last year, the 98 is a record as far
[1:26:16] as our database goes back.
[1:26:18] I'm, you know, we're 101 years old.
[1:26:20] It's pretty hard for me to say that
[1:26:21] that's a record of all time.
[1:26:22] But the current database that we're using 98 was a record
[1:26:26] for most new members in a year.
[1:26:29] But when you say the word 10 years ago,
[1:26:32] there's a little thing that we all remember called COVID
[1:26:34] that absolutely decimated our membership base.
[1:26:38] And so we're really just kind of climbing up to probably
[1:26:41] where we might've been 10 years ago. Okay,
[1:26:43] Thank you. Yeah,
[1:26:44] Perfect.
[1:26:45] Thanks for all the information. Very much so.
[1:26:48] So I'm gonna get back to Dana
[1:26:49] to introduce the next organization.
[1:27:02] All right, next we have the Josephine County
[1:27:07] Visitors Association, also known as Visit Grants Pass.
[1:27:10] Dan Buck, he is the official,
[1:27:13] official destination marketing organization
[1:27:15] for Grants Pass in Josephine County
[1:27:18] and focused on driving tourism and economic impact.
[1:27:22] So let me pull this
[1:27:24] Up.
[1:27:25] Alright, I think we're good to go.
[1:27:26] Alright, thank you Dana. Good afternoon Counselors.
[1:27:31] Mayor, thank you for taking the time.
[1:27:35] Forgive my voice
[1:27:37] and the lozenges got a touch of the cold,
[1:27:39] so we'll try to move through this.
[1:27:41] Dana warned me that the sheer volume of slides I have
[1:27:46] for this is Ill-advised, so
[1:27:49] I'm gonna move through them pretty quickly.
[1:27:51] We'll talk about tourism, the state of tourism
[1:27:53] and grants pass in Josephine County
[1:27:56] and then would love any questions you may have.
[1:28:02] There we go. Grants Pass is a tourism community.
[1:28:07] Josephine County is a tourism community that,
[1:28:09] and for some that's a bit of a surprise.
[1:28:12] For the longest time there were many other economic drivers,
[1:28:15] timber obviously for the longest time.
[1:28:17] And then almost overnight it changed and we had to pivot.
[1:28:21] And so behind healthcare
[1:28:22] and human services tourism is
[1:28:25] what keeps our community ticking.
[1:28:29] It's important to note for, for a lot of folks
[1:28:32] that don't understand how the TLT works,
[1:28:34] our local residents do not pay this tax.
[1:28:37] It's visitors exclusively from outside 50 mile radius.
[1:28:42] And that those TLT dollars go to
[1:28:46] in Perpe in perpetuity fund public safety and parks
[1:28:50] and other infrastructure.
[1:28:53] Again, just to reiterate the point a hundred percent
[1:28:56] is paid from visitors.
[1:28:57] Our residents do not pay this tax.
[1:29:01] 76% of lodging taxes paid by out state.
[1:29:04] I just thought this was an interesting factoid.
[1:29:06] If you were curious where our people come from, 70%
[1:29:09] of the LOING tax paid by out of state visitors.
[1:29:12] Even though our primary markets are in-state drive markets,
[1:29:17] the vast majority is outside of the state.
[1:29:22] We work at MR Grant's pass, which is the DBA
[1:29:26] for the Josephine County Visitors Association
[1:29:29] to drive attendance to all of the events, attractions,
[1:29:34] resources that all my colleagues
[1:29:36] and friends work year round to create.
[1:29:39] We promote darn near everything in town businesses.
[1:29:45] We, as you can see, we work
[1:29:46] with over 750 local businesses, regional businesses.
[1:29:50] And we work a lot of what they call FAM tours,
[1:29:53] familiarization tours,
[1:29:55] driving earned media rather than paid media.
[1:29:58] It's a big distinction there.
[1:29:59] If you'd like to talk about that at the end, we can.
[1:30:01] And then obviously the TLT revenues go back into public
[1:30:05] safety parks and infrastructure.
[1:30:08] According to the Oregon Tourism Commission, you can see that
[1:30:11] for every $1 invested into tourism,
[1:30:14] it generates $237 in revenue.
[1:30:17] So as savvy business owners, it seems that
[1:30:22] you know that that's a fire that you want to feed over time.
[1:30:27] Just some details, some stats.
[1:30:30] $172 million in annual visitor spending in
[1:30:33] Josephine County alone.
[1:30:35] Thank you so much. A couple thousand jobs supported
[1:30:39] by tourism directly and tax revenue generated by tourism
[1:30:44] and its activities.
[1:30:46] Nearly 8 million lodging tax collected
[1:30:50] in 2025.
[1:30:51] Those were our latest numbers, couple million bucks.
[1:30:54] And hotel occupancy is the highest since it's
[1:30:57] since about the COVID era.
[1:30:59] 78.3% occupancy gains.
[1:31:03] This is kind of fun, you know,
[1:31:06] we're a little bit competitive with our friends, colleagues
[1:31:08] and other GMOs across the state.
[1:31:11] And then our area. And you can see that we have this change
[1:31:16] Q1, Q2, Q3, our lodging tax revenue has been up
[1:31:21] for seven four and rooms rented 14%.
[1:31:26] And then when we get into campaigns,
[1:31:28] this is our marketing campaigns.
[1:31:30] This is just one as an anecdote, this is data fi.
[1:31:33] It's a company that we work with that
[1:31:35] does programmatic advertising.
[1:31:37] We're buying ads all the time.
[1:31:40] And just on this one campaign that we did,
[1:31:44] we generated a, what they estimate to be a $9.8 million
[1:31:49] financial impact, 6.5 million impressions delivered.
[1:31:52] And according to the statistics, how they break
[1:31:55] that down generated 30,000 estimated room nights
[1:32:02] We're growing and we're really proud of the work
[1:32:05] that we've done in the last year versus the rest
[1:32:09] of the state, whether either flat or down.
[1:32:12] Grants Pass is actually up this past year as we begin
[1:32:16] to understand who we are and what we have to offer.
[1:32:19] And as people come to understand what Grants Pass is not
[1:32:24] what Grants Pass was or what Grants Pass has been.
[1:32:28] And so what you're gonna see in these numbers as we move
[1:32:31] through it is a new vigor, a new understanding
[1:32:35] of the possibilities potential in Grants
[1:32:38] Pass as a destination.
[1:32:42] I always love it when you have a 10000% increase in a thing.
[1:32:48] And so we have done a lot of work developing our
[1:32:53] video content, all of our content frankly.
[1:32:56] But we know that in today's day and age that video sells
[1:33:00] and creates the quickest, most acute
[1:33:03] concentrated storytelling that you can possibly offer
[1:33:06] to the average viewer and consumer.
[1:33:09] And so we're pre pleased to say that we have 10000%
[1:33:13] increase in YouTube views.
[1:33:16] I just looked at it this morning
[1:33:17] where something on the order of a hundred thousand minutes
[1:33:22] of our video content watched since January,
[1:33:26] we have more videos watched.
[1:33:28] We have more subscribers on YouTube than virtually every
[1:33:31] other DMO in the state
[1:33:35] outside of Portland.
[1:33:37] So we're pretty pleased with
[1:33:39] how we're drawing attention in that way.
[1:33:42] Impressions, again, 10 million conversions.
[1:33:45] That's just having them take an action
[1:33:47] in case you don't know.
[1:33:48] And the average cost per click only 67% to drive them to
[1:33:54] further explore what Grants Pass has to offer.
[1:33:57] And you can see the industry average
[1:33:58] there is over two bucks.
[1:34:00] So we're, we feel like we're finding the right audience
[1:34:03] with the right interests to drive that attention.
[1:34:07] Ad reach on Facebook, nearly 5 million with a,
[1:34:12] again, a result, 23%, 23 cents.
[1:34:15] Well below the industry average.
[1:34:17] We spent a lot of time on Facebook, YouTube, again,
[1:34:22] new subscribers, 10,000 nearly minutes watched,
[1:34:26] 219,000 y beer,
[1:34:31] Small market, big results.
[1:34:34] SEO search engine optimization.
[1:34:37] What we're trying to do is get organic interest
[1:34:40] or organic engagement so that we're not paying
[1:34:42] for everything, but over time we're
[1:34:44] growing our base audience.
[1:34:45] So you can see that we are fifth in the keyword brand
[1:34:50] position for Google search results, which means that
[1:34:53] behind the Expedias, the TripAdvisors
[1:34:57] that you always see at the top of the returns visit,
[1:35:00] grants Pass is right up there with
[1:35:04] 229,000 hits at the fifth position.
[1:35:07] There's an old adage that says the best place
[1:35:10] to hide a dead body is on the second page of Google.
[1:35:14] And so we work a lot to get in that
[1:35:19] above the fold top five search returns.
[1:35:24] We have an email subscriber base of 2,600
[1:35:27] and we work on monthly emails as well.
[1:35:31] Again, proud to say that we're per capita,
[1:35:35] we're the number one Facebook page for
[1:35:36] of all DMO in the state, meaning
[1:35:38] that we can reach the largest possible audience in the state
[1:35:42] via organic and paid.
[1:35:46] We're second place right behind Travel Portland for
[1:35:50] growth in video views.
[1:35:51] So you can see that there per capita third place
[1:35:55] between Bend and Portland for Instagram reach.
[1:36:01] And these are some of our strategic partners
[1:36:03] that we work day in and day out with.
[1:36:05] We do not operate in a vacuum, but rather we require
[1:36:08] and are grateful for the support that all
[1:36:11] of these organizations offer us.
[1:36:12] Travel Oregon, travel Southern Oregon in particular,
[1:36:15] and Travel Medford have been amazing partners.
[1:36:20] And the ORR as well.
[1:36:23] I'm really pleased with all of these guys.
[1:36:25] Some of the local businesses that we work with.
[1:36:27] I'm gonna fly through these because we work
[1:36:29] with virtually everyone.
[1:36:30] We're in some state or another of pre-production, production
[1:36:34] or post-production with almost everyone in town.
[1:36:39] And we can just rifle through all of these
[1:36:44] companies, other local events.
[1:36:46] We are behind most of the local events,
[1:36:50] if not close to all of them.
[1:36:52] One of the challenges that Visit Grant Pass has,
[1:36:55] and I've been able to express this
[1:36:57] to a few counselors over the last few weeks, is that
[1:37:00] because all of our work is intended
[1:37:01] and actually by mandate to operate outside
[1:37:05] of the 50 mile radius, a lot of locals don't know
[1:37:10] what we do or are even not aware of what we do.
[1:37:13] And so we have some work in front of us
[1:37:15] because we have some internal marketing
[1:37:17] that we should probably take care of so
[1:37:19] that there's a better understanding of the work in front
[1:37:21] of us, the opportunities that we have
[1:37:24] and how we support everyone else.
[1:37:28] Again, more local organizations that we've done work with
[1:37:31] or for or on behalf of.
[1:37:34] And strategic partnerships. So we work with a lot of media.
[1:37:38] I think there's a common misconception, maybe not common,
[1:37:40] but a misconception that we focus exclusively online.
[1:37:44] We only do digital, it's not true.
[1:37:46] We work with dozens or scores of print publications
[1:37:51] and we get a lot of print placements throughout the country
[1:37:54] and certainly in the Pacific Northwest.
[1:37:58] So FAM tours, that's when we bring in media influencers,
[1:38:03] bloggers, writers, any number of media folks,
[1:38:08] they come and experience our area
[1:38:12] and we host them, we take them around, we show them
[1:38:15] what we have to offer and then they go back
[1:38:17] and they tell those stories in whatever blog
[1:38:20] or print publication that they may be associated with.
[1:38:23] And these things can go wildly viral.
[1:38:26] Don't know if you saw Tina Kotek picked up one
[1:38:28] of our stories and she shared it out on her social media.
[1:38:31] And we had probably one
[1:38:33] of our most viral posts just in this past couple of months.
[1:38:35] Travel Oregon reached out to us on Friday
[1:38:38] and said, Hey, we love the content that you're producing.
[1:38:41] Can we use some of it? Which
[1:38:42] of course they were permitted to do.
[1:38:45] We're producing thousands of pieces of content every year.
[1:38:49] And the quality of the content I'm quite proud of with all
[1:38:52] of our, our vendors and co-creators.
[1:38:55] Here's some of the placements we put in Conde Nest,
[1:38:58] which you've probably heard of,
[1:39:01] we're really proud of this one.
[1:39:03] This was super cool to be featured in Food
[1:39:05] and Travel with Gordon
[1:39:07] and that got a lot of reach as a national publication.
[1:39:11] Northwest Travel in Life we're featured there.
[1:39:16] Sit Magazine, Oregon Wine,
[1:39:18] obviously wine's a big deal in the area
[1:39:20] and there is no shortage
[1:39:23] of people interested in talking about wine.
[1:39:27] And then taste and travel more regional partners travel
[1:39:31] Southern Oregon Regional features Travel Oregon.
[1:39:34] This is more print placements that we did.
[1:39:36] The Chamber, of course, we do a lot of stuff
[1:39:40] that goes under the radar.
[1:39:42] Big props to, to Griffin back here, who
[1:39:46] Under the Radar does so many design layout pieces
[1:39:50] for just about everyone
[1:39:52] that needs something from the chamber to the city to,
[1:39:57] oh gosh, the list goes on and on Main Street.
[1:40:00] And he's, he's really keeps the, the whole thing together.
[1:40:03] So thanks Griffin.
[1:40:06] Our own media and collateral, we've been developing a lot
[1:40:09] of print work, itineraries, maps,
[1:40:13] so if you've seen a map of anything to do from art to food
[1:40:17] to boutique shopping, that's us.
[1:40:22] We're working hand in glove with Hellgate.
[1:40:25] As you can see our newest placement at the airport.
[1:40:29] We have placements at the Brookings Visitor Center
[1:40:31] and others, maybe some
[1:40:33] of you guys have bumped into our video series
[1:40:35] around Food Saver Grand's Pass, the Boutiques Shop,
[1:40:39] grants Pass, and then Dollar Mountain,
[1:40:42] which has been a big boon for the area
[1:40:44] and I couldn't be more excited about that.
[1:40:47] That is a billion dollar travel industry.
[1:40:49] It will bring countless opportunities to us
[1:40:52] and we've just gotten started with
[1:40:53] that in the past six months.
[1:40:55] So that one will be awesome.
[1:40:58] And then newest for us,
[1:41:00] we've covered Hellgate, they're a great partner.
[1:41:03] We're about to do some content with Orange Torpedo.
[1:41:06] They do white water and they do fishing.
[1:41:09] And we are also in pre-production with
[1:41:12] the experience out in Roche that is pair lighting.
[1:41:17] And so we'll be highlighting outdoor adventure sports
[1:41:21] as a thing that people can use
[1:41:23] as a destination here after dark.
[1:41:26] We're also gonna talk about to some of the young people,
[1:41:28] Hey, you know what, it's not just a a sleepy town.
[1:41:32] We have a lot to do by way of music and nightlife
[1:41:36] and so please come out and enjoy those things.
[1:41:41] I would be remiss if I didn't bring up some
[1:41:43] of the challenges that we're gonna face this year.
[1:41:44] You're probably apprised of some of these things.
[1:41:47] 1 99 starting next month gonna be shut down part-time,
[1:41:50] Tuesday through Thursday, 10 to four.
[1:41:52] It's a big deal. And yeah, my, my knee jerk was to be really
[1:41:58] fearful of this as the way it could impact us,
[1:42:01] but it does give us the opportunity to take the reins
[1:42:04] and build the narrative.
[1:42:05] We're gonna have captive audiences.
[1:42:07] And how do you take those audiences that are stuck in CJ
[1:42:10] or want to hang out in Grants Pass?
[1:42:12] How do you use that to benefit the businesses
[1:42:15] in our areas when they won't be able to pass through
[1:42:18] during those days and times?
[1:42:20] Low water levels are predicted, which will hurt
[1:42:25] certainly some of our river recreation, if that does come
[1:42:29] to fruition, we're hopeful that things will get righted,
[1:42:34] but we have to make plans for
[1:42:36] that in the upcoming fire season.
[1:42:39] I met with the Forest Service folks last week
[1:42:43] and we were advised that there's a fair potential
[1:42:45] that we could shut down public lands later this year in the
[1:42:49] same way that California does if it stays this bad.
[1:42:53] So we have to make plans, we have to take control of
[1:42:56] what we want to message and make sure that people understand
[1:42:59] that there's still a great opportunity to come
[1:43:01] and visit Grants Pass, spend their time, spend their money,
[1:43:04] support our businesses and have a great time.
[1:43:11] You guys have this in front of you so I don't need
[1:43:14] to read it all out.
[1:43:15] But you know, as look at that Colorado warning, when
[1:43:20] when we stop funding tourism
[1:43:21] and we stop marketing it,
[1:43:23] it really is a self-fulfilling prophecy.
[1:43:25] And so I wanna make sure that everyone understands
[1:43:28] that our small businesses around the city
[1:43:31] and the county, they just can't get by the the
[1:43:35] through the year solely on our local supporting them.
[1:43:39] They absolutely require visitors.
[1:43:41] And I would suggest that we need to dictate
[1:43:45] who those visitors are.
[1:43:46] We can leave that to the devices and the whims fate,
[1:43:49] or we can create together the desired outcome
[1:43:53] and say, Hey, these are the people
[1:43:54] that share our community values that we'd like to come
[1:43:57] and hang out with us, that we want to have here
[1:43:59] that Terry might want to develop into businesses
[1:44:02] and future homeowners, for example, rather than just waiting
[1:44:05] for whomever shows up to show up,
[1:44:09] review stuff.
[1:44:13] Lots. And then I think I have one more. There we go.
[1:44:18] You know, we wanted to reinforce some of these messaging
[1:44:20] that you've heard already about the division of function
[1:44:24] and task and how those overlap and how they do not,
[1:44:27] and how we augment and supplement and work together.
[1:44:30] And you can see in this little graph that we threw together,
[1:44:33] this illustration vis Grand's Pass operates outside all
[1:44:38] of those concentric rings
[1:44:39] with Main Street being the.in the middle,
[1:44:42] and then the city gets a little bit bigger
[1:44:44] and then the Chamber gets a little bit bigger
[1:44:46] to embrace the county.
[1:44:48] And then we're outside of all
[1:44:49] that helping support their efforts.
[1:44:52] And with that, I would love
[1:44:55] to field any questions you may have.
[1:44:58] Thank you, Dan. So we're gonna go
[1:45:02] Rob questions.
[1:45:06] Thanks Dan. Thanks Rob.
[1:45:07] Yeah, so you and I, you and I spoke I think last week
[1:45:12] or two weeks ago and was, it was a good,
[1:45:14] good conversation, I believe.
[1:45:17] Just a little more clarification.
[1:45:18] So you, you, part of your presentation, you said that
[1:45:23] you work with 750 local
[1:45:26] businesses, et cetera.
[1:45:29] How, how do you define working
[1:45:30] with local businesses? What does that mean? It
[1:45:32] Takes so many different shapes
[1:45:33] and form for, like, for,
[1:45:35] for some we're just doing a, a simple layout.
[1:45:38] They, perhaps they need a flyer or a map
[1:45:41] or some sort of advertisement.
[1:45:43] Some were actually running full campaigns
[1:45:45] for one example is Wildlife images reached out to us
[1:45:49] and say, Hey, we have our gala
[1:45:51] and we're not experts in running
[1:45:54] Facebook campaigns, for example.
[1:45:56] And so we did that on their behalf.
[1:45:58] The Rotary reached out to us
[1:46:00] and said, Hey, can you help support our advertising
[1:46:03] and marketing for Porch Fest?
[1:46:05] So we did that and in other times it's just simple
[1:46:08] consulting and advisement.
[1:46:10] It doesn't develop beyond that.
[1:46:12] Okay. So basically businesses would reach out to you.
[1:46:17] It goes both ways though. We reach out
[1:46:19] to businesses based on what we think will drive
[1:46:22] broad interest to the community.
[1:46:24] So we have reached out to plenty
[1:46:25] of business owners ourselves
[1:46:27] and say, Hey, we'd love to highlight you
[1:46:28] or bring attention to the work that you're doing.
[1:46:30] Hellgate iss a great ex example of that.
[1:46:32] Yeah, I guess we talked a little bit about that
[1:46:35] and then when you had a page about Every metric is up
[1:46:39] and you mentioned the first three quarters of last year,
[1:46:42] but we're what, three or four months into 26,
[1:46:46] but you don't mention the fourth quarter last year. What
[1:46:48] Dean the Yeah, the, the dean run in report's not out yet.
[1:46:50] It'll be out later this month.
[1:46:51] We're waiting for that to have a full year picture. Okay,
[1:46:55] Thank you.
[1:46:58] And when you say that
[1:47:00] or you present strategic partnerships with local businesses,
[1:47:05] what, what exactly does that mean?
[1:47:09] So for example, I'll, I'll point to Hellgate again.
[1:47:12] They were very interested in working with us
[1:47:15] for the Air airport placement.
[1:47:19] It's cost prohibitive
[1:47:21] to have their own installment, the advertisement there.
[1:47:24] And so we've developed a plan to work with them
[1:47:27] to share the burden
[1:47:29] and highlight one of the great attractions of our area
[1:47:32] and have joint creative with them.
[1:47:36] Also, they've developed a media night
[1:47:38] that we're heavily involved in that will bring,
[1:47:40] they're hopeful between a hundred
[1:47:42] and 150 media people to experience the region.
[1:47:46] And so we're, we're co partners in that.
[1:47:50] We're working with Cycle Oregon, we're intimately involved.
[1:47:54] We're the local on the ground organization to develop that.
[1:47:58] We wrote the proposal and are side by side
[1:48:01] with BMX nationals to have that event
[1:48:04] and and so on and so forth.
[1:48:05] So I, it's, I understand strategic partnership with,
[1:48:10] we'll say a large, a large draw.
[1:48:12] You mentioned a couple of them on this page.
[1:48:15] You've got some that are literally a two
[1:48:18] or three, three person operation.
[1:48:20] What does strategic partnership look
[1:48:22] like with a tiny little business?
[1:48:23] Can you, can you like gimme something specific please?
[1:48:27] Let's see, Carson's would be one, which
[1:48:30] I'm a really good Carson's customer,
[1:48:32] but I'm just wondering, they obviously don't have the, the,
[1:48:36] the benefit to you that Hellgate would have.
[1:48:38] Sure. So what would strategic partnership look like?
[1:48:41] So in that instance, we'd just be talking
[1:48:42] about advertising.
[1:48:43] Frankly. We have a, a huge opportunity locally
[1:48:49] with food and beverage being a top three economic driver
[1:48:52] for tourism specifically.
[1:48:54] And what we've also not done a good job
[1:48:58] of is letting folks know when we've worked on their behalf.
[1:49:01] We create content on their behalf.
[1:49:02] Sometimes they don't even know.
[1:49:05] So perhaps strategic partnership
[1:49:08] would not be the appropriate term there,
[1:49:11] but certainly advertisement
[1:49:15] Tha Thank you.
[1:49:16] Thanks for the clarification.
[1:49:18] Further question trick.
[1:49:20] Thank you Dan. Thank you for a coffee chat on Friday.
[1:49:23] Thanks. Also, the question I have on hotel occupancy
[1:49:27] of 78%,
[1:49:29] the perception I get just from this economy when I drive
[1:49:32] around so forth is that the local hotels are struggling
[1:49:36] to be at 50%.
[1:49:37] The national chains are probably running a hundred percent.
[1:49:40] So if, what, what are you actually finding?
[1:49:43] Because 78% looks really healthy.
[1:49:47] It is, and those are the numbers that we were
[1:49:48] provided by our, our data aggregators.
[1:49:51] I mean, I, I could point to our hotelier,
[1:49:53] let's sitting right back here
[1:49:55] and he'd probably able to give you more accurate
[1:49:58] or more detailed information.
[1:50:00] But everything that we know based on the numbers
[1:50:03] that we've been provided is that in Grants Pass,
[1:50:06] hotel occupancy is up
[1:50:08] for the first time in several years. Okay, thank you.
[1:50:11] Further questions I got Eric,
[1:50:13] Thank you for the presentation.
[1:50:17] I know it says ROI that speaks
[1:50:18] for itself there on slide 7, 237 to $1.
[1:50:24] Can you explain exactly how you come up with that?
[1:50:27] That ROI, those are the numbers
[1:50:30] that are provided by the state.
[1:50:32] So across the state, on average for every $1
[1:50:35] invested in advertising, a municipality can expect to
[1:50:39] receive $237 in economic
[1:50:44] fluidity, liquidity, dollars moving around the community.
[1:50:49] Thank you. Yes sir. Further
[1:50:51] Questions, Victoria, Is there a way in the future
[1:50:55] to dial that down to a community level?
[1:51:00] Is there any way to aggregate those numbers out
[1:51:03] to even regional hope, hopefully county wise
[1:51:07] There, there are and they're very expensive.
[1:51:09] Oh. And so we pay for some of those things,
[1:51:14] but it, it's in the tens of thousands of dollars
[1:51:17] to invest in those.
[1:51:18] We have some partners and I think the city may be one
[1:51:21] of 'em now where we'll be able to share data.
[1:51:23] We have some software as a service that we use
[1:51:27] and I think the city has acquired another bit of that.
[1:51:30] So, and I think the Chamber may even have their own.
[1:51:32] So we'll be able to share that data across all
[1:51:35] of our efforts and get a super granular look.
[1:51:38] So like right down to the, the block and, and the date
[1:51:43] and the demographic by triangulating all
[1:51:45] of those various sources of data, it's really creepy
[1:51:49] because you know, you're doing cell phone pings, you're,
[1:51:52] you're looking at credit card swipes.
[1:51:55] It's all the most awful stuff of marketing,
[1:51:57] but also the most necessary.
[1:52:00] So we should by, I mean for art along the road for example,
[1:52:04] we should be able to tell you exactly
[1:52:06] where everybody came from, how much money they make,
[1:52:09] what they were doing there, how much time they spent there,
[1:52:11] where they spent their money around town.
[1:52:14] It's gonna get real gross,
[1:52:16] but we'll be able to provide it for the benefit
[1:52:18] of the community between all of the agencies
[1:52:22] That that's Well that's really great to hear.
[1:52:24] So, correct.
[1:52:28] Tell me if I'm on the right track here.
[1:52:29] So you guys are all going to do like cost sharing
[1:52:33] or resource sharing to get down to that granular level?
[1:52:37] Or is it just, you know,
[1:52:39] you guys cooperate pretty well together? Just
[1:52:41] Information sharing?
[1:52:42] We work day to every day. We're working together.
[1:52:43] I work with Terry and Dana every single day and, and Dan.
[1:52:47] So with everyone's tools
[1:52:50] and resources, we're happy to work together
[1:52:53] and share those so that everyone wins.
[1:52:55] Oh, that, that sounds great.
[1:52:57] I would, I really, it's look forward to seeing that
[1:52:59] and that kind of, and then I have one more question
[1:53:01] that kind of leads into this previous question.
[1:53:06] The previous question kinda leads into this. Sure.
[1:53:08] I loved on slide 45,
[1:53:13] I love that you did this graphic that shows
[1:53:18] where everybody is, who's presenting today.
[1:53:20] And I think that's so helpful.
[1:53:23] And do you plan to, I know you can't speak
[1:53:26] for everyone else, but do you guys plan
[1:53:28] to do more coordination
[1:53:30] or at least getting together to see, you know,
[1:53:33] how you guys might be overlapping or Yeah, where
[1:53:37] and where you don't need to
[1:53:39] If not daily.
[1:53:40] Certainly weekly, the chamber,
[1:53:44] the city's economic development department, main Street
[1:53:48] and visit grant Pass are working together and coordinating.
[1:53:52] No one's doing anything in a vacuum.
[1:53:54] We're pretty well aware of that Venn diagram
[1:53:57] that Terry talked about.
[1:54:00] And one of the greatest concerns
[1:54:01] and rightfully so is that that bin diagram is just a circle.
[1:54:05] Everybody's just doing the same thing
[1:54:08] and that's not where we're at.
[1:54:10] We wanna make sure that we're carefully coordinating,
[1:54:13] we're complimenting the work, we're amplifying its effects
[1:54:17] rather than being duplicative.
[1:54:20] So then lastly, that just made me think
[1:54:22] of one last question then.
[1:54:24] What do you think the, your coordination with all, all four
[1:54:28] of you is going to translate into business?
[1:54:33] This is a big question.
