15-E
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
ATTENTION: Ryan Smoot, City Manager
FROM: Jim Dellalonga, Director of Economic Development
SUBJECT: Consideration and possible action to authorize the City Manager to execute Amendment No. 10 to Agreement File No. 548.2, in a form approved by the City Attorney, with O’Neil Ventures, Inc., to extend the term for one year and provide compensation for business consulting and restaurant and retail food establishment broker services.
DATE: December 8, 2025
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
O’Neil Ventures, Inc. (“O’Neil Ventures”) has been providing the City with marketing and development guidance, commercial broker services, real estate research, commercial marketing and recruitment efforts, and expert analysis of restaurants, food -uses, and retail business operations. Amendment No. 10 to Ag reement File No. 548.2 will maintain the services of O’Neil Ventures for an additional year in 2026 at the existing hourly rate, with an additional not-to-exceed (“NTE”) amount of $100,000.
RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL
1) Authorize the City Manager to execute Amendment No. 10 to Agreement File No. 548.2, in a form approved by the City Attorney; or
2) Alternatively, discuss and take other action related to this item.
FISCAL IMPACT
Funds are available in the Economic Development Account (510-42054-4002) for FY 2025-2026.
DISCUSSION
O’Neil Ventures has provided specialized restaurant, food -use, and commercial real estate services to the City since 2009. The current agreement expires on December 31, 2025, and Amendment No. 10 would extend the term for an additional 12 months .
This amendment would provide an additional NTE amount of $100,000, similar to the prior amendment, and hourly rate would remain unchanged.
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Staff Report – Amendment No. 10 to AFN 548.2
December 8, 2025
DISCUSSION – Continued
In 2025, Elizabeth O’Neil, the principal of O’Neil Ventures, provided the aforementioned services to the City and was instrumental to a number of projects, most notably: assisting with and facilitating the property sale of the former Fronk’s Restaurant property, which also includes The Nest Restaurant; assisting the Golden Corral with the Alcoholic Beverage Control (“ABC”) permit processes to sell beer and wine; assisting the operators of the El Rique Restaurant (former Johnny Reb’s restaurant) with the interior redesign, health department concerns, and proper building inspections and permits; and now assisting the owner/operators of Bella Cuba (former Fronk’s building) with the City’s Business Assistance Program application as well as their ABC license transfer documentation and submittal.
As previously mentioned, Ms. O’Neil assists with facilitating the Business Assistance Program and has provided her services to multiple applicants in the past including Rokka, The Nest, Marino’s Italian Restaurant, The Stand Up Comedy Club, Ricci’s, and Bo ’s Cigar Lounge.
Ms. O’Neil is continually involved in the evaluation of potential new businesses and the marketing of vacant sites and is available to meet with new or expanding businesses. Her duties have required extensive liaison work between new businesses/developers, landlords, and various City departments as well as critically vetting the feasibility of proposed businesses or projects. Her knowledge of retail and start -up and operational costs have provided a key resource for the Economic Development Department, and Amendment No. 10 would allow Ms. O’Neil to continue providing her unique skillset of services for current and future projects.