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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-31-2018 - Com. Development MinutesDUBLIN CITY COUNCIL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Wednesday, October 31, 2018 —1:00 p.m. Council Chambers Minutes of Meeting Mr. Reiner, Chair called the meeting to order. Committee members present: Mr. Reiner, Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes, Ms. De Rosa Staff members present: Mr. McDaniel, Ms. Mumma, Ms. Kennedy, Mr. StifAer, Ms. Goss, Mr. Papsidero, Mr. Fagrell, Ms. Gilger, Mr. Kridler, Ms. Rauch, Ms. Husak, Mr. McCollough, Mr. Clark, Mr. Earman, Mr. Rogers, Ms. Richison and Mr. Plouck. Approval of Minutes of 9-10-18 meeting Ms. De Rosa moved approval of the minutes. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes seconded the motion. Vote on the motion: Mr. Reiner, yes; Ms. De Rosa, yes; Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes, yes. Historic District Facade Improvement Grant Application 24 South High Street — request for $15,000 grant Applicant: Eula G. Price, 7294 Steitz Road, Powell, OH Owner: Jack A. and Eula G. Price Mr. Kridler stated that this is the third application in this first year of the grant program. He reviewed the criteria for the grants. The grants are for commercial, mixed-use, non-profit and not-for-profit within Historic Dublin (not strictly residential) • Uncovering and restoring historical facades • Replacement/repair of cornice parapets and shutters • Awning/sign installation or repair • Site and landscape improvements accessible to public • Parking improvements and expansion • Storefront restorations or renovations • Window and door repair/replacement • Installation of lighting and upgrades The grant program is designed to encourage investment into Historic Dublin historic structures and allow for investment for small businesses and property owners with the intent of upholding the high aesthetics and maintaining the character within the District. This project did not require ARB approval. The Committee needs to determine if the project meets the intent of the grant program. The Committee recommendation would be brought to Council at the November 5 Council meeting. In 2018, $100,000 was budgeted for this grant program. Two projects have previously been approved for a total of $25,000 in grants paid by the City. This request is for $15,000 grant for 24 S. High Street. Should this application be approved, there will be a remaining balance of $60,000 for the program in the 2018 operating budget. He noted that 24 S. High Street is the location of the Dublin Barber Shoppe. He shared an aerial view of the property, and some street views. Currently, this building houses the Dublin Barber Shoppe, which was established in 1938 and is the oldest continuing business in Dublin. The building was built Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 2 in the 1840's by John Graham, was later known as The Mitchell House and operated as a boarding house. It was once used as a medical office for Dr. Henry Karrer. The proposed improvement is to the roof, which would include gutter and shingle replacement. Due to the age and condition of the building's metal roof and the fascia along with the use of inappropriate asphalt shingles that were placed over the original metal roof, they want to replace the existing metal as well as the asphalt shingles to help restore the original character of the building. Along with the replacement of the roof, they have additional investment being undertaken for the second floor of the property, providing additional office space within the Historic District. At the time they were considering the investment to the second floor, their contractor identified a fair amount of water damage to the second floor and advised that investing in the second floor of the building should not be done without replacement of the roof. They have also done electrical updates over the past couple of years. The overall project is estimated to cost $30,565. The grant guidelines provide for a matching grant up to $15,000 of the property owner investment in a project. He shared photos of the existing condition of the roof, taken from street level. There is definitely some wear and tear on the roof, as well as discoloration. Also mentioned in the application is the shingled portion of the roof for which they would want to use the same materials as for the metal portion of the roof. Once the roof project is complete, they will be updating the second floor of the building, which will be available to office users. They also have other future planned improvements, including the fagade between the flat high roof and the second floor west window, together with covering or replacing the current siding with the same style as used with the buildings in the 1800's. The most immediate project is for the roof work. He noted that the building owner and applicant is present. He offered to respond to any questions. Mr. Reiner asked for clarification of the balance of funds remaining for this program. Mr. Kridler responded that the 2018 budget was for $100,000. Mr. Reiner asked if anyone has information about the original fagade appearance of this building. Are there any drawings available? Donna Shaw, daughter of the building owners, stated that on the wall of the barber shop is a picture of the building at the time it was The Mitchell House. It had regular, streamlined siding — long and continuous — not what is currently on the building. The current siding is likely asbestos siding from the 1950's or 1960's. In the future, they would like to see the building brought back to the historic style, and they are aware this would likely require review and direction from the ARB about how best to achieve this. The current budget does not allow for all of these items to be done now. The roof was an unexpected item discovered in the plan to make improvements to the second floor. There had previously been a long-term tenant on the second floor, but they want to gut the second floor and provide new office space in the Historic District. Mr. Reiner agreed that it would be desirable to have the building restored to its historical appearance. Ms. De Rosa stated that in reviewing the criteria for the program, roof replacement is not included. She asked Mr. Kridler to comment. Mr. Kridler responded that when the program criteria were originally established, roof work was not specifically included nor excluded. He believes this item should be considered going forward for next Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 3 year's grant program. Staff believes that the roof work would allow for the other improvements to be completed and meet the overall intent of the grant program. The roof is visible from the street, but he agreed it is somewhat a "gray' area — whether it is a fagade improvement or another type of project. In this first year of the grant program, they felt it was important to be inclusive and help to spur the other investment contemplated by the building owners. Ms. De Rosa stated that because of the quality of the materials and the changes contemplated, it does fit the spirit of what the grant program seeks to do. She agreed that it is a gray area of enhancement versus maintenance of the building. The challenge is to capture the spirit of the program in the articulated list of eligible improvements. It seems this is a project that warrants grant funding, but it is not specifically included in the criteria. Some character specifics should be included in the grant criteria that would address projects such as this. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes agreed, noting that the grant needs to be somehow tied to subsequent work to be done — at least an intent to proceed with those future improvements. Some level of informal commitment to the future improvements is desirable. For this project, an important piece would be the chimney — perhaps trying to face it, while doing the roof improvements. It would be easier to do in conjunction with the roof project. Does any of this project cost include work to the chimney stack? Ms. Shaw responded not at this time. She did mention this to a contractor, who had some suggestions, but in terms of matching the brick to the face of the building, it would increase the costs of the overall project. For the long term, she would prefer to have continuity up and down High Street for buildings like this. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes asked about the square footage of the second floor. Ms. Shaw responded it is 680 square feet. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes stated she would prefer that the chimney stack be improved in conjunction with the project, if possible. Because of the visual nature of this particular building, with a pitched roof in the front, it is noticeable from the street. Ms. De Rosa stated that this is a pilot year for the grant program, and Council will need to work through some of the issues discussed tonight. Overall, it is a great program. Mr. Reiner stated that in terms of the chimney, they could use filleted brick that is adhered with epoxy. A block chimney can be made to look like brick at low cost. This product also comes with right angle corners, and it can be adhered onto the chimney. Ms. Shaw asked if the ARB would be required to approve such a change to the chimney. Ms. Rauch responded it would require ARB review. Mr. Reiner stated that if scaffolding is in place for the roof work, the chimney work could easily be done. Perhaps this could warrant a waiver versus undergoing a time consuming, expensive review process. A footer base is not needed; it can be glued to the block. There are two kinds of this product: real brick filleted or a mock brick. The mock brick is fairly inexpensive and installation time is minimal. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes commented that the chimney stack itself appears to be in good condition. Mr. Reiner commented that it is important to ensure that the City is not paying the maintenance costs for a property owner who leases out their property. The property owner for an income generating property should pay the costs for maintenance. Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 4 Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes agreed. The City's participation in this project enables the property owner to lease out the upper story. The intent of the program is to set aside some of the grant monies to begin fagade improvements. This is a case of the City assisting with the costs of the roof project in order to spur more beautification and improvement projects in the Historic District. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes moved approval of the grant request. Ms. De Rosa seconded the motion. Vote on the motion: Mr. Reiner, yes; Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes, yes; Ms. De Rosa, yes. Mr. Reiner thanked the owners for making the effort to upgrade their facility. Ms. De Rosa added that it is wonderful to know that this is the oldest continually operating business in the City of Dublin. Mr. Reiner noted that the Committee will now proceed with the review of the proposed 2019 operating budgets for the departments of Development and Information Technology. 