[1:54:35] Business retention, business expansion, tourism expansion.
[1:54:40] Yeah. If you kind of have an idea of
[1:54:44] where it was just this last year.
[1:54:46] Yeah. Where do you see it projected the force
[1:54:50] with the force multiplier of all
[1:54:51] of you guys working together? It's a
[1:54:53] Really great question and one that Terry
[1:54:55] and I actually give each other a bad time about.
[1:54:58] As a long time resident of the city,
[1:55:03] I have told him directly jokingly
[1:55:06] that my effort is to bring people in,
[1:55:10] have them spend their money and then go home.
[1:55:14] And Terry is like, wait, hold up.
[1:55:17] That's not always the case.
[1:55:19] And so that's where it's important for us to work together
[1:55:22] and find the right people and bring them into town
[1:55:25] and have those folks say, Hey, you know what?
[1:55:28] I would like to start my business here.
[1:55:30] I would like to raise my family here.
[1:55:32] I would like to have a home here.
[1:55:35] And that's why I would, I will never work to,
[1:55:38] on a shotgun approach just to bring
[1:55:40] as many bodies as I can here.
[1:55:42] That's not the goal, it's not the task.
[1:55:45] It's to bring like-minded people, Val,
[1:55:47] whose values are similar to grants passes broadly
[1:55:52] and hopefully support all
[1:55:54] of our businesses that already exist.
[1:55:56] Maybe make a go of their own business,
[1:55:59] maybe have their kids here.
[1:56:01] And I, I think we would all be a win
[1:56:05] to the specifics of that.
[1:56:06] I'd say I'm not your guy.
[1:56:08] Talk to Terry how that could look for
[1:56:11] for business development.
[1:56:15] Thank you. Yes ma'am.
[1:56:16] Seth, any questions? All
[1:56:18] right, thank you Joel, any questions?
[1:56:20] I just need to know what I'm looking at here
[1:56:22] and it may be a case of you providing too much detail.
[1:56:25] Sure. We have a, a statement here of activity
[1:56:30] from the Josephine County Visitors Association.
[1:56:32] What is that relationship to visit Grants Pass?
[1:56:34] Josephine County Visitors Association is the
[1:56:37] formal organization.
[1:56:39] The DBA is visit Grants Pass.
[1:56:41] So that is our nonprofit profit loss.
[1:56:44] Okay. So then when I look at it,
[1:56:47] and I think I understand why,
[1:56:49] but the total operating revenue is a minus $154,000,
[1:56:54] but it's a for the period July 1st through April 9th.
[1:57:00] So you must get quarterly payments from the Yes sir.
[1:57:06] Okay. And then the expenses that you have listed here,
[1:57:10] are they for the full year or are for, they only for three
[1:57:13] Quarters.
[1:57:14] That's for the fiscal year to date.
[1:57:15] Fiscal year to date, yes sir. So yes sir.
[1:57:17] So you will have more payroll expenses, salaries,
[1:57:22] the promotional items, are they, are they all covered
[1:57:26] the marketing campaign, that kind of thing?
[1:57:28] Yes sir. They're all, I'm I
[1:57:29] that's just a one time bill I would guess
[1:57:32] so the bottom line is,
[1:57:33] without getting into the detail, yeah.
[1:57:35] When I turn over to the last page
[1:57:38] and the net revenue will be zero at the end
[1:57:43] of the year, it'll zero or maybe a carryover.
[1:57:45] Hopefully a carryover. It'll
[1:57:46] Be, yeah, the, the goal is to be at zero.
[1:57:48] What's that? I'm sorry? The goal
[1:57:50] Is zero.
[1:57:51] Zero, yes. Okay. Okay.
[1:57:53] So you anticipate then the revenue coming in at
[1:57:57] an increase of over $143,000 over
[1:58:00] your last quarter expenses?
[1:58:01] Yes sir. Okay, thank you. Yeah.
[1:58:06] Indra, do you have any questions?
[1:58:07] I do. Awesome. They're gonna be a little scattered,
[1:58:10] but thank you.
[1:58:11] This is a very detailed presentation.
[1:58:14] I really appreciate that.
[1:58:18] First question. So I see
[1:58:23] you represent all
[1:58:24] of the businesses in Grants Pass, not just downtown.
[1:58:27] 'cause I see a lot of coordination
[1:58:29] with Main Street, which is great.
[1:58:30] Sure. Because we we're promoting our downtown
[1:58:33] and that's probably where visitors come
[1:58:37] to, to events there.
[1:58:38] But we also have destination businesses outside of downtown.
[1:58:43] And can you tell me a little bit about your
[1:58:46] goals to reach them?
[1:58:48] Because when I look at the strategic partnerships,
[1:58:51] I don't see a lot that aren't like right downtown
[1:58:54] or in the general area.
[1:58:55] So what are your goals to reach businesses outside?
[1:58:59] So in the just year
[1:59:01] and change that I've been working on this, it was important
[1:59:03] for us strategically to focus on the top
[1:59:05] drivers for tourism.
[1:59:07] And that's food and that's music
[1:59:10] and that's historic buildings and experiences.
[1:59:13] So we wanted to take full advantage of
[1:59:16] what we already had since it really hadn't been done in a,
[1:59:19] in a strategic scalpel like way.
[1:59:22] So in this first year we did exactly that
[1:59:24] and I think you'll see that.
[1:59:25] And the content that we pr we've produced,
[1:59:30] as I briefly rushed over this following year,
[1:59:34] is really about moving outside of the,
[1:59:38] the downtown and not just into wine,
[1:59:41] which would be an easy go-to, right?
[1:59:43] But with the, the advent of Dollar Mountain,
[1:59:46] now we can start moving from Dollar Mountain
[1:59:49] to the Rogue River up the Rogue River
[1:59:51] into the Illinois Valley.
[1:59:53] I'm already working with the Chamber
[1:59:54] and the leadership in the Illinois Valley
[1:59:57] to talk about unique lodging experiences.
[2:00:00] Dark skies is gonna be an amazing opportunity for us
[2:00:03] to advertise the caves of course.
[2:00:06] And then we can get back into the Applegate Valley
[2:00:09] and we can talk about some of the things that aren't one,
[2:00:12] like paragliding and hang gliding.
[2:00:14] We have a a, a Perry creator out there. That is awesome.
[2:00:19] We'll have a new, a new brewery out there that will be great
[2:00:23] for, for visitors.
[2:00:24] We've got the Lindsay Lodge that sits on the border,
[2:00:27] so we'll be moving outside of downtown.
[2:00:30] But in with respect to moving quickly
[2:00:33] and taking full advantage of the resources
[2:00:36] that Grants Pass has that are attractive statistically
[2:00:40] to travelers, we moved really quickly to focus on that
[2:00:44] and now we'll have the opportunity over the next 10 years
[2:00:47] to develop the rest of the stories.
[2:00:50] We're just a team of two
[2:00:51] and so it is a little bit linear about how we can move
[2:00:54] through things and it does take time.
[2:00:56] Thank you. And I, I'm glad that that's your goal
[2:00:59] to move out beyond,
[2:01:00] which brings the question that I don't know.
[2:01:03] So the TLT dollars that are for lodging is
[2:01:06] that lodging throughout the county
[2:01:09] and how to, do you contract with the county too?
[2:01:12] 'cause your visit Grants pass and how does that work?
[2:01:16] Well, without getting into like the political specifics
[2:01:19] of everything, right, the county's been in disarray
[2:01:21] for a bit and we lost our liaison to our board.
[2:01:26] We have a new one that's just getting ready to start
[2:01:29] and we'll be able to develop that support.
[2:01:32] To date, the county does not contribute to our
[2:01:37] TLT rake
[2:01:40] and it's unfortunate we still promote them obviously
[2:01:43] because they have a great deal to offer
[2:01:46] and people come here to go to what was the,
[2:01:50] well the number two wine region in the country USA today.
[2:01:54] And so we use, we use that to bring people into town,
[2:01:59] dark skies, the caves, Illinois River.
[2:02:03] They're a very important part of our community
[2:02:06] and we'd love to have a closer relationship
[2:02:08] and share some of those financial responsibilities.
[2:02:12] Right. So the TLT dollars that come from the city,
[2:02:18] is it separate, does the county receive their own TLT from
[2:02:22] lodging outside of the city or No, it's all together.
[2:02:26] I, we received no funding from the county, so I can't say
[2:02:30] what they do with Aaron.
[2:02:32] Can you, do you know, does the county receive TLT dollars
[2:02:36] for lodging outside of the city limits?
[2:02:41] I'm just, the county receives economic dollars from the
[2:02:44] state, but the county currently right now,
[2:02:46] there's a a 12% tax on lodging
[2:02:49] that's all initiated by this city.
[2:02:52] And the county in my understanding,
[2:02:55] does not law does not levy its own lodging tax
[2:02:58] against lodging agencies.
[2:03:01] Oh, thank you. So it's only the city
[2:03:03] that levies the TLT dollars, is that correct?
[2:03:08] For the city? For within our organ, within our boundaries.
[2:03:11] Right. Okay. I didn't know that. Thank you.
[2:03:14] Okay, thank you Jan. Thanks Andrea.
[2:03:16] And then, so I agree it's a little scary when you're
[2:03:21] tracking people that come in and it's difficult
[2:03:24] and I would, that's why I use cash a lot
[2:03:27] and not credit card, but I don't blame you.
[2:03:31] Do you also track business revenues?
[2:03:35] Like when you're talking to businesses, I'm sure you do,
[2:03:39] but is there any kind of formal, how are they doing?
[2:03:42] Are their revenues up?
[2:03:43] Because to me that would show
[2:03:45] that they're getting more tourism
[2:03:47] and more business. Do you track
[2:03:49] That?
[2:03:50] Certainly. We don't, only anecdotally in our work,
[2:03:52] because we are so concentrated in our efforts beyond
[2:03:55] that 50 mile radius,
[2:03:57] I rely on my friend at the chamber honestly,
[2:04:00] to help understand what that impact is.
[2:04:04] And then we look at that data aggregators across the state.
[2:04:07] Tribal Oregon is a, a big help.
[2:04:10] Dean Runion stars report, data phi now we have access
[2:04:14] to a platform called Placer.
[2:04:17] And then we just start trying to deduce
[2:04:21] what things look like broadly.
[2:04:23] Otherwise for us in our organization, it's just anecdotal.
[2:04:27] Okay, thank you. And I,
[2:04:29] I've seen your advertisements at the airport.
[2:04:32] Very nice base camp. Right.
[2:04:34] Thank you. And then the, I saw in here the data's from
[2:04:40] Data fly, data fly.
[2:04:42] Yeah, I wrote it. Is that a software program that
[2:04:45] You use?
[2:04:46] It's a software as service, they call it.
[2:04:47] I mean we get technical here,
[2:04:49] but it's programmatic, which is to say that we run,
[2:04:54] they run millions
[2:04:56] of impressions in banner type ads based on online activity.
[2:05:01] So, okay.
[2:05:02] I mean, I hate to break it to you,
[2:05:04] but you're being tracked on every click, every scroll,
[2:05:08] the amount of time you spend, not scrolling,
[2:05:11] it's all being tracked.
[2:05:13] And so Dify will be watching your activity
[2:05:17] and then we'll serve you an ad
[2:05:18] that it thinks it's appropriate.
[2:05:20] Okay. And the most likely to engage.
[2:05:23] Okay. And then there were two others. Dean, I'm sorry?
[2:05:26] Dean Run. Yes. What did they do?
[2:05:29] That's an annual report. It's not quite out yet.
[2:05:33] This meeting actually, the timing of it gets a little weird.
[2:05:36] So we're waiting for it in the next couple of weeks.
[2:05:38] Actual, that will close the end of the year
[2:05:41] that Rob was talking about.
[2:05:42] So we'll have that full calendar year,
[2:05:46] but we just don't have that, those numbers yet.
[2:05:47] And that's the big detailed report.
[2:05:52] Are they local or is that No. Just, okay.
[2:05:55] It's, they're experts in doing that. Yeah, I'm assuming.
[2:05:58] And then there was one other, I wrote it down,
[2:06:00] but I don't see it.
[2:06:02] Do you know what I'm talking about? It's okay.
[2:06:10] Advising. You mentioned advising.
[2:06:14] What, what do you advise at?
[2:06:17] Well, sometimes we're just not able
[2:06:19] to do work for a business.
[2:06:21] For example, we might be approached
[2:06:24] and they'll have no budget
[2:06:26] and we can't really call it a tourism attraction,
[2:06:31] but we're happy to spend hours,
[2:06:32] countless hours in infinity hours working
[2:06:35] with small businesses on how to best maximize
[2:06:39] their marketing practices.
[2:06:41] Because in the end, we just want everybody to win.
[2:06:43] And I work with plenty of experts in, in this field
[2:06:48] and in a couple of hours we can advise a mom
[2:06:52] and pop on how to manage their socials,
[2:06:55] for example, at no cost.
[2:06:57] It's just something that we think is a community service.
[2:07:00] Right. Okay. And then lastly, thank you
[2:07:05] for the statement of activity.
[2:07:06] And it's very detailed except for 1 61 50,
[2:07:11] the marketing campaign, which is the bulk of your dollars.
[2:07:14] If you could, not now, of course,
[2:07:17] but if you could break that down for me,
[2:07:20] I would really appreciate to know where the bulk of
[2:07:23] that money is, is going. So
[2:07:25] I mean, I can tell you right now, it's passed through.
[2:07:29] We work with dozens or more vendors
[2:07:32] and content creators, influencers, writers.
[2:07:38] So that's a lot of it. But the bulk of it is passed through
[2:07:40] to the actual campaigns.
[2:07:42] So what you're seeing here is when we pay aaa, for example,
[2:07:46] to have an ad or an editorial in their magazine,
[2:07:49] or we pay tens of thousands of dollars to meta
[2:07:54] for ads across Facebook and Instagram.
[2:07:57] And it just goes on and on and on. Okay. Google's the same.
[2:08:01] Reddit is the same, YouTube is the same. So
[2:08:06] If it's not too difficult, I I would actually like
[2:08:09] to see a list of who we work with and market to.
[2:08:13] Sure. If it's not trouble. Okay. And then thank you.
[2:08:16] You're absolutely right.
[2:08:18] Being in marketing for many years myself,
[2:08:23] it is a downward spiral.
[2:08:25] It's one of the things you have to spend money on in order
[2:08:27] to grow business or grow tourism here.
[2:08:33] And when you, it's, you're right.
[2:08:35] It's the first thing to cut because it's a lot of dollars.
[2:08:38] It is. You say, oh, I need to cut dollars.
[2:08:40] But then you do see the impact of that.
[2:08:43] So I appreciate what you do and thank you.
[2:08:45] And the coordination with the other groups.
[2:08:47] I appreciate that. Thank you. Thank you Dan.
[2:08:50] Appreciate your time. Thank
[2:08:51] You brother.
[2:08:52] All right, Dana, who's next?
[2:09:00] All right. Our last presenter today, back in the end
[2:09:03] of last year, the council approved some funding to help
[2:09:07] Main Street Grants pass, get off the ground
[2:09:10] and to hire an executive director.
[2:09:12] So today we have Dan Small executive director
[2:09:16] for Main Street Grants Pass.
[2:09:21] Thank you Dana. Hello, Mr. Mayor.
[2:09:23] Counselors, thank you so much for having me here.
[2:09:25] I wanna start with gratitude.
[2:09:27] It's not lost on me that
[2:09:30] we are relying heavily on the city currently
[2:09:33] for funding for Main Street.
[2:09:34] And it's largely in part to your guys' advocacy for
[2:09:39] what you believe in as a,
[2:09:40] as a strong strategic partner for our community.
[2:09:43] So I just wanna say thank you to all of you
[2:09:45] who had the opportunity to vote for our funding in October.
[2:09:49] And thank you very much for the opportunity
[2:09:51] to serve this community in a meaningful way.
[2:09:53] I'm very honored to be here
[2:09:54] and I couldn't do without you guys.
[2:09:55] So thank you very much. Main Street Grants Pass,
[2:09:59] technically found formed in 2024,
[2:10:02] but we have not had a whole lot of activity
[2:10:05] until I was recently hired.
[2:10:06] I've been on the clock for about a month
[2:10:09] and 10 days as of today.
[2:10:11] And so what I'm excited to talk to you about is the work
[2:10:15] that we've done thus far over this last month.
[2:10:18] Briefly touch on the work that had been done prior
[2:10:21] to me being started and then give you a quick six month
[2:10:23] outlook as the work is just beginning.
[2:10:26] I don't have a full year's projection for you.
[2:10:29] I can't reflect on dollar spent in the last year,
[2:10:33] but we can dream together
[2:10:35] and we can be in a really exciting place of optimism
[2:10:38] as we looked towards the rest of this year.
[2:10:40] So I will start with that six month outlook
[2:10:43] and four, what's gonna look like
[2:10:45] for Main Street Grants Pass is establishing relationships
[2:10:48] and growing our membership base.
[2:10:50] As I've been on the ground for the last month,
[2:10:54] meeting business owners, hearing their story, spending a lot
[2:10:57] of intentional time, understanding what challenges
[2:11:00] that they're facing currently
[2:11:02] and how their challenges might be different, being a brick
[2:11:05] and mortar shop downtown as opposed to maybe a,
[2:11:09] a mobile store
[2:11:10] or somewhere that's in a more
[2:11:14] traffic driven district.
[2:11:17] And so it's been a really wonderful opportunity.
[2:11:19] That's something that I am excited to do
[2:11:20] and to continue to that that work as long
[2:11:24] as I'm privileged enough to serve in this capacity,
[2:11:27] building those relationships, growing our membership bases,
[2:11:30] ultimately just talking about what it is
[2:11:31] that Main Street's intentions are
[2:11:33] and how we need downtown business owners
[2:11:37] and property owners alike
[2:11:39] and community members participation in order for us
[2:11:41] to be successful, engaging our subcommittees
[2:11:45] and committing to the Main Street model.
[2:11:46] Main Street is a nationwide organization
[2:11:49] that exists in 2000 different communities nationwide.
[2:11:54] They have been in practice for 40 years
[2:11:57] and they have a four tiered approach.
[2:12:00] And it is economic vitality, it's design, it's promotions,
[2:12:04] and it is organization.
[2:12:05] And so as we are engaging our subcommittees,
[2:12:09] which are those four arms that I talked about,
[2:12:12] we are getting together and committing to that model
[2:12:14] because it is when each one
[2:12:15] of those is given the opportunity
[2:12:17] and the attention equally that we're able
[2:12:19] to see community transformation, communications improvement,
[2:12:26] specifically slick text deployment,
[2:12:28] a text communications platform
[2:12:29] that we're really excited to deploy.
[2:12:32] As I've been boots on the ground,
[2:12:33] we had a town hall meeting up at the Hive on
[2:12:36] the 24th of February.
[2:12:38] And then it has been echoed ever since that one
[2:12:40] of the greatest pain points for the folks who are downtown.
[2:12:44] The folks who have rely on regular communications, whether
[2:12:47] that be from Main Street, to understand
[2:12:50] updates on promotions that are coming through, whether
[2:12:52] that be updates from the city, they feel like they're
[2:12:56] maybe being left in the, oh, pardon me,
[2:13:00] maybe in the in the dark.
[2:13:01] And understanding too that there are mailers that go out
[2:13:05] and that we have emails that go out
[2:13:07] and still it's just not enough.
[2:13:09] So we're wanting to meet our vendors
[2:13:11] and our merchants where they're at.
[2:13:13] And so creating a text platform that allows Main Street
[2:13:16] to communicate directly to those merchants
[2:13:18] or members For Main Street,
[2:13:22] we have our phone number approved
[2:13:24] and we will, we are currently in the deployment phase
[2:13:26] of Slick Text and then strategic planning for 2026.
[2:13:30] The rest of 2026
[2:13:31] and into 2028 will be taking place over the next
[2:13:35] few months as well.
[2:13:36] So understanding that I really only have
[2:13:39] job security for this year.
[2:13:40] There's quite a bit of work to be done.
[2:13:43] And then we also having our first Friday enhancements,
[2:13:46] we have a downtown fashion experience cruise, the Rogue
[2:13:49] and the Living Room Invitational, which I'll touch on later.
[2:13:52] So let the work begin.
[2:13:54] Touching on the four pillars of the, the Main Street model.
[2:13:58] These are our four subcommittees.
[2:14:00] As you'll see, our kickoff meetings just happened last week.
[2:14:04] It has been a two year process
[2:14:06] to get these folks together in the same room.
[2:14:09] Our promotions committee has been diligently working
[2:14:12] really since the, the foundation of,
[2:14:15] of Main Street back in 2024.
[2:14:17] With a lot of that work happening over the last year in
[2:14:20] terms of taking over First Fridays
[2:14:23] and really working on the staple
[2:14:28] events that we're gonna be doing,
[2:14:29] like Cruise The Rogue that's coming up this year.
[2:14:32] Living Room Invitational, which partnered with Gate's.
[2:14:34] Home Furnishing was an indoor mini golf event
[2:14:38] where we ended up giving $62,000 to the Children's Museum.
[2:14:44] So promotions has been working really, really hard for that.
[2:14:47] And I actually will shout out Danielle Glam,
[2:14:50] who's our committee chair for that.
[2:14:52] She, it is her birthday today. Happy birthday, Denny.
[2:14:54] But also her
[2:14:55] and her husband John have been actively working on keeping
[2:14:59] that promotions committee going as well as a group of
[2:15:02] five other community members
[2:15:05] who I'm very grateful for their work.
[2:15:06] But the design, the economic vitality in the organization
[2:15:09] committee just had our inaugural meeting this last week.
[2:15:13] Really that was a tone setting meeting for us.
[2:15:15] It was creating expectations of what we hope
[2:15:19] to see from them and
[2:15:20] their participation in those committees.
[2:15:22] And then speaking specifically about
[2:15:24] what the next coming months are gonna look like
[2:15:26] as we engage in the strategic planning process
[2:15:29] and long-term vision for Main Street Grants Pass,
[2:15:33] which also, I will just mo take a note to say
[2:15:35] that our goal is to have that completed by 20
[2:15:37] or July of this year.
[2:15:40] Briefly touched on the four pillars of Main Street.
[2:15:43] This is a rip directly from their website,
[2:15:45] but just so the group as a whole has an understanding of
[2:15:49] what each arm does within the Main Street model
[2:15:53] Promotions is what we look at as almost the marketing arm
[2:15:56] of Main Street.
[2:15:58] So promoting our assets, promote
[2:16:00] and creating opportunities for the community to be involved
[2:16:04] in fun
[2:16:05] and exciting new
[2:16:09] events around town.
[2:16:11] We want to make sure that we are promoting the work
[2:16:14] that the other arms are gonna be doing, as well
[2:16:16] as promoting the work
[2:16:18] that our strategic partners are, are doing.
[2:16:19] We, we rely heavily on Visit Grants Pass in the Chamber
[2:16:22] of Commerce and we, we wanna make sure that the efforts
[2:16:26] that they're putting into the
[2:16:27] community we're able to promote as well.
[2:16:29] Design Committee is all about beautification projects
[2:16:31] around town, whether that be wayfinding,
[2:16:33] green space creation, murals, opportunities for us
[2:16:37] to take direct ownership in beautifying our city,
[2:16:42] specifically the downtown district,
[2:16:44] and wanting to make sure
[2:16:46] that we are preserving historic buildings, working closely
[2:16:49] with the Historic Building Society to make sure
[2:16:51] that any work that we're doing is preserving the,
[2:16:54] the rich heritage that we have here.
[2:16:58] Economic vitality is building a diverse economic base,
[2:17:01] cataly catalyzing smart new investments.
[2:17:03] So leaning heavily on our strategic partners to make sure
[2:17:06] that we are finding the right businesses to bring downtown
[2:17:11] that will be continuing to drive foot traffic
[2:17:13] and to be able to continue to keep those dollars local.
[2:17:18] And then the organization committee is what I look at as the
[2:17:21] guardrails, essentially, of the organization.
[2:17:24] And so they are gonna be strongly responsible
[2:17:27] for any future funding that will happen for Main Street,
[2:17:30] but they're also gonna be the keepers of our strategic plan.
[2:17:32] And so as we develop initiatives
[2:17:35] through the other three Arms, we'll be running it
[2:17:37] through the strategic plan and really through the,
[2:17:39] the organization committee.
[2:17:42] So our Main Street events, so first
[2:17:46] and foremost are our monthly event that is recurring,
[2:17:49] and that is a Grants Pass staple that we have a lot
[2:17:52] of downtown merchants are excited
[2:17:53] to participate in is First Fridays.
[2:17:55] There are some exciting new developments that will be coming
[2:17:58] that we can talk about that later.
[2:18:00] The downtown fashion experience is coming up on June 13th.
[2:18:03] It's an opportunity for us
[2:18:04] to feature 11 different boutiques from the downtown
[2:18:06] district, give them a moment
[2:18:08] as they all have their own sense of style and brand,
[2:18:10] and we wanna make sure that we are being inclusive for all
[2:18:13] of our boutiques and give them a moment to shine.
[2:18:16] Cruise the Rogue is a callback to an old classic.
[2:18:20] We want to pay homage to the, the classic cruisers
[2:18:24] and the work that they've done with the Fabulous fifties
[2:18:26] event, but also step into this new,
[2:18:31] I guess, generation as Main Street Tarts to take over
[2:18:33] that event and bring that into the future
[2:18:36] as it is now gonna be a multi-generational, multi-gen
[2:18:41] car cruise that's gonna be taking place over four days.
[2:18:43] I mentioned briefly the Gates Living Room Invitational.
[2:18:45] It was a massive success for us last year.
[2:18:47] We plan on bringing that back this year.
[2:18:49] We also have the monster March the Trick-or-Treating event
[2:18:51] that happens downtown during the first Friday, or right
[2:18:55] before, sorry, rather the the trick
[2:18:57] or treating event that happens on Halloween
[2:18:59] or the weekend for, and then the Coco Crawl.
[2:19:02] And we are excited to identify opportunities
[2:19:06] for other events coming up soon.
[2:19:10] A massive win that we can point to that Main Street has
[2:19:14] participated in recently
[2:19:15] for First Fridays at the Leprechaun activation.
[2:19:18] Big shout out to Terry at TLC Creations for creating
[2:19:21] these wonderful little leprechauns
[2:19:23] that business owners hid throughout their,
[2:19:27] their, their business.
[2:19:28] And they had a little QR code.
[2:19:30] It was an basically we, they were
[2:19:32] provided a map, they could go around, they searched
[2:19:33] for the leprechaun, they scanned the QR code,
[2:19:35] and they were entered into a drawing.
[2:19:37] We saw with this activation alone, 2000 scans
[2:19:40] for those QR codes in an average of 90 scans per business.
[2:19:44] So as folks are going around,
[2:19:46] they're searching for these leprechauns.
[2:19:48] It's just a fun way for them
[2:19:49] to be engaged in the First Friday activities.
[2:19:51] And also for us to drive
[2:19:53] that traffic maybe down a little bit farther.
[2:19:55] You know, we're seeing that folks tend to stay in
[2:19:57] that G Street to eighth Street area.
[2:19:58] We wanna make sure that we are engaging the businesses
[2:20:01] that are farther down the block and up the block as well.
[2:20:03] So they were all placed on a map
[2:20:05] and then everybody had to go inside those locations
[2:20:07] and look for those leprechauns,
[2:20:10] the Glass Forge, Easter Egg Hunt.
[2:20:12] We partnered with them mostly to just boost
[2:20:14] what they were already doing.
[2:20:16] Lee over there is a, is a really generous man
[2:20:19] and over the, the week leading up to
[2:20:22] Easter was placing five glass blown eggs in
[2:20:27] businesses all around Grants Pass.
[2:20:29] But we tried to specifically focus on downtown businesses
[2:20:33] as well as really specifically G Street businesses
[2:20:36] as they were experiencing the closure during that time.
[2:20:40] And it was similar to what you would imagine being the,
[2:20:46] the glass orb hunt that happens in Lincoln City.
[2:20:48] Basically if you find the glass orb, you get to take it.
[2:20:52] And so finders keepers type of situation.
[2:20:54] But the business owners would hide the egg in their,
[2:20:57] in their business, give a a little clue
[2:21:00] and a, a closeup picture to not fully give it away.
[2:21:02] And it was a great way for folks to engage in going
[2:21:06] and exploring new stores downtown.
