EDE Minutes 102721.pdf

ATTACHMENT A 
 
Phoenix City Council 
Economic Development and Equity (EDE) Subcommittee 
Summary Minutes 
Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2021 
City Council Chambers 
200 W. Jefferson St. 
Phoenix, Ariz. 
Subcommittee Members Present                    Subcommittee Members 
Absent 
Councilwoman Laura Pastor, Chair 
        Councilwoman Yassamin 
Ansari 
Councilwoman Ann O’Brien 
Councilwoman Debra Stark 
 
CALL TO ORDER 
Chairwoman Pastor called the Economic Development and Equity 
Subcommittee to order at 10:03 a.m. with Councilwoman Ann O’Brien and 
Councilwoman Debra Stark present.  
CALL TO THE PUBLIC 
None. 
MINUTES OF MEETINGS 
1. Minutes of the Economic Development and Equity Subcommittee 
Meeting 
Councilwoman Stark made a motion to approve the minutes of the Sept. 
28, 2021 Economic Development and Equity Subcommittee meeting. 
Councilwoman O’Brien seconded the motion which passed unanimously, 3-
0. 
CONSENT ACTION (ITEMS 2-3)  
Items 2-3 were for consent action. No presentations were planned, but staff 
was available to answer questions.

Councilwoman O’Brien made a motion to approve items 2-3. 
Councilwoman Stark seconded the motion which passed unanimously, 3-0. 
2. Authorization to Enter Into Agreement for FY 2021-2022 and to 
Extend FY 2017-2018 Agreement for Tourism and Hospitality Advisory 
Board Funds. 
3. 2021-22 HOME Investment Partnerships Program Call for Interest 
INFORMATION AND DISCUSSION (ITEMS 4-5)  
4. Key Phoenix Economic Indicators Quarterly Report 
Deputy City Manager Ginger Spencer introduced the item and Budget and 
Research Department Director Amber Williamson. 
Ms. Williamson presented information on the fourth quarter report of the 
Key Phoenix Economic Indicators for Fiscal Year 2020-21. She highlighted 
multiple indicators, described positive trends in the current year, and noted 
areas most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Councilwoman Stark noted that many businesses were having difficulty 
hiring staff and asked how this may impact the unemployment rate in 
Phoenix. 
Ms. Williamson explained that the unemployment rate was decreasing, but 
the labor participation rate had not reached pre-pandemic levels, causing 
hiring difficulties. She indicated that the City’s position was favorable and 
may improve in coming months. 
Councilwoman O’Brien asked about the difference between the labor 
participation rate and the unemployment rate.  
Ms. Williamson described the unemployment rate as the number of 
individuals actively seeking employment and unable to find work. She 
defined the labor participation rate as the number of individuals in the labor 
force still working or seeking to work, noting that some people have 
stopped seeking employment and exited the labor force. 
Councilwoman O’Brien asked why some individuals may not reenter the 
labor force after leaving due to the pandemic.

Ms. Williams indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic may have impacted 
labor participation by providing the opportunity for individuals to return to 
school, change career paths, retire, and utilize federal stimulus payments. 
She explained that various sectors were impacted differently based on 
telework capacity and fear of layoffs. 
Chairwoman Pastor asked if the strenuous nature of work and poor rate of 
pay might be impacting the labor participation rate in some sectors.  
Ms. Williamson noted that there were many theories to explain the low 
labor participation rate, including working conditions, rate of pay, and 
changing skill requirements. She also clarified that the current labor 
participation rate was not significantly below the pre-pandemic rate and 
expressed hope that the rate would increase over the next year.  
Councilwoman O’Brien asked how many jobs were available in the City and 
how this had changed over time. 
Ms. Williamson explained that the number of jobs available in Phoenix had 
returned to pre-pandemic levels and indicated that the exact number would 
be provided to the subcommittee. 
Chairwoman Pastor highlighted the importance of the economic indicators 
and thanked Ms. Williamson for the presentation.  
Ms. Spencer thanked the subcommittee for their attention to the economic 
indicators and introduced the next item. 
5. Downtown Digital Kiosks  
Street Transportation Department Assistant Director Briiana Velez and 
Deputy Director Chris Ewell provided a presentation on potential interactive 
informational kiosks in the public right-of-way within certain areas of the 
downtown Enhanced Municipal Services District.  
Ms. Velez began by describing the previous use of static informational 
kiosks managed by Downtown Phoenix, Inc and a renewed interest in 
interactive digital kiosks to improve the experiences of those in the 
downtown area. She noted that downtown digital kiosks had been 
proposed in the past but were not implemented due to concerns regarding 
ownership and control of the kiosks, capabilities of the kiosks, use of the