2019 Operating Budget Mr. McDaniel thanked Council for trying out the committee review process for the operating budget. Ms. Mumma explained that in the budget book, what is listed in the columns is: • the 2017 actual spendings • the 2018 budget as approved by Council • the 2018 revised budget that reflects the original budget number plus any supplemental appropriations done throughout the year plus any carryovers from prior years The funds must be encumbered at the outset when a contract is executed, so if a contract is executed late in the year, the funds are then carried over into the budget for next year. In addition, departments have the ability within their individual divisions to transfer monies from one account into another account. It cannot go outside of the division or outside of fund categories; for example, the General Fund cannot transfer monies to the State Highway Fund. Ms. De Rosa asked for clarification: an encumbrance is not at an account level, but at a work unit level? Ms. Mumma responded that encumbrances are at an account level. Ms. De Rosa stated that the monies would remain in that particular account then. Ms. Mumma responded that at year end, anything not encumbered goes back into the respective fund. This is monitored carefully, and departments are not allowed to artificially carry over dollars into the next year. Ms. Mumma stated that the final column on the page is the proposed budget for 2019. For the presentation today and going forward, staff has added a 2018 YTD for expenditures. This does not reflect encumbrances, but only expenditures YTD. Ms. De Rosa stated that if at the end of last year, all of the encumbrances are removed, what encumbrances are seen in these numbers. Ms. Mumma stated that if a contract was entered into for $500, but the first invoice was not sent until January, the revised budget amount would include the original budget plus that $500 carried over. To date, if no services have been rendered and no invoices sent, the document will reflect no expenses to date. The column added in the presentations is just expenditures YTD. Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 5 Mr. Reiner stated that a good example is the Glick Road bikepath, for which the monies have been carried over for a few years. Department of Development Office of the Director of Development General Fund 3-73-3-75 Ms. Goss shared an overview of the organizational chart for the department, which includes three divisions: Economic Development, Planning and Building Standards. The Director's office staffing includes herself and an Administrative support person. A part-time intern assigned to the office will now be combined with an intern position allocated to the Economic Development team in order to have the intern working on a long-term, but not full-time basis. This is the only change in staffing. She oversees the operations of the divisions and works to execute the strategic initiatives of Council's goals. In partnership with the Chief Information Officer, they attend various meetings and pursue opportunities for partnerships with other industry partners to promote economic development across the City for the betterment of the community. There is an overall decrease in the budget for the Office. This includes a small decrease in contractual services over the 2018 budget. There was an increase in the travel revised budget for 2018, much of which was related to her role in promoting the 33 Corridor and involvement in that activity. This has involved missions with Columbus2020 and other partners to help promote the Corridor and those partnerships. One item added to the budget was funds for updating surveys and other work in terms of land transfers and in support of using real estate as one of the City's economic incentive tools. To date, this tool has not been used frequently, but the City continues to use this more. Professional services are needed to help put those properties on line. There is opportunity for those costs also in the Economic Development budget, but this is a failsafe for some of those other activities needed. For example, comparables are needed in terms of appraised values and that work would be contracted separately. Ms. De Rosa stated that the travel budget for 2018 was $3,500 and the request for 2019 is $9,140. Is this correct? Ms. Goss responded that the Midwest conference is in Japan next year, and this travel impacts the budgets. In 2015, the Development Director office did not its own separate budget for travel. The effort now is to separate those travel budgets. Economic Development General Fund 3-77-3-82 Ms. Gilger shared the organizational chart for Economic Development, which includes a part-time intern and three FT administrators. There are no changes proposed in staffing. For key services, supporting the business retention, expansion, attraction and creation programs. They are more involved in workforce development and are continuing to build the entrepreneurship and innovation platforms. They also do quite a bit of marketing and advocacy outside of what is done by the Communications/Public Information office as Economic Development is geared toward a very specific business audience. The ED team is out every day meeting with businesses, and public and private organizations, working on partnerships and business growth opportunities. Overall, the budget has decreased 1.8 percent for the 2019 request. There are two line items with significant change, but the budget in entirety is down 1.8 percent from 2018 budget request. Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 6 The largest and most significant changes are: • The intern wages. They are requesting an additional $3,000 to enable the intern to work longer hours and for a longer period of time. Previously, the funding enabled just 10 hours a week for a semester. • The digital marketing reality check workforce campaign in 2018 was a six-month campaign; given the great results, they want to extend it for a full 12 months and therefore the budget request was increased. • The two most significant decreases are the change to the DubLink 100 gig partnership, as much of the costs are now the responsibility of the partners and not the City, bringing a $95,000 decrease. • Multiple EDAs are expiring, resulting in $131,000 decrease for the 2019 budget. In terms of professional and contract services: • The strategic plan update is a $60,000 request. The Battelle study is updated every five years to make sure that the City's industry focus and the strategic initiatives are in alignment with the types of businesses the City desires to recruit and retain. It is a one-time expense that occurs every five years. The Battelle study is to be updated in 2019. • The additional budget funds in these category generally relate to real estate and translation services for marketing materials. • The DEC contract is included in this line item. Previously, it was throughout several other line items given the multiple smaller contracts and it was a lease in previous budgets. Now it is a professional services contract and is part of this line item. • There are additional dollars for workforce programs, business wellness programs, Smart Corridor initiatives and PACE financing as well to assist in some building audits. Ms. De Rosa stated that as discussed at the Council retreat, it is important to get some metrics around revenue growth. In this proposed operating budget, the revenue remains flat to decreasing, and everyone wants to change that. Are there specific dollars budgeted to allow us to create some metrics around job creation — specific metrics, including number of active businesses in Dublin, number of new jobs created — not just from an incentive program which is already tracked, overall job creation, number of jobs retained, etc. Is there a project focused on this and is it funded in the proposed budget? Ms. Gilger responded that the City has a real estate analytics contract with Colliers International. Quarterly, they look at vacancy rates, new buildings under construction, changes in the market, and cost per square foot. Staff has found that much better data is coming from them in the past couple of quarters, and they are able to provide a comprehensive list of any Dublin business that has signed a new lease in the market for the previous quarter. Previously, the only way Economic Development (ED) was aware of this was if a company opened a new tax account, and that information is not available to ED. In addition, when any company renews a lease in Dublin, Colliers is able to obtain that information now. Previously, it was all aggregated and per Dublin's request, Colliers has separated those by square footage and by company. Once the company is known, Dublin has a fairly good handle on the number of employees, based on the square foot calculations of the space being leased. In addition, the building permit activity is monitored for tenant improvements in a space that has been empty, as evidenced in the real estate reports. Staff is getting much better at triangulating all of those sources to build a more comprehensive list of new and renewed leases of buildings. Ms. De Rosa asked when that data can be shared with Council. Ms. Gilger responded that she does not have historical data, but staff has been tracking this information since the 2n1 quarter of 2018. She will have a half year of data to share with Council. Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 7 These are essentially "wins without incentives" because they are much more valuable versus having to incentivize a company to stay or grow. All of the companies that have committed or recommitted to Dublin have been tracked over the past two quarters — those who have not requested incentives. Ms. De Rosa asked if the adequate staffing is in place to do this work, to help work toward a comprehensive list — knowing the tax data is unavailable — of the active businesses. How will that be approached within the proposed budget? She supports funding whatever resources are needed to help in this. She would actually like to see the ED budget not flat in order to help achieve having these metrics. What can Council do in this budget to assist? Ms. Gilger responded that with the better real estate reporting the City is now receiving, and with the additional intern hours provided for specific projects such as gathering this data — she believes the funding is adequate. In addition, they met recently with the City's GIS staff and they have a subscription to a data service that can provide great information. Yesterday, ED viewed demos to see the kind of information GIS can pull for ED from this data service. GIS has tested the data against Dun and Bradstreet and believes this data is even better. So this is a new tool available to ED. Ms. De Rosa asked if there were an additional resource for data collection/management/maintenance — not running correlations, but actually creating the data — would that help us get a better handle on industry growth, etc.? Could we leverage that into intelligence that helps us in terms of an economic development perspective? Ms. Gilger responded that she is confident that the resources provided will be adequate. Staff certainly can always come back to Council in the future for additional resources, if needed. Mr. Reiner asked if Ms. De Rosa has specific suggestions about this. Ms. De Rosa responded that Council talked at the retreat about the challenges, particularly as the tax data is not accessible. The challenges of having a comprehensive list and maintaining that list — based on her personal experience in her