[2:21:08] Future state for First Fridays, really excited to partner
[2:21:12] with John Glam, who's taken a lot of ownership
[2:21:14] and creating these, the First Friday experience
[2:21:17] and creating an online app to enhance community engagement.
[2:21:21] So specifically the activities
[2:21:24] that I just briefly mentioned, as well
[2:21:26] as future activations, we'll be able
[2:21:28] to take place in an online app setting
[2:21:31] so folks can have interactive maps, maybe whatever event
[2:21:35] that we're promoting for
[2:21:37] that particular month can be housed in there.
[2:21:39] And then professionalizing systems
[2:21:41] and processes to enhance the event.
[2:21:43] Wanting to make sure that we are able to curate an event,
[2:21:48] making sure that we are partnering well with our,
[2:21:50] our friends at the city to have applications
[2:21:55] for vendors who are gonna be out on the street
[2:21:57] and that we're strategically placing them throughout the,
[2:22:00] the downtown so that we aren't having, you know, four,
[2:22:04] you know, food carts or,
[2:22:07] or things right in front of a restaurant.
[2:22:08] Things that might be an actual detractor.
[2:22:10] How are, how are we able to strategically partner
[2:22:13] to curate an event so
[2:22:14] that it drives traffic all the way down the block?
[2:22:18] The downtown fashion experience I briefly mentioned is
[2:22:20] happening on June 13th.
[2:22:22] We're projecting 150 to 200 people in attendance.
[2:22:25] We're gonna be capitalizing on a lot of the
[2:22:27] Saturday market traffic as they, as they start
[2:22:29] to leave was when we're gonna begin our festivities.
[2:22:32] We're having up to 15 local vendors.
[2:22:34] We're in the jury process for that currently.
[2:22:37] We're also gonna have a VIP experience
[2:22:39] for the boutique owners and as well as sponsors
[2:22:43] and driving businesses
[2:22:45] and new clientele for those boutiques.
[2:22:47] An opportunity for them to showcase their apparel
[2:22:51] and also in our program, be able to feature a, a coupon
[2:22:56] or a discount that they might be able
[2:22:58] to take in then spend in their stores.
[2:23:01] Cruise The Rogue, I talked about being a new,
[2:23:04] a new twist on something that we're trying
[2:23:06] to capture the nostalgia of,
[2:23:09] but also step into a new, a new age, I guess,
[2:23:12] for the cruise downtown.
[2:23:14] So it's gonna be a a four day experience.
[2:23:17] Multi-generational cars of all mix and models.
[2:23:22] We're gonna have celebrity guests at the VIP dinner,
[2:23:26] car clubs from all over the west coast.
[2:23:28] We have car clubs coming all the way from Seattle
[2:23:31] and as far south as Reno
[2:23:34] and California, we're expecting 20,000 people in attendance
[2:23:37] for this and have room for up to 500 cars.
[2:23:41] We're anticipating 400 cars on our inaugural year
[2:23:44] with a projected impact for our community
[2:23:46] of about $2 million.
[2:23:49] The Gates Living Room Invitational gate date
[2:23:51] to be determined sometime probably early October.
[2:23:55] I briefly mentioned this last,
[2:23:57] last year, was very successful.
[2:23:58] We were able to donate $62,000 to the Children's Museum.
[2:24:02] We are looking for more strategic partners, other nonprofits
[2:24:07] that we might be able to boost their efforts.
[2:24:09] And so we want to be able
[2:24:12] to give back in another quality way this year.
[2:24:14] So we're look currently looking for those partners
[2:24:17] and have a goal of fundraising this year of 70,000.
[2:24:23] We want to continue to strengthen our strategic
[2:24:25] and community partnerships.
[2:24:27] I briefly mentioned Slick text earlier.
[2:24:30] We wanna make sure that we are
[2:24:31] able to partner with the city.
[2:24:32] We don't want to be, so we don't want to be
[2:24:37] duplicative duplicitous in our, in our efforts,
[2:24:40] but we also want to be able to boost the,
[2:24:43] the communication efforts that are taking place currently.
[2:24:45] We've identified a gap
[2:24:47] and an opportunity for us to partner strategically
[2:24:49] with our friends at the city as well
[2:24:50] as our other strategic partners to make sure
[2:24:53] that we are pushing out quality communications in a,
[2:24:55] in an accessible way.
[2:24:57] So we're in the part in the process rather
[2:25:00] of deploying slick text.
[2:25:02] We want to connect businesses and local resources
[2:25:05] and with existing city support,
[2:25:09] and we want to continue to advocate for local businesses.
[2:25:11] Also, I had the opportunity to sit on a kind
[2:25:16] of improv two round table
[2:25:20] town hall style format, I guess for the H Street Food
[2:25:24] and Beverages, as well as the other business owners
[2:25:27] that were on H Street from between sixth and fourth.
[2:25:30] And it was an opportunity for them to come together
[2:25:32] and express concerns for the owl lot as well
[2:25:37] as concerns for
[2:25:38] and strategic deployment
[2:25:40] of food trucks downtown at city events.
[2:25:43] So specifically art along the road.
[2:25:47] Through that process, there were several action items
[2:25:49] that came out of that meeting, getting them together
[2:25:52] to create a unified voice to write letters
[2:25:56] and be able to identify what it is that they would like
[2:25:59] to see with these new city developments.
[2:26:01] As well as creating a database of reliable communications,
[2:26:06] both of emails and phone numbers that we might be able
[2:26:08] to reach out to those business owners, keep them apprised
[2:26:11] of information as it comes available,
[2:26:13] and also share correct addresses.
[2:26:16] I know that there's a lot of outreach
[2:26:19] and mailers that have gone out and oftentimes they're sent
[2:26:23] or sent back, and so we have an opportunity to go out
[2:26:27] and do some data collection on behalf of the city to ensure
[2:26:29] that our communications are, are locked in
[2:26:33] and and accurate.
[2:26:35] We wanna continue to support
[2:26:37] small business networking events.
[2:26:39] Recently had an opportunity to present at 1 million Cups
[2:26:42] and through that process,
[2:26:44] main Street has become a supporting sponsor
[2:26:47] of 1 million Cups.
[2:26:49] And then we're also gonna be promoting business education
[2:26:51] events, looking specifically into 2027 opportunities
[2:26:54] to create more leadership style events.
[2:26:58] And but this year in particular, we were recently approached
[2:27:01] by someone who is creating a social media marketing course
[2:27:07] for business owners and small business owners
[2:27:09] STR specifically in the Valley.
[2:27:11] And that's gonna be hosted on the Hi at The Hive
[2:27:14] on June 22nd.
[2:27:15] And so having opportunities to partner with those folks.
[2:27:20] Last thing we want to do is quick membership update.
[2:27:23] I briefly mentioned the,
[2:27:25] the time I've had over the last month.
[2:27:27] Spent a lot of time talking to business owners as a whole
[2:27:30] and, and wanting to understand their
[2:27:32] story, their why, their struggle.
[2:27:33] And through that process obviously was able to hear a lot
[2:27:37] of stories of struggle
[2:27:39] and hardship even though people are feeling
[2:27:42] like they are in a place of, of hardship.
[2:27:45] There's also a lot of optimism around the momentum
[2:27:47] that's happening between, I would say the, the efforts
[2:27:50] that are happening between these
[2:27:51] community partners in the room.
[2:27:54] But we also heard that the Main Street
[2:27:58] membership platform, the way that it was originally created
[2:28:04] was a tiered membership.
[2:28:05] We never wanted to give the appearance of favoritism
[2:28:09] or a pay to play type situation.
[2:28:11] I never want somebody to come to me
[2:28:12] and say, Dan, I would love for you to,
[2:28:14] to promote my business
[2:28:15] and have my response to them be, well,
[2:28:17] for a hundred dollars more a month,
[2:28:19] you could get on our gold plan
[2:28:20] and I'd be happy to boost your business.
[2:28:22] And so we removed that
[2:28:24] by creating a flat rate across the board.
[2:28:27] Whether you're a community member, it's a hundred dollars,
[2:28:29] $200 for downtown merchants
[2:28:31] and $300 annually for property owners.
[2:28:34] And what that does is it, it lowers our barrier for entry.
[2:28:39] So opportunity for business owners and property owners alike
[2:28:43] and community members who want to be involved
[2:28:45] or to donate to the main street cost
[2:28:47] to get in at a reasonable level.
[2:28:49] What that membership affords them is an opportunity
[2:28:51] to have a seat at the table, access to the committees
[2:28:55] that I I referenced, as well as first opportunities
[2:29:00] for participation in our future events.
[2:29:02] So if you want to have ownership in the direction
[2:29:05] of Main Street, this gives you an opportunity to do so.
[2:29:08] Our current membership count today is 34 members strong,
[2:29:12] that is comprised of 28 business owners
[2:29:16] and three property owners.
[2:29:19] And we also have the remaining bit being community members
[2:29:24] who are just believing in
[2:29:26] and are supportive of the Main Street mission.
[2:29:30] I know back in October there was a lot of talk
[2:29:33] and rightfully so,
[2:29:35] and a call rather for the community to kind
[2:29:37] of put their money where their mouth is.
[2:29:40] And I think that, you know, in a, in a single month
[2:29:42] of me being boots on the ground, we've been able to drive
[2:29:45] and even in the last week had nine members sign up
[2:29:49] to be a part of Main Street.
[2:29:50] They're excited about the
[2:29:51] momentum in the direction that we're going.
[2:29:53] And Councilor Pell, I know that you said when we got
[2:29:56] to two dozen members that you would become a member
[2:29:58] and so we're happy to get your membership today,
[2:30:02] but that's all I have for this moment
[2:30:04] and I'm happy to take questions if you have any.
[2:30:07] Thank you. All right. Question for Council Indra.
[2:30:13] Yes. I just have to say this has been a great meeting.
[2:30:17] I'm very uplifted marketing
[2:30:19] and the things that are being done sound so encouraging
[2:30:23] and great for our city.
[2:30:25] I would just caution that talking,
[2:30:30] you know, we want action and data Absolutely.
[2:30:33] To show that what you're telling us is actually occurring.
[2:30:36] Yes. So just keep that in mind as you go through these.
[2:30:40] But the events sound really good and it
[2:30:44] and your membership is, is going up
[2:30:47] and that's what we ask for.
[2:30:48] Prove to us that that membership's going up.
[2:30:52] I guess my main thought going
[2:30:55] through all this are the TLT dollars.
[2:30:58] So Sure. A lot of your events are bringing people
[2:31:02] from 50 miles plus, so I'm wondering
[2:31:06] why you wouldn't get a share of the TLT dollars Main Street
[2:31:10] and, and as you all work together and we increase tourism
[2:31:14] and the TLT dollars, there should be enough to go around.
[2:31:19] I know right now if you get some, someone else doesn't get
[2:31:22] as much, you know, so there is a little bit of competition,
[2:31:25] but I think as the water rises,
[2:31:29] all boats float, right?
[2:31:30] Sure. And so you may be able to even get more money
[2:31:34] without general fund taxpayer dollars ever.
[2:31:38] Yeah. With the TLT.
[2:31:39] So that would be my hope for you all,
[2:31:43] And I'll speak specifically to that.
[2:31:45] I do think that there is a, a lot
[2:31:48] of examples nationwide of cities
[2:31:51] who actually have incorporated the Main Street model into
[2:31:54] their economic development plan.
[2:31:56] But the other, I would say probably 60% of Main Street
[2:32:01] that are successful,
[2:32:02] they do have a vested interest from the city
[2:32:04] because it is a, a community development
[2:32:09] incentive for them to have these districts be protected
[2:32:12] and to be well represented.
[2:32:14] Speaking to TLT dollars.
[2:32:16] Dan and I are, are very collaborative in our efforts
[2:32:19] and we work really hard to make sure that we're not
[2:32:21] duplicating efforts, but we are boosting
[2:32:25] whenever there's an opportunity to do so.
[2:32:27] The efforts of the other.
[2:32:29] So there are a lot of overlap opportunities for us
[2:32:33] and in these, in the events that we're doing in particular,
[2:32:38] I can't necessarily speak to the strategy
[2:32:40] and the deployment of the TOT dollars.
[2:32:42] Right? I do think that Main Street's initial focus is
[2:32:45] to keep our dollars local.
[2:32:47] And so we don't, we are more so promoting the,
[2:32:50] and if you go back to Dan's presentation
[2:32:53] with the concentric circles and,
[2:32:55] and what our focuses are,
[2:32:56] we are focused on Grants Pass as a whole.
[2:32:58] That's where we're gonna be promoting,
[2:33:00] but we will lean heavily on our partners
[2:33:03] and I don't necessarily think that that means that we have
[2:33:06] to take from their funds, however, I mean, happy
[2:33:08] to engage in those conversations in a strategic way. But
[2:33:12] So you're saying that Main Street is going
[2:33:14] to promote just local, not outside the area.
[2:33:17] The focus of Main Street is
[2:33:19] to boost downtown districts in particular.
[2:33:21] So our region, the way
[2:33:23] that we cl we have worked out our district is
[2:33:26] basically C street to the bridge between
[2:33:30] fourth right on G and H,
[2:33:32] but primarily fifth to eighth Street.
[2:33:34] And that would be the downtown district that we're
[2:33:36] Promoted.
[2:33:37] Do you feel that bringing people in from all over would
[2:33:40] boost business downtown? Absolutely.
[2:33:42] Right. Yeah. And and there's no, there's no, there's no
[2:33:47] cap on on the people that we want
[2:33:49] to participate in the events.
[2:33:50] However, we understand that we have a strategic partnership
[2:33:54] with Visit Grants Pass
[2:33:55] and that is their outreach already as well as the Chamber
[2:33:58] of Commerce to, to promote in the community as a whole.
[2:34:01] And so, or sorry, the county as a whole.
[2:34:04] And so of course it would be a, a win for us
[2:34:08] to bring in other folks,
[2:34:09] but that is not our general marketing position.
[2:34:14] Okay. I I just see it going hand in hand
[2:34:17] and a way to, to boost downtown to I
[2:34:20] 100% agree with you.
[2:34:21] Okay. And I think that that's something that, I mean,
[2:34:22] he talked a lot about it, Dan did, about how we're,
[2:34:25] we're in lockstep, right?
[2:34:26] And, and we want to make sure that we are working together
[2:34:30] to, to promote each other's things. So,
[2:34:32] Okay.
[2:34:33] And then just a thought as you,
[2:34:37] the events sound amazing and I know they'll grow
[2:34:40] and what great ideas
[2:34:42] and I just know from experience in marketing, it's great
[2:34:46] to do the events and fun
[2:34:47] and the marketer, you're great,
[2:34:49] you know, you're very personable.
[2:34:50] I met you a few times. You go out and do all the talking
[2:34:54] and then where the ball drops is when it's time to record
[2:34:58] notes and data and stuff.
[2:35:00] So I know you'll be on top of that too.
[2:35:02] Yes, ma'am. Thank you. Thank you.
[2:35:05] Joel. Got any questions? No,
[2:35:08] I just appreciate the energy
[2:35:09] and look forward to another cup of coffee.
[2:35:11] Thank you very much. Me too.
[2:35:12] Also, we, you owe us three memberships as well, sir.
[2:35:15] Oh, okay. Okay.
[2:35:17] That sounds good. Okay,
[2:35:18] thank you. We're happy to take them.
[2:35:21] Seth, you got any questions? Victoria? You got questions?
[2:35:25] Hi, thanks for your presentation. Hi Victoria.
[2:35:27] I'm really excited about the, the cruise, the Rogue
[2:35:30] and the projected money into the, that
[2:35:34] was an amazing number.
[2:35:36] And is that going to help fund Main Street?
[2:35:40] So you'll use that to grow, to grow Main Street as well?
[2:35:45] Absolutely. Yeah. The organization, it'll be,
[2:35:46] it'll be a driver financially for us basically
[2:35:50] to continue funding for subsequent years.
[2:35:52] We are a nonprofit though, so we want it to be, we want it
[2:35:54] to zero out at the end of the year, but Oh yeah, absolutely.
[2:35:57] There's a lot of opportunity for us to, to use those dollars
[2:35:59] and I think that there's a lot of partnerships
[2:36:01] that we can identify in the, in the community at large
[2:36:04] to give back to as well.
[2:36:06] Okay, thank you. So good luck.
[2:36:09] I mean I just, that just sounds like a great time
[2:36:12] for the community and so thank thank you for putting
[2:36:15] that all together and having the, just
[2:36:18] what you're talking about, the cars
[2:36:19] that are coming from all over.
[2:36:20] It just sounds really great. So you said you had 34 members
[2:36:25] as of today?
[2:36:26] Yes ma'am. And that's, that's up from what,
[2:36:31] and you said you had nine new members this week.
[2:36:33] That's amazing. Yeah, good job. Thank you.
[2:36:35] And so 34 is up from what?
[2:36:38] 'cause I don't remember the last time. I'm sorry. No,
[2:36:41] That's okay. I,
[2:36:41] And then what is your goal for next month?
[2:36:45] Or, or do you have a, a tiered goal or whatever?
[2:36:48] Yeah, I appreciate the, the question.
[2:36:52] I would say we, there are a potential
[2:36:54] for 220 businesses within the district that I defined
[2:36:58] and that is we would love to represent
[2:37:02] all of those businesses.
[2:37:03] We understand when the Town Center Association was most
[2:37:06] thriving, they were upwards of around 170 businesses.
[2:37:09] And so if we can get to, you know, those numbers,
[2:37:11] I feel like we have a really good representation for
[2:37:14] what our downtown district is.
[2:37:16] I would say, you know, goals for the next three months is
[2:37:19] to just duplicate, you know, the works
[2:37:21] that we've done in the last month.
[2:37:22] And so when I started we were at 19
[2:37:25] and so quick math I is is hard for me,
[2:37:28] but I will do my best.
[2:37:30] That sounds like maybe 15 members
[2:37:32] that we gained in this last month.
[2:37:34] And so if we can continue to build those efforts, I think
[2:37:36] that we would be well positioned by the end of the year.
[2:37:40] So. Okay, thank you. Yeah, thank you very much. Thank you.
[2:37:43] Eric, you got any questions?
[2:37:45] Yeah, thank you. Hey, this is, this is great.
[2:37:47] I thank you for the presentation,
[2:37:50] the Gates Living Room Invitational.
[2:37:53] Yes sir. Can you explain a little bit about that?
[2:37:57] Maybe to promote it more, I guess for the,
[2:38:00] for the general public here, I mean $62,000
[2:38:03] that is, that is excellent.
[2:38:05] Yeah. Could you, can you go more into detail about that?
[2:38:08] Yeah, absolutely. So we, we partnered with many sponsors
[2:38:13] to put together a, a mini golf experience inside
[2:38:16] of Gates Home Furnishings.
[2:38:17] He cleared out an entire display room for us
[2:38:20] and I believe it was 18 holes.
[2:38:23] And so that was all money that was generated by people
[2:38:27] who were in attendance who wanted to give
[2:38:29] to the organization.
[2:38:32] So in that particular promotion we were partnered
[2:38:35] with the Children's Museum
[2:38:37] and so that was marketed for the event
[2:38:40] and folks that were there were able to donate to to
[2:38:43] that cause Does that answer your question? Yeah,
[2:38:47] Thank you.
[2:38:48] Yeah, thank you so much. You bet.
[2:38:49] And I haven't been to Coffee with you yet, but I
[2:38:52] I'm looking forward to it. Thank you.
[2:38:54] Rick, do you have any questions?
[2:38:56] Yes, thank you Dan.
[2:38:58] I appreciate the fact you're expanding the audience you're
[2:39:02] looking at in the market and type of thing.
[2:39:04] What is the Cocoa Crawl?
[2:39:06] Yeah, the Coco Crawl was a, it was a fun
[2:39:09] community activation where business owners were out front
[2:39:12] of their businesses and giving out cocoa to the community.
[2:39:16] So it was a, there was an interactive, a map
[2:39:19] or there was a map where all of the,
[2:39:20] the different businesses that were giving out cocoa downtown
[2:39:24] and just a, a fun community activation there.
[2:39:27] So is that done once a year or once a month
[2:39:29] or how does that function?
[2:39:30] It was done annually. Yeah.
[2:39:31] And I, and from memory and,
[2:39:33] and I didn't participate in the, in it last year,
[2:39:36] but from memory it was
[2:39:38] the first Friday that took place in December.
[2:39:40] Okay. The group can correct me if I'm wrong. All
[2:39:42] Right, thank you Rob, you've got questions?
[2:39:45] Yeah, I thought the Coco Crawl was a chamber
[2:39:48] event, was it not?
[2:39:51] The way that I was told about it was that it was a,
[2:39:54] a Main Street event and so I may be misinformed Terry.
[2:39:56] Oh you guys did Lemonade Day. We
[2:39:59] Gave it to Main Street
[2:40:00] to help support their fundraising efforts.
[2:40:02] Thank You. Okay. The first
[2:40:03] year though you did it right?
[2:40:04] Correct. Correct. Okay, thank you.
[2:40:06] So I a a question on the cruise. Yeah.
[2:40:10] So the last few years of the cruise may,
[2:40:14] may have been when we were moving into COVID,
[2:40:15] I can't remember, I don't even know where the cars went
[2:40:18] and I don't think anybody else did either
[2:40:20] because nobody really watched it.
[2:40:21] Sure. So is this cruise actually going to be
[2:40:24] engines on cars driving around up and up six
[2:40:27] and sevens? Is that the plan? Yes
[2:40:28] Sir.
[2:40:29] That is the plan and we're gonna have believe two separate
[2:40:31] cruises, one on a Friday and evening and one on Saturday.
[2:40:35] And then the end of the event we'll also have 200 cars
[2:40:39] that are gonna be taking over Riverside Park
[2:40:41] as an opportunity and a,
[2:40:42] an award ceremony that'll happen on Sunday morning.
[2:40:44] So opportunities to enter, interact with cars.
[2:40:46] There'll also be other activations that'll be happening
[2:40:48] throughout the weekend.
[2:40:50] We're identifying parking lots for these car clubs to meet.
[2:40:54] I know there's a low rider group as well as rat rod ruckus
[2:40:57] that they want to do a bounce
[2:40:59] competition and those types of things.
[2:41:00] And so lots
[2:41:02] of other little micro activations that'll be happening
[2:41:04] around town, but there will be, yeah, a large cruise.
[2:41:07] So you're saying that there's a cruise, a cruise up, up
[2:41:11] and down sixth and seventh on Friday night?
[2:41:13] I believe so sir. Yes. On and on Saturday as well.
[2:41:15] The main cruise is Saturday main cruise. Saturday.
[2:41:17] Saturday. Where, where it would be historic, like
[2:41:19] what you were talking of, what you were thinking about the
[2:41:21] community thinks about where we would be looking at closing
[2:41:23] down sixth and seventh Street.
[2:41:25] Right. They've already had discussions with the city
[2:41:26] and the chief about what that would look like.
[2:41:29] So that would be on a Saturday.
[2:41:31] Okay, great. Thank you. Thank you.
[2:41:34] Alright, thank you Very much. Thank you very much.
[2:41:36] Perfect. Go ahead.
[2:41:38] You got another question? Yeah. Okay, go ahead.
[2:41:41] I'm not sure how this round table works,
[2:41:43] but it's, some of your comments sparked a question for me.
[2:41:47] So the city events, the, the,
[2:41:50] the a couple events the city put on the city
[2:41:53] gives money for that.
[2:41:54] Are you anticipating that those, the city would continue
[2:41:58] to give money to those events that we already do now?
[2:42:02] Or would you eventually not need city money for that?
[2:42:06] Are you specifically referring to art along the rogue AR
[2:42:08] and the Christmas tree lighting?
[2:42:10] Yes. So we are in current conversations with, with the city
[2:42:14] as well as my board of directors
[2:42:16] for taking over those events, but those have not been
[2:42:18] officially been handed over to us.
[2:42:19] We would love to have continued strategic partnership
[2:42:22] with the city, but those conversations are ongoing.
[2:42:26] Is that something you all would like to take on
[2:42:28] Or not?
[2:42:29] I think that that would be a huge, a huge opportunity to do
[2:42:32] so I would be, I would, yeah,
[2:42:33] I would relish the opportunity to do that. It'd be great.
[2:42:35] Okay. And then my last question, we talked about net zero,
[2:42:40] but you do save money in reserve, right?
[2:42:44] Of course. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.
[2:42:46] What, what percentage do you have in reserve?
[2:42:50] You know, the, the budget planning
[2:42:52] and the strategic planning for the organization is ongoing
[2:42:55] and so we haven't set aside our earmarked a dollar amount at
[2:42:57] this time, but the hope is
[2:43:00] to have at least six months in reserves at any given point
[2:43:04] to kind of float us through any,
[2:43:06] any hardships that we might experience.
[2:43:07] Okay. I, I didn't see it on the the list,
[2:43:10] So I wanted to make sure you
[2:43:12] Weren't going zero every year.
[2:43:13] I can't speak, I can't speak to super specifics on it
[2:43:15] either, which is why I chose not to include it.
[2:43:18] Yeah. With the organization being so new, there is a lot
[2:43:21] of groundwork that we're trying to lay right now.
[2:43:23] Great, thank you. You Bet. Thank you.
[2:43:26] All right, thank you very much. Anybody
[2:43:27] Else?
[2:43:28] Okay, thank you.
[2:43:30] All right, next on the agenda, we're going
[2:43:33] to Council meeting protocol
[2:43:35] or did you switch it? We're doing,
[2:43:36] We switch it to Reinhart Volunteer.
[2:43:38] Okay. So we're gonna have some discussion in regards
[2:43:41] to Reinhardt Volunteer Volunteer Park pump track.
[2:44:33] All right. Good afternoon Mayor Council Josh Hopkins Park
[2:44:36] Superintendent here to talk about pump track options.
[2:44:41] This is in relation to Reinhardt volunteer park,
[2:44:44] fly fishing pond and everything else that goes with that.
[2:44:47] So subject to summary review, pump track options
[2:44:49] for development and locations within city parks.
[2:44:52] This is in relationship to council goal of infrastructure.
[2:44:57] For the background at the January 5th, 2020, sorry, sorry.
[2:45:01] Second. Okay guys can you, can you look right
[2:45:03] through the door and then we we're
[2:45:05] kind of having a hard up Joel.
[2:45:07] Joel conversations need to be out the door
[2:45:10] or in here like just you're kind of interrupting.
[2:45:12] Sorry, go ahead.
[2:45:14] Thank you. At the January 5th, 2026 City Council
[2:45:19] Workshop Council reviewed the parks advisory committee
[2:45:22] motion for repurposing the fly fishing pond at Reinhardt
[2:45:25] Volunteer Park into a natural playground.
[2:45:27] Based on the results from a community survey,
[2:45:30] the survey listed other as the top response followed
[2:45:34] by natural playground.
[2:45:35] The majority of people that chose the other indicated a pump
[2:45:38] track or some variation of pump track.
[2:45:40] As their write-in preference,
[2:45:42] city council reviewed the material and
[2:45:45] provided direction to bring back an
[2:45:46] actual playground options.
[2:45:48] Shortly thereafter,
[2:45:49] some counselors expressed interest in revisiting the
[2:45:52] discussion and evaluating the development
[2:45:53] of a pump track at this location.
[2:45:59] So here's an example of what a pump track looks like.
[2:46:01] One of the questions we keep getting asked is,
[2:46:03] what exactly are these types of tracks?
[2:46:05] And I've been ex describing them as being asphalt.
[2:46:08] Some of them are modular, some of them are DEG.
[2:46:11] This is an asphalt pump track in Erie, Colorado.
[2:46:15] It's got rollers bumps, burn turns,
[2:46:18] and then straight sections that you can ride on.
[2:46:21] The idea is it allows kids
[2:46:23] to basically race on these on any form of pedal craft
[2:46:26] as well as just practice so that they can get more advanced
[2:46:29] to go into the actual type of racing circuits they have
[2:46:34] for these types of activities.
[2:46:36] This one is about 20,000 square feet.
[2:46:40] Staff did contract
[2:46:42] or contact a number of companies
[2:46:44] that do specialize in pump track installation
[2:46:46] and design pump track's cost
[2:46:49] vary greatly based on the magnitude of scale
[2:46:52] and the experience desired.
[2:46:54] Basically if you're using asphalt DG
[2:46:58] or modular, each one of these all come
[2:47:00] with eight different costs associated for the material,
[2:47:04] but also the size alone really increases cost
[2:47:07] and the type of experience you're wanting.
[2:47:09] More advanced tracks cost more money, more you know,
[2:47:13] un advance tracks or less.
