CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date: January 10, 2022
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCILMEMBERS
SUBJECT: UPDATE ON THE BUSINESS SUPPORT PROGRAMS TO COMPRISE THE CITY'S $500,000 SMALL BUSINESS ECONOMIC STIMULUS
INITIATIVE FUNDED BY THE AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT
SYNOPSIS
The Economic Development Committee has developed business support program recommendations for Phase I of the $500,000 Small Business Economic Stimulus Program approved by the City Council with funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
DISCUSSION
Background
The City of Pleasant Hill will receive a total of $8.3 million from ARPA, including $4.16 million that was received in July 2021, and a second funding tranche expected in July 2022. Eligible costs must be incurred between March 3, 2021 and December 31, 2024, and expended by December 2026.
On September 22, 2021, the Budget Committee reviewed the Economic Development Committee’s request to recommend $500,000 be allocated from the first tranche of ARPA funding to help the City’s small businesses.
After the City Council adopted Resolution No. 68-21 on November 1, 2021 appropriating $500,000 in ARPA funds for small business grants and other programs to benefit the City’s merchants (“Small Business Economic Stimulus Program”), the Economic Development Committee met on November 16 and December 15, 2021 to review and discuss several potential business support programs to comprise Phase I of the Program.
Economic Development Committee Business Support Program Recommendations 1) Initial Launch: e-Gift Cards
An e-Gift Card Program benefits merchants as well as residents by creating Shop Local opportunities with the added benefit of gift card “bonuses.” Consumers purchase gift cards that can be redeemed at retail stores, restaurants, and personal care service business. The City then boosts the amount of the gift card purchase by providing a second bonus gift card. For example, if a consumer purchases a $50 gift card, the City could provide a second $25 gift card so that the consumer has two gift cards totaling $75 even though the initial purchase amount was $50. City staff would work with the gift card vendor and other cities that have already implemented a gift card program to determine the bonus structure. The gift card program is managed by a third party administrator (such as Yiftee) that charges a processing fee of $1 per card plus 5% of the gift card amount. Several East Bay cities have already implemented an e-Gift Card Program, such as Benicia, Berkeley, Concord, Hayward, Newark, and Pleasanton. All of these cities used Yiftee to administer the gift cards and the City would most likely also use Yiftee.
Recommended Phase I Allocation: $10,000 (includes the bonus gift cards and gift card processing fees).
2) Second Launch: Website Technical Assistance Grants
Website Technical Assistance Grants of up to $5,000 would be provided to retail stores, restaurants, and personal care services to provide technical support across four categories:
Online purchasing and pick-up/delivery functionality
Social Media set-up and strategy (i.e. Facebook, Instagram, Yelp, Google Maps) Email listserv set-up and strategy
One-minute Profile Video to be posted on the business’s website and Social Media (the full video as well as snippets to be re-posted over several months) City staff would pre-screen technical consultants and then cover up to $5,000 per business in eligible technical support services.
Recommended Phase I Allocation: $50,000 (enough for up to 10 businesses). 3) Third Launch: Downtown Pedestrian Business Signage
City staff would collaborate with the Downtown Shopping Center (Vestar/UBS) and a graphic designer to develop conceptual designs for sidewalk business signs that would be placed in strategic downtown locations with the goal of alerting pedestrians to the different merchants located along Crescent Drive and in the adjacent downtown shopping areas. These signs would be poles with several individual businesses signs attached to the pole, similar in concept (but not necessarily similar in design) to the pedestrian business signs in the cities of Healdsburg, Napa, and Sonoma.
Recommended Phase I Allocation: $2,500 (for conceptual designs; if a final design is approved by the City Council, production and installation would occur in Phase II).
NOTE: Vestar/UBS has agreed to a 50% cost sharing for Phase I of the Downtown Pedestrian Business Signage project. The total cost for the conceptual designs, including revisions and redesigns, is anticipated to be up to $5,000, with the City and Vestar/UBS each contributing up to $2,500.
Marketing and Outreach
City staff will work with the Economic Development Committee on approaches for promoting the business support programs.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact to the City’s General Fund; the $500,000 has been appropriated by the City Council from federal ARPA funds passed through the State to the City.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made through posting of the City Council agenda on the City’s official notice bulletin board, at the Pleasant Hill Senior Center, and at the Pleasant Hill Police Department. The agenda and staff report are posted on the City’s web page.
RECOMMENDED CITY COUNCIL ACTION
Receive update on the Economic Development Committee’s recommendations for Phase I of the City’s $500,000 Small Business Economic Stimulus Program.
ALTERNATIVES TO RECOMMENDED ACTION
The Council could choose not to receive the update on the Economic Development Committee’s recommendations for the Small Business Economic Stimulus Program. Staff does not recommend this option.
Prepared by: Zach Seal, Economic Development Manager
Approved by: June Catalano, City Manager