right-of-way, financial costs, kiosk advertising, use of kiosk revenues, and 
responsibilities for kiosk maintenance. 
Mr. Ewell described similar digital kiosk programs, the primary uses of 
kiosks to disseminate information, and additional features of digital kiosks. 
He reiterated some of the concerns described by Ms. Velez previously and 
added that advertising in the public right-of-way was currently not permitted 
with certain exceptions under City Code.  
Ms. Velez described the vendor selection process and timeline, beginning 
with issuing a Request for Information solicitation to the kiosk industry and 
gathering stakeholder input before a Request for Proposals process to 
select a vendor before the 2023 Superbowl. She indicated that the 
Transportation, Infrastructure, and Planning Subcommittee had suggested 
expansion of the kiosks beyond the downtown area and that a potential 
phased expansion could be incorporated into the procurement process. 
She requested feedback from the subcommittee regarding the Downtown 
Digital Kiosks project. 
Chairwoman Pastor asked if the Request for Information could include 
material regarding data collection and analysis to evaluate the kiosks 
effectiveness. She also asked what other areas of the City were being 
considered for kiosk expansion. 
Ms. Velez explained that the requested information would be incorporated 
into the procurement process and that the potential expansion areas would 
be based on Council direction, noting that other communities had utilized 
kiosks in areas around public transit. 
Chairwoman Pastor asked how the kiosks would be cleaned to protect the 
health of users. 
Ms. Velez indicated that this would be included in the Request for 
Information process to determine the best way to keep kiosk users safe. 
Chairwoman Pastor reiterated her concern, emphasizing the large number 
of potential users if the kiosks would be operational during the 2023 
Superbowl. 
DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION (ITEM 6)

6. Authorization to Release Items From a Conservation Easement at 
306 W. Almeria Road  
Deputy City Manager Ginger Spencer introduced the item and staff 
presenters.  
Planning and Development Director Alan Stephenson and Principal 
Planner Kevin Weight provided a presentation regarding the conservation 
easement on the property at 306 W. Almeria Rd. in the Willo Historic 
District.  
Mr. Weight described the impacted property and its conservation easement 
for historic preservation. He explained that the homeowners wished to 
construct an addition to the building requiring the demolition of certain 
sections of the property. He also indicated that this demolition would be 
within the Historic Preservation Commission’s policies and that the property 
owners had agreed to reuse the three steel casement windows affected by 
the proposed project.  
Mr. Weight stated that City Council approval was required for this project to 
occur due to the easement. He noted that the Historic Preservation 
Commission recommended City Council authorization to release affected 
items from the recorded conservation easement on the property with the 
stipulation that the steel casement windows be reused in the addition and 
asked that the subcommittee make the same recommendation.  
Councilwoman Stark asked what would occur if the steel casement 
windows were damaged during the demolition of the released items.  
Mr. Weight explained that City may request the property owners perform 
some level of mitigation for historic preservation if the stipulation could not 
be met. 
Mr. Stephenson added that the windows were recently added as a part of a 
grant, so they were unlikely to be damaged during the project. 
Chairwoman Pastor opened the floor to public comment. 
Jason Blaydes, one of the property owners, indicated that staff accurately 
represented their case, and no further comments were needed.

Michael Gilson, the project designer, offered to answer any technical 
questions that the subcommittee may have.  
Chairwoman Pastor stated her understanding that modifications in the rear 
of the historic home was already allowed and asked staff for clarification. 
Mr. Weight noted that the City encourages the preservation of as much of 
the original structure as possible and that the property owners were 
seeking to only demolish as much as needed to construct the addition. 
 
Councilwoman O’Brien made a motion to approve the item. Councilwoman 
Stark seconded the motion which passed unanimously, 3-0. 
 
CALL TO THE PUBLIC  
None. 
 
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS 
Councilwoman Stark asked when the subcommittee would be hearing an 
item on the Housing Department serving as PRIDE’s fiscal agent.  
Chairwoman Pastor indicated that the item could be covered at the 
upcoming November subcommittee meeting and expressed her interest in 
hearing an item on the downtown building signage study. She asked 
Deputy City Manager Ginger Spencer which items were already listed for 
future agendas. 
Ms. Spencer shared a list of items planned for future subcommittee 
meetings. She noted that the November meeting may include a disposition 
of the City-owned former First National Bank of Arizona building, the review 
of the legislative agenda, the downtown building signage study, and the 
Housing Department serving as PRIDE’s fiscal agent. She asked for 
confirmation that Councilwoman Stark wanted to hear an item on the 
Housing Department serving as PRIDE’s fiscal agent in November. 
Councilwoman Stark confirmed that was the case. 
Chairwoman Pastor asked where subcommittee members may find the list 
of future items.

Ms. Spencer explained that the future items were listed in the Economic 
Development and Equity Subcommittee agenda planning document.  
Chairwoman Pastor asked if the Housing Phoenix Plan update was listed 
as a future agenda item. 
Ms. Spencer indicated that both the Housing Phoenix Plan and a Request 
for Proposals for development on City-owned land in the Lynwood 
Neighborhood were on the list as future agenda items. 
Chairwoman Pastor expressed her support of adding to the agenda the 
item requested by Councilwoman Stark. 
Councilwoman O’Brien asked if the subcommittee could hear the legislative 
agenda item in November as well, noting that it would be advantageous to 
cover before the State legislative session began. 
Chairwoman Pastor indicated that it would be added. 
Ms. Spencer announced that the November Economic Development and 
Equity Subcommittee meeting had been moved to Nov. 16, 2021 due to the 
Thanksgiving holiday.  
 
ADJOURNMENT 
Chairwoman Pastor adjourned the meeting at 10:44 a.m. 
 
Respectfully submitted, 
 
Sara Del Valle 
Management Intern