[2:47:16] The recommended size from one of the manufacturers
[2:47:19] that works on these throughout the nation was
[2:47:21] 20,000 square feet.
[2:47:23] This would allow for a beginner track section along
[2:47:26] with progressive elements for more advanced riders
[2:47:29] and competition.
[2:47:31] The cost estimate for one around 20,000 square feet,
[2:47:33] they put at 750 to a million dollars,
[2:47:37] 750,000 to a million dollars.
[2:47:40] With that 10,000 square foot is the minimum required
[2:47:43] for the competition level tracks.
[2:47:45] So if we are looking to build one
[2:47:47] and we're wanting it to be a track that draws tourism
[2:47:50] or anything like that, we'd really want to build it to
[2:47:52] that competition level so that there is things
[2:47:55] that draw people to this location.
[2:47:58] Anywhere we put one of these punk tracks, it's going
[2:48:00] to bring people into it.
[2:48:02] It's just a matter, it's the type of size and skill level
[2:48:05] and uniqueness that's gonna bring in people from over 50
[2:48:07] miles away or is it just a local attraction
[2:48:10] So bigger the better for tourism.
[2:48:16] Just a couple examples.
[2:48:17] In Redmond, Oregon, they've got a 20,000 square foot pump
[2:48:20] track is the one you can see right off the road.
[2:48:23] It is very used and very popular.
[2:48:25] The one that kind of I think spurred a lot
[2:48:27] of people wanting a pump track is the one
[2:48:29] that was built in Crescent City about a year ago.
[2:48:31] That one is 18,000 square feet
[2:48:34] and it costs just under 600,000.
[2:48:37] Oregon was originally planning
[2:48:39] to do a 12,000 square foot pump track for about 430,000.
[2:48:43] They just decided to do a 10,000 square foot one
[2:48:46] and put 365,000 on it.
[2:48:49] I saw a couple of other examples
[2:48:51] and they're all kind of around that range for that.
[2:48:52] You know, 10,000 to 7,000, it tends to be
[2:48:56] around $400,000, 10,000 like 15 thousand's kind
[2:49:01] of going up to around that 500,600,000 range.
[2:49:05] And then once you get over that 18 to 20,
[2:49:07] that's when you really start seeing the cost increase
[2:49:10] 'cause that's when you're adding more
[2:49:11] technical features at that point.
[2:49:16] So here's the location from the survey in the orange square,
[2:49:20] this is the fly fishing pond itself.
[2:49:21] It's about 7,500 square feet
[2:49:24] and that's what was reported in the survey was it was a
[2:49:27] 7,500 square foot area.
[2:49:29] The red is what we could potentially do if you wanted
[2:49:32] to build a 20,000 square foot pump track in this location.
[2:49:36] With that we would need
[2:49:37] to remove several memorial trees benches
[2:49:40] and it pretty much takes over the entire grass area
[2:49:43] in this section of the park.
[2:49:45] It is also really close to the Reinhardt Memorial Grove
[2:49:48] and we do have lake tree protection
[2:49:50] zones and things like that.
[2:49:52] So if counsel was interested in this,
[2:49:53] we'd need to really look at that.
[2:49:55] The other issue we have
[2:49:56] with this is this whole area the park turns out is in the
[2:49:59] floodway and with the way FEMA is funded right now,
[2:50:03] there's not a lot of stability
[2:50:05] and we're not really sure if we're able to submit the type
[2:50:08] of development documents we would typically do to allow
[2:50:11] for this in FEMA
[2:50:12] because we don't know if there's anyone actually
[2:50:14] working on these right now.
[2:50:16] So if counsel was interested in this,
[2:50:19] the FEMA issue would probably be a good workshop topic
[2:50:21] someday because there's other options
[2:50:23] council could look to do.
[2:50:25] 'cause if we're running into this,
[2:50:26] other people in our community have
[2:50:27] to be running into it as well.
[2:50:29] If council was interested in moving forward
[2:50:31] with this project at this point,
[2:50:33] I don't know if we can even do a natural playground here
[2:50:35] because we don't know what's going on with fema.
[2:50:38] Council could do a text amendment
[2:50:41] and basically say we're not gonna use FEMA guidelines until
[2:50:44] after they stabilize.
[2:50:49] Here's some of the other park areas we've talked about
[2:50:51] for pump track locations.
[2:50:53] This one is the west side of Riverside Park.
[2:50:55] We have a lot of room out here
[2:50:57] to potentially build a pump track.
[2:51:00] It is in the flood plain but not the flood way,
[2:51:04] but it's less of an issue with the FEMA side.
[2:51:06] We'd simply just go through a mitigation process
[2:51:09] and work with a fish biologist on that.
[2:51:11] Similar, what we did with the Riverside Park stage,
[2:51:14] this would allow for over a 20,000 square foot pump track.
[2:51:18] Additionally, one other issue
[2:51:19] that we here at Riverside Park a lot
[2:51:21] for our special events is a lack of parking.
[2:51:23] We could also include a parking lot into this location
[2:51:26] as well to help with the other special events that occur.
[2:51:30] This would require some tree removal
[2:51:32] and likely the removal of the disc golf course,
[2:51:35] which has been moved around three
[2:51:37] or four times since it was incepted.
[2:51:40] This particular location does have URA
[2:51:44] funding as a potential.
[2:51:45] There was 1.2 million identified in the URA budget
[2:51:48] to go towards Riverside Park improvements.
[2:51:51] Some of it is being used for the Riverside stage.
[2:51:54] I'm not really sure what type of balance we have at this
[2:51:56] point, but there could potentially be some funding available
[2:51:59] through the URA for that.
[2:52:01] And the other thing with it right on the other side
[2:52:03] of the bridge next to sixth Street,
[2:52:04] you know it's right down the highway there.
[2:52:06] It's pretty easy access no matter
[2:52:08] what exit you're getting off of the freeway
[2:52:10] to come to this location.
[2:52:12] Gilbert Creek Parks Ballfield is another location
[2:52:16] that the parks committee talked about back in 2019.
[2:52:20] They've been talking about pump tracks for many,
[2:52:22] many years with that.
[2:52:24] At the time it was being used about 200 times a year
[2:52:27] and they didn't think it was, they thought it was enough use
[2:52:30] to not really explore this option.
[2:52:32] The use of the just field has decreased drastically.
[2:52:36] Part of it's because of the drainage in the outfield makes
[2:52:38] it so it's kind of not usable for half the season,
[2:52:41] which we talked about addressing in a different project.
[2:52:44] But also people really are enjoying using RVP
[2:52:48] for little leagues and the other teams that used
[2:52:50] to frequent this field.
[2:52:52] The field uses at this point has decreased to the point to
[2:52:56] where last year there were 18 reservations.
[2:52:59] The year before there were 54 and in 2023 there were 109.
[2:53:04] This year it looks like we have 14 people
[2:53:06] that have reserved the field so far to this point,
[2:53:09] this location has the school district lease so we'd need
[2:53:13] to work with them to get agreement
[2:53:14] to repurpose this for a pump track.
[2:53:16] One nice thing about this location is we'd actually be able
[2:53:20] to extend out fencing to make it so that's a fenced in area.
[2:53:24] It's at the part of town where Dollar Mountain is as well.
[2:53:27] So it kind of creates that biking circuit up there.
[2:53:30] It is adjacent to a school property
[2:53:32] so children would still be able
[2:53:34] to use it from the school if they'd like to go over there.
[2:53:36] And in general it's right at a nice centralized
[2:53:41] neighborhood type area.
[2:53:42] There's, you know, homes all around this
[2:53:44] that could benefit from this Fruit.
[2:53:48] Dale Park has two potential locations.
[2:53:51] Again, one in the red square is about
[2:53:53] 15,000 square feet.
[2:53:56] This would be an option. It's right next
[2:53:58] to Fruit Dale Elementary School, which would be nice
[2:54:00] for them programmatically for what they do with their kids.
[2:54:02] They use our field quite a bit.
[2:54:05] And then in the orange squares
[2:54:07] where you could potentially build a larger 20,000 square
[2:54:10] foot pump track.
[2:54:11] This location used to be called a practice field
[2:54:14] for like little league football and things like that,
[2:54:17] but it's not really used for that anymore.
[2:54:19] And that would just require some tree removal
[2:54:22] for the red square area.
[2:54:23] We would need to look at doing some sort of fencing
[2:54:26] around the playground itself
[2:54:27] to provide a little bit of a separation.
[2:54:31] Then there's Beacon Hill Park.
[2:54:33] You guys talked a lot about this at the last meeting.
[2:54:35] Beacon Hill, since it's a blank space, has plenty of room
[2:54:38] to develop any size pump track you'd want.
[2:54:43] So for cost implications we've got potential revenue from
[2:54:46] the lodging tax and to me that really depends on the size
[2:54:49] of pump track you'd like to build as well as the location.
[2:54:53] I'm of the mindset if we're building a large pump track
[2:54:55] that's going to be able to be used for national
[2:54:58] and international events and things like that.
[2:55:00] Definitely we could say TLT is something that would be
[2:55:04] eligible for it kind of regardless of location.
[2:55:07] However, if we're building a small 7,500 square foot pump
[2:55:10] track somewhere, that's gonna be mainly a
[2:55:12] local use type of a thing.
[2:55:13] And it's not the type of feature
[2:55:14] that's gonna draw people in.
[2:55:16] There is the potential to use URA funding at Riverside only.
[2:55:21] And then we've got park specific LB funding
[2:55:23] through our different LB codes that we could look to shift
[2:55:26] around if council so chose.
[2:55:28] There's always the option
[2:55:29] of council deciding they're really engaged in a project
[2:55:32] and trying to find additional general fund
[2:55:34] resource 'cause we support that.
[2:55:35] And then staff resources are
[2:55:36] kind of mixed into everything we do.
[2:55:40] Expenses, counsel's, discretion, it really depends on size
[2:55:43] and experience you're looking for as well as you know,
[2:55:45] some expense based on location.
[2:55:50] So at this point we need direction on whether
[2:55:53] or not you're actually interested in continuing
[2:55:55] to review pump tracks right now.
[2:55:57] If you have a preferred location
[2:55:59] or if you've got a couple locations you'd like more
[2:56:01] information about the size
[2:56:03] and experience council would prefer
[2:56:05] and the amount council is interested in funding as well
[2:56:08] as alternative funding options
[2:56:10] for alternative funding options.
[2:56:11] You know, if council decided you wanted
[2:56:13] to spend X amount on a pump track at this location,
[2:56:16] but only if a community group fundraised or sponsored
[2:56:19] or things like that to bring in extra dollars
[2:56:21] to help support the development of this
[2:56:24] or potentially state park grants and things like that.
[2:56:27] Gilbert Creek is not eligible for state park grants
[2:56:29] because the lease term is 10 years and not 25 years.
[2:56:32] Something next time we look at
[2:56:34] that lease we should work on getting addressed.
[2:56:38] Alternative would be to move this to an additional workshop.
[2:56:41] Assuming you've gotten more information you'd like
[2:56:43] to hear about contracts from us
[2:56:45] and yeah, that's what I've got for you.
[2:56:48] Thank you Josh. Questions from counsel Rob.
[2:56:53] Thanks Josh. So if we're looking at
[2:56:58] the Beacon Hill site to bring it up just to the,
[2:57:02] we'll say the initiation level, the other,
[2:57:05] the other park sites all have infrastructure in place
[2:57:08] and they have some degree of parking, et cetera, et cetera.
[2:57:12] So what would it cost to bring the Beacon Hill site up
[2:57:16] to the initiation level, if you understand
[2:57:19] what I mean when we talk about a pump track being 750,000
[2:57:22] or maybe a million dollars, maybe less,
[2:57:25] but that's in, that's that's on a site
[2:57:26] that is already basically ready to go
[2:57:30] and it's got infrastructure.
[2:57:32] So where, how much extra does it, does it cost
[2:57:36] to get Beacon Hill started on that
[2:57:37] and bring it up to that level?
[2:57:39] So if I'm remembering the numbers from the last meeting
[2:57:42] two weeks ago or so, when we talked about Beacon Hill,
[2:57:44] we talked about phase one costing
[2:57:45] somewhere around a million dollars.
[2:57:47] That would be for like instituting the pathways, the
[2:57:52] parking lot as well as you know like irrigation,
[2:57:55] site furnishing, things like that to go along with it.
[2:57:58] So you'd have that million dollar kind of estimate
[2:58:00] for the upfront cost plus
[2:58:02] whatever size pump track you guys would like to go forward
[2:58:05] with as cost to.
[2:58:06] So you're looking, you know, 1.5 to potentially two
[2:58:10] So so an additional million basically if it was
[2:58:13] that site, beacon Hill.
[2:58:15] But in addition we'd potentially be getting walking paths
[2:58:19] and things of that nature in addition to the parking
[2:58:22] and possibly bathrooms or whatever.
[2:58:24] Yeah, you'd basically be getting a fully
[2:58:27] functional park at that point.
[2:58:28] Just less amenities if you went that route.
[2:58:30] Your main amenity and draw would be the pump track.
[2:58:34] As far as restrooms, that would probably be a phase two.
[2:58:36] If we were to build a facility like this,
[2:58:38] we'd probably start off with like a portable toilet
[2:58:40] with like a surround type
[2:58:42] of a thing like other communities do.
[2:58:44] And on the the fruit Dale Park,
[2:58:47] I think you mentioned the orange rectangle was,
[2:58:52] I think you said 20,000 square feet.
[2:58:54] It's a little over 20,000 square feet.
[2:58:56] This was just measured through our arc site.
[2:58:58] But yeah you do have the ability to build up
[2:59:01] that location as well.
[2:59:03] And then there is a smaller parking lot on one side
[2:59:06] and then street parking and yeah
[2:59:09] And the red, the red triangle was how many square feet?
[2:59:12] That one was about 15,000 square feet.
[2:59:15] And that's a spot where we don't have anything developed.
[2:59:17] We've talked about putting sports courts
[2:59:19] and things like that back there 'cause it's very level.
[2:59:22] Another option that we haven't really looked at would be
[2:59:24] like a modular pump track.
[2:59:25] They're just typically a lot smaller
[2:59:27] that could potentially go there.
[2:59:29] They are just a lot cheaper.
[2:59:30] They range from like 50,000 to a hundred thousand
[2:59:34] but they're made out of plastic
[2:59:36] and so they've got like only a five year warranty.
[2:59:39] So, so regardless of where it goes, if, if we were
[2:59:42] to decide on a, a competition level track
[2:59:47] that would potentially be attractive for tourism
[2:59:52] but regardless of on on a track of
[2:59:56] that size, how many parking spaces would we need?
[3:00:01] I don't know. That's,
[3:00:03] that's pretty critical I guess, right?
[3:00:05] I think it just depends.
[3:00:06] I don't know if there's even a metric
[3:00:08] for saying if your pump track is this size,
[3:00:09] you need this many parking spaces.
[3:00:11] I'm sorry say that again. I'm not sure if there's a
[3:00:14] metric that says if your pump track is this size you need X
[3:00:17] amount of parking spaces generally
[3:00:19] for parking spaces we're looking at like restrooms
[3:00:22] and things like that that kind of dictate the minimums.
[3:00:25] Well I guess, I guess my point is it's not a question
[3:00:26] of any kind of mandate from the state or city ordinance.
[3:00:30] I'm just saying realistically we need
[3:00:32] parking at a track like this.
[3:00:34] So I'm just, 'cause I don't know, I've never been to a,
[3:00:37] an event so to speak, a, a competition event.
[3:00:40] How many people would show up.
[3:00:42] I'm sure that most of them would be arriving by car
[3:00:45] and I'm just wondering again
[3:00:46] how many parking spaces we would need.
[3:00:48] So I guess that's a consideration that we'll have
[3:00:51] to get the answer to.
[3:00:52] Thank you
[3:00:55] Rick.
[3:00:56] You got any questions?
[3:00:57] Thank you Josh. So I'm used to the old rules on FEMA
[3:01:01] where if you did not import any material
[3:01:04] but just move material around that was on site
[3:01:07] and it had an engineer, then you could do your project
[3:01:11] that you wanted to do.
[3:01:12] Have the rules changed substantially now that
[3:01:15] make it much more difficult?
[3:01:18] Yes, counselor, they have, yeah, there there's
[3:01:22] a lot more stringency right now
[3:01:24] and particularly as Josh in the floodway, you would have
[3:01:28] to undercurrent rules give a no rise certificate,
[3:01:31] which means that whatever you put there you,
[3:01:34] you're not causing any rise in the base flood elevation,
[3:01:39] which you would not be able to do with virtually anything
[3:01:43] because any, any object that is put on top
[3:01:46] of the grade is gonna ra is gonna rise to some degree.
[3:01:51] Now you, you know, there's obviously opportunities within
[3:01:54] the rules to kind of work with those things,
[3:01:56] but this this, it is, it is much more challenging
[3:02:00] to work in the floodway
[3:02:02] And was fish and wildlife now part of that as well?
[3:02:08] I'm not aware of fish and wildlife being involved with
[3:02:10] that particular rule.
[3:02:11] That's very much FEMA driven.
[3:02:13] Okay, thank you. Yep. Eric, you got any questions?
[3:02:18] Yeah, thank you. Insurance.
[3:02:22] Depending on the size of this pump track does,
[3:02:26] can anybody speak, anybody on the staff speak to insurance
[3:02:30] and how that's different than being in the park
[3:02:32] and being that there's gonna be a lot of children moving
[3:02:36] around on their bicycles, there's more
[3:02:39] of a potential for people to get hurt.
[3:02:41] How is that all tied together? I mean, is that a factor?
[3:02:44] Is that something the city needs to worry about?
[3:02:46] So in the state of Oregon it's kind
[3:02:48] of recognized there's an inherent risk
[3:02:50] of anything you're doing in a public space,
[3:02:52] especially in municipal parks.
[3:02:55] We typically claim recreational immunity for those types
[3:02:58] of things, which doesn't cover us if we're negligent
[3:03:01] as property owners or leaving hazardous conditions.
[3:03:03] But if somebody does have an accident, you know, trips,
[3:03:06] falls for a non-hazardous like issue we weren't aware of,
[3:03:10] then that would be the legal defense we typically use
[3:03:12] as recreational immunity.
[3:03:15] Thank you. Thank you. I have one other question.
[3:03:17] So it seems like, I think
[3:03:22] the community was wanting this in in the
[3:03:25] Reinhardt volunteer park.
[3:03:27] Am am I mistaken in that
[3:03:28] or are we looking at, is that what we're That's obviously
[3:03:32] what we're talking about here to try
[3:03:33] to figure out where we're gonna put it.
[3:03:35] So yeah, the original thought was
[3:03:39] we were gonna be repurposing the fly fishing pond itself
[3:03:42] and the survey we put out was focused on that
[3:03:45] and then the community members organized themselves
[3:03:50] and did a big campaign for pump tracks
[3:03:52] and so that's what got brought in.
[3:03:54] So we looked at Reinhardt Park
[3:03:56] and basically when I saw oh it's in the floodway
[3:03:58] and there's not a lot of wiggle room of FEMA right now,
[3:04:00] we decided well where else could we potentially put one
[3:04:03] of these since we know the community is
[3:04:05] really interested in it.
[3:04:07] And these are kind of the park locations we have outside
[3:04:10] of Reinhardt Park that have open space areas
[3:04:12] that one could be installed in.
[3:04:15] I do wanna take a second.
[3:04:17] One of the things council did ask at the last
[3:04:20] Beacon Hill meeting, I believe it was, was
[3:04:22] for committee members to come talk about this
[3:04:24] as well if you had questions for them.
[3:04:27] We've got some members from the tourism advisory committee
[3:04:30] as well as from the parks advisory committee here,
[3:04:32] if you have any specific questions for them.
[3:04:35] We did invite bikeways but they both had conflicts today so,
[3:04:41] So with that being said, I I I wish you would've said
[3:04:43] that earlier 'cause I would've had them.
[3:04:47] Let's get, let's get, okay, let's do this.
[3:04:50] Can you guys step up
[3:04:51] and give a little spiel a couple minutes each in regards to
[3:04:57] your committee's favoritism or not?
[3:04:59] Not favoritism. Sorry, just I'll give you like two
[3:05:01] minutes 'cause I wanna make this real quick.
[3:05:02] Sure. And then we'll get back
[3:05:04] to our que line of questioning.
[3:05:05] Thank you. Is this on? Yep.
[3:05:08] Sounds like it's, well I'm Doug Bradley, the chairman
[3:05:11] of the tours advisory committee.
[3:05:13] Mayor Council, thank you for allowing me the time.
[3:05:16] We had adopted the pump track as one of our goals
[3:05:18] for the upcoming year and it talked
[3:05:20] about it being at the Reinhardt Park.
[3:05:21] We thought it was a great idea, great use for that property.
[3:05:24] We've had a lot of interest in cycling type
[3:05:28] activities in the city and county.
[3:05:30] So we thought that would be a good idea.
[3:05:32] And then as we presented, a council moved
[3:05:35] to Beacon Hill I think because of some other reasons.
[3:05:38] We kind of withdrew that real quick as a goal at least,
[3:05:40] or at least to put on a back burner
[3:05:42] until we could get more information about infrastructure
[3:05:45] budgeting, you know, how long is it gonna take?
[3:05:47] We had a lot of questions that had not been answered
[3:05:50] to allow that to continue as a goal.
[3:05:53] And I think we're kind of still in the same boat.
[3:05:55] So I'm glad to be here today
[3:05:56] and look at some of the options that we have ahead of us.
[3:05:58] But once we can get those cleared up,
[3:06:00] I think the tours advisory committee would be happy
[3:06:02] to make a recommendation as to
[3:06:04] what the council should look at
[3:06:05] and we would keep that in the lens of visitation.
[3:06:10] How is generating demand for visitation?
[3:06:11] That's typically what we like to look at things through.
[3:06:14] Any questions while I'm here?
[3:06:16] We'll we'll let you give your statement.
[3:06:18] We're gonna every, we get a statement
[3:06:19] and then we're gonna go back to the round table
[3:06:20] and we'll have Okay we'll call you up.
[3:06:21] Thank who else?
[3:06:24] I'm re Beaumont also known as Speedo Rito.
[3:06:27] I'm on the City Park Advisory committee
[3:06:29] and I'm also a member of the R-V-M-B-A.
[3:06:32] I been wanting up, I'm born and raised here in Grants Pass
[3:06:36] and I've been kinda like an advocate
[3:06:38] or someone that's been stoked for
[3:06:40] and wanting in the future one day to be have a pump track
[3:06:43] and now we're kind of at spot where it's possible
[3:06:46] and weighing options and,
[3:06:48] and learning the information about Reinhardt
[3:06:51] and being the floodplain
[3:06:53] and then the proposed plan of the past
[3:06:57] for Beacon Hill and already having a conceptual plan and,
[3:07:00] and seeing that with also the, the development
[3:07:03] of like the bike lane up on Beacon as well as on,
[3:07:06] I think it's Northeast Hillcrest
[3:07:08] that the new bike ways going up there.
[3:07:11] I think it makes total sense
[3:07:12] for a bigger pump track up on Beacon Hill.
[3:07:15] Also for the huge thing for tourism from I five,
[3:07:19] me being a biker and going up and down I five in the past
[3:07:23] and being able to see jumps from the freeway
[3:07:25] was just like, wait a second.
[3:07:26] Like we gotta stop there
[3:07:28] and if we don't stop there this time,
[3:07:29] we're gonna come back later.
[3:07:30] So I think that just the visibility from I five is a huge
[3:07:34] factor and for the pump track as well
[3:07:37] as the space up there is gonna create it for,
[3:07:39] we can have a bigger, more appealing pump track that's,
[3:07:42] that's also gonna play a big factor
[3:07:44] and role into grant's Pass in this huge
[3:07:47] mound bike destination
[3:07:49] and outdoor recreation that we've created here.
[3:07:52] It, it, it's, it's huge. It's crucial.
[3:07:54] So I think Beacon Hill weighs out for the best option.
[3:07:58] Well thank you. Thank you for your input. Okay, perfect.
[3:08:01] So we're gonna go back in the line of questioning I had.
[3:08:03] Victoria, do you have any questions?
[3:08:07] Yes, I have a question now
[3:08:09] for the gentleman from the tourism advisory committee.
[3:08:12] So you were thinking about this and I imagine
[3:08:17] because you saw it is a way of bringing in tourism
[3:08:20] and I'll ask Josh the same question
[3:08:23] but you can, you can answer later or after this.
[3:08:29] What is the possibility for economic income
[3:08:33] to the city for something like this?
[3:08:38] That's the first question. Well
[3:08:40] I don't have the numbers in front of me but, but cycling
[3:08:42] and outdoor, that's just the trails alone.
[3:08:46] I think it's 1.5 billion in the country
[3:08:50] and something like 10.5 million
[3:08:54] around just southern Oregon.
[3:08:57] So what as we, we develop these assets,
[3:09:00] it just gives us the opportunity to compete for the dollars
[3:09:04] that are being spent in our region.
[3:09:06] Dollar Mountain is no different than that.
[3:09:08] We have all kinds of people that come to Southern Oregon
[3:09:11] specifically to engage in outdoor adventure sports.
[3:09:15] So by having Dollar Mountain, we now have an asset
[3:09:18] that will bring them specifically to our region.
[3:09:20] They won't have to go to Medford or onto Ashland.
[3:09:23] It will keep them here. And as we add those assets,
[3:09:25] it will just allow us to take bigger chunks of that money
[3:09:29] that's already coming into our region that we know of.
[3:09:33] Thank you. And yeah Josh, you mentioned Redmond
[3:09:37] and the need for a pump track to be 20,000
[3:09:41] square feet to be a tourism draw
[3:09:45] or if I remember exactly,
[3:09:48] So I would say 10,000 square feet
[3:09:51] minimum for tourism draw.
[3:09:52] 'cause that's what's required for the competitions.
[3:09:56] That being said, kind of the bigger,
[3:09:57] the better you go in general.
[3:10:00] People have talked about it today,
[3:10:01] mountain biking is like almost a $300 million tourism
[3:10:05] industry in the state of Oregon.
[3:10:06] Cycling in general is a billion dollar industry.
[3:10:10] This pump track is out at Erie, Colorado.
[3:10:13] And let me pull it up on my phone real quick.
[3:10:16] Basically they use Placer ai, which is a tracking software
[3:10:20] for like visitation for one of their events
[3:10:23] that they did at this pump track.
[3:10:25] In it, it showed that, you know, they had a large you UCI,
[3:10:29] which is like United Cyclist
[3:10:31] International competition there.
[3:10:32] They had 36 or 3,800 people attend the pump track
[3:10:37] and essentially during this timeframe they estimated it
[3:10:40] brought in 407 to $501,000 in economic output
[3:10:45] for this one event because it was so well attended
[3:10:48] and it had cyclists coming from all over, you know,
[3:10:51] the nation to be it.
[3:10:52] That's obviously a large extreme of that.
[3:10:55] Locally we would probably reach out to Bike City to see
[3:10:59] what type of impact their regional
[3:11:01] event has when they do theirs.
[3:11:02] And I know that's coming up
[3:11:04] and that could give us kind of a more local idea of
[3:11:07] what type of impact this would have.
[3:11:09] Then there's other impacts with all things kind
[3:11:11] of going in parks and recreation.
[3:11:14] It's weird to live in a world where we have to think
[3:11:16] of tourism instead of community wellbeing,
[3:11:19] but in general, all of our park
[3:11:22] features have a large impact in
[3:11:24] community health and wellbeing.
[3:11:26] A feature like this that's such active play
[3:11:28] and active participation does play a large role in just the
[3:11:32] vitality of your community through health
[3:11:34] and, you know, mental health
[3:11:36] and everything else along those lines.
[3:11:37] Oh yeah, absolutely.
[3:11:38] And I didn't mean to dis diminish that.
[3:11:42] No, let's just, but yes,
[3:11:43] but we're, we live in now, the city spending money
[3:11:46] and being able to get a return is, is in my way of thinking,
[3:11:51] probably a good, a good way to go about things.
[3:11:53] And then the extra benefit is all of those great things too.
[3:11:57] 'cause our parks are so wonderful
[3:11:58] and you our reason for that, one
[3:12:02] of the biggest reasons for that.
[3:12:03] So thank you. So then my next question was,
[3:12:09] it's, it sounds like
[3:12:10] what I'm hearing is it's gonna be virtually impossible
[3:12:13] to put a pump track in Riverside Park
[3:12:16] or is it going on a a a difficulty scale?