career — involves a lot of work. The ED team is doing a great job and she believes that having the resources needed to be able to collect and maintain this data would be very worthwhile. Currently, there is a gap between revenue and operating expenses and for the second year, the General Fund balance is being used to get to a balanced budget. It is important to get this balance moving in the right direction. She would like to have some predictors around some of this, and is looking into how the City can resource that effectively. She knows that staff has indicated they have the resources needed to get by, but she is looking into what we can do to help fund that in a short term — so that this data is available in 3-5 months, not a year out. Ms. Gilger shared a slide that shows the tracking that ED does in terms of analytics and what is occurring in the market — tracking the vacancy rates, monitoring the new construction and investment in the pipeline, looking at companies that are leasing and touring the market. The City gets data from the real estate brokers on how many "blind" RFPs are in the market from companies that have not been disclosed yet, and how much space they are seeking and how interested they might be in Dublin. Also, the City has data relating to where it ranks in the regional competition and the unemployment rate. There is significant tracking already being done with market activity, and ED knows how much is empty, how much project the City has in total, how much is in the pipeline, where we rank with competitiveness, etc. By having Battelle doing the five-year update, that provides a lot of analytics as well. Ms. De Rosa asked if that will be a Central Ohio update as the last one, or will they be able to look at Dublin per se. Ms. Gilger responded that it will likely be zip code specific, but the vast majority of the business concentration in these 43016 and 43017 zip codes are within Dublin. Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 8 Ms. De Rosa commented that the list of data being collected still does not answer the question of what are the names of the active businesses, what businesses have come and gone, how are those businesses done by clusters. She is asking for, and willing to supporting funding for, what will enable the City to look much more granular at some of this. These tracking resources as described will not be responsive to her questions. Ms. Gilger stated that the GIS data they have recently learned they can access is similar to Dun and Bradstreet, but better. Staff believes that will be a good validation for Dublin's database. Additional companies can be uncovered through that data, as well as the other tracking mechanisms, to learn what companies are new and which are renewing. Staff will have this information all clustered together. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes noted that the slide shown indicates "How do we know we are winning?" She asked her how the City defines "winning." Ms. Gilger responded that we know we are winning if the vacancy rates are between 7 and 13 percent; if we always have construction in the pipeline, as we don't have a lot of product in the pipeline compared to what exists. There is 11M square feet of office space in Dublin, which is second only to downtown Columbus. Not much of this is empty, but the office space is old. We need enough new investment coming in so that we can span the ages of Dublin's buildings. Much of what has been done with DCAP, and what is hoped to happen with the West Innovation District, updating those plans to allow for different densities, different types of buildings, different mix of uses — is to generate some new investment. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes commented that almost nothing has happened at the West Innovation District. The City has invested a tremendous amount of time, energy and talent in the WID. From an economic development perspective, why are we not seeing any results? That would largely be the kind of land that people are most seeking now. Ms. Gilger responded it is a combination of factors. There is not a lot of infrastructure in the WID — lots of large farms, no roads, and no utilities. There are also landowners who are unwilling to sell or annex to the City. With the Rings farm and the Young property now clustered by the City and starting to look at how to realign Shier -Rings Road will help to open a lot of development opportunity. It is an example of job ready sites — having the utilities at the curb, having the zoning and parcels already set, those types of things are important. The work the City is lining up to do on the Rings farm over the past year will help spur that development. In addition, all of the work the City is doing with Ohio University is important. There is a new university president in place at OU, and that has required time to orient him and build a relationship with him. OU is very interested in starting to do projects on their campus in the next year or two. What has taken place to date in the WID has been a lot of setting the conditions for development. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes commented that an item not on the list of "winning" is revenue. Ms. Gilger responded it is not on her list, as ED does not track this in their office. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes stated that what she hears is the City has little vacant office space. Not all occupations are equal in terms of pay scale, and her sense is that the City replaced a number of formerly high producing square feet areas with ones that are not nearly as high producing in withholding taxes, such as call centers. What work can we do to attract the type of jobs we desire? Ms. Gilger responded that a good example is the 100 gig program. Call centers don't need 100 gig, but IT companies do. Simulation software companies need 100 gig. Staff has found that the companies seeking the 100 gig infrastructure are a different breed of companies. This is one of the methods used to recruit the "right" type of companies. There is also a need for healthy diversity in the mix of businesses, in the case of a downturn in some industries. A lot of Dublin office space is not set up to Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 9 be call center "friendly," as the per square foot cost for Dublin office space is the highest in the market. Dublin also lacks in public transportation. Cheap rent and buses are needed to support call centers. Companies that want a premier address and are willing to pay for it is how Dublin is filling its office space. She believes that predominantly, Dublin is getting the right type of companies. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes asked if the data being collected is industry specific. Mr. McDaniel responded there are some additional slides to be reviewed, if desired. Many industry types are going to relate to the type of square footage available. They classify as industrial/retail, etc. Ms. Gilger added that the narrative that accompanies these slides is likely more of the data that Ms. De Rosa has requested. • Quarter by quarter, staff will be able to provide these reports and at year end. Looking at the largest increases in vacancies, Dublin knows which buildings those are and the problems they face in filling the space. Dublin knows how many Class A office buildings are under construction in the market, and the only one in Dublin currently is in Bridge Park. Therefore, staff is aware of where the investment is happening in Dublin. • Looking at the large leases over the last couple of quarters, there have been three companies — all new jobs. There is the consolidation and growth in Wells Fargo. Clinix Healthcare and Veeva are both new companies and staff will be able to quantify these with job counts. In the last four quarters, 25 companies renewed and expanded; in the last four quarters, 26 companies have moved into Dublin, signing new leases. She has that list of names. Ms. De Rosa asked what companies have left Dublin and what companies have reduced employment. Ms. Gilger responded that in terms of companies leaving Dublin, the only way the City knows of it is if they are a large and significant company that makes an announcement. For the smaller companies that leave, the spaces are filled quickly. For a 5,000 to 10,000 square foot office, it typically fills up again quickly if a company leaves. As companies leave, the relationships are lost and they are removed from the City's databases. • Staff also tracks industrial office use. She would like to have more industrial flex type space, as there is little available in Dublin and little in the pipeline. WID and Shier -Rings area allow for these types of buildings, and staff will be working to attract some developers into the speculative market in Dublin. The spec market has been inactive for 5-6 years; developers are not building unless they have 75 percent pre -lease commitments. • There is nothing new in the pipeline for medical, as hospitals are not tracked. The tracking is done for leased space in medical office environment, not for hospitals. There is little empty in medical office space, and nothing in the pipeline coming soon. There has been inventory lost in the medical office space category. But she is hopeful with the momentum in the WID that this will change over the next year or two. • In regard to retail, the space is refilled once available. She noted this information is Dublin specific, not including Tuttle or Sawmill that is outside of Dublin. There has been some discussion regarding the loss of anchor stores at Tuttle Mall, so perhaps there will be some reinvestment made in this area in the next year or two. It is important to have that reinvestment occur on both sides of Tuttle. • In looking at retail strengths and weaknesses, the slide shown depicts this and indicates the Dublin market can absorb more in certain retail categories. • Staff tracks the large blocks of office that are known to be currently empty. Staff is addressing some of the building issues with PACE audits, looking at parking ratios, and the DCAP plan that will allow owners to do some modernizations to their sites to make them more efficient. Most of the empty office blocks are in DCAP, with the exception of the Kilgour building on the OCLC campus recently vacated by Cardinal. Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 10 • In terms of planned or new construction, there should be development on the Rings farm next year; a flex building near the Ashland campus and at Bridge Park. • Regarding submarket comparisons, one vacancy can skew the numbers due to the micro level of data. Atrium I with Nationwide moving out of the two towers is the single reason for the changes seen on the slide. One building vacancy caused Westerville, Polaris and New Albany to drop, but their inventory in terms of square footage available is much smaller than Dublin's. With a 41,000 sq. ft. lease in New Albany results in their vacancy rate dipping very low, given the total amount of square footage they have compared with Dublin. • Per square foot, Dublin remains the most expensive — demand is high, vacancy rates are low. Dublin is competing against tax abatements offered in other communities, which is why it is probably reflected in their lease costs. But once the abatements roll off, their lease rates will jump. Overall, on average, Dublin is still the most expensive market. It is important to keep the aging office space in Dublin updated so that these spaces are competitive in the market. • In terms of employment by industry in Dublin, Battelle validates this every five years. Finance, insurance, healthcare, professional, scientific, technical jobs are the highest employment categories in Dublin. Wholesale trade is Cardinal Health. The data shown is a year old. Mr. McDaniel added that this data was pulled from the ESRI report, which was found in data Dublin is getting through a new relationship with Brent Swander of the Columbus Board of Realtors. Ms. Gilger noted that this is also data that is driven out of ESRI, which Dublin's GIS indicates is available to through our own subscriptions and we can draw more specific maps for Dublin. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes asked if there is a way to backtrack that information that has been generated for a long time to provide the historical data versus waiting for the next update. Ms. Gilger responded that she believes that can be done. Much of the data is only updated annually — it depends how far back they can go. The report is done monthly, but some of the slides are only based on year-end data and they don't change month to month. Staff will check into the possibility of obtaining these past reports. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes stated this would be helpful, and they also can cross the data to determine when a mailing address was no longer valid and when it was active again. She is aware that their staff is also looking for more projects for their staff. Mr. Swander is their Government Affairs Director. They do this for transportation as well as real estate. Ms. Gilger stated that the unemployment shows the same workforce issues that exist across the country — not just in Dublin. The Digital Workforce Campaign is important to make sure that people know of the job opportunities in Dublin. With the innovation platforms, bringing more certification training to the DEC, looking at what can be done with the Smart Corridor, training initiatives/partnerships with the Dublin Schools, retraining opportunities with Tolles — these are all part of the relationships that we have. Hopefully, new programs can be generated, with retraining for different fields and filling some of these job vacancies. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes asked if the DEC is still the best vehicle for achieving what we desire. They have some success stories, but the return on investment of those is not high. Ms. Gilger responded that the DEC serves as the incubator for small businesses on the third floor. On the first floor, spaces are provided for training. Now that the model is changing and the DEC receives less funding from the City, they have had to find ways to generate additional revenue themselves. They are partnering with colleges and universities to bring in formal training programs requiring enrollment. Their programs are not available in the northwest part of the market, and so this will provide an opportunity to bring more people in for training and leaving with an actual certificate or Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 11 college credits. The training was previously informal, but is now much more formal and targeted. They are closely looking at IT and Entrepreneurship as two of the certification programs they will bring in. Based on this perspective, the DEC is still incredibly relevant. The third floor may not have all the graduation successes, but there are strong businesses there and good churn. There is always a wait list of companies, and they do turn over. The training, however, could be the game changer for workforce. Mr. Reiner stated that with a flat revenue budget, the interest is in projecting revenues going forward. Mr. McDaniel stated that the revenue projections are really what he and the Finance Director are focused on, although certainly ED is aware of this as well. In regard to the data, the City has been tracking data, constantly monitoring Intel as much as possible. The idea of collecting the data has been to get to a better level of metrics to measure. As a result of Council's initiative around the retreat, staff has been challenged even more. The reason he had a call for committee structure is to enable these "deep dives." He is also fine with doing this in work sessions with all Council members present, but that may be harder in terms of tackling lots of topics. It can be done either way. This kind of dialogue is important to have. In looking at how Dublin does economic development, there are several things we have been doing to change the game to get us on a future projected upswing in revenue. He reminded everyone that he knew when he was appointed City Manager that there would be a flat period for revenues. That is strictly the result of two major companies leaving Dublin and having to reset the market in available square footage. It does not matter how many or what type of companies in Dublin — but in the end, it is how many employees are occupying the square footage in the buildings and paying the income tax to Dublin. That has had a significant effect on Dublin's ability to get back on this positive trajectory. Staff has been predicting revenues down purposely, based on the Intel gathered. Staff will continue to project revenues being down based on Intel on a significant company that could leave Dublin. Another example was a company planning to leave Dublin, the lease falling through for their new location and then signing a lease in Dublin —without incentives. Nexio was planning to leave the Ashland campus, and there were 250 jobs involved and they planned to move to the IBM campus just outside the Dublin border. The deal did not go through, and they signed a lease to remain in Dublin. Ms. Gilger added that Nexio just filled a building that Cardinal Health have vacated, which is more good news. Mr. McDaniel noted that several years ago, with the Battelle study, the City identified the condition setting needed to change the type of companies. Council funded the Battelle study to help determine how to change and plan for the industry clusters. This will be the third generation of that analysis to help identify what clusters are emerging in the region that would be suitable for Dublin. Dublin is now a top IT city, due to the cluster development focus the City has taken in recent years. Same for healthcare and R&D jobs. All of these are a function of working together. Ms. De Rosa stated she agrees that all of these are the right things to do. What she is seeking is data to help us know where we are. She is requesting that the budget include funding for either a position and/or a project so that in the next six months we can build the metrics of that data that will help us — how many employees, where are they, etc. In reviewing the list of objectives for ED for next year, she can't imagine how all of this can be done with the current staffing and funding. The staff have a heavy workload. She is asking for something that will help us — a sum of money in the budget to either hire a contract analyst for a year to help do this so that we have that data. It is that important. As long as revenue remains flat, and there will be losses of employees from some big companies as mentioned. Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 12 Mr. McDaniel responded that if she believes an analyst is the answer to changing the trajectory on revenues, then he agreed that an analyst should be hired. He mentioned to the Administrative Committee on Monday that he has a position in his office that will be on hold, and it can certainly be funded for such a position if Council desires. There is a lot of other work being done on the data side to help staff. There has not been adequate discussion for Council to understand or for staff to share the information and for staff to hear from Council. Ms. De Rosa stated that her frustration is that Council asked for this data at the retreat, and it is not available yet. She is asking for a project to help accomplish this. In a three to four month period, she would like to have this information. How sensitive are we to some of these employers? The data cannot come from Tax, but she would like Council to be able to have that and to add to the budget dollars to do this — whether that is a full-time hire or a contract expert for a year — but she would like to have that project funded. She is very concerned that the revenues continue to be in the negative. She wants Council to have the data they need to identify these areas of concern — data that cannot be shared from the Tax department. She is asking for dollars to address this, whether it is taken from somewhere else in the proposed budget. She believes that the current ED staff is working as hard as possible and this additional help is needed. Ms. Gilger stated that this could be addressed through a professional services contract. Mr. McDaniel stated that this is a question for the City Manager. He appreciates and support the offer to provide more resources. He will return with a number and a plan, although he is not certain what it is that is desired from that data. He has not been able to get his arms around what exactly is desired in data. He will meet with Ms. De Rosa to discuss this. Ms. De Rosa stated that the most important thing Council can do is to determine how to get the revenues moving in a direction that is predictable. She wants to understand when the revenue will turn, how much it will turn, and what are the sensitivities to it, so that the conversation can take place. Mr. McDaniel stated that there are some data analytics companies in Dublin, and they may be a good resource to help respond to this. Staff will return with a proposal. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes added the platform that the data is on is incredibly important as well. There are people in the real estate market who can project trends. By market, there are people who know the trends. Monitoring these trends over the course of five or ten years per trend would help to plan. She believes the Columbus Board of Realtors would be an excellent resource in this, and perhaps they could beta test this for marketing to their constituency. Mr. Reiner summarized that Mr. McDaniel will respond with a cost analysis for a metrics program to help project future revenues. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes stated that it is a good suggestion to have this housed in the City Manager's office versus Economic Development and using some of that unfunded position in the City Manager's office for this work would make sense. Mr. Reiner noted that ED does use interns, and what type of background would they have. Ms. Gilger responded that, typically, interns are in the fields of public policy and finance. Ms. De Rosa stated she is available to meet and discuss this further Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 13 Ms. De Rosa stated that in reviewing the revenue trends, the corporate profit number continues to decrease. What are we able to now about why or how that is happening? She is aware there are some statewide impacts on this. In terms of predictability, what can we project? Ms. Mumma responded that this question would be better fielded by Kevin Robison, Tax Director in their budget hearing next week. An initiative that will begin next year is proactively reaching out to the Top 10 or 20 businesses on a routine basis to establish relationships. Eighty percent of the City's revenue is withholding, as Council is aware. But staff would have a better sense of what is occurring that impacts withholding fluctuations — hiring more people or more payouts. Nothing on a tax return will provide this level of information. This will be a focus in 2019. From a net profit standpoint, the state taking this over has had impacts. There is a delay in receiving those monies, as expected. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes noted that there were some changes in the Tax Code as well. Ms. Mumma agreed, citing the net operating loss carry forward change. These two changes together have had impacts. Mr. Robison will address these items in his presentation next week. Buildina Standards General Fund 3-83-3-89 Brad Fagrell, new Director of Building Standards presented the budget. He reviewed the organizational chart, noting the division has two work units: plan review with in-house staff and the use of some consultants; inspection section, which processes permits and performs field inspections and sign -off of projects. Currently, there are 15 full-time staff and no changes are requested for 2019. The primary responsibility for the division is to ensure that residential and commercial construction complies with all local, state and national building codes. They perform code reviews, issue building permits, provide inspections and issue certificates of occupancy for all construction in the City of Dublin. They provide direction and Code information and requirements to Dublin residents, homeowners and the construction industry. He is a strong advocate of good customer service, which is a high priority for the division. They provide timely construction activity information to all stakeholders. The funding request for the division includes a minor 1.1 percent increase overall. With the new director on board, Mr. Harpham will return to his position as Master Plans Examiner. In regard to professional services and contract services, they currently use three outside plan review firms and also Washington Township fire for their plan review and inspections. Under building inspection services, they use Franklin County Public Health for plumbing plan review and inspections. Under the miscellaneous contract services, one item year to date is significantly over budget. That is the credit card processing fees charged. This line item will need to increase in the future, as more people are using credit cards versus having to cut a check to pay permit fees. There is a convenience fee portion of this that is recovered. Plan review and inspection are all market driven and recoverable. This fee offsets the cost of the credit card processing. Mr. Reiner asked Mr. Fagrell if he believes the staffing level is appropriate, given the economy and the construction activity. Has he had an opportunity to analyze this yet? Mr. Fagrell responded that it appears to him that the staffing level is adequate. Using the plan review consultants can be adjusted as the market changes. He has only been with the City for two weeks, but this is his initial assessment. He will ensure that the staffing is adequate to provide the services expected. Brief discussion followed about the challenge of the timing expectations for review and permitting. Mr. Fagrell noted that everyone is always in a hurry to have their plans approved, however. Dublin does a lot of partial approvals, conditional approvals, which greatly complicate the process from the City's side. There may be multiple versions of plans approved, and the superintendent in the field may Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 14 not have the most current version. He believes the actual production of the building suffers, as it is difficult to keep track of the various plans for various projects. For larger projects, the inspectors are generally assigned to the same projects for continuity purposes. He would like to have the phased approval be more of an exception than a rule. He recognizes the need for contractors to keep moving, but there is a balance issue for the process. The turnaround times in Dublin are at the industry standard level. Two week turnaround at the initial point; one week in resubmittals. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes stated that the issues seem to relate more to the approval process than in the plan review process. Mr. Fagrell stated that their group meets each day at 9:30 a.m. to review all of the new submittals, have discussion, review status of projects, and reallocate resources as needed to meet the timeframes for review. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes asked about the actual numbers in 2017 for miscellaneous contract services at $25,000; nearly $40,000 in 2018; and the 2019 budget is $7,000. Was there any contemplation of potential projects? How was the $7,000 figure determined? Mr. Fagrell responded that is for credit card fees. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes stated that this does not seem adequate, based on the revised budgets. Ms. Mumma responded that staff will make an adjustment to that. The credit card fees are based on a percentage, and there were some higher dollar transactions in previous years. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes stated that she understands the reason for the revised budgets, but believes the 2019 budget number should be adjusted accordingly. Ms. Mumma stated it was simply overlooked and the final budget to be reviewed by Council will have an increase for that line, based on recent experience. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes recalls that there was an appropriations amendment request for credit card processing fees. The fewer amendments to the annual appropriations, the better. Ms. Mumma agreed. Ms. De Rosa stated there is obviously a lot of technology involved in the Building Standards work. Is there a technology tool used in the field, i.e. hand held device? It seems that the efficiency would be improved with use of this technology. Mr. McCollough responded that the IT budget includes technology now being deployed for Building Standards and all of Community Development. It is a very extensive, large project and will replace a lot of existing technology in the City. It adds new technology and reconfigures some older technology. Ms. De Rosa asked if hand held devices are to be utilized with this. Mr. McCollough responded that the City is moving to a technology platform that allows more browser - based access and elsewhere in the City there is a move to more handheld devices. In the Building Standards division, the hand held device is not yet being used. Changing the form factor, the software and the business process in the same six-month period would be somewhat irresponsible. They are doing this in a sequential manner. The big action for Building Standards while Mr. Fagrell is coming on board is to change the software platform. He can speak more to this in the IT budget. Ms. De Rosa asked if the movement is to Cloud. Mr. McCollough responded there is a Cloud component to this. Ms. De Rosa added that it feels like the right thing to do, if we are making this change. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes cautioned about pushing the hand held devices too far, as it is difficult in terms of the construction world. Paper is still the "king" and it is difficult to use hand held devices for scaling purposes, etc. Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 15 Mr. Fagrell commented that the City has a -plan, and asks everyone to submit electronically is possible. All of the larger projects are all done electronically. His approvals are done electronically and the electronic documents are in a repository. Planning General Fund 3-91-3-93 Mr. Papsidero shared the organizational chart for the division, noting they have 23 staff in total. There are four work units: the Director's office; current planning that supports boards and commissions, zoning and subdivision process and annexation; long range planning related to all the area planning work such as Community Plan, mobility study, a host of special projects; and Code Enforcement, which is very involved in the field and a host of property management/maintenance issues. They are proposing one change in staffing — a part-time Code Enforcement officer becoming a full-time for 2019. The desire is to be more proactive in the field in terms of enforcing codes and property maintenance issues. He shared the list of key services of the Division: manage City's development review process; update and implement the Zoning Code, Community Plan and special studies; enforce City's Code relative to the built environment; support boards and commissions; conduct zoning compliance inspections; ensure quality customer service; engage with the community The 2019 funding request overall represents a 1.3 percent decrease over the 2018 budget. Changes in the budget are the part-time Code Enforcement officer going to full-time, which has a $30,000 impact on the budget. In terms of planning projects/services, the items reflected in the 2019 budget are as follows: Bright Road Area Plan — existing project continuation - $ 20,000 This project was put on hiatus about two years ago due to transportation planning work underway in the Sawmill Corridor between Dublin and Columbus. Once that concludes, the expectation is for re- engagement and completing this project in 2019. DCAP/WID Code and Guidelines — existing project — $20,000 Staff intends to wrap up the Code update and design guidelines for both DCAP and WID in 2019, which anticipates a minor addition to this budget. Historic District Outreach — existing project — $10,000 Staff sees this as an outgrowth of recent discussions related to Design Guidelines update. A new project is the implementation of the Historic/Cultural Assessment Implementation at $ 15,000. Council has prioritized this project. Mobility Study, Phase 3 — existing project - $15,000 This is the final piece of the project, which will be completed in 2019. Placemaking — a new project — a line item for $25,000 has been added Several Council members have discussed this topic on and off throughout the past 12 months. There is not a particular work item designated for this allocation, staff would be looking for further direction from Council about whether or not this is a priority and what that might mean from a policy perspective. It has been an item of discussion relative to Bridge Park as well as other parts of the City, and so Planning is proposing an allocation of funds toward this broad topic. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes asked if this is a consultant type of role. Is this about enhancing places to make them "places made" or studying it? What specifically does this anticipate? Mr. Papsidero responded that they don't view this as a capital investment, which would be in the CIP. It could be anything such as an exercise, task or study that would respond to a priority of Council. It Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 16 could be a public event or many other things not yet defined. It could lead to a physical project, but at this point, staff will seek further direction from Council on priority. Mr. McDaniel stated that "existing or ongoing" projects are ones that are high priority to have moved forward and completed. The new projects are ones that could be elevated as a result of committee discussion to the larger Council. Staff is seeking validation that all of Council wants to have this project. The Southwest Area Plan, Phase 1 is another new project and staff is seeking Council's input. The focus for the new projects is whether or not Council wants to move forward with them. