MEMO TO: Members of the City Council
FROM: Mayor John Marchione
SUBJECT:
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OneRedmond Annual Report
I. RECOMMENDED ACTION
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Receive OneRedmond staff briefing on 2018 partnership highlights and the annual performance report.
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II. DEPARTMENT CONTACTS
Erika Vandenbrande, Director, Planning and Community Development 425-556-2457
Carol Helland, Deputy Director, Planning and Community Development 425-556-2432
Sarah Pyle, Manager, Strategic Initiatives and Development Review 425-556-2426
III. DESCRIPTION/BACKGROUND
OneRedmond is a public-private partnership that supports local businesses and attracts new business investment. They foster an innovative business culture and create community vitality by developing and implementing data-driven strategies that both support retention and growth of local companies and bring new businesses to the region.
A. Analysis
Small Business and Community Focus:
OneRedmond offers many direct services each year to assist local businesses in areas of growth, relocation, and connections with other businesses and services. In addition, OneRedmond focuses on cultivating community through events and showcasing the City’s two vibrant urban centers.
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• Counseled 52 businesses |
• Logged 80 hours in assistance to 20 business |
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• Supported nine workshops |
• Refreshed their Relocation Guide for Redmond businesses who are expanding or being impacted by redevelopment. |
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• Completed 103 calls to Redmond businesses |
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In 2019, OneRedmond is expanding on their Relocation Guide by hosting multiple workshop events in Marymoor that will have an emphasis on proactively engaging businesses that may be impacted by future redevelopment in Marymoor Village.
In support of the community and activation of our urban centers, OneRedmond hosted and sponsored several events for businesses and the community in 2018.
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• Held three business networking opportunities. |
• Kicked off the celebration of the new Downtown City Park by hosting the Dragon Run, an event which collaborated with DigiPen Alumni to bring to life a family friendly scavenger hunt with an innovative edge. |
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• Facilitated eight new business ribbon cuttings. |
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• Sponsored events throughout the year which drew over 150,000 participants in 2018. |
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Collaboration on a Regional Scale:
OneRedmond collaborates on larger business recruitment and engagement efforts through partnerships with The Greater Seattle Partners, Port of Seattle and Innovation Triangle that advance Redmond’s economic development goals and support local businesses. These partnerships leverage a greater amount of resources and offerings into our community through the collective efforts, funding and shared focus on community vitality.
• Recent Collaboration Efforts Directly Impacting the Community
o Startup425: A collaborative effort of eastside communities developed out of the Innovation Triangle. Startup425 assists start-up entrepreneurs turn their dreams into reality and supports home/micro businesses with scaling up.
Program offerings include no-cost mentorship, classes, events and no-cost foundation workshops in building a business plan, financing, networking, marketing and licensing.
2018 Program Recap:
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• Facilitated 47 workshops in the eastside. |
• Exceeded 1300 registrations. |
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• Nine of the workshops were held in the City of Redmond. |
• 182 participants opened their new businesses following the workshop series. |
Those who registered come from a balanced array of industries ranging from retail and consulting to arts and technology.
o Workforce Housing Initiative: In response to the Call for Action, OneRedmond in concert with other regional partners researched opportunities on how public and private efforts can be leveraged to address the issue of middle income residents being priced out of their communities. OneRedmond prepared a proposal for the City in response to the three focus areas from the Call to Action: Land, Financing, and Construction. The Governmental Affairs committee will continue to explore this topic in 2019.
o OneRedmond works with Greater Seattle Partners in responding to investors, developers and new businesses looking to invest locally within the region and on the eastside. OneRedmond responded to ten recruitment cases in 2018, successfully securing two new businesses to the City.
Looking forward, OneRedmond is focusing its vision and efforts on:
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• Transportation, to better connect regional talent with Redmond businesses. |
• Collaborating with regional partners on recruitments and additional support for new and growing Redmond businesses. |
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• Support for businesses impacted by redevelopment. |
• Collaborating with regional partners to address current issues and topics impacting communities throughout the eastside. |
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• Continuing their commitment to community building. |
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IV. PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS HELD
Staff members periodically update the City Council on OneRedmond performance and programing. At the December 11, 2018, Planning and Public Works Committee of the Whole, there was a briefing about the OneRedmond contract renewal.
V. IMPACT
A. Service/Delivery:
OneRedmond events and programs are a key service that the City aids in providing to support the growth of current business, attraction of new talent, recruiting of new businesses to the City and fostering of community through unique events that support the economic development.
B. Fiscal Note:
This is only a performance briefing. Annual funding by the City has been approved through the 2019-2020 adopted budget.
VI. ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATION
This is a briefing only, staff and OneRedmond look forward to a discussion with City Council.
VII. TIME CONSTRAINTS
None
VIII. LIST OF ATTACHMENTS
None