[3:12:20] Is it like, I mean, is it possible?
[3:12:24] Would, would it be ill-advised even to try to go that way
[3:12:28] because of FEMA and all those things? Or
[3:12:30] Do you mean Reinhardt Park?
[3:12:32] Oh, that's what I meant, sorry.
[3:12:34] It's definitely possible.
[3:12:36] I think the issue we have is not really knowing
[3:12:38] how long it's gonna take to get through any sort
[3:12:41] of FEMA processes at the moment, speaking with the planners,
[3:12:45] they're not really getting a lot back when they're sending
[3:12:48] things to FEMA
[3:12:50] and, you know, know, I think they're supposed to come back
[3:12:52] and recertify us in some form or fashion.
[3:12:53] We're still waiting to find out when
[3:12:55] that's gonna happen. Well, for me it's
[3:12:57] Just kind of a delay if Oh, okay.
[3:12:59] So if it's still possible for me it seems like that's
[3:13:02] where we put the community survey, so it seems like that's
[3:13:05] where the, the community thought it would go.
[3:13:09] So it would be worthwhile looking to put it there
[3:13:13] because we already have the parking and the restrooms
[3:13:17] and all of the things, the infrastructure there.
[3:13:20] You'd probably maybe eventually have to put in restrooms,
[3:13:23] but yeah.
[3:13:24] So, okay, so maybe
[3:13:31] Bradley you could speak a little bit more to
[3:13:33] that about the FEMA difficulties or timeframe.
[3:13:37] No, I, I hear you counselor
[3:13:39] and it's, it is, it is really challenging for us to,
[3:13:44] at this point speak on any kind
[3:13:46] of permitting and the process.
[3:13:48] You know, the, the state of Oregon is, is dealing
[3:13:50] with this endangered species act lawsuit.
[3:13:54] So we are unique in the FEMA world as a state
[3:13:58] because we're having to address that
[3:13:59] and the mitigation that's required with that.
[3:14:03] We, you know, anytime you start talking about adding
[3:14:08] anything with mass into a floodway,
[3:14:14] you know, you're also adding engineering dollars
[3:14:17] because it's, you know, it's, there's a lot of studies
[3:14:20] that have to go into the modeling of
[3:14:21] what exactly would happen.
[3:14:24] All this to be said, if this is
[3:14:26] where counsel's direction is, I mean,
[3:14:28] we'll continue our research and we'll make phone calls
[3:14:31] and we'll pursue the rules and,
[3:14:33] and we'll, we'll, we'll check
[3:14:34] and bring you back as much information as we possibly can.
[3:14:37] Oh, wonderful. Thank you.
[3:14:40] Seth, do you have any questions?
[3:14:43] I don't know, I guess, Doug, this is kinda you.
[3:14:44] I was walking back in, but you mentioned
[3:14:47] that it would be potential to kind of give this back
[3:14:50] to the TAC and Parks and Bikeways
[3:14:52] and you know, you come up with a recommendation.
[3:14:55] I mean that seems, I don't know if
[3:14:56] that's something you guys be interested in, but
[3:14:58] Yeah, we, we'd love to do that.
[3:15:01] I think we need more information too.
[3:15:02] And, and I mean every time we talk about the pump track,
[3:15:06] I feel like I get a little more information.
[3:15:08] So we're kind of at a place
[3:15:09] where we kinda need it all at once and,
[3:15:11] and all in a big pile so
[3:15:12] that we can kind of digest it and look at it.
[3:15:15] Yeah, we do have some ideas about what our
[3:15:18] recommendations would be
[3:15:19] and I didn't know till today that, you know,
[3:15:22] Reinhardt park's a flood zone, so it doesn't really sound
[3:15:23] like that might be a pretty tough option for us.
[3:15:26] So again, that kind of removes one
[3:15:28] of the things we were thinking about till just now.
[3:15:31] So yeah, that's kind of where we're at.
[3:15:32] I just need more information and then we'd be happy
[3:15:34] to make a a, a recommendation
[3:15:36] and it is gonna be centered around, I think
[3:15:38] what we feel would be best for the community when it comes
[3:15:41] to not only serving our locals,
[3:15:42] but also being a demander
[3:15:44] for visit demand generator for visitation.
[3:15:46] So. Okay. And I don't know what the answer to
[3:15:48] that is, just right at the moment. So,
[3:15:50] Yeah.
[3:15:51] And then I was actually curious about the flood zone.
[3:15:53] This is not for you. Sorry. Thank you, Doug.
[3:15:57] Is this something that we just overlooked?
[3:15:59] Was it something that didn't come up? I mean, yeah.
[3:16:02] 'cause this is the first time I think any
[3:16:03] of us are hearing about this and this does change
[3:16:06] things it sounds like.
[3:16:07] So I was just curious.
[3:16:09] I wasn't aware the floodway came up that far
[3:16:12] until I was making the slides for this presentation
[3:16:14] and I ran and was like, oh,
[3:16:15] I should check the floodway layer.
[3:16:16] Yep. And then when I saw that, I was like, wow,
[3:16:18] this is very surprising.
[3:16:19] This map goes everywhere, all over this town
[3:16:22] and I don't like the way the map is,
[3:16:24] so if we could just get rid of that. Got it.
[3:16:26] Good. Okay. So just a, a quick clarification.
[3:16:29] When you look at this, the, the exhibit
[3:16:30] that he had up there, the flood plain is
[3:16:33] where water will saturate when it comes to flooding.
[3:16:36] A floodway actually is kind of defined
[3:16:38] as actually moving water.
[3:16:39] So there is more stringent restrictions from FEMA
[3:16:42] within the floodway.
[3:16:44] And you look at the Rogue river, it's flood way is very big.
[3:16:48] So that's just a little careful. Go ahead.
[3:16:51] On speaking of the projects we've talked about, the survey
[3:16:53] that we did for er, volunteer park
[3:16:55] and trying to figure out a, a use for
[3:16:57] that old fly fishing spot
[3:16:58] and that kind of thing that was primary was let's find
[3:17:01] a secondary use for that.
[3:17:02] Yes. If council wants to have a pump track
[3:17:05] that is ultimately going to make a difference
[3:17:08] and be an economic driving engine
[3:17:10] and be, you know, corresponding with
[3:17:13] what we're already focused on, that's probably the approach
[3:17:16] that needs to be looked at with a new perspective.
[3:17:19] If, if, are we wanting
[3:17:21] to bring in a 20,000 square foot pump track that is going
[3:17:25] to bring in opportunities for competition, et cetera,
[3:17:28] and where's the best fit for that?
[3:17:30] Instead of the question which was
[3:17:32] how do we repurpose a location in the park?
[3:17:34] There are two totally different questions.
[3:17:36] And so I think if you, I I think starting fresh, if,
[3:17:40] if council now one of their goals is let's try
[3:17:42] to ride the wave, the community wants to have a pump track,
[3:17:45] well then let's look at it from that perspective
[3:17:47] and then you'll get a better product in the end.
[3:17:50] Yeah, yeah, no, I, I definitely think that makes sense.
[3:17:52] I mean, coming from the economic side of things.
[3:17:55] Yeah, no, and that's why I think, you know, bringing it
[3:17:57] to some of the committees would be great too. Thanks Josh.
[3:18:01] Joel, Jake got any questions?
[3:18:04] I have, I have two questions. Josh.
[3:18:06] First off, appreciate your preparation.
[3:18:08] It's thorough as usual.
[3:18:11] When you look at the high demand, the high competition,
[3:18:16] the one that would bring in tourism dollars,
[3:18:22] I also heard there's a lot of other pump tracks being built.
[3:18:26] Supply and demand.
[3:18:28] Do you have, and I know that's an intuitive subject
[3:18:34] and it, it, it might be just the opposite if you have a lot
[3:18:38] of 'em, maybe more, even more people come, I don't know.
[3:18:40] But if Crescent City has one,
[3:18:43] I think there's another one in the Southern Rogue Valley
[3:18:46] Climate Falls right now.
[3:18:49] Ashland is looking at building one as a part
[3:18:51] of a new park design that they've got going.
[3:18:53] Right. I heard Central Point is also looking at
[3:18:55] incorporating a pump track
[3:18:57] and then the closest one regionally
[3:18:59] after that would be the one over in Crescent City.
[3:19:01] Crescent City. From a tourism perspective,
[3:19:03] I think you would probably just do the same thing we're
[3:19:06] doing with our mountain bike trail systems
[3:19:08] and mark it as like a regional circuit.
[3:19:10] Sure. You know, in general we've got mountain bike trails
[3:19:14] everywhere over the Rogue Valley
[3:19:15] and now we've got this circuit of people
[3:19:17] that wanna ride them.
[3:19:18] Additionally, depending on where you wanna put one
[3:19:20] of these locations for a pump track, it may tie in nicely
[3:19:24] to mountain biking as well.
[3:19:26] 'cause it's kind of on the route to our mountain bike,
[3:19:29] large scale pump tracks for competition definitely do great
[3:19:32] for bringing people in for the day.
[3:19:34] But any sort of large scale, easily readily accessible
[3:19:38] and visible pump track is going to get people
[3:19:41] to pull off a highway and stuff.
[3:19:42] That's what you see at Redmond frequently
[3:19:44] because you take nine seven right by their pump track
[3:19:47] and people whip around to go say at least I did
[3:19:50] So.
[3:19:51] So given the options
[3:19:51] and the other supply of pump tracks, you know,
[3:19:56] just by itself it's very intriguing to
[3:19:59] build a high quality pump track.
[3:20:03] And I, I think we would all support that the worst
[3:20:06] that would happen and,
[3:20:09] and this, it could be a, a fiscal mistake
[3:20:12] because if we build it and, and it's one of five or 10
[3:20:17] or whatever, that it dilutes that economic impact.
[3:20:22] Well and that's hard for you I would guess to forecast that.
[3:20:26] Yeah, and not knowing the sizes of the ones
[3:20:28] that they're planning in the lower part
[3:20:30] of the Rogue Valley can't really say Crescent City,
[3:20:32] you know, I don't think anything we do is going
[3:20:34] to impact them at all because people are going there
[3:20:36] for the beach and the pump track's just a
[3:20:38] reason to take the kids out. So.
[3:20:40] Sure. Well if it's worthwhile
[3:20:42] doing, it's worthwhile doing.
[3:20:43] Well the other thing I, I wanted to ask you,
[3:20:48] there's some sites that have some funding advantages,
[3:20:51] obviously with the urban renewal area and
[3:20:55] and Riverside Park.
[3:20:58] What is the probability and likelihood of grants?
[3:21:03] So depending on which park you look into, this is eligible
[3:21:06] for any of the grants we typically go out for for parks
[3:21:09] through the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department.
[3:21:12] So we've got the same ability as anyone else
[3:21:14] to do something like this except for at Exing Park,
[3:21:18] you know, it's not listed as an option,
[3:21:20] but we wouldn't be able to use exing
[3:21:21] or Gilbert Creek for those grants because of the lease term.
[3:21:24] Sure. But outside of
[3:21:25] that it's eligible for any
[3:21:27] of those grants. We typically go for,
[3:21:29] I wouldn't hold you to it,
[3:21:30] but we think a 50% chance of getting grants
[3:21:32] to help fund it or
[3:21:34] They're highly competitive every year for grants.
[3:21:36] There's no sure thing so far I don't think,
[3:21:39] we've not gotten a grant that I've applied for
[3:21:41] with the city here, but at other places sometimes we
[3:21:44] get 'em, sometimes we don't.
[3:21:45] So it really just depends on the amount
[3:21:48] of funding the grantors have at the time
[3:21:50] that your application's going through.
[3:21:51] 'cause every year it's a different amount
[3:21:53] and then the other proposals going up as well. Yeah.
[3:21:57] Well you do a good job Josh. Thank you.
[3:22:00] Thank you. So the, just just to re remind you, the intent
[3:22:04] of this workshop for the pump truck was kind
[3:22:07] of explore the idea
[3:22:08] and get some more feedback in regards to that survey.
[3:22:11] We don't want to go too far in depth in it.
[3:22:13] If you guys do decide to go forward to explore this topic,
[3:22:16] we can do that at a later date.
[3:22:17] We really didn't slot the time for that today.
[3:22:19] So I'm gonna finish up with inr, she has any questions
[3:22:23] and then you guys can make a decision if you wanna pursue
[3:22:26] this topic further to push it to a different workshop.
[3:22:30] I do have questions. Go ahead inr.
[3:22:32] So the, the park specific LB funding, how much do we have?
[3:22:37] I don't know off the top of my head.
[3:22:38] We have a bunch of LB project codes for park development
[3:22:41] for different things and with those codes,
[3:22:44] depending on council, you know,
[3:22:46] preference we can move dollars around if we need to to make,
[3:22:51] you know, goals that council set happen.
[3:22:53] Most of that funding comes from
[3:22:55] like SDCs and things like that.
[3:22:56] Some of it's restricted, like the land acquisition SDCs,
[3:23:00] some of it's less restrictive so.
[3:23:03] So would we have the million to start phase one or no?
[3:23:08] Do you have any general idea
[3:23:11] For phase One?
[3:23:12] Are we talking We can do we away from other
[3:23:13] top priority things.
[3:23:16] So then, okay, again, I think we're,
[3:23:17] we're getting a little bit expanded off of this topic.
[3:23:19] We just, this, this workshop was kind of slotted
[3:23:22] for only about a half an hour for this topic.
[3:23:23] Yeah. To see if you guys wanted to proceed forward.
[3:23:25] I love your pointed questions
[3:23:26] but it's kind of gonna go into a more in depth so, so Josh
[3:23:29] and everybody and all staff can be more
[3:23:32] fully presentable on the topics at hand. So, okay.
[3:23:36] But Clint, I don't know if I wanna go forward
[3:23:39] until I have my questions answered.
[3:23:42] Do, do you, do you understand that?
[3:23:44] So right now if we end, I would just say no not
[3:23:48] to go forward because I have questions that I need answers.
[3:23:51] I'm just trying to make sure that, to decide,
[3:23:53] Josh has been very prepared,
[3:23:54] but I wanna make sure that we're not going over the depth of
[3:23:57] what he's prepared for.
[3:23:58] So if he can answer the question, great.
[3:24:00] If not, then we're gonna have to push it onto,
[3:24:01] Okay, I'm just asking for general information.
[3:24:04] So when you said phase one,
[3:24:06] are you talking Beacon Hill development
[3:24:08] On the Beacon Hill? Yes.
[3:24:09] Yeah. So right now for Beacon Hill it has its own elig
[3:24:13] or LB code.
[3:24:14] There's like $575,000 sitting in that. Okay.
[3:24:18] We could do the million dollar phase one if we applied a
[3:24:22] grant to it and used match funds.
[3:24:25] Now if council wanted to say we don't want to go
[3:24:28] for a grant, we want you just to figure out how
[3:24:30] to fund this, then park staff
[3:24:32] and finance would sit down, look at all the LB codes
[3:24:37] and all the projects we already have planned
[3:24:39] and see where we're gonna shift funding from in our LB codes
[3:24:42] to meet the goal of council.
[3:24:45] That would mean that some
[3:24:46] of the projects we already have planned just
[3:24:48] go on the back burner.
[3:24:49] But again, you know, we're kind
[3:24:51] of up the council's discretion on how
[3:24:53] and what you want built
[3:24:55] or you know, if JC magically waved the wand
[3:24:58] and found some extra zeros somewhere lying around
[3:25:01] council could move general fund dollars in
[3:25:03] to help fill that gap as well. So
[3:25:05] Yeah, what Josh said is correct, it's sort
[3:25:07] of the way public works sometimes works with road
[3:25:09] and transportation projects.
[3:25:10] If you make this a high priority
[3:25:12] and if council wants to look at what
[3:25:14] that looks like financially, we would need
[3:25:15] to have your direction and
[3:25:16] that a future workshop we provide you with, okay, here's
[3:25:19] how we would fund including potential grant resources at
[3:25:23] 20,000 square foot pump track.
[3:25:26] And so we could get you that information
[3:25:27] with all the different funding sources available to you.
[3:25:30] Right. I we do go on, I mean we push things down the road
[3:25:34] because we want all the information
[3:25:37] but sometimes if we have it up front we,
[3:25:39] we wouldn't push it down the road
[3:25:41] and we would make decisions.
[3:25:44] So phase two it it phase one is not the track.
[3:25:49] Correct. So phase two on Beacon Hill I'm talking
[3:25:52] would be the track.
[3:25:54] So basically phase one could be whatever city council
[3:25:58] actually wants to incorporate in phase one.
[3:26:00] If you told us we want to move forward with Beacon Hill
[3:26:04] and we want phase one
[3:26:05] to incorporate a pump track development as well,
[3:26:08] then we'd come back with our plans
[3:26:10] and design for phase one with the cost for that,
[3:26:13] with the plan of how we can actually fund that
[3:26:15] with available resources.
[3:26:16] And at that point we definitely need
[3:26:18] to be looking at grant resources in the timeline.
[3:26:20] Right, Okay. But you know,
[3:26:21] if council said phase one we want the parking lot,
[3:26:24] we want the walkways, the site furnishings
[3:26:27] and a pump track, then you know, on the books
[3:26:30] that's just us saying, okay, we need to estimate for
[3:26:33] how much of a pump track you want $750,000 extra.
[3:26:37] So now we're looking at, you know, $1.75 million
[3:26:41] for phase one instead of one point or 1 million.
[3:26:44] Right. Or more around two. Okay, thank you.
[3:26:47] And then I just would like to comment, I, I really think
[3:26:50] I'd never heard of a pump track
[3:26:52] and I've learned a lot about it recently
[3:26:56] and I, I agree with Joel, if we're gonna do it, we might
[3:26:59] as well do a good one to attract and,
[3:27:02] and I had no idea it would attract tourists but I'm told
[3:27:06] and we need to trust our committees
[3:27:08] who are more expert in tourism what they think about
[3:27:14] how it would attract people.
[3:27:16] So I just wanted to say my preference.
[3:27:20] Alright, thank you. Any last minute
[3:27:24] questions Rob?
[3:27:26] So quickly, in the same way that we've run into trouble
[3:27:30] with maintaining our swimming pool and our skate park
[3:27:34] and so forth, how, what is the life
[3:27:37] or if you don't know today, you can bring it back the life
[3:27:39] of a pump track and what is a major overhaul cost and
[3:27:43] or how much annual maintenance would also
[3:27:45] be pertinent? Pertinent
[3:27:46] Question.
[3:27:47] So some of that depends on the surfacing you're picking.
[3:27:49] If we're going with asphalt, it'd be similar
[3:27:51] to the life expectancy of our walkways
[3:27:53] and pathways, which is generally about 20 years.
[3:27:56] With that, you know, they are designed and build
[3:28:00] and engineered so they are really well
[3:28:02] maintainable at that point.
[3:28:05] It'd be just like what we do with our sidewalks.
[3:28:07] If there was an issue it'd be doing overlays and patchwork
[3:28:10] and things like that to get it back to the level we need.
[3:28:13] You know, I think we budget, I don't know, 14 grand a year,
[3:28:17] 12 grand a year for multimodal pathway repairs.
[3:28:21] And some years we spend it all, some years we don't.
[3:28:25] We have a lot of work we need to do.
[3:28:26] We still, but you know, it's just one
[3:28:28] of those things we just incorporate it into our budget cost
[3:28:31] if it isn't an existing park as opposed
[3:28:34] to a fully developed park, you know, one way
[3:28:37] to look at it would be as an existing park, it's less
[3:28:39] of a large scale budget hit
[3:28:42] 'cause all the other features are already developed.
[3:28:43] Whereas if you're developing a park,
[3:28:45] you have a larger continuing cost for that park.
[3:28:48] So, so if you, so, so if you were to ask, if you were
[3:28:51] to ask one of the designers of the park,
[3:28:53] they would tell you it's got a 20 year life
[3:28:56] before it needs a major overhaul
[3:28:57] or you just, you're just kind of winging it.
[3:28:59] Pretty much any park feature has expected 20
[3:29:03] to 30 year life expectancy.
[3:29:05] And similar to, you know, our pathways
[3:29:07] and our parks when we build asphalt multi boal trails,
[3:29:10] we kind of anticipate a 20 year life expectancy.
[3:29:13] But those get really heavily impacted by things like trees
[3:29:17] and things like that that really cut into it. So
[3:29:20] Yeah, I I just, it just concerns me that a path in a park
[3:29:23] that's flat to me looks like it's completely different than
[3:29:26] dips and curves and banks
[3:29:27] and things of that nature that are gonna get in the same way
[3:29:30] that the sidewalk in front of my house last
[3:29:33] way longer than the skate park did.
[3:29:36] I can way, way longer, like 10 times longer.
[3:29:38] So I don't know if your analogy is exactly correct,
[3:29:40] I just wanna make sure that you're
[3:29:42] considering that that's, that's all.
[3:29:43] Yep. And I can bring you everything from the people
[3:29:46] that do this so they can try.
[3:29:48] Rick,
[3:29:50] I would also like consideration of looking at the aspect,
[3:29:55] if we have to do a no rise certificate,
[3:29:57] what would be a ballpark cost
[3:29:59] and also what would be the timeline?
[3:30:01] 'cause for a study like
[3:30:02] that it could be quite time consuming.
[3:30:05] So if we are willing to move forward,
[3:30:07] and I would also as, as Robin said, like
[3:30:10] to know the lifespan and maintenance costs.
[3:30:13] Thank you.
[3:30:15] Eric, you got another question? Yeah,
[3:30:18] So I, I think what, what you brought up sir,
[3:30:23] that it's visible to the,
[3:30:24] from the people driving on the freeway, I think I'd be,
[3:30:27] I'd be interested in, in moving forward with Beacon Hill,
[3:30:32] but that, that would, that would be obviously
[3:30:35] what we already all talked about with the maintenance.
[3:30:40] All of that would be into consideration.
[3:30:43] So that's all I have.
[3:30:46] Victoria, you got another question? N
[3:30:49] no, no, not at this time. I
[3:30:51] Thank you Seth.
[3:30:52] You got any more questions?
[3:30:54] Joel, do you have any more questions?
[3:30:58] Indra, do you have any more questions?
[3:31:00] I do. Thank you. Josh, what do you estimate the annual
[3:31:03] for a new park at Beacon Hill?
[3:31:05] What would be the approximate maintenance?
[3:31:07] I mean we'd have to spend money then
[3:31:09] maintaining it annually. What
[3:31:11] Would you say That, so we've got a couple of metrics
[3:31:13] to try to hit and our parks master plan
[3:31:16] park maintenance really depends on features as well as
[3:31:20] what level of service we're looking at providing at a
[3:31:23] location for a standard level of service, I think we try
[3:31:27] to keep the cost under $12,000 an acre for developed parks
[3:31:31] for a low level, I think it's like 6,000.
[3:31:35] And then for the highest level, which would be like Reinhart
[3:31:39] and Riverside Park, where we have a lot of features,
[3:31:42] amenities, and a lot of community events.
[3:31:44] Our park master plan estimates us to be below,
[3:31:48] I think it's $16,000 per acre with
[3:31:51] that across our park system.
[3:31:53] Right now, if you were to take all 200
[3:31:55] of our developed acres, we're just under
[3:31:58] like $13,000 per acre for the entire 200 acres
[3:32:02] that we maintain as an average.
[3:32:04] If you were to take all of our park properties,
[3:32:07] including our reserve land, that we still have money
[3:32:10] that goes out towards it, drops it down
[3:32:13] to like $4,600 an acre, beacon Hill's, nine acres.
[3:32:17] So if you're looking at a range, just go 5,000 times nine
[3:32:21] to, you know, 12,000 times nine.
[3:32:23] And that's kind of the range that we probably land in.
[3:32:25] Thank you. You give such thorough answers to,
[3:32:30] I would definitely be foregoing for a grant for it,
[3:32:34] but I, I would be remiss if I didn't say some
[3:32:38] residents in the area have written
[3:32:39] to council about concerns about a park in general.
[3:32:43] And I get it, it's
[3:32:44] because of our problems with the homeless in the park
[3:32:48] and the concerns are that it would just be another place to
[3:32:53] attract homeless and they have a concern about that.
[3:32:57] So I would also ask that a reach out to that area too.
[3:33:04] Maybe a survey like we did
[3:33:06] or ask, you know, we, we would need
[3:33:08] to alleviate those concerns I think
[3:33:11] before we went forward with, with some of that.
[3:33:14] So as a part of the Beacon Hill Park discussion,
[3:33:17] we were told to go back out
[3:33:18] for surveys and things like that.
[3:33:19] So we'll make sure the residents have their
[3:33:22] voice and everything like that. Heard.
[3:33:23] Perfect. Thank you.
[3:33:29] Seriously. Okay,
[3:33:31] I I need like five bucks for questions now.
[3:33:33] I just kidding. Okay, go ahead. I'm, I'm
[3:33:35] Sorry.
[3:33:36] Already I don't have that. Thank you.
[3:33:37] Now what I wanted to ask,
[3:33:38] and I kind of got off track, was for Beacon Hill.
[3:33:43] For Beacon Hill, are all those grants available for that
[3:33:46] that you, that you showed on slide 11?
[3:33:49] Is that, is there a potential
[3:33:50] Yeah, For the full development of Beacon Hill,
[3:33:53] it's eligible for all the standard
[3:33:54] grants we typically go for.
[3:33:56] Perfect, thank you so much. You're
[3:33:58] Great.
[3:33:59] Yeah, I was gonna address this during the agenda setting,
[3:34:02] but since two things have come up
[3:34:04] before this, I'll just say it really quickly, is
[3:34:07] there have been community members
[3:34:10] who are really concerned about a Beacon Hill Park at all.
[3:34:15] And so I was going to, we had talked about
[3:34:19] moving forward with that,
[3:34:21] but now there are even different plans for that.
[3:34:23] So, or possible that we're discussing not to anything to do
[3:34:27] with what you, anything you did wrong, Josh or, or,
[3:34:31] or Bradley or anyone.
[3:34:33] But we definitely must go back.
[3:34:36] There was a 2019 survey that was done
[3:34:39] for the Beacon Hill Park and that's quite a few years ago.
[3:34:43] So since many things have changed in the community since
[3:34:46] then, we would definitely have to
[3:34:48] and have to go back to the community, not even just
[3:34:51] for a pump track but for a park
[3:34:56] at all because we've, since the last workshop,
[3:35:00] they have had a lot of feedback that doesn't have anything
[3:35:02] to do with your presentation now, Josh,
[3:35:04] but since others have brought it up,
[3:35:06] I didn't wanna let it go by without mentioning that
[3:35:11] and then I'll bring it up again
[3:35:12] during agenda setting. Thanks.
[3:35:15] Okay. I believe, I feel that
[3:35:19] there is council sentiment to continue this question
[3:35:22] or to continue the topic
[3:35:23] of establishing a pump track within our city limits,
[3:35:27] within our parks.
[3:35:28] So I just want to get a true census from, with a thumbs up
[3:35:32] to proceed forward
[3:35:33] with exploring the pump track within the city limits
[3:35:37] on a further workshop.
[3:35:39] Perfect. Okay, so within the presentation today,
[3:35:42] you guys were offered about five different locations.
[3:35:47] So for that future workshop
[3:35:49] where we'll actually get into the nuts
[3:35:51] and bolts, do you guys have a preference on reviewing the
[3:35:56] five different locations that were presented today
[3:35:59] or narrow narrowing them down a little bit but we were gonna
[3:36:03] Turn it back down the committees, now it's the concept
[3:36:07] of put a really good one
[3:36:09] and we're gonna get their opinion out.
[3:36:11] No, I feel, I feel that that's just a little bit that
[3:36:13] that's going on to a further in-depth workshop.
[3:36:16] We got the opinion of the committees that they are for it
[3:36:19] and then they were offered the question.
[3:36:20] So I, I think that's kind of where I'm kind
[3:36:22] of leading is building a new a, a workshop
[3:36:24] to go into this in depthly.
[3:36:26] So I guess the question, the question
[3:36:27] to you guys is do you want, in a future workshop,
[3:36:30] do you want to entertain all the five locations
[3:36:33] that Josh presented
[3:36:35] or a smaller number of them, Victoria?
[3:36:40] I think it would, I think it would
[3:36:42] be good to look at all of them.
[3:36:43] I mean, so It doesn't seem like it
[3:36:45] would be too much more work.
[3:36:46] Let's get a council three rather than a council consensus
[3:36:49] with a thumbs up if you want to entertain
[3:36:51] and a future workshop to review of all five
[3:36:53] that locations that were presented today.