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes clarified that her question about "Placemaking" was largely for a specific area of the City. Mr. Papsidero responded staff has not done that yet. A good example of this would be an exercise shared about another community that takes photos, hashtag, and comment about what should be in this location. That is a good example of a public exercise to address placemaking at a specific location. Staff wants to hear Council's feedback, particularly about engaging the public in this. Perhaps this could be further discussed at a work session, if desired. Ms. De Rosa stated that the planning services on this list are for consultants — not for staff. This list comprises about $240,000, which is larger than the Planning Service budget for 2019. The City spends a fair amount on consulting services, and she understands that these services enhance the ability to carry out projects without adding additional full-time staff. There are obviously very talented staff working for the City, so she wonders why all of these projects would be funded by consulting services. Mr. Papsidero responded that the majority of these services could be done by staff, but bringing on consultants to assist with the projects allows staff to accomplish more. That is the reason that historically, Dublin has used consultants to expand the staff's ability to deliver services to the community. Absent the consultant services, handling the project list would warrant two or three additional planners. Ms. De Rosa asked if that is an absolute tradeoff. With the talented staff Dublin has, it seems many of these projects could be done by staff. There is a lot of consulting services in this budget. Mr. Reiner agreed. The question is if it is less expensive to hire a full-time employee — a land planner or landscape architect — that could cover some of these projects. These employees could also be utilized for other departments, such as Parks. For example, there was a desire by Council to have more small nodes in the new park versus just large open spaces. Why would the City not assign this to a City landscape architect to design and bring back? It did not seem necessary to have this additional work done by MKSK. He looks at the consulting contracts year after year with high numbers and wonders if it would be more cost effective to have our own high quality landscape architects/land planners to do this work. Mr. Papsidero responded in some cases, that is an option. In others, such as mobility, it was necessary to bring in transportation planning specialists who would never be hired as full-time staff. But in many cases, additional staff could be added, but he would defer to the City Manager. Ms. De Rosa stated that the staff in place could also be leveraged for these projects, with their particular skillsets. Dublin has a very healthy sized Planning department vis-a-vis the other cities around the region — that is what makes Dublin special. Her question is which of these staff could be given stretch assignments to support these projects. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes commented that some of them are very personal for Dublin. She is not certain why Dublin would hire a consultant to do its Historical/Cultural Assessment implementation. If Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 17 Dublin does not know what it wants to do with our historical and cultural inventory, how would a consultant know? Mr. Papsidero responded, specific to that, the consultant would be brought in to do what we want them to do — to complete the project and do the tasks desired. If Dublin wanted to designate a new District, that constitutes a lot of "leg work" — which could be done internally, but using professional services allows more to be accomplished in a given timeframe without hiring additional staff. Mr. Reiner commented that he believes a high quality landscape architect or urban planner could be hired by the City to do some of this work at a much lower cost. He would much prefer having the expertise in house than hiring consultants to perform studies. Mr. McDaniel stated that staff is trying to respond with a list of planning projects, based on what they are hearing from Council and the guidance received. Perhaps all of these projects do not need to be done. Reducing the number of projects could enable our planners to execute on that. But to do the entire list with existing planners is not possible. The funding listed for the professional services for these projects is fairly low. But if Council's preference is to do projects with Dublin staff, he recommends the list be reduced. Ms. De Rosa noted her observation is that this is the case for every project. There is simply a lot of consulting dollars in this budget. She is just asking the question to understand why this is the case. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes commented on the Historic District Outreach project listed. She does not believe the City should send another consultant to the Historic District until we know what we want to do. Mr. Papsidero stated that some of the expertise is not currently in house, for example for services such as some aspects of graphic designs and the transportation related work. For the Southwest Area Plan, Phase 1 — just Cosgray east at this time — it could require a full-time staff person for 18 months to do that one project. That is the magnitude involved with all of the engagement needed. Planning staff assist with this neighborhood engagement regardless, but if done totally in house, the physical planning and all of that management — that is the kind of staff impact it would have, based on his experience in Planning over many years. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes suggested partnering more with Communications & Public Information, versus Planning staff doing the community engagement piece. Has this been considered? CPI staff would have a stronger skillset in those outreach efforts. Would there be any value in exploring this? Mr. Papsidero responded that CPI does work with Planning on the outreach and publicity for the projects. But in terms of managing public engagement itself — the meetings, the stakeholder interviews, the stakeholder groups — that is beyond their expertise due to the technical nature of the conversation. CPI does help Planning with sharing information about meetings, etc. using all of the social media tools. However, Planning staff --and/or augmented by consultants -- must be present to manage those technical conversations. Ms. De Rosa summarized that what the Committee members are indicating is there might be opportunities to explore in regard to the questions raised about consultant services. She notes that there is also a Planner position open at this time. Mr. Papsidero responded that is correct. A vacancy occurred for a Planner II, and Logan Stang was promoted to that position. As a result, there is now a vacancy for a Planner I. Ms. De Rosa asked if there were other duties considered to assign to this now open position. Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 18 Mr. Papsidero responded that the open position is part of the current planning team and focuses strictly on board and commission support, zoning and subdivision case work. That position in needed in that team. Mr. Reiner commented that a consideration in recruiting for a replacement might be seeking a candidate with a more diversified background in many aspects of work the City does. Mr. Papsidero responded that three of the Planning staff have landscape architecture degrees, and it would be helpful to attract those with urban design, graphic design, and real estate backgrounds. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes stated that a skillset needed in the Planning department is writing so that the Code revisions are clearly articulated, based on the intent. Someone with a strong background in technical writing would be helpful. Mr. Reiner added that someone with a strong background in design would be an enhancement as well. Mr. McDaniel asked for clarification. Is Council's desire not to use consultants for some of these projects, but to leverage the staff as much as possible? Is there a desire to reduce the proposed projects? He understands there is a desire by Council to leverage the in house staff talent. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes stated that she is not certain what "Placemaking" means in terms of the budget allocations. She can't speak to whether this should be increased, decreased or eliminated from the list. Mr. Reiner stated he would like to know when the implementation of these projects is scheduled to begin. At that time, Council can have a discussion about whether or not they want to move forward — and whether to staff this in house or with professional services. Some of these projects need more discussion prior to entering into contracts. Ms. De Rosa added that she would prefer to discuss which of these projects could be done in house, and is there a way to change the number that is budgeted. She would like to see more funding on revenue generating opportunities -- if that is possible in the short-term by leveraging some of this work and/or technology infrastructure to get us where we need to go on some of these things. She encouraged staff to "sharpen a pencil." Mr. McDaniel responded that staff will return with some more definition of the projects and expertise needed. Some of this expertise is not available in house at this time. He agreed that DCAP and WID need to be completed quickly. Staff will return with some information in follow-up to this discussion. [At this point, the Committee recessed for five minutes.] Information Technology Information Technoloav General Fund General Fund 3-115 — 3-117 3-115 — 3-117 Mr. McCollough shared an overview of the organizational chart for the department, which includes three key functions: Network Operations & Help/Service Desk; GIS and Data Management; and Business Services and Analysis on I.T. projects. There are 15 full-time staff members. Their budget also includes funding for part-time interns; they do not have a current intern. Their 2019 budget request includes no change in staffing. Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 19 He described the key services as outlined in the handout. o Design, Procure, Host, Manage, Monitor, Secure, Repair, and Maintain, all major and minor software and hardware systems, applications, devices, servers, and technology service equipment. o Perform data collection, storage, manipulation, processing, reporting, retrieval, mapping, and retention for all departments of the City. o Provide project management, business analysis, business partnership, scoping, portfolio, and presentation services to City staff. Deliver Service Desk/Help Desk on call, on demand repair, and maintenance services to city staff, including training, explanations, and orientation. o Administer technology contract purchasing, billing, and payment services. o Implement, protect, and maintain network and security services, telecommunications, printing, faxing, wireless/cell service. Key Changes: o Major changes in IT this year reflect changes made to how we account for some technologies, driven by some new business models in the industry. We are migrating to more Software as a Service (SaaS) and Cloud models, where the software is hosted offsite, by a third party. Companies have characterized their models variously as Rent, Lease, Licensing, Maintenance, and Subscription, to name a few. o There is a significant increase in the Contractual Services line item that were previously in Professional Services, Supplies or other categories. This year, Contractual Services also includes rents, leases, maintenance and licensing. The actual change in the 2019 funding request is 5.5%. Most of that increase is reflective of the addition of new technology to the City. As that software gets into production, those costs will decrease again. o I.T. is performing these transformations in 2019: o Consolidation - Replacing smaller single purpose applications with enterprise -wide systems. By consolidating into fewer enterprise systems, the IT staff has fewer systems necessary to be expert in, fewer to secure and maintain, expanding the reach of the staff. o SaaS and Cloud solutions cost more than on -premises systems, but the City eliminates the burden and impact of systems upgrades, some security, some data protection, allowing us to grow our capacity without new personnel. o The Contractual Services budget line item reflects a large increase due more to the transfer of existing contracts to this line than the increase in costs. - Consolidating smaller, single department software systems into larger Enterprise- wide systems. - Migrating on -premises systems into SaaS (Software as a Service) and Cloud hosted solutions. In the past, it was necessary to buy the systems, put them on a server and house that server in the Data Center. The City is taking advantage of the new technologies in order to reduce our footprint in the Data Center, which is expensive, and we are increasing our ability to vary what systems we get. If we don't like a cloud system, it can be turned off and another one turned on. Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 20 - Re -Categorizing technology we access as a service into the Contractual Services budget. Those changes are making the following impacts in the IT budget: o Some software license costs stand out as rising as enterprise -wide systems are being implemented, replacing the smaller single -purpose applications they are replacing are less visible. The goal is to replace 300 systems with 30 more manageable systems. o SaaS and Cloud solutions cost more than on -premises systems, but we eliminate the burden and impact of systems upgrades, some security, some data protection, allowing us to grow our capacity without new personnel. o The Contractual Services budget line item reflects a large increase due more to the transfer of existing contracts to this line than the increase in costs. o We are also increasing the number and type of systems we are adding to the City, most notably with the Community Development system. This large enterprise -wide system includes some new software, and some upgrades to existing software. The solution includes multiple items such as Accela and Project Dox, some of which we already used for other purposes, but are being reconfigured for this critical business system. o Cost savings from redundant telecommunication charges (-$120K) and retiring legacy systems (Verizon, IBM AS400) are balanced by new enterprise systems (Accela, Project Dox). Professional Services/Contract Services There is a 78% change from 2018 to 2019. That line item reflects the following key changes: New Community Development System (Accela/ProjectDox) will connect and automate Development processes. Includes multiple software packages and requires a large training and implementation service. Smaller systems (Kronos Timekeeping -$71K, RecTrac/WebTrac -$45K) are migrating to cloud versions, which will result in higher availability, better security, lower management burden, greater flexibility and mobility. Moved MDC -$467K, moved Cologix, ProjectDox is new -$135.5K, moved Accela - $121K, eBuilder hit -$48K. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes inquired if the smaller systems that they are acquiring work with the other systems in place. For example, is the Kronos Timekeeping tied in with the GIS truck mapping, etc.? Mr. McCollough responded affirmatively. They look for those opportunities. Now that they are in cloud areas, all of these enterprise systems that we have been gathering, we are requiring that they be compliant with certain public APIs, so they are able to build one data platform into which they can pull all the data from all of our systems. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes stated that one can verify the Kronos Timekeeping system with the City's GIS placement if the expectation is for real-time reporting. That will add accountability. Mr. McCullough stated that the new timekeeping systems allow for many valuable features such as that. With timekeeping, the geo fencing component -- who is where and when — is an opportunity if we migrate to the cloud and if we keep our version moving. We need to continue to migrate, so that we will be able to take advantage of that opportunity. Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 21 Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes stated that there have been significant savings in the industry as a result of types of changes. It can provide a defense for a number of things. It provides many tools not really relative to timekeeping. In the industry, that is one of the biggest opportunities for closing the gap on losses. Mr. McCullough stated that he appreciates that feedback and guidance. We are moving more and more staff to mobile devices. Staff can be onsite with the data they need, and not need to drive to access it. The data from their business activity can be viewed back at headquarters immediately, and the employee can be re -deployed elsewhere. This saves time and money. That is a change with which some people may not be fully comfortable; it is a cultural change. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes inquired what will go mobile first. Mr. McCollough responded that would be Cityworks, which would involve many field personnel. They can put a "hot spot" in a City vehicle, and they can work with ipads and even iphones. They are working on some non-technical issues, but he anticipates that effort will be expanded in the next year. Mr. Reiner stated that his concern is security. It seems the most secure of systems are being breached. If the City's system was accessed and City taxpayers' social security numbers obtained, that would be a huge problem. Mr. McCullough stated that they spend a significant amount of time on hardening the City systems and securing our environment. That is their concern and focus. Recently, they had a third party evaluate the security of the City's systems. They learned that the City was scanned by an independent party for PII (personal identifiable information), which includes addresses, social security numbers and credit card information, and they found no information. However, they will continue to work on that security. The City's business process are segmented (HR, Police, Tax, DCRC purchasing) and have special security protocols. The security assessment identified many vulnerabilities in the City's systems, which are now being addressed. That company will be brought back to re -assess and then yet another company will be used to conduct a secondary assessment. Ms. De Rosa stated that with many organizations, it is part of their annual audit requirement that a security assessment be conducted by a third party. Is that something the City has discussed doing? Ms. Mumma responded that it has not been required by the City's auditors. Ms. De Rosa stated that is considered a best practice now, and it would be good to add that to the City's audit, annual or otherwise. Mr. McDaniel stated that two different audits have been referred to -- does one of those suffice for what is being requested, or is this about yet a third audit? Perhaps those aren't considered audits. Mr. McCollough responded that they are not audits. There are a couple of different security activities that are relevant, some of which the City has not done — for example, a penetration text. In that activity, people come in, walk around the building, see if they are challenged if they are not wearing a City badge, and attempt to gain access to certain areas. The maturity level of the City's security was less than the best, which why the City Manager directed them to work on this. The first step was the third party security assessment. That gave them a list of things to check, which after doing, a follow-up assessment will occur. That Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 22 will be followed by a penetration test. They are following a maturity curve in all of those efforts. Ms. De Rosa stated that she believes it should be added to the City's policies. It would be good if a best practice policy is identified, which then can be funded. Is that included in the City's budget? Mr. McCollough responded that their efforts related to security are reflected in the budget — there is a security line item. Ms. De Rosa inquired if a penetration test would already be budgeted. Mr. McCollough responded affirmatively. That test is planned. One of the things that we did not have was governance. We did not have a formal organizational process for oversight and accountability. We now have an IT Council that performs governance, and we have an IT Security Council. These are steps that any such protocol would require. The City is on track and fully budgeted for it. Mr. Reiner inquired if they have a level of confidence that it would not be possible to "crack" the City's security. Mr. McCollough responded that they do not have complete confidence of that. Mr. McDaniel stated that, unfortunately, it is possible at any time for any organization. Mr. McCullough stated that the City has had some success in security, but we cannot slack our efforts in any way. We are using some creative methods. Recently, an anonymous phishing test was conducted in the City to see if employees would click on them; if they did so, it indicated there was a problem and need for education. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes inquired about the results of the tests. Mr. Clark stated that the pass rate was 89%. Ms. De Rosa asked if the City currently has a data policy, and is it part of the plan. Mr. McCollough stated that the City has a full coverage policy. One of the proposals that has not yet been brought to Council is a Data Privacy Committee that could help build a Data Privacy Plan. Although he and staff are capable of creating it, it would be beneficial to have outside support. There is extensive data privacy knowledge in Dublin, and he would like to develop a committee to help construct that plan. Ms. De Rosa inquired about plans concerning data licensing. Mr. McCollough inquired if she is referring to a plan for monetization. Ms. De Rosa responded affirmatively — a service of the City that involves monetization. Mr. McCollough responded that is in his purview. I.T. shares with Economic Development and other departments as well. We have a number of projects, some of which are experimental — testing the waters on some things to evaluate the kind of infrastructure that would be needed in order to, at some point, monetize and license. Ms. De Rosa stated that with the focus on the Smart Corridor and Smart Business, the City needs a policy to be brought to Council for discussion in the near term. She is aware that the infrastructure takes some period of time. Mr. McCollough agreed. In regard to a data platform, they are building the data platform that the City of Dublin will be using for the Smart City and Smart Corridor focus. They want to be ready for that when it comes in. They have engaged a company to help them build a platform Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 23 that will pull together all of the enterprise systems, whether they be in the Data Center or in the cloud, into a single visualization and platform. He showed examples of data visualizations, noting that the City is yet months away from having real-time actual data. This type of data visualization should be able to occur with each department's data, i.e. building permits, snow and ice removal, police/crime data — all visible within a single system. The advantage of that being in place is that if Council asks for that type of information, the data is available and can be viewed. It should also be available to the public. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes inquired what company they are working with to consolidate the data. Mr. McCollough responded that there are two visualizations they have been working on. They have worked with Gathi Analytics; and for predictive analytics on revenue data, they work with Jastech. While this is just the visualization component, the platform itself is very robust and will be able to handle incoming data from outside sources. Ms. De Rosa inquired about the status of the Smart City work and plans. How is that being funded next year? Mr. McCollough asked if she is referring to the City of Dublin's Smart City equipment and program. Ms. De Rosa stated that there are two focuses — the Smart Corridor, but also the Dublin Smart City initiative. She would suggest that there be a work session where the Smart City strategy, including the steps, are reviewed. Mr. McCollough stated that the Smart City work they are doing has much to do with this data, generating insights, making decisions and changing our behavior. The second piece is a staff initiative to develop an innovation plan, which catalogues all of our activities, including our Smart City, Smart Mobility and Smart Parking activity. They have been asked to compile that into a single view, and they are working on that at this time. That will be one of the better tools for Council to see the different projects and the status thereof. That will be shared with Council. Ms. De Rosa inquired about the Smart Corridor. Mr. McCollough responded that the US33 Smart Mobility Corridor continues to move forward. The next couple of steps are the VSRC wireless equipment at periodic points along the 35 -mile corridor. The next step is -- as a proof of the concept -- putting up three devices -- two in Dublin in the Avery-Muirfield Road area and one in the City of Marysville — to determine if these devices actually work. Onboard units will be placed inside of vehicles. After testing, they should have enough information for a bigger deployment of 30-50 devices along that 35 -mile stretch of the US33 corridor. Ms. De Rosa suggested that it might be helpful for that review to come back to this committee. She would like to see the 12 to 24 -month plan for the City of Dublin's portion of this study. Mr. McDaniel stated that, similar to the Sustainability Framework Plan, they are putting together an Innovation Framework Plan that will give a better understanding of these innovation projects, one of which is the US33 Corridor -Connected Dublin. It will an administrative level document, which he will be sharing with Council soon. Eric Philips will be sharing a comprehensive presentation on the COG and the US33 Corridor at an upcoming Council meeting. It will be an opportunity to inform the public on the COG efforts. Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 24 Mr. McCollough stated that part of that discussion will include this information. If after that, Council still desires Dublin -specific briefing, they will be happy to provide that, as well. Ms. De Rosa responded that she must read his presentations and articles to remain up to date, so she would appreciate Council having that type of presentation. There are so many initiatives and they overlap. Mr. McDaniel stated that they are moving into implementation mode on Dublin's piece. Staff will be happy to articulate that to Council. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes stated that in these Operating Budget discussions on Contractual Services, it would be helpful if Professional Services and Miscellaneous Contract Services would be divided into compartments that include more description. What are we using contracts for versus staff? She has no idea what a Miscellaneous Services or Other Professional Services contract would be. If it is under $800, she does not need to know, but some of these contract amounts are over $1 million. Mr. McDaniel stated that he recognized Council's interests, so he has asked each department to highlight what that category consists of in their presentations. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes suggested that some nomenclature be provided that would better tie the contract to the activity. Mr. McDaniel stated that would be helpful to make sure that Council understands the new projects that are being proposed. The budget is not being increased significantly, old projects are falling off and new projects replacing them. He wants to make sure the new projects meet with Council's approval. Mr. Reiner inquired if there were any additional questions related to Information Technology. The Committee had no further questions. Ms. De Rosa stated that she had written a couple of general notes for overall discussion. One thing she believes would be helpful is sharing charts that showed three things: 1. Other Professional Services (713004), Consulting Services and Miscellaneous Contract Services. 2. Travel — by work area or department, showing the annual trends beginning with 2016. 3. Top 25 consultants/vendors used in the same years — 2016 going forward. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes stated that a few years ago, Council had a discussion about the Ohio Online Checkbook. The City had just converted to the Munis software and was attempting to determine its capabilities and compatibilities. It the City any closer to being able to participate in the program? Ms. Mumma responded that, prior to the previous Deputy Finance Director's departure, he was working on having the current financial system "talk to" the Online Checkbook and attempting to ensure its display was as user-friendly as possible. It is possible to move forward on that, if that is Council's direction. There are some entities who have decided not to do it. She would prefer to have Council, or perhaps the Finance Committee, review this online first to verify that it is indeed something Council wants to do. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes stated that it would be a good policy discussion to have going forward. Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 25 Ms. Mumma referred to Ms. De Rosa's request regarding Travel. Travel and Training are placed together under one account number, as it is difficult to segregate them in the system. Ms. De Rosa stated that travel and training would be very different in nature. Ms. Mumma responded that their attempt is to be very deliberate with the account structure and avoid creating additional accounts wherever possible. If there is a need, they do so. In this category, Travel and Training often occur simultaneously, i.e. traveling to a training conference. Ms. De Rosa commented in regard to the previous discussion about the HR online staff training. Is staff development training included in the same account? Ms. Mumma stated that there would be a difference between what is in HR's budget for citywide comprehensive staff training, versus what is in a particular department's budget. Mr. McDaniel stated that Mr. Rogers will be providing an update on the HR training structure. Ms. De Rosa responded that would be helpful. When everything is grouped together, it is difficult to have an accurate picture. It would also be helpful to have a chart on the overall spending trend of each work unit, same timeframe, and the percentage of the total department budget. For instance, over time, has more or less been spent on parks. Mr. Reiner inquired about the timeframe for this request — before the final operating budget this year, or would it be for next year? Ms. De Rosa responded that information should not be difficult to compile for this year. Ms. Mumma responded that none of it would be difficult to pull out. Mr. McDaniel suggested that the direction from the meeting discussion be clarified, including how the requested information is provided. The direction includes: o Respond to cost analysis on metrics program/platform for data. That item relates to Economic Development. o Increase funding for 713005 Miscellaneous Contractual Accounts Services for Building Standards. This item relates to the credit card fee. o Provide more detail on Planning's Professional Services Contracts. The goal is to determine if there are some items that could be performed by staff. o Ensure that security audits are conducted on a best practices timeframe, and develop said policy. o Develop a data service policy and provide to Council. o Provide a presentation to City Council or a Council committee on the Smart City information. o Provide a report with the top 25 consultants the City uses, as requested by Ms. De Rosa. Mr. McDaniel added that staff will respond to the requests from each committee's discussion re. the Operating Budget to all of Council. Perhaps the summary and the presentations from each committee's discussion could be placed where everyone can review it. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes stated that it would be helpful to put all of the information where it can be reviewed by all Council members. She inquired if the committee meetings are listed and meeting materials provided at the City's website. The Clerk responded affirmatively. Vice Mayor Amorose Groomes stated that providing all of the pertinent meeting materials in that location would be helpful. Community Development Committee Wednesday, October 31, 2018 Page 26 Mr. McDaniel stated that a packet would be provided for the Finance Committee of the Whole meeting on November 14. All of the requested information will be provided in advance of that meeting. He noted that the only two items requested by the Committee that would have a budget impact are: 1. Economic Development - Provide the requested data, which would have a cost implication; 2. Planning - Any changes that are made to their list of consultant contracts; 3. Building Standards - Adjustment for credit card fees Mr. Reiner inquired if any Committee direction is needed. Committee consensus was that no additional direction is needed at this time. Ms. De Rosa stated that the discussion was helpful. Mr. Reiner adjourned the meeting at 3:54 p.m. Clerk of Council