[3:36:59] Thumbs up, yes or no? Okay.
[3:37:03] I only got two thumbs up.
[3:37:05] So is there a nu is out of the five
[3:37:08] that were presented today, a smaller number
[3:37:11] or a a few parks that you want to review
[3:37:13] for the a future workshop?
[3:37:16] Could you just go through the different parks? Sure.
[3:37:19] So basically it was presented Reinhart volunteer park,
[3:37:22] which was the topic, the original topic of this discussion.
[3:37:26] Riverside, I believe it's West Gilbert Creek Park
[3:37:29] where it would be the old ball state, the ballpark
[3:37:33] fruit, Dale Park.
[3:37:34] It looked like there was two available spots.
[3:37:36] And then to continue the future conversation
[3:37:39] of putting it in Beacon Hill
[3:37:42] Mayor, could we go through each individual
[3:37:44] name? Thumb up, thumb down?
[3:37:45] Sure. Okay.
[3:37:47] So council sentiment on pinpointing a location
[3:37:52] for a future pump track at Reinhart Volunteer Park.
[3:37:55] Thumbs up or thumbs down The Reinhart Park.
[3:38:01] So I got
[3:38:02] 3, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4, and three down.
[3:38:06] So Reinhart Park will stay on the list.
[3:38:09] Riverside Park West,
[3:38:11] which is basically the Frisbee golf area.
[3:38:13] Thumbs up or thumbs down?
[3:38:15] I got one, two up all the rest.
[3:38:19] 1, 2, 3, up and four down.
[3:38:21] So Riverside Park West will be excluded.
[3:38:23] Gilbert Creek Ball park, up or down?
[3:38:28] Down, down. One up all down. Okay.
[3:38:31] That one will be excluded. Fruit Dale, fruit Dale Park.
[3:38:34] There was two locations on Fruit. Dale Park.
[3:38:36] Thumbs up or thumbs down? I got 1, 2, 3, 4 thumbs up.
[3:38:41] So that one will stay in.
[3:38:43] And the continuation of putting something in Beacon Hill.
[3:38:48] 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 up.
[3:38:50] So we will proceed forward with a future workshop
[3:38:55] and discussion of Fruit.
[3:38:56] Dale, beacon Hill and Reinhardt. Is that correct? Okay.
[3:39:02] And within that future workshop we will build into that
[3:39:07] further discussion of size and scope
[3:39:12] and funding and funding options.
[3:39:16] Okay. Yes, Victoria Question.
[3:39:18] Well, along with the Beacon Hill there also needs to be
[3:39:24] the community survey that might be a bigger issue,
[3:39:28] The future work That we need to re survey the
[3:39:32] Community.
[3:39:33] Understand that the future workshop that I am going
[3:39:36] to be building right this second is to, is on the discussion
[3:39:39] of a pump track only.
[3:39:41] So that would be basically expanding into Beacon Hill
[3:39:44] to have counsel discuss whether that would be a future for
[3:39:47] that, not the whole of Beacon Hill Park,
[3:39:49] just whether we put a pump track in it or not.
[3:39:54] Okay. So does staff have direction
[3:39:57] Aaron? Yes. Thank you.
[3:39:58] Okay, thank you. Moving on in the workshop agenda,
[3:40:03] we have council meeting protocol
[3:40:07] and Aaron will start out with a presentation
[3:40:11] and thank you guys from the committees
[3:40:13] for your, your participation.
[3:40:14] Oh, thank you guys. Appreciate it very much.
[3:40:33] All right, mayor, council, thank you.
[3:40:35] I'm, I'm very excited today
[3:40:36] for council's interest in my opportunity
[3:40:38] to talk about something that is really foundational to
[3:40:41] how we operate as a governing body.
[3:40:43] Today's conversation is about meeting the quorum
[3:40:45] and protocol, how we show up, how we work together,
[3:40:49] and ultimately how we serve the community.
[3:40:52] Our goal is to strengthen our teamwork
[3:40:54] and our culture of governance
[3:40:57] and the professionalism of the organization.
[3:41:02] This conversation is about building a shared understanding
[3:41:04] of how we conduct ourselves before, during, and
[3:41:07] after the council meetings.
[3:41:08] This framework will help us get to the fundamentals
[3:41:12] and reflect well on the organization and the community.
[3:41:14] This isn't about adding rules,
[3:41:16] it's about maybe a small review of our own current rules
[3:41:19] and looking at how many we may want to implement those
[3:41:21] to build public trust and make our jobs easier.
[3:41:26] You may have seen a little bit of that today
[3:41:29] with the mayor going through
[3:41:30] and sort of doing a, a different concept
[3:41:33] of providing public comment.
[3:41:35] This presentation has been narrowed down about two thirds
[3:41:39] of its original size.
[3:41:41] In order to try to keep this quick, I'm not going over a lot
[3:41:44] of our already procedures that we have in place.
[3:41:47] We did have a presentation on that a little while ago.
[3:41:49] This is just a general framework
[3:41:51] to start an open discussion on how we would like to
[3:41:56] perform as a council and as a team.
[3:42:02] I think we've all been in a meeting
[3:42:03] where things have started to drift,
[3:42:05] where people have maybe gotten frustrated with each other,
[3:42:09] maybe made snarky remarks,
[3:42:11] and all of a sudden people are starting
[3:42:13] to get a little tense and they start
[3:42:14] to withdraw from the council meetings.
[3:42:17] What decorum does is decorum provides an opportunity for us
[3:42:21] to protect the integrity and ensure that everyone gets heard
[3:42:24] and helps us provide for good decision making.
[3:42:27] When it comes to your policies,
[3:42:30] our behavior here sends a very clear message on how we lead.
[3:42:33] And so people see how we interact together.
[3:42:40] When decorum slips, the impact is immediate.
[3:42:44] Meetings take longer and become less productive.
[3:42:47] Trust begins to erode between members of the council,
[3:42:49] with staff and within the community.
[3:42:51] And over time, these issues can damage the reputation.
[3:42:54] As a city,
[3:42:59] we all have roles in providing good governments in a meeting
[3:43:02] council focuses on policy and does so with professionalism
[3:43:05] and respect, where the presiding officer is responsible
[3:43:09] for making sure that they maintain a fair process
[3:43:13] and the staff comes forward to you with factual expertise
[3:43:17] to support your decisions.
[3:43:19] When these roles are clear
[3:43:21] and respected, the entire meeting runs more smoothly.
[3:43:28] Strong meetings really start with preparation.
[3:43:31] Reviewing packets ahead of time means we spend time
[3:43:34] deliberating towards direction
[3:43:36] and decisions instead of using workshops
[3:43:39] or meetings to try to catch up and get fully informed.
[3:43:42] Asking clarifying questions in advance
[3:43:44] helps avoid surprises.
[3:43:47] And following the agenda along
[3:43:48] with the presiding officer's guidance,
[3:43:50] keeps us organized to ensure fairness.
[3:43:53] These are the basics, but they're incredibly important.
[3:43:57] I see this as a, a another, as a a team example.
[3:43:59] I know I used Michael Jordan before and,
[3:44:01] and being an effective counsel,
[3:44:03] but if you've got a team
[3:44:05] that has done their homework in advance of the game
[3:44:08] and then you've got just a star player, you know,
[3:44:12] Heisman trophy winner,
[3:44:14] but they didn't do their homework in advance of the game
[3:44:17] and they come into the huddle and you do your first play
[3:44:19] and they're like, okay, we're gonna run 24 B
[3:44:22] and they're like, I, I don't know what 24 B is.
[3:44:25] Hey guys, can we talk about 24 and timeout?
[3:44:28] Time violation, five yard penalty.
[3:44:30] So doing your homework is really important
[3:44:34] 'cause then when it comes to game day, which is every one
[3:44:37] of your council meetings, everyone
[3:44:38] of your council meetings should be treated as a Super Bowl.
[3:44:40] People are watching, whether it be
[3:44:42] a workshop or a business meeting.
[3:44:43] So coming prepared is extremely important
[3:44:45] and that's from a staff perspective
[3:44:47] and from from a council perspective.
[3:44:51] During the meeting, the goal is to stay on topic,
[3:44:54] keep things concise and remain professional.
[3:44:57] One thing that really helps is avoiding some of these items
[3:45:00] that are are listed here.
[3:45:01] They seem small, but they can make a big difference.
[3:45:06] And after the meetings, respect the decision
[3:45:09] of the governing body and move forward.
[3:45:15] Respect this in about agreement.
[3:45:16] I'm not talking about everyone having to agree.
[3:45:18] It's about how we handle disagreement.
[3:45:21] Consistent respect improves the legitimacy of our decisions.
[3:45:29] Pierre, I've got a list of of behaviors
[3:45:31] that ultimately undermine decorum.
[3:45:34] We've probably all seen these type of behaviors,
[3:45:36] whether it be interrupting, mocking,
[3:45:40] providing public criticism.
[3:45:43] They make people feel unsafe
[3:45:45] and they don't want, they make it
[3:45:46] where people don't wanna speak up.
[3:45:48] And then ultimately it,
[3:45:49] it does put a strain on good decision making.
[3:45:56] We're not talking about efficiency from a standpoint
[3:45:59] of running a meeting through
[3:46:00] and getting it done as quick as possible.
[3:46:03] Efficiency is not about rushing,
[3:46:05] it's about focusing discussion where it adds value.
[3:46:09] The public appreciates discipline.
[3:46:11] Well-managed meetings, a good conversation has a rhythm.
[3:46:16] We build on each other's ideas.
[3:46:18] We avoid repeating ourselves and we ask clarifying questions
[3:46:22] and we keep an eye on the outcome.
[3:46:25] And good policy decisions
[3:46:30] Working effectively with staff.
[3:46:34] Staff is here to help make
[3:46:36] well-informed decisions for council.
[3:46:38] The more predictable and respectful our communication is,
[3:46:41] the more confident and efficient staff will be.
[3:46:45] Performance and morale are strongly influenced
[3:46:48] by our interactions with each other.
[3:46:50] Professional engagement supports better work
[3:46:53] products from our perspective.
[3:46:58] A number of things that we've talked about in one
[3:47:00] of our agenda setting meetings that I've talked about
[3:47:01] with the mayor are a few things
[3:47:03] that we're looking at considering
[3:47:04] to help make things more efficient.
[3:47:08] Our presentations coming forward,
[3:47:10] we're considering making them as short
[3:47:12] and succinct, 10 minutes or less using slides when necessary
[3:47:17] and focusing on policy decisions for counsel on items
[3:47:22] that require more than a 10 minute presentation
[3:47:24] or that would normally require more than a
[3:47:26] 10 minute presentation.
[3:47:27] We'll provide a memo with the presentation.
[3:47:30] So the majority of the background
[3:47:32] information will be in the memo.
[3:47:33] The presentation will highlight the more complex issue.
[3:47:35] So when it comes to a meeting,
[3:47:37] we'll provide a short succinct presentation
[3:47:39] and we'll be asking for additional clarifying questions.
[3:47:43] And then council will ultimately be focused on policy
[3:47:46] questions that we can help provide information for
[3:47:52] Streamline business meetings.
[3:47:54] And that would be for workshop for business meeting.
[3:47:56] We do the same. We would streamline our, our presentations,
[3:47:59] especially if the presentation
[3:48:00] was already done in a workshop.
[3:48:02] We'd make it relatively succinct
[3:48:03] and what action we're looking
[3:48:05] for from a council perspective.
[3:48:07] So from a PA staff perspective,
[3:48:09] we'll not be occupying a lot of council's time.
[3:48:11] The time will be spent on council deliberating
[3:48:13] and making a decision on the policy itself.
[3:48:16] Most of the questions will have been answered, whether it be
[3:48:19] through the memo or through questions in a memo
[3:48:21] at a workshop in advance.
[3:48:30] Moving on from a standpoint of legal framework of things,
[3:48:33] I just wanted to put this in.
[3:48:34] Your state law does give you the authority to adopt rules.
[3:48:36] It keeps meeting fair, orderly and participatory.
[3:48:41] And there's a breakdown where we have lateral responses
[3:48:44] and it all depends on what that is.
[3:48:45] But counsel does have the authority to adopt rules
[3:48:48] to regulate your meetings.
[3:48:50] You'd ultimately have the authority to adopt rules
[3:48:54] with corrective actions.
[3:48:56] Also like coaching, informal warnings, counsel discussions
[3:48:59] and other formal actions is needed.
[3:49:05] One of the things that's lacking right now
[3:49:07] and that we're recommending,
[3:49:08] and it's on the D for you, is a code of conduct.
[3:49:12] Assigned code of conduct.
[3:49:13] A code of conduct that every council member
[3:49:15] would sign every year.
[3:49:16] Reinforcing and reaffirming the the group norms
[3:49:20] and the values that hold true to yourself.
[3:49:24] That code of conduct establishes shared
[3:49:26] expectations for decorum.
[3:49:28] It reinforces ethical and respectable behavior.
[3:49:30] It provides the tools for conflict resolution,
[3:49:33] it ensures consistency in public communication
[3:49:36] and ultimately it builds trust
[3:49:37] among council staff in the residents.
[3:49:43] When all of these things are done well,
[3:49:45] meetings go a lot easier.
[3:49:47] Decisions get better and the community sees a council
[3:49:50] that leads together even when we disagree.
[3:49:53] That's the standard we all wanna be known for.
[3:49:58] Together we can build a culture of professionalism, respect,
[3:50:01] and effective governance.
[3:50:03] We want to be the example in
[3:50:05] how government can work when people listen,
[3:50:07] respect each other and stay focused on community we serve.
[3:50:11] That's what builds trust more than anything we put in paper.
[3:50:16] So thank you for leaning into this conversation.
[3:50:19] Whatever direction you choose, adopting procedures,
[3:50:22] setting the norms, moving towards a code of conduct,
[3:50:26] we are here ready to help you
[3:50:28] and keep building the kind of government culture
[3:50:30] that really reflects well on the value of Grants Pass.
[3:50:34] With that, I'll turn it over to you Mayor,
[3:50:37] and it's really an open discussion on sort of
[3:50:39] where we want to go with our meetings.
[3:50:41] I appreciate that. Thank you Aaron.
[3:50:43] I want to add to that is the objective of this
[3:50:48] Topic, of this workshop is to reemphasize everybody's
[3:50:54] participation and preparedness.
[3:50:58] I'm gonna be encouraging
[3:50:59] and hopefully council will like this, that
[3:51:04] to encourage staff to make sure that all information
[3:51:06] for workshops is
[3:51:08] provided in a ti with, with a time ahead of time.
[3:51:12] I'm saying that right? So I'm encouraging staff to make sure
[3:51:16] that the presentations
[3:51:17] for workshops information is available ahead of time
[3:51:20] so you all have time to digest it.
[3:51:22] Just the same format as you, as we do for the
[3:51:25] public meetings at the evening time is when the packets are
[3:51:28] published seven days ahead of time
[3:51:30] so you guys can digest it.
[3:51:31] We're gonna try to do not the same timeframe,
[3:51:33] but going to give you guys a little bit of time to
[3:51:36] digest the information that's gonna be
[3:51:38] of each topic within the workshops.
[3:51:40] So you can be prepared
[3:51:41] and have your questions ahead of time.
[3:51:44] I would like to start implementing.
[3:51:47] Yeah, to, to expand on that Mayor.
[3:51:49] So what we're, when the mayor and I talked about is,
[3:51:50] well from a staff perspective, we'll try
[3:51:52] to get you the presentations and
[3:51:54] or supporting memos Wednesday and not Friday.
[3:51:58] That provides a number of additional days for you
[3:51:59] to review the information and ask clarifying questions.
[3:52:03] So when we come to the council meetings on the dais,
[3:52:05] you have the ability to maybe ask, you have,
[3:52:09] if you've got like seven questions outta that memo and
[3:52:12] or presentation, you've got a number of days
[3:52:14] to contact staff and say, Hey, I've got these nine questions
[3:52:17] and get those answered to then the time can be spent on the
[3:52:21] DAAs with real deliberation
[3:52:23] and decision making when it comes to the policy
[3:52:25] that's at hand and not, not a full information gathering
[3:52:29] during the workshop or, and or business meeting.
[3:52:32] Yeah, the, the sentiment is
[3:52:33] to make sure everything is a little bit more efficient
[3:52:35] because realistically the premise of a workshop, the premise
[3:52:38] of the public meeting is to do city business.
[3:52:43] You know, there's nowhere in the charter
[3:52:44] that says this is your opportunity to speak
[3:52:46] to your constituents, to, to air your grievances.
[3:52:50] There is time in matters for mayor
[3:52:52] and council to bring up new topics and ideas
[3:52:55] and you know, to air some stuff.
[3:52:57] But realistically, during these workshops we should be
[3:53:00] coming into the workshops with the appetite
[3:53:02] to digest the information
[3:53:05] and have be a little bit prepared
[3:53:08] so you can actually have
[3:53:09] poignant questions back at the staff.
[3:53:10] So it's, it's, it's giving them an effective timeline.
[3:53:13] It's giving us an effective timeline.
[3:53:15] Same thing that we already do
[3:53:16] for the meetings you guys do very, very well.
[3:53:18] So we just want to keep, keep that.
[3:53:21] I just kind of see the workshops specifically example,
[3:53:24] today we had set aside an hour to get all
[3:53:28] of our local organizations to present
[3:53:31] and you counsel can ask questions
[3:53:33] and get some more clarifying information
[3:53:36] and that hour turned up into almost two and a half hours.
[3:53:39] So it's, it's just seems,
[3:53:42] I personally don't have the bandwidth anymore to, to,
[3:53:45] to spend all day in this chamber kind of going over stuff
[3:53:49] that should have been prepared for.
[3:53:51] So that's kind of the sentiment that I'm trying
[3:53:54] to get across with this workshop topic today.
[3:53:57] So with that, I'll bring it back to counsel.
[3:54:01] And Rob, do you have any questions?
[3:54:03] I'm sorry, I was gonna start the other way.
[3:54:05] Indra, do you have any questions?
[3:54:08] I have comments but not questions. Do we wanna do that
[3:54:12] Or we can go into discussion a little Blair just Okay.
[3:54:14] Curious if we had any questions at this moment in time?
[3:54:16] Joel, do you have any questions? Seth?
[3:54:23] Victoria, does anybody have any questions? Rick?
[3:54:28] So on that Wednesday, would a hard copy
[3:54:31] of all the presentation be available?
[3:54:33] 'cause I'm a hard copy person.
[3:54:35] If counsel desires to have a hard copies on Wednesdays
[3:54:37] of the presentations, we can definitely have
[3:54:39] those hard copies available.
[3:54:41] Okay, thank you. Rob. Any questions?
[3:54:45] No question. Okay. Thank you ma'am. Thank you very much.
[3:54:48] All right, I'll bring it back for discussion.
[3:54:50] Andrea, you had discussion?
[3:54:53] I did. I I notice, I don't notice that any
[3:54:58] of these council members, including myself, come unprepared.
[3:55:02] I think we all spend a lot of time on the things.
[3:55:06] I think the round table while worth trying was kind
[3:55:10] of a waste of time going down.
[3:55:13] 'cause some people don't have comments.
[3:55:15] I, I don't know where, I mean, it's fine to try new things,
[3:55:19] but I, I don't think that we come unprepared
[3:55:22] and I think we ask questions that are pertinent
[3:55:25] to making decisions.
[3:55:27] And then I would say, I do think it is a time
[3:55:31] to let our constituents know why we're voting certain ways
[3:55:36] or they certainly can come give public comment.
[3:55:40] It's twice a month we get that.
[3:55:43] And I think all of us spend a ton of time going out
[3:55:46] and talking to constituents, researching things.
[3:55:50] I mean, I know this is like a full-time job
[3:55:54] and so I have one workshop, two a month
[3:55:57] and two meetings a month to actually convey to constituents
[3:56:01] because a lot of people watch our workshops
[3:56:05] and they watch our meetings on to ask questions
[3:56:09] and get the full information.
[3:56:11] And I get, there are some things I could come to staff
[3:56:16] and ask prior and I'll try to do a better job with that.
[3:56:20] But sometimes there's just not time to do
[3:56:23] that before the meeting.
[3:56:25] But I'll try to do a better job so I don't,
[3:56:29] I just think maybe we put less on the workshop.
[3:56:36] Thank you for your discussion, Andrew. I do wanna clarify.
[3:56:38] I'm, I'm not, I didn't set this workshop up
[3:56:42] to be accusatory towards anybody.
[3:56:43] I've actually had this on the agenda for months and months
[3:56:47] and months and months and we finally got around to doing it.
[3:56:49] This is just another attempt for us
[3:56:51] to be a well-oiled, efficient machine.
[3:56:54] That's it. I'm, I'm not up here accusing anybody of any
[3:56:58] anything that you're not fulfilling your duties.
[3:57:00] I'm, we're, we're, we're working as a unified body here
[3:57:03] to try to come up with an efficient manner.
[3:57:06] And that's, that's, that's all this is.
[3:57:07] This is just to hopefully better ourselves. That's it.
[3:57:10] There's hopefully don't take anything accusatory.
[3:57:12] We're not, I'm not personally bringing this to you
[3:57:15] to accuse anybody of being, lack of being preparedness.
[3:57:18] This is just more of us trying to work
[3:57:21] as a team in an efficient manner,
[3:57:23] in a professional manner. That's it.
[3:57:25] Yes. And I, I'm not accusing you of being accusatory,
[3:57:30] so just to make that clear
[3:57:31] Oh yeah, I know.
[3:57:32] We're just, we're just airing it out.
[3:57:34] So any further discussion, Rob?
[3:57:39] A couple things. One, I think that
[3:57:44] the length of time that was scheduled today
[3:57:45] for the presenters, for presenters for
[3:57:50] economic development and tourism
[3:57:51] and such was just probably unrealistically short.
[3:57:53] That just was just to say that that was a, any kind of fault
[3:57:57] or, or that council was dragging it out.
[3:58:00] I just think that if you schedule an hour for that,
[3:58:02] that just was unrealistic.
[3:58:03] But that's my opinion. But the thing I have a little more
[3:58:06] concern with, and this actually is just, you know,
[3:58:10] really borderline as far as, you know,
[3:58:14] quasi meeting law violation stuff.
[3:58:18] While it wouldn't be a meeting law violation by letter
[3:58:21] of the law, realistically, I think it would have that effect
[3:58:25] when Aaron talks about making short presentations 10 minutes
[3:58:29] or less and then giving the council memos
[3:58:33] to backfill that information.
[3:58:36] Now we come to a workshop
[3:58:38] and the public hasn't heard the backstory.
[3:58:41] The public hasn't heard the back discussion.
[3:58:43] The public hasn't seen the memo necessarily
[3:58:46] that the council has seen
[3:58:47] and that we're basing our decisions on.
[3:58:49] So while we have not, you know,
[3:58:53] we haven't collaborated behind closed doors,
[3:58:56] the fact is we've got more information than the council has.
[3:59:00] If that all gets presented, even though it takes more time
[3:59:02] and all gets presented at a workshop,
[3:59:04] the public then has a chance to understand
[3:59:06] what we understand and why our decision might be being made.
[3:59:09] So that to me is, that's a red flag to this concept
[3:59:14] or at least that part of the concept
[3:59:16] of giving counsel more information than the public
[3:59:18] necessarily understands or is, or is exposed to.
[3:59:23] So I'll have to address that,
[3:59:24] and Stephanie can correct me if I'm absolutely wrong,
[3:59:26] but we're the, the premise of actually
[3:59:29] getting the council more information ahead of time
[3:59:32] before a workshop is so they can be better prepared
[3:59:35] during your workshop.
[3:59:36] We are not making judicial decisions.
[3:59:38] We are not actually making decisions.
[3:59:40] We're directing staff into certain directions.
[3:59:43] So realistically,
[3:59:45] you're not withholding any information
[3:59:47] from the public whatsoever.
[3:59:51] Is, am I wrong?
[3:59:52] No, you're not wrong. And in addition,
[3:59:54] those memoranda would be public records
[3:59:55] that would be available upon request
[3:59:58] and potentially we could even just make those available
[4:00:01] upfront since they would be public information
[4:00:04] that you're making your decisions upon.
[4:00:06] Yes. Yeah. Each, each council throughout the state
[4:00:10] of Oregon and throughout the nation operates differently.
[4:00:12] They all have different personalities
[4:00:14] and that that changes between the councils,
[4:00:16] that when they're elected and sometimes the, the protocols
[4:00:20] are totally different.
[4:00:21] Also, there are some communities where
[4:00:24] in the business meeting they provide public comment
[4:00:28] during public hearings.
[4:00:29] The public hearings that are
[4:00:30] by state law have to have public comment.
[4:00:32] Their council action items are council action items.
[4:00:35] They are brought in front of council.
[4:00:37] Council makes the decision moves on.
[4:00:39] They don't take public comment.
[4:00:40] We treat council action items as public hearings
[4:00:42] and they get public comment.
[4:00:44] It's just personality changes and protocol changes.
[4:00:46] There are some councils that that would maybe,
[4:00:50] and it all depends on what you want as a council
[4:00:53] and what your meetings will feel like in
[4:00:55] the, in, in the wrong.
[4:00:56] And some counsels don't even have presentations at business
[4:00:59] meetings unless counsel ask
[4:01:00] for the presentations at business meetings.
[4:01:02] Council action item will come up.
[4:01:04] Counsel, do you have any questions?
[4:01:05] Do you have a request of a, of a presentation? No.
[4:01:07] Okay, then discussion. So it all depends.
[4:01:11] There's no right or wrong.
[4:01:13] It all depends on just what you feel
[4:01:15] is right for your community.
[4:01:18] Any further discussion, Victoria?
[4:01:21] Yeah. These workshops
[4:01:22] and the business meetings aren't for any of us here.
[4:01:26] They are for the public. And that's what
[4:01:31] everyone is here for, is for the public.
[4:01:34] And sometimes maybe we lose sight of that.
[4:01:37] So I wouldn't be interested in reducing
[4:01:41] presentations because I think that the public,
[4:01:46] the public goes back and watches these
[4:01:48] and that's how they learn what's going on.
[4:01:52] And they wouldn't be getting the memos.
[4:01:55] So unless the memos were public, I, i, I don't think
[4:02:00] some of this feels like a, a solution
[4:02:04] to me in search of a problem.
[4:02:07] And so,
[4:02:10] although I understand our, our meetings go really long,
[4:02:14] but I also think that our public is being able
[4:02:19] to comment a lot more on the workings
[4:02:22] and happenings of the city.
[4:02:24] And I think that's a good thing.
[4:02:26] So I would not personally be interested in reducing
[4:02:31] that time for the public to be able to see that information.
[4:02:36] I will say,
[4:02:37] however, there have been many times I, I know that I,
[4:02:42] if I don't have the packet in hand at home,
[4:02:45] I am reading it online and
[4:02:49] before the meeting, I, I know
[4:02:52] that I have every meeting since I've been elected.
[4:02:55] And, and I look at all of the, all
[4:03:00] of the emails for the presentations that we're going
[4:03:02] to see in the workshop too.
[4:03:03] They're not always identical.
[4:03:05] And I understand that that is, it just, it's not possible.
[4:03:09] Things need to be added and taken out.
[4:03:14] But again, we need the public needs
[4:03:19] to see what we are, how we are deliberating.
[4:03:22] And maybe that is different than the way other cities do it.
[4:03:25] But I think that I would like to err on the side
[4:03:28] of the public getting more information in our
[4:03:32] workshops and our meetings.
[4:03:34] And so I wouldn't be interested in reducing it.
[4:03:38] And, and
[4:03:43] So maybe that that's enough.
[4:03:44] I I, I'm not sure that I,
[4:03:49] this has been since we got elected
[4:03:52] when right when we came in there was a, a lawsuit.
[4:03:55] Things were up, up, there was upheaval,
[4:03:58] there was a lot of chaos.
[4:04:00] And working through that might have been a little messy.
[4:04:04] And I, I, I don't care.
[4:04:06] So that's messy government is, is, that's the way it's going
[4:04:10] to be in a democratic process.
[4:04:13] And, and there are times that people can be pointed and,
[4:04:18] and quite rude frankly.
[4:04:20] So maybe we could all just be reminded not to be that way.
[4:04:25] So, and that's fine.
[4:04:28] But I, I don't see it to be necessary
[4:04:33] to sign a code of conduct
[4:04:36] because I'm not here for anyone else on the dais.
[4:04:40] Although I would like to strive to work with those people.
[4:04:44] I'm here for the people that of the city.
[4:04:47] So those are just a few thoughts off the top of my head.
[4:04:52] And after having thought about it,
[4:04:53] after looking at the, the draft code of conduct.
[4:04:58] So it's not something I would be interested in doing.
[4:05:00] Maybe in a different way, a different form. But
[4:05:09] Yeah.
[4:05:09] So maybe that, that's just my comments. Thank you.
[4:05:13] Any further discussion? Indra?
[4:05:18] I think too, I would just would like to follow up
[4:05:21] and point out that we're, we're here at every meeting
[4:05:23] and workshop, but a lot of our presenters
[4:05:26] or people come once a year.
[4:05:28] And so we do take time to thank them for
[4:05:31] what they do for our city.
[4:05:33] And that can be redundant,
[4:05:34] but I think that's really important
[4:05:36] to show appreciation to people.
[4:05:39] I too, there's a lot of, I I mean we should,
[4:05:41] I'm a okay signing a code of conduct for
[4:05:45] how we treat each other courtesy and respect.
[4:05:48] But I wouldn't want it
[4:05:49] to be pointed back if I took an extra moment of time
[4:05:54] to ask a question and, oh, you signed this and,
[4:05:57] and you're talking too long.
[4:05:58] Like I wouldn't want it to be used in that way.
[4:06:04] Any further discussion, Joel?
[4:06:06] Well I, excuse me.
[4:06:08] I really enjoyed where we took turns talking today
[4:06:12] 'cause we didn't have to fight for airspace.
[4:06:14] Yep. I've been elected to two terms
[4:06:16] and a lot of times I'd raise my hand
[4:06:18] and I wouldn't be called on till the end.
[4:06:22] And that perhaps wasn't intentional.
[4:06:27] Perhaps it was, I don't know.
[4:06:29] But to not have to fight for space
[4:06:33] to speak is a very polite thing that,
[4:06:37] that lowers the intensity and, and gets to the substance.
[4:06:40] So I applaud what you did today
[4:06:43] and I encourage you to continue to do that.
[4:06:46] 'cause everybody will know then that they have a time
[4:06:48] to speak and they know what it's gonna be
[4:06:51] in terms of the code of conduct.
[4:06:53] I'm okay either way. There's always a code of conduct,
[4:06:56] whether it's written or unwritten
[4:07:00] and we need to respect that.
[4:07:04] Yeah. And just one second, Victoria, the code
[4:07:07] of conduct is, is is there's a draft in front of you guys
[4:07:10] and it doesn't really talk anything about your time limit.
[4:07:14] It's just basically kind of good governance
[4:07:18] to work together as a team.
[4:07:20] So comments Victoria?
[4:07:24] Yeah, I also neglected to mention
[4:07:26] that I really did like the way that you went down the line.
[4:07:29] I mean, not fighting for being able
[4:07:32] to be called on is a good thing.
[4:07:34] And so I do agree with Joel on that matter.
[4:07:39] I like the way that was done. It is more efficient that way.
[4:07:43] Any further discussion, Indra?
[4:07:46] Yes, and that's fine. I respect that.
[4:07:48] I would ask, maybe it's not starting at each end every time.
[4:07:53] Like maybe it starts, you know,
[4:07:56] Well you normally you do the round table,
[4:07:58] you go like right to left and then you go left to right.
[4:08:00] That's, that's just kind of the way
[4:08:01] I, I'd seen it done before.
[4:08:02] Actually it was done that way when I was a counselor
[4:08:04] for two years, a long time ago.
[4:08:06] Yeah, so I mean if you want pick in the middle, I, I believe
[4:08:10] my sentiment on using a round table style going left
[4:08:14] to right, right to left is it does give
[4:08:17] the onus on all counselors the opportunity.
[4:08:20] I use the wrong verbiage there. I sorry.
[4:08:22] It gives the op opportunity for everybody
[4:08:24] to speak out without having to fight for it.
[4:08:26] And so yeah, and we could set protocol to say
[4:08:29] that we're gonna go left to right, right to left
[4:08:31] and then, you know, like I say, go go one time through,
[4:08:33] have a question or two and then come back through again.
[4:08:36] That's not a problem. I'm just again,
[4:08:38] working for efficiency.
[4:08:40] Okay, I get that. Yeah, I just, it's not
[4:08:43] that you wouldn't go through,
[4:08:45] but some, a lot of times
[4:08:47] people's comments spark another question. Well,
[4:08:50] It helps me from hitting, writing,
[4:08:51] writing 'em down. So if
[4:08:52] I'm starting every time.
[4:08:53] Yeah. And then I don't wanna like have to,
[4:08:55] Well, I mean honestly just, just
[4:08:57] Whatever's easier To be very transparent.
[4:08:59] I'm the guy that's looking here and I have to sit here
[4:09:01] and pay and be full attention to you guys as well
[4:09:04] as digest everything happened
[4:09:05] because everybody's raising their hand.
[4:09:07] So if we have a protocol where we're going left to right
[4:09:09] or right to left, it's, it's just a
[4:09:10] little easier for me to manage. I guess
[4:09:12] I'm, I'm fine with that.
[4:09:14] I was just saying, I think we did it before.
[4:09:16] Work it up a little, like start with Rob the first time
[4:09:19] and then start with Rick and go around and,
[4:09:22] but maybe that's more confusing.
[4:09:23] Any further discussion, Rob?
[4:09:27] So I, I thought actually we were discussing the content
[4:09:30] of, of Aaron's presentation.
[4:09:33] I hadn't really even gotten, I didn't realize we were
[4:09:35] discussing the council code of conduct at that point.
[4:09:38] But again, getting back to I, I'm not sure
[4:09:43] where we left it with regards to the concern I guess
[4:09:46] that I brought up about the public,
[4:09:50] not necessarily knowing the background
[4:09:52] that our discussion is being based on if much
[4:09:55] of it's being based on a, a memo and,
[4:09:57] and I said early on, I don't think it's a violation
[4:10:00] of public meeting law, but it bumps up against it.
[4:10:03] The fact that we know things
[4:10:04] that we're not sharing with the public.
[4:10:06] And I don't think that we need
[4:10:08] to engage the city attorney's opinion on that
[4:10:10] because it's not a violation of public meeting law.
[4:10:13] But the fact is, do we want to have, the question becomes,
[4:10:16] or is do we want the public to have the same information
[4:10:21] that we have so they understand our discussion?
[4:10:23] And that to me was, I guess still not addressed
[4:10:26] or we haven't really, and no consensus on that anyway.
[4:10:30] But, and I hadn't even really started
[4:10:34] regarding the, the code of conduct.
[4:10:36] I don't, I don't know if that's a, a separate discussion.
[4:10:39] There's a line by line thing if, if it was gonna be,
[4:10:41] but anyway, still the, the, the concept of
[4:10:46] what form are we gonna take
[4:10:48] and how much information are we going to publicly air
[4:10:54] as background for our,
[4:10:55] our discussion I guess is still still up in the air.
[4:10:59] Correct. And the sentiment is not
[4:11:01] to withhold information from the public.
[4:11:03] The sentiment is to basically during the workshop is
[4:11:07] to get staff presentation
[4:11:09] and your educational packet to you a few days ahead of time.
[4:11:13] That gives you more bandwidth, more time to digest it.
[4:11:16] We're not talking about withholding
[4:11:17] information from anybody.
[4:11:19] We're basically talking about
[4:11:21] getting those PowerPoint presentations, the bulk
[4:11:24] of what's gonna be talked about in the workshop
[4:11:28] in your guys' hands a couple days early
[4:11:31] so you can digest it.
[4:11:32] That we're not talking about withholding any information,
[4:11:35] Clint actually, then we have a completely different
[4:11:38] understanding of what the words on this page mean
[4:11:41] and what Aaron said today when he talked about keeping
[4:11:45] presentations short, that's what it says here.
[4:11:47] Printed material in front of us, 10 minutes,
[4:11:49] use slides if necessary
[4:11:51] and advanced memos would be given to counsel
[4:11:55] to essentially fill in the gap
[4:11:57] that would normally have been in a longer presentation
[4:12:00] that in fact is withholding some
[4:12:03] of the information from the public now, you know,
[4:12:07] could they request background information?
[4:12:10] They could that that's getting, getting
[4:12:11] to the point of ridiculousness.
[4:12:12] So really what we talked about,
[4:12:14] what Aaron talked about today was shortening presentations
[4:12:17] and, and balancing that with a memo prior
[4:12:21] that would fill in the rest of the information
[4:12:23] that might have been in a longer presentation.
[4:12:25] So, you know, you and I
[4:12:27] or the whole council needs to understand what it is
[4:12:30] specifically we're talking about
[4:12:32] or going to agree to or disagree to.
[4:12:34] So you'll have to clarify that free me of Aaron,
[4:12:35] because I understood it as,
[4:12:37] and this was kind of goes back
[4:12:38] to our essential conversations when we started this
[4:12:41] to build this workshop, is to provide the presentation
[4:12:45] information to counselors in a timely manner ahead of time.
[4:12:49] So if they were to actually have questions
[4:12:51] that were generated that they could reach out to staff
[4:12:53] and then they would pre be presented answers in a mayor,
[4:12:58] council emo email or such a memo.
[4:13:00] That's kind of the way I understood it. Yeah.
[4:13:02] Our discussions that we had, like some
[4:13:05] of the meeting stuff was how do we, the, the idea was, and,
[4:13:08] and some of those recommendations I had on that one slide on
[4:13:11] what staff could do was in direct relation to trying
[4:13:15] to have a meeting to where we used
[4:13:19] to have meetings regularly years ago
[4:13:22] that the workshops were from 1145 to one 15.
[4:13:26] And I think that's where the mayor's sort of going from,
[4:13:28] from from here and the business meetings,
[4:13:30] there's a reason why we have at nine o'clock make a motion
[4:13:34] to extend.
[4:13:36] Because after a certain amount of time,
[4:13:39] things get a little wonky sometimes when you're sitting,
[4:13:41] when you've been sitting for a long time.
[4:13:43] And so recognizing time limits was important.
[4:13:46] And one of the things staff could do for that is to,
[4:13:49] with council's preparedness, we could
[4:13:53] be more succinct with regards to
[4:13:56] what policy decisions are in front of council,
[4:13:59] what decisions or deliberations are needed in discussions
[4:14:02] for you to have that policy issue defined.
[4:14:07] And not necessarily let's come to a workshop
[4:14:10] or business meeting to gather information.
[4:14:13] The information's sort of been gathered in the proposal
[4:14:15] that I had versus like a memo in advance
[4:14:18] with a brief presentation.
[4:14:20] The, and so I, my presentation, my presentation
[4:14:24] and the, the slide was trying to,
[4:14:26] to suggest if you wanna shorten the meetings,
[4:14:28] one way we could do that is not be so expansive
[4:14:31] with the information about information gathering,
[4:14:33] but at the workshop where we're giving you everything,
[4:14:35] but to focus at it down
[4:14:37] and say, here's, here's the subject matter,
[4:14:40] here's the policy implications, here's the question at hand,
[4:14:45] all the background stuff like square footage of a of a,
[4:14:48] of a pump track or this, that kind of thing.
[4:14:51] That would've been in the memo. We wouldn't have been
[4:14:52] talking square footage of a pump track at a workshop.
[4:14:55] And so that shortens those workshop items
[4:14:58] because counsel already has that information.
[4:15:00] We're not delivering that information
[4:15:02] because it's germane to it,
[4:15:04] but it's not pertinent to that policy decision
[4:15:06] that you're looking forward to.
[4:15:08] And then, so that would be shorter.
[4:15:11] What I'm hearing from Councilor Pell is if we shorten that,
[4:15:14] then the public doesn't get all of that
[4:15:15] because we're not saying it in a public meeting.
[4:15:19] The other part of this to expand on that was I, I dealt
[4:15:22] with also the business meetings, shortening the business,
[4:15:25] meeting presenta presentations.
[4:15:27] If we've already had an hour
[4:15:29] and a half long discussion at a workshop about a topic,
[4:15:32] then at the business meeting, when it comes
[4:15:34] for council action, do we need another 25 minute
[4:15:37] presentation by staff
[4:15:38] where since you already have all the information you need
[4:15:40] is in front of you, council action.
[4:15:42] Do we narrow that down to 10 minute or less presentation?
[4:15:45] I'm just saying, here's, here's the, here's what's in front
[4:15:48] of you, here's the policy decision, here's the implications,
[4:15:51] turn it over to you, counsel.
[4:15:53] Those are things that we could do to shorten the meetings,
[4:15:56] make them more succinct from a staff perspective.
[4:15:59] And, and so the question is, what I'm hearing though is
[4:16:02] what is your priority from meetings?
[4:16:03] Would you like to have them more succinct
[4:16:05] from a business perspective?
[4:16:07] How can staff participate?
[4:16:09] Or do you want to keep them sort of as they are
[4:16:11] where they are providing not only an opportunity for you
[4:16:15] to do business, but also
[4:16:17] you're also utilizing your business meetings and
[4:16:20] or workshops to provide information to the public also,
[4:16:25] which is a correspondence of both.
[4:16:26] But how much, how much detail do
[4:16:28] you want to have in advance?
[4:16:30] So my proposal was shortening the presentations both at the
[4:16:33] workshop and at the business meeting in order to try
[4:16:36] to accommodate those shorter meetings that I thought was one
[4:16:39] of the things we were trying to address.
[4:16:42] So in, in hearing that you are a little bit right Rob, I,
[4:16:45] I misunderstood that the opposite way.
[4:16:48] But that can be of a discussion.
[4:16:50] And Rick, did you have discussion?
[4:16:53] Another aspect I hear Rob stating is that,
[4:16:56] let's say I have a half an hour discussion
[4:16:59] with Aaron on technical subject on something that's here.
[4:17:03] Unless the whole council has that,
[4:17:05] unless the public has that.
[4:17:07] And I think a way of addressing that,
[4:17:10] I don't think the council wants to hear word by word
[4:17:12] for the half hour discussion, technical discussion,
[4:17:15] but maybe it could be shortened into a very short paragraph
[4:17:19] of what occurred there.
[4:17:20] The question and the issue and how it was discussed.
[4:17:24] And not only distributed to the other city councilors,
[4:17:28] but it could even be just as the end of our meeting we say,
[4:17:31] do we have any emails from anybody
[4:17:33] that could be part of the presentation.
[4:17:35] Just a short summary of that event so that
[4:17:39] the public knows what goes on behind the scene
[4:17:42] is just part of the information.
[4:17:44] That's just an idea. Thank you.
[4:17:47] Any further discussion, Joel?
[4:17:51] Well, it's been my impression
[4:17:52] that when we have long meetings, it's not
[4:17:53] because we had long presentations.
[4:17:58] I think we, I think the staff does a pretty good
[4:18:00] job of condensing that.
[4:18:01] Aaron, you went to school to study that
[4:18:04] and Stephanie, you've done the same thing
[4:18:06] with your presentations JC
[4:18:10] and the presentations have been pretty concise.
[4:18:12] I've been really happy with them.
[4:18:14] I think where we run into lengthy meetings is
[4:18:19] a controversial subject that has a lot of public interest.
[4:18:24] Perhaps some polarization, perhaps some
[4:18:30] polarization here on, on the, on the dais.
[4:18:35] And I'm not sure shorter presentations is
[4:18:39] gonna cut that short.
[4:18:43] But I, in terms of why our meetings are long,
[4:18:48] it's not because the staff has prepared long presentations.
[4:18:51] 'cause they've been very responsible in
[4:18:53] what they presented. That's my thoughts.
[4:18:57] Any further discussion? Rob?
[4:19:02] I gonna say, oh, you know, the other thing
[4:19:05] to keep in mind too is that, you know,
[4:19:07] you do reach a point of diminishing returns.
[4:19:10] I mean, when Aaron says that, you know, workshops used
[4:19:12] to be, you know, an hour or two.
[4:19:13] Well, the fact is there used to be four workshops a month.
[4:19:16] So when you cut that in half, okay,
[4:19:19] and then you, if you're then gonna trim that down some more,
[4:19:22] again, you get to the point of diminishing returns.
[4:19:24] So we have actually diminished the number
[4:19:27] of workshops by 50%.
[4:19:30] So, you know, that's something we can keep in mind.
[4:19:32] How much more we want to trim things down.
[4:19:35] You gotta wonder if it's, it's just,
[4:19:40] it gets to be counterproductive.
[4:19:43] Further discussion Victoria.
[4:19:46] Yeah, I would also like to reiterate
[4:19:48] that I think staff is always prepared
[4:19:50] and does an amazing job giving us presentations.
[4:19:54] So I don't have any complaints there
[4:19:56] and just would like to take the opportunity.
[4:19:58] Thank you for that.
[4:20:01] Okay. So I'm gonna go down through the list
[4:20:04] of alternatives.
[4:20:05] We have call to action to see if we can get some sentiment,
[4:20:09] if you want to continue this conversation, if you want to
[4:20:12] do anything that we've discussed today.
[4:20:14] So the first was adoption
[4:20:17] of a council code of conduct.
[4:20:20] I'd like to see what the council's sentiment is on that.
[4:20:22] There is a draft in front of you
[4:20:25] and you know, if you had a second to read it,
[4:20:27] it realistically kind of just goes over the professionalism
[4:20:31] and the business style that we need to,
[4:20:34] to work together as a team.
[4:20:35] And, and basically common courtesy and stuff.
[4:20:38] It, it doesn't really talk about, you know,
[4:20:41] limiting your time limit or anything like that.
[4:20:43] It's just kind of like something to kind of a build
[4:20:46] of cohesiveness on.
[4:20:48] So I would just bring that back to council
[4:20:50] to see if there's any sentiment on adopting this further,
[4:20:54] discussing this or trashing it.
[4:20:59] We will go with sentiment on adopting as is
[4:21:04] thumbs up or thumbs down?
[4:21:05] Nope. Anybody want
[4:21:07] to go into further discussion in draft in modifying this
[4:21:10] draft and implementing it?
[4:21:12] Thumbs up. Go ahead Joel.
[4:21:18] No, I'm just, I'm just getting your sentiment if you want
[4:21:20] to continue the discussion on, I don't see the appetite to
[4:21:25] adopt this draft as written.
[4:21:27] So I'm asking if counsel wants to further discuss
[4:21:30] and modify a draft for adoption.
[4:21:34] Well, any group that I've been involved with,
[4:21:37] and I've been involved with a lot of 'em,
[4:21:38] as have everybody else up here, we always had
[4:21:44] teamwork rules or code of conduct
[4:21:46] or whatever that, that the team would agree to.
[4:21:51] And it wasn't confining at all.
[4:21:53] It was, it was just a,
[4:21:58] a, a reminder.
[4:22:00] It wasn't, wasn't something that you get branded if, if
[4:22:06] you inadvertently leave something out
[4:22:08] or you attack somebody.
[4:22:11] 'cause that still happens.
[4:22:16] So, so I don't, you know, every group I've been involved
[4:22:20] with had had something like this.
[4:22:22] Okay,
[4:22:24] So the question is, is do you want to further discuss
[4:22:27] and formulate a draft for a code of conduct for adoption?
[4:22:31] Thumbs up. Well,
[4:22:34] I got
[4:22:35] 1, 2, 3, 4, 4
[4:22:40] outta three who didn't vote.
[4:22:42] So we will put this to further discussion at a workshop
[4:22:47] to modify and for a possible future adoption.
[4:22:51] Okay. Second is adopting meeting decorum and procedures.
[4:22:57] We already have some of that, but e stab it.
[4:23:00] So basically I would basically want
[4:23:02] to extend the decorum procedures
[4:23:05] and entertain setting a time limit on workshops.
[4:23:09] Just as there is a time limit
[4:23:10] that's already on the public meetings.
[4:23:13] My suggestion would be set a workshop time limit
[4:23:17] of two hours, which would require a motion
[4:23:20] to go past two hours.
[4:23:21] Once that was put in forth with those parameters set forth,
[4:23:26] then we would have a better opportunity
[4:23:28] to really tailor these workshops down
[4:23:31] by not overloading them.
[4:23:33] So the question at hand is, do you want to add
[4:23:38] meeting decorum
[4:23:39] and procedures by putting a two hour time limit on workshops
[4:23:44] with a motion to continue thumbs up or thumbs down?
[4:23:46] I got a question first. So each one
[4:23:49] of the stars on the workshop indicates
[4:23:51] how many minutes you 10. 10 minutes?
[4:23:54] Correct. Wow.
[4:23:57] So like for instance, the pump track was, was predicted
[4:24:01] to be 30 minutes today.
[4:24:03] Council protocol was connected, predicted to be 30 minutes.
[4:24:08] So basically we put the stars on there to,
[4:24:12] as a recommendation from staff on how long
[4:24:15] that would actually take their presentation.
[4:24:16] And then we try to estimate
[4:24:21] what a de discussion period is.
[4:24:23] But we're pretty loose on that, so. Sure.
[4:24:26] So I guess if, if I, if we had a, like I said,
[4:24:29] if I'm pushing for a workshop time limit,
[4:24:31] it's just gonna help pinpoint those
[4:24:33] workshops a little bit more efficiently.
[4:24:35] Okay. But then again, you already have a public meeting
[4:24:40] with a three hour time limit, which we proceed past that
[4:24:44] with a, with a quick motion.
[4:24:46] So I'm asking for that for the workshops
[4:24:48] with a two hour time limit.
[4:24:51] Counsel's appetite for that thumbs up or thumbs down?
[4:24:56] I got 1, 2, 3, 4, and one down and two not vote.
[4:25:00] So that's a procedure to go forward. Question. Yes sir. Yes.
[4:25:05] Sorry.
[4:25:06] So what do we do when we're halfway through a workshop
[4:25:09] and that we hit the two hour mark?
[4:25:11] Just the same thing you do in a meeting.
[4:25:12] You just call for a motion to extend.
[4:25:15] It gives the people opportunity that are taking time out
[4:25:17] of their day, such as Eric and myself
[4:25:21] and Seth, who actually have full-time jobs
[4:25:24] And Rob And Rob who runs it.
[4:25:26] And yourself too. You run a business.
[4:25:28] But Rob, I think Rob has a lot of face time in his business.
[4:25:31] Seth runs a full-time business.
[4:25:33] Eric has made comments that he has to take time off of work
[4:25:36] for these IO obviously have to do the same thing.
[4:25:39] So we're just trying to be like more efficient.
[4:25:41] I don't think we're, and no one's against that.
[4:25:44] Can we commit to not putting so much on the workshop
[4:25:47] Problem?
[4:25:48] Yes. That is what we're working towards. And
[4:25:49] I'm trying to set parameters.
[4:25:50] Here's what I would say.
[4:25:52] We, we keep pushing things to workshops.
[4:25:56] So like now we're gonna talk about the decorum thing again.
[4:25:59] Yep. At another workshop. Correct.
[4:26:01] I don't know why we can't, I mean we should make decisions
[4:26:07] when we have it in front of us,
[4:26:08] but we ourselves are push things a lot
[4:26:11] and that's what bogs up the agenda.
[4:26:14] So maybe that's something we could work on as
[4:26:18] a team is how to Yeah, no, maybe not do that.
[4:26:21] Well we, we are, see we're having these full breasted
[4:26:25] conversations about this
[4:26:26] and I said the wrong word, full breath conversation.
[4:26:30] Sorry. Geez Louise.
[4:26:33] Basically I'm trying to simulate conversations.
[4:26:37] So we are all mentally getting to the same aspect
[4:26:41] of being efficient, businesslike
[4:26:43] and to the point that's this, that's all this is.
[4:26:46] So my question is, instead
[4:26:48] of making a decision on the decorum,
[4:26:51] because I agree with everything
[4:26:53] but number four, like I would get rid of that.
[4:26:55] Yeah. And we could vote,
[4:26:57] but instead we're bringing it to a workshop.
[4:26:59] Why don't we just bring it, change it, bring it to a meeting
[4:27:03] and be done with it.
[4:27:06] Well, I feel that the, the council has already had said
[4:27:09] that they want an appetite to go through it
[4:27:11] and change it a little bit, modify it.
[4:27:12] So that's, that's what I get your guys' sentiment.
[4:27:15] I got a, a majority of you wanted to go forward and,
[4:27:18] and digest it and, and and add some 2 cents to it
[4:27:21] before you adopted it.
[4:27:23] But there was a sentiment to adopt something like this.
[4:27:25] So we're going forward with it.
[4:27:26] I think one of the things with the time thing too,
[4:27:28] we talked about this briefly at the,
[4:27:30] at the agenda setting meeting is if there was a target time
[4:27:32] of closure for meetings, just like a target time of closure
[4:27:35] for a party or, or gathering
[4:27:36] or whatever, all of us in this room
[4:27:40] have an impact on that closure time.
[4:27:42] If we don't have anything a, a, a date, a time at all,
[4:27:45] then it's just, it's, hey, you stay until,
[4:27:47] oh great cousin Eddie is staying overnight.
[4:27:50] I didn't know that. I thought everybody I thought I should
[4:27:51] have had on there, everyone has to go home at nine o'clock.
[4:27:54] So the, we all have a part in how long the meetings go
[4:27:59] and if say you're in a workshop
[4:28:00] and you're like, I still have nine more questions,
[4:28:02] but it looks like everyone else is pretty much, okay,
[4:28:04] maybe I'll pause my other questions.
[4:28:06] I'll wait until after the workshop
[4:28:07] and I'll ask staff those additional questions
[4:28:09] before it goes to a business
[4:28:10] meeting or something along those lines.
[4:28:11] Or you can start it, you can start filtering
[4:28:16] what comments and or questions in order to try
[4:28:18] to respect the timeframe that council's adopted of.
[4:28:20] We're gonna try, this is our target end. Yeah.
[4:28:22] So we all have, could have a positive impact on that.
[4:28:24] If we had a target to close,
[4:28:27] And I just bring back
[4:28:28] to example our Wednesday night public meetings.
[4:28:31] We, Rick is the hound on it. He's like, it's nine o'clock.
[4:28:35] Do we, do we, we need a motion to go forward.
[4:28:36] It's just kind of, it keeps us on target.
[4:28:38] So the other part of the adopting meeting decor
[4:28:43] of procedures, I did feel that council has an appetite
[4:28:47] to do a round table style, which we would go left to right
[4:28:50] or right to left or middle to center.
[4:28:52] If you want to make that a procedural thing
[4:28:54] that at least gives everybody the opportunity
[4:28:57] to have an open voice.
[4:28:59] I'd look for a thumbs up to add that too.
[4:29:02] Alright, thank you very much.
[4:29:05] There was a question about scheduling governance, training.
[4:29:10] Anybody have an appetite for getting more
[4:29:13] training in regards to Robert's rules
[4:29:16] and so forth, but what, where was that?
[4:29:19] Yeah, that effective teams, whatever additional training,
[4:29:23] we could try to get something special in here
[4:29:24] where we can facilitate, ate some additional
[4:29:29] trainings based on counsel's desire.
[4:29:31] Does counsel have an appetite to try
[4:29:34] to have staff set up some additional trainings
[4:29:36] for us? Go ahead, Seth.
[4:29:40] I mean, I'd be interested in the Robert's rules
[4:29:43] at least at a minimum.
[4:29:46] Okay. Anybody else in regards
[4:29:49] to Robert's rules? Go ahead Rob.
[4:29:50] Well you can Google a copy and read 'em. Okay.
[4:29:54] Sounds They're, they're clear. They haven't changed much.
[4:29:57] They are applied a little bit differently in different,
[4:29:59] but I mean, if you read 'em, I, I
[4:30:01] and I'm not, I'm not, I'm not attacking you.
[4:30:03] I'm just saying when I've read 'em
[4:30:06] and I haven't read 'em in a really long time,
[4:30:07] I understood a lot, a lot of it.
[4:30:09] And we don't do all of it.
[4:30:10] And actually Clint just decided that on part of it we're,
[4:30:13] I shouldn't say Clint decided, we just decided that
[4:30:15] by going down the aisle here, we're actually,
[4:30:18] I don't even know if we're, that's not necessarily even
[4:30:19] gonna be doing Robert's rules,
[4:30:21] that's actually gonna be doing our own hybrid
[4:30:23] aspect if I remember correctly.
[4:30:25] So just, I would say anyone who wants to know more about it,
[4:30:27] read it and then at that point, you know,
[4:30:30] if we still have questions, we can move forward.
[4:30:32] Okay. I didn't see an appetite for counsel to proceed with
[4:30:36] or or to proceed with any more governance training,
[4:30:38] but I would encourage you if you had some questions,
[4:30:41] you would definitely reach out to Aaron
[4:30:42] and they could direct you in, in online training courses
[4:30:45] and so forth where you could get that information.
[4:30:48] So at this point, we've got to finish out this
[4:30:52] topic on the workshop.
[4:30:53] We will proceed forward in
[4:30:58] reviewing a draft of a city council code of conduct
[4:31:01] and maybe adopting in a future
[4:31:05] we will amend procedures
[4:31:07] to put a two hour time limit on workshops with the ability
[4:31:11] to continue with a motion.
[4:31:13] And we will proceed forward with a round table questioning
[4:31:18] to give everybody the opportunity for to weigh in with that.
[4:31:23] I don't think there was any other actions.
[4:31:24] We, do you understand where we're going? Okay, cool.
[4:31:27] Have a clear direction. Thank you, mayor.
[4:31:30] Okay, now we're at agenda review.
[4:31:33] We have a public safety advisory committee motion
[4:31:37] and I had it, but I don't know where it's, sorry guys.
[4:31:43] Okay, so there's a white piece of paper here.
[4:31:47] Did everybody get a chance to read that
[4:31:49] or do we want to have that read aloud?
[4:31:53] Public safety advisee advisory committee meeting.
[4:31:57] Does everybody have this white piece of paper?
[4:31:59] I've read it already, but I can't find
[4:32:00] The paper.
[4:32:03] Thank you.
[4:32:18] Go ahead Joel. Well, just for everybody's benefit,
[4:32:22] this is a call to action to support the public endorsement
[4:32:26] of support for the Josephine County animal control animal
[4:32:29] shelter operating levy renewal ballot measure
[4:32:32] on the May, 2026 ballot.
[4:32:36] And I would take action.
[4:32:39] Okay,
[4:32:51] So Joel, if this is,
[4:32:52] if you are a little bit abreast on this, is this,
[4:32:55] this levy is, could you explain the levy a little?
[4:32:59] If you are up on it,
[4:33:04] I'll read the paper that's in front of me.
[4:33:06] But the animal shelter
[4:33:08] and animal control, Josephine County Animal Control,
[4:33:11] they have responsibility both within the city
[4:33:13] limits and the county.
[4:33:16] And it's a critical function that city police rely on
[4:33:19] as do citizens of grants pass.
[4:33:23] The animal control officers will respond to a call like
[4:33:26] for a rabid dog or whatever.
[4:33:29] And if the service is weakened
[4:33:31] and cannot be relied on, city police would have to go
[4:33:34] and chase down a rabbit dog.
[4:33:36] And if they could find him
[4:33:37] and if they had the officers available,
[4:33:40] it would increase the tax rate from 11 cents per thousand
[4:33:44] to 16 cents.
[4:33:46] So it would've resulted in an increase of about $15 per year
[4:33:50] for our homeowner with an assessed value of $300,000.
[4:33:54] In other words, I would have
[4:33:56] to pay outta my pocket $15 more a year.
[4:34:01] Right now they're spending slightly more than they're
[4:34:04] receiving from the levy and other revenue sources.
[4:34:06] New rate of 16 cents would balance the budget
[4:34:09] and would allow approximately the same level
[4:34:11] of operational service as we have today.
[4:34:17] So the call to action on this is for counsel
[4:34:21] to support this endorsement or take no action.
[4:34:23] Is there further discussion, Rob?
[4:34:27] Well, I, I will be personally voting for this
[4:34:32] personally, but as a council, I don't know
[4:34:34] that it's appropriate for us to do it.
[4:34:37] And I would, I would be against the council doing it while I
[4:34:40] would personally support it.
[4:34:41] And I think that in years past when we had a,
[4:34:46] I think a sales tax on the,
[4:34:47] on the ballot was county sales tax,
[4:34:50] I believe there was an issue there with people
[4:34:52] who were against the sales tax not necessarily wanting to be
[4:34:56] represented as the entire council being for it.
[4:34:58] So to me that's a, that's a, that's complicated.
[4:35:01] Whether not the whole council wants
[4:35:02] to support this, I personally support it.
[4:35:04] I don't know that the council, it's
[4:35:05] appropriate for the council to do it.
[4:35:08] I agree with Rob on that
[4:35:09] because you do have to take into account
[4:35:12] as a council member, as a council body, as a mayor, we,
[4:35:17] we are representing 37,000 people plus,
[4:35:20] or on that, that number's not right,
[4:35:21] but, you know, in that range.
[4:35:22] So you, if you're as a council saying
[4:35:25] that you are endorsing it, then you're basically stating
[4:35:29] that your whole constituency is also endorsing it.
[4:35:31] So it is a, it's something to think about. Vic Victoria.
[4:35:36] Yeah, that actually my sentiment exactly.
[4:35:39] I would not be comfortable passing something like this
[4:35:42] without vast community input.
[4:35:46] And then that would be,
[4:35:48] and I don't even know if that's appropriate for us to do,
[4:35:51] because that would be a, a poll for the measure.
[4:35:54] And I don't, I don't know if we should
[4:35:56] get into doing that either.
[4:35:58] So whether,
[4:36:00] and I would absolutely not be
[4:36:04] feel comfortable at all
[4:36:07] as a body supporting a new tax for, for the public
[4:36:11] without having asked them about it first.
[4:36:14] So I I'm not for this.
[4:36:16] Thank you for your input. Anybody else?
[4:36:18] Seth and then Eric? Seth?
[4:36:20] Yeah, I wouldn't be in favor of taking action on this just
[4:36:24] because again, I think it's,
[4:36:25] it's a little odd coming from a, a body of counselors
[4:36:29] that represent the city of Grants Pass.
[4:36:30] SOS
[4:36:32] Zach or Eric?
[4:36:35] Yeah, so I'm on the Public Safety advisory committee
[4:36:39] and yes, the,
[4:36:43] this is a valid concern.
[4:36:47] I would want more information from exactly how they came up
[4:36:52] with these figures, but I also agree with the rest
[4:36:55] of the council that it's probably not appropriate for the,
[4:37:00] for the city council
[4:37:01] to, to support this.
[4:37:06] But I think the rationale behind it was
[4:37:08] that the city is affected greatly by, by
[4:37:14] the animals, the dogs,
[4:37:16] and every, basically our police force is,
[4:37:21] is being overextended because of these things.
[4:37:24] I mean, we see over here 1,109 calls,
[4:37:28] but I'd be definitely interested in seeing what the public
[4:37:32] thinks or if the public should know where this
[4:37:38] extra money is going to
[4:37:41] in 11th cent extra from last year.
[4:37:45] From what, from what I understand, there was a big donor
[4:37:49] that donated to the, to the animal shelter.
[4:37:54] So that's why that donor is gone now.
[4:37:57] And so that's why they're having
[4:37:58] to do the, the major increase.
[4:37:59] But again, it is affecting our
[4:38:05] police force and the amount of time that they're
[4:38:09] being pulled away from doing their normal job.
[4:38:12] So that is something that for the citizenry to,
[4:38:16] to understand and it is an increase in our taxes.
[4:38:21] So bottom line is, I feel the same with
[4:38:26] what everybody else said there as far as the appropriateness
[4:38:29] of, of voting on this here as a council body.
[4:38:35] Thank you Eric. Any further discussion?
[4:38:38] I feel that the sentiment of the council is
[4:38:39] to take no action on that
[4:38:41] because they have acknowledged at least half the members
[4:38:45] and the council here have acknowledged
[4:38:46] that this is not a true
[4:38:48] representation of their constituents.
[4:38:50] So I will take the sentiment of take no action
[4:38:55] and ask for a thumbs up for that action to take.
[4:38:59] No action. All right, thank you very much.
[4:39:02] So next is anything in regard, any questions in regards
[4:39:06] to the upcoming business meeting?
[4:39:07] You would've had your packets last week, physical copy and
[4:39:12] or digital copy.
[4:39:14] Do we have any questions in regards to that, Rob?
[4:39:19] So I sent an email to Aaron
[4:39:21] and I copied the mayor council with regards
[4:39:24] to specific concerns that I have on the, the RFP for the
[4:39:31] non bargaining salary and compensation.
[4:39:32] Did you get that Aaron?
[4:39:35] Yes. Okay. Well I didn't receive any acknowledgement of
[4:39:39] that and I'm just wondering the concerns that I have
[4:39:41] before I would vote yes on something like that
[4:39:44] were specifically stated in there.
[4:39:45] And I don't know if that's gonna be covered Wednesday night.
[4:39:48] Are we gonna have a live presenter from,
[4:39:51] or a live representative from that, from that company
[4:39:55] to potentially answer those questions?
[4:39:57] Is staff prepared to answer my questions?
[4:40:00] I just, and you can either tell me, you don't have
[4:40:02] to say now yes or no now,
[4:40:03] but I'm just saying I, I sent that to you a few days ago
[4:40:07] because that's what I'm gonna need for Wednesday night.
[4:40:09] So one way or another you can take that in under advisement.
[4:40:15] Thank you counselor. That was on my item to discuss today
[4:40:19] and I did get the email, you sent it Friday
[4:40:21] and I Oh, saw the email this morning
[4:40:25] before I came into the meeting.
[4:40:26] So I had it down as a note to have counsel determine whether
[4:40:31] or not they would like to have the, a representative
[4:40:35] online from, from the low bidder
[4:40:41] to ask any discussion to ask any questions.
[4:40:44] So do you want us to try to get synergized online?
[4:40:47] Some of the questions we definitely would not be able
[4:40:50] to answer because this is an RFP for, for the services
[4:40:54] that are specific to the consultant.
[4:40:56] So if you have additional detailed questions like
[4:41:00] what you suggested Councilor Pell,
[4:41:03] I would ask if counsel wants to have them available
[4:41:06] and I could see if they could,
[4:41:07] they're available Wednesday night.
[4:41:09] If it's imperative that they are available
[4:41:10] and those questions are answered, we may need
[4:41:13] to reschedule if they're not available.
[4:41:14] But I can check their availability.
[4:41:17] So does the counsel have an appetite to have the,
[4:41:20] a representative available for Wednesday night's meeting?
[4:41:25] I got, I'm okay. Three thumbs up.
[4:41:30] 4, 5 6. Yes please.
[4:41:32] Can you reach out to them and see if they can be available?
[4:41:34] Certainly. And if they're not available,
[4:41:36] do we look at scheduling at a time where there are, are
[4:41:40] where they are available?
[4:41:43] 'cause some of the detailed question were very detailed.
[4:41:46] And so if that's a decision maker in that, then
[4:41:50] So, so Rob, would it suffice if we could get those
[4:41:55] questions answered directly,
[4:41:56] like via email or anything if they're not available?
[4:41:58] So it would suffice for me.
[4:42:00] Those are just the questions that I had.
[4:42:02] I mentioned that, I mean, you know,
[4:42:03] seven other counselors may have their own questions
[4:42:05] that staff doesn't have the ability to answer.
[4:42:08] But that for me, I, I don't want to go back
[4:42:11] and have the same process we had with McGrath
[4:42:14] with them coming back and saying, guess what?
[4:42:16] It's a proprietary formula.
[4:42:17] We can't tell you, hey, we came up with that.
[4:42:19] So, you know, I'm, I'm trying to avoid that
[4:42:22] by asking my questions upfront before I hire them.
[4:42:24] So if they can be answered, that would satisfy me.
[4:42:27] I don't know about the other seven counselors.
[4:42:29] Okay. So if staff reaches out
[4:42:31] and can get participation
[4:42:34] for Wednesday night's meeting, that would be great.
[4:42:38] If they can, if there is a scheduling conflict,
[4:42:41] does counsel have an appetite to postpone?
[4:42:48] We would likely may maybe need to move it to a workshop.
[4:42:51] 'cause I think there's a response deadline
[4:42:53] that we have in the RFP process.
[4:42:54] But that would be, that would be what we'd shoot for. So,
[4:43:00] I mean, excuse me.
[4:43:02] Yeah, go ahead Rob. Sorry. So I,
[4:43:05] i I don't really know what's most appropriate here,
[4:43:07] but let's just say that,
[4:43:11] and I'm not trying to speak for seven other people,
[4:43:14] but let's say that the, the email that I sent was forwarded
[4:43:18] to the, the, the applicant.
[4:43:24] You know, they may be able to answer those questions,
[4:43:26] send 'em back to staff, they may be able to get the answers.
[4:43:29] It, it may be really simple.
[4:43:30] I'm not trying to overcomplicate it,
[4:43:32] but I am saying that I don't want to go down the same road
[4:43:34] that we went down with McGrath
[4:43:35] and end up with a, a mystery, a mystery result.
[4:43:38] That's, so that's all I'm saying. However,
[4:43:39] however I get those answers is fine.
[4:43:42] Whether they're here Wednesday
[4:43:43] night I think would be the best thing.
[4:43:44] 'cause everyone can ask questions,
[4:43:46] but I, I just, for me, I need to have those answered
[4:43:48] before I would risk going down the
[4:43:51] same path we went down before.
[4:43:52] So,
[4:43:54] Okay.
[4:43:55] I think staff has direction on that. So we'll go forward.
[4:43:58] Any other questions in regards
[4:43:59] to the Wednesday meeting, Victoria?
[4:44:02] Yeah, I would like to star item A on the consent agenda
[4:44:08] for a, a short presentation.
[4:44:12] That was something that Kathleen asked.
[4:44:17] Yes. So I did acknowledge that Kathleen asked for that
[4:44:20] and I asked Kathleen back the question on,
[4:44:22] and I'll ask you is why,
[4:44:25] because it's a simple resolution to procedural
[4:44:29] to actually extend a timeline.
[4:44:31] So is there a certain per
[4:44:33] I, I don know I was doing it for, for someone else.
[4:44:35] So I don't know if she's had her question answered or not.
[4:44:38] We don't, that's why I'm bringing it up. We don't
[4:44:40] Have visit grants.
[4:44:41] Yeah, I did reach out to Kathleen
[4:44:43] and ask her that specific question
[4:44:44] 'cause I don't understand
[4:44:45] what more information you can bring.
[4:44:48] So I guess
[4:44:49] Well definitely if she has a specific question.
[4:44:52] I'm, I am I I believe we could probably answer it in lines
[4:44:55] with the actual action on this.
[4:44:57] As you said, mayor, it's a very simple procedural issue
[4:45:00] where we're just making a, a small amendment to that
[4:45:04] agreement, but
[4:45:05] Yeah, it's just amending the, the the end date.
[4:45:08] Yeah. Has no financial obligation to it.
[4:45:11] It just, it is. So I guess we'll do the due diligence
[4:45:14] and see if Yeah, if you can reach out to her, that'd great.
[4:45:16] Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. Okay. Thank you.
[4:45:17] I I did address that with her last week though.
[4:45:19] I just didn't get a response.
[4:45:20] She probably was traveling or something.
[4:45:21] So thank you for bringing that up. Anything else, Joel?
[4:45:25] I just have a question.
[4:45:26] It's on the consent agenda again
[4:45:28] and it's the Tourism Advisory Committee membership.
[4:45:32] We don't have a Chamber of Commerce,
[4:45:34] we don't have visit grants Pass, we don't have Main Street.
[4:45:38] And on the consent agenda, it's a motion
[4:45:41] to add somebody from Main Street and there,
[4:45:45] and there must be some logic to this.
[4:45:47] I don't, I don't understand what it is.
[4:45:49] I believe what you're talking about is
[4:45:51] that we have ex officios in essence for those committees
[4:45:55] where you don't actually appoint the person,
[4:45:57] but the Chamber has a representative
[4:45:59] that they send to that group. Right.
[4:46:00] And so do they vote
[4:46:05] Shouldn't?
[4:46:06] No. So I would, I would, you know,
[4:46:09] if they're a non-voting member of the committee
[4:46:11] and they attend, I, I think that's great.
[4:46:15] It it does state liaison, which the definition of
[4:46:18] that is a non-voting participant.
[4:46:21] Okay. Okay. Yeah.
[4:46:23] If it's a non-voting member, we ran into some issues with
[4:46:26] that with the housing committee before.
[4:46:28] Okay. With some conflicts of interest.
[4:46:31] Okay. Thank you for bringing that up, Indra and then Rick.
[4:46:36] Yeah, so I don't know if this affects Wednesday's meeting,
[4:46:39] but I do want
[4:46:41] to bring up the meeting on March 30th on the consent agenda.
[4:46:46] Item a, a reconsideration.
[4:46:49] Is this a time to bring this up or after you finish?
[4:46:55] Well, let's go through the business meeting first.
[4:46:57] Make sure everybody has their questions answered
[4:46:59] for Wednesday and then we can bring that back.
[4:47:01] Thank you. If that's okay, I'm not
[4:47:02] Sure. No, sure.
[4:47:03] Rick. So I have a calendar question. Okay.
[4:47:08] We were gonna get more information on the swimming pool.
[4:47:10] Do we have a timeline on that when it might show up?
[4:47:16] Josh is not here, but you can just follow up later.
[4:47:22] Okay, that's fine. Thank you. You alright?
[4:47:25] Anything else on the Wednesday night's business
[4:47:26] meeting, Aaron?
[4:47:30] Yeah, I just, mayor, we'll need
[4:47:32] to poll council action two B.
[4:47:36] Okay. And I'll, I'm not sure if we'll reschedule,
[4:47:41] but that one needs to be pulled
[4:47:43] So that would be Cancel action. Okay. Two
[4:47:46] B.
[4:47:47] Two B. It's the,
[4:47:50] for the 1 24 Northwest Midland Avenue property.
[4:47:54] So we will basically pull that for a future date.
[4:48:00] Okay. Anything else for Wednesday night? Wednesday night.
[4:48:04] Once, twice. Done.
[4:48:07] Okay, keep going.
[4:48:10] Remember we have a, we have a executive meeting scheduled
[4:48:13] here too and we're freaking almost at,
[4:48:15] sorry, we're almost at five.
[4:48:16] So I Go ahead. Andrea first and then Victoria.
[4:48:19] Yeah, so the last meeting I was traveling
[4:48:22] and so I apologize.
[4:48:24] It was a little hectic for me.
[4:48:26] I did not realize on the consent agenda,
[4:48:29] I missed the resolution authorizing the city manager
[4:48:32] to enter into an agreement with Josephine County
[4:48:36] Visitors Association, including the addition
[4:48:38] of downtown welcome center operation.
[4:48:41] So I had a lot of questions on the agreement.
[4:48:44] I called Erin early the next morning, like, oh my gosh.
[4:48:48] Because I did hear from some people
[4:48:51] that was on the consent agenda
[4:48:53] and I have a lot,
[4:48:56] I I'm surprised it was on the consent agenda.
[4:48:58] To me, this is a, a workshop item where we should be able,
[4:49:04] we could ask questions in front of
[4:49:07] the public for transparency.
[4:49:09] I just have a lot of questions
[4:49:11] and I would ask that we do take this
[4:49:15] to a workshop presentation.
[4:49:16] I do understand that time is of the essence,
[4:49:20] but one other thing I did come across is
[4:49:25] that the,
[4:49:28] we learned today the Josephine County Visitor Centers
[4:49:31] Association is the registered
[4:49:37] DBA visit grants pass, it's DBA visit grants pass.
[4:49:41] And when I looked up in the business registry,
[4:49:45] the corporate division,
[4:49:46] Josephine County Visitor Center Association is showing
[4:49:50] as inactive an inactive entity.
[4:49:53] So I don't know how we can go into an agreement until
[4:49:57] that's taken care of for one.
[4:50:00] And I'm not saying that it's not gonna be a great thing,
[4:50:03] so I don't wanna say that I'm against doing it.
[4:50:06] I think we heard a lot.
[4:50:08] It's very, it's positive
[4:50:09] and I think it could be a great thing,
[4:50:12] but I just would like a lot of questions answered
[4:50:15] and I, I didn't go directly to them
[4:50:18] because I thought they were questions that the whole council
[4:50:21] would maybe want to hear or ask questions of their own
[4:50:25] or that the public would want to hear as well.
[4:50:28] And so that's why I don't, I didn't go to the source
[4:50:31] and get all my questions answered in advance.
[4:50:35] And so I would like to have that reconsidered
[4:50:38] and taken to a workshop presentation.
[4:50:41] Okay. So your request was, was heard
[4:50:44] and the DMO actually signed the contract.
[4:50:49] I actually signed the re resolution,
[4:50:51] but Aaron held off on signature
[4:50:53] so we could bring it forth for any questions. And,
[4:50:56] And thank you Aaron. I appreciate that.
[4:50:58] Yeah, you're welcome. So any questions
[4:50:59] that you have in advance, we're more than happy to an try
[4:51:02] to answer those questions so we
[4:51:03] don't have to go through that process.
[4:51:04] If council does desire to do a re,
[4:51:07] if a council member desires to do a reconsideration,
[4:51:10] you can do a reconsideration on a,
[4:51:11] on an ordinance resolution.
[4:51:15] It's at the next regular meeting,
[4:51:18] which is defined as business meeting.
[4:51:20] So at Wednesday's meeting you would need,
[4:51:23] the process would be you would, anyone who voted in favor of
[4:51:27] can ask for reconsideration.
[4:51:29] Therefore you can under matters for mayor, council
[4:51:32] and staff, ask for a reconsideration on that action item.
[4:51:36] And then counsel would vote.
[4:51:37] And if two thirds of the council agrees with you,
[4:51:40] we will do a reconsideration at the next regular meeting.
[4:51:44] If not, it will your, your reconsideration will fail.
[4:51:47] And then I'll go ahead and sign the contract
[4:51:51] At the next regular meeting.
[4:51:52] That's, that's Wednesday night.
[4:51:53] So Wednesday night meeting under manage mayor, council
[4:51:55] and staff ask for a reconsideration of the contract
[4:51:59] and if there's two thirds vote in favor of,
[4:52:01] then we'll do a reconsideration at the
[4:52:03] following business meeting.
[4:52:04] It'll be put on the agenda for reconsideration.
[4:52:07] Okay. I understand that. And thank you for clarifying.
[4:52:10] I wasn't sure if it was workshop or meeting.
[4:52:12] If it goes, if it passes
[4:52:14] and goes to the next business meeting,
[4:52:18] can we dis would we be discussing it
[4:52:20] then or then? It would,
[4:52:22] It would be discussed.
[4:52:23] Yeah.
[4:52:25] And not at a workshop, which, so we would,
[4:52:28] you would put it on for discussion at the next meeting.
[4:52:31] At the next business meeting. Okay. Thank
[4:52:32] You.
[4:52:35] Okay. Any And I had Victoria, oh, sorry, sorry,
[4:52:38] Rob has a question on the same topic
[4:52:40] Question.
[4:52:41] So if Indra,
[4:52:43] and it sounds like she's gonna bring it up
[4:52:44] for reconsideration, there's then discussion as to
[4:52:49] why someone wants to bring it up for reconsideration
[4:52:51] or it's just a vote, we get to discuss it
[4:52:54] or it's just a vote,
[4:52:57] Whether it be a motion on the
[4:52:59] table and you can discuss the motion. Right.
[4:53:00] Thank you. And I would encourage you
[4:53:03] to formulate your questions
[4:53:05] and reach out to staff ahead of time
[4:53:06] so they're actually prepared.
[4:53:09] 'cause I, I mean this, not
[4:53:11] that you guys have discussed this,
[4:53:12] but this has been in your guys' purview for months.
[4:53:15] This has been lingering out there
[4:53:16] and it was actually on, on a, on a previous agenda,
[4:53:19] but then was pulled because we had some new
[4:53:22] TLT dollar legislation that came out
[4:53:24] and Stephanie actually pulled it.
[4:53:27] So this has been in our mirror
[4:53:28] and our purview for, for a long time.
[4:53:32] Yeah, I know. It has been,
[4:53:33] I was just surprised it wasn't an action item
[4:53:36] where we would actually discuss it
[4:53:38] or I would've pulled it out for discussion at that meeting.
[4:53:41] So I just missed
[4:53:43] That.
[4:53:44] But yes, thank you Victoria.
[4:53:47] Yeah, there have been many people
[4:53:49] who have contacted counsel about the Beacon Hill Park,
[4:53:54] not just the pump track,
[4:53:55] but that even complicates it more so
[4:53:58] because that's a whole
[4:54:00] bigger scenario.
[4:54:04] But there were people who were concerned even about the
[4:54:07] parking lot and the walking trail.
[4:54:10] And I had only previously heard from members of the public
[4:54:15] who really were in favor of it.
[4:54:19] And I really appreciated Valerie coming
[4:54:21] and talking about it as well.
[4:54:24] But now it's come to my attention
[4:54:26] that there are many people who are concerned.
[4:54:28] And so the, the survey went out
[4:54:33] in 2019 and so that's seven years ago.
[4:54:37] And I think we're going to have to,
[4:54:40] so maybe it's the same thing.
[4:54:42] We need to revisit this decision and,
[4:54:47] but it might be a moot point also
[4:54:49] because if we were going
[4:54:50] to also consider putting a pump track there, then
[4:54:52] that definitely would have to have
[4:54:55] a survey going out to the public.
[4:54:58] So I don't wanna make more work for people,
[4:55:00] but I don't want to let this go either
[4:55:03] because I was thinking the public was, but,
[4:55:06] but there are, there are people who have talked to me
[4:55:09] who are concerned about it.
[4:55:10] So I wanted to make sure that those were
[4:55:12] addressed in the public.
[4:55:14] Okay. So we, as
[4:55:18] what I recall, and it was Aaron reminded me, is,
[4:55:21] is council already gave staff direction to actually
[4:55:24] reissue the survey or do another
[4:55:26] Survey to re to do a new, a new survey.
[4:55:28] To do a new survey. So that is, that is on
[4:55:30] Oh.
[4:55:31] So well already. So good. Very efficient. Thank you.
[4:55:34] Thank you. So it's good
[4:55:36] that the Yes, thank you for doing that.
[4:55:38] Sure. Because of the public concern. Thanks.
[4:55:40] Sure. Thank you. Beautiful.
[4:55:43] Ask questions and you, and you get answers.
[4:55:44] It's awesome Eric.
[4:55:47] Yeah, I just wanted to remind everyone on the council,
[4:55:50] if they haven't already done it, the statement of
[4:55:52] economic interest SEI is due on the 15th to og e.
[4:55:56] So don't forget to get that done.
[4:55:59] Oh, you'll get emails. Oh,
[4:56:00] I've, I've got it right here.
[4:56:03] I get harassment,
[4:56:04] but I just wanted to remind everybody that it's due.
[4:56:09] I think they call that gentle nudging. Okay.
[4:56:13] Any, anything else? 'cause we do have an executive session
[4:56:15] to go into here, but anything else? Okay, Aaron,
[4:56:20] I just need three volunteers to sit down with me
[4:56:23] with regards to the city manager evaluation process.
[4:56:27] Three volunteers, Rob, For the what? City?
[4:56:31] City. City Manager evaluation review.
[4:56:34] So like a little brainstorming session.
[4:56:37] So I got four people.
[4:56:44] Three people. Okay. So Andrea bowed out.
[4:56:46] So we, we got Seth, Victoria, and Rob. Good with that.
[4:56:49] All right, cool. Thank you. Thanks.
[4:56:52] If that is good, then we will go into executive session
[4:56:57] and I call for, basically we're going to adjourn the
[4:57:02] Executive session.
[4:57:06] Do I have to read our protocol?
[4:57:07] Oh yeah, I'm looking for it. There we go. Okay.
[4:57:13] So today's workshop will be adjourned
[4:57:16] and the council will now meet, meet an executive session
[4:57:19] for the purpose of discussing those subjects previously
[4:57:22] noticed in this executive session.
[4:57:24] The executive session is held pursuant ORS 1 92
[4:57:27] 0.660
[4:57:29] and more specifically under the subsections of that statute,
[4:57:32] which have been publicly noticed for this meeting.
[4:57:35] Representatives of the news media
[4:57:38] and designated staff shall be allowed
[4:57:40] to attend the executive session.
[4:57:41] All other members of the audience
[4:57:44] are asked to leave the room.
[4:57:45] Representatives of the news organization,
[4:57:48] which we don't really have any,
[4:57:51] have specific directions to report.
[4:57:53] Only on the topic only
[4:57:55] and not deliberations during the session.
[4:57:58] No decision may be made in executive session.
[4:58:01] At the end of executive session we will adjourn for the day
[4:58:06] and who we, who we got speaking with us.
[4:58:08] Wait, wait.