metro
10-21-2009, 07:10 AM
OKC officials to develop new revitalization program for commercial districts
by Brian Brus
The Journal Record October 21, 2009
OKLAHOMA CITY – City officials agreed Tuesday to develop a new revitalization program for Oklahoma City’s commercial districts that would redirect funding more competitively through small chambers of commerce.
The City Council ordered staff members to develop the plan based on a report from Progressive Urban Management Associates, or PUMA, which was hired a year ago to evaluate the city’s efforts to further develop its existing districts. Colorado-based PUMA is a consulting firm that provides management and marketing services for downtown and community development across 31 states.The city currently funds the South Oklahoma City Chamber, the Hispanic Chamber and the Capitol Chamber. Those chambers collectively receive about $300,000 from the city budget, Assistant City Manager Cathy O’Connor said.
The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber’s contract was not part of the PUMA review, O’Connor said, nor was the $1 million dedicated to the Economic Development Foundation and the Convention and Visitors Bureau.
PUMA spokeswoman Jamie Licko stressed to the council Tuesday the need to focus on so-called “place-based” revitalization projects, or those programs that have definable geographic boundaries, for allocating funds in the new program.
“The current program fosters long-term dependence on city subsidies and lacks a strategy to promote self-sufficiency within the districts,” PUMA researchers say in their executive summary.
The PUMA report also says Oklahoma City municipal government lacks clear goals and guidelines to allocate limited resources to districts and organizations, and, by extension, benchmarks to measure success.
Competitiveness normally increases the effectiveness of municipal funding for districts, according to PUMA’s summary. So districts should be required to prove their organizational strengths and market characteristics.
Council members Pete White and Skip Kelly expressed concern over how the proposed changes would affect chamber operations. They cited the south chamber’s successful efforts to develop several business corridors.
“Some of our small chambers I think could benefit a great deal to this program,” Kelly said. “I would like for us to continue to be open-minded as we go forth with this to make sure that we don’t put too much on the backs of some programs.”
O’Connor said after the council meeting that city staff will meet with those groups over the next year “to develop transition plans and ideas about how the chambers can continue to provide valuable services to the city to support economic development.”
O’Connor said such services might include business training for new Hispanic entrepreneurs, for example, or communication skills training for company board members. Possible benchmarks could include documented proof that certain business plans or market studies are completed.
“The recommendations point to how the city can best spend its money and get the best outcomes and results,” she said and those methods have not yet been specified.
As program changes are implemented, PUMA researchers say, the city government’s financial investment should decline as private-sector shareholder support increases.
The Journal Record - Article (http://www.journalrecord.com/article.cfm?recid=103605)
by Brian Brus
The Journal Record October 21, 2009
OKLAHOMA CITY – City officials agreed Tuesday to develop a new revitalization program for Oklahoma City’s commercial districts that would redirect funding more competitively through small chambers of commerce.
The City Council ordered staff members to develop the plan based on a report from Progressive Urban Management Associates, or PUMA, which was hired a year ago to evaluate the city’s efforts to further develop its existing districts. Colorado-based PUMA is a consulting firm that provides management and marketing services for downtown and community development across 31 states.The city currently funds the South Oklahoma City Chamber, the Hispanic Chamber and the Capitol Chamber. Those chambers collectively receive about $300,000 from the city budget, Assistant City Manager Cathy O’Connor said.
The Greater Oklahoma City Chamber’s contract was not part of the PUMA review, O’Connor said, nor was the $1 million dedicated to the Economic Development Foundation and the Convention and Visitors Bureau.
PUMA spokeswoman Jamie Licko stressed to the council Tuesday the need to focus on so-called “place-based” revitalization projects, or those programs that have definable geographic boundaries, for allocating funds in the new program.
“The current program fosters long-term dependence on city subsidies and lacks a strategy to promote self-sufficiency within the districts,” PUMA researchers say in their executive summary.
The PUMA report also says Oklahoma City municipal government lacks clear goals and guidelines to allocate limited resources to districts and organizations, and, by extension, benchmarks to measure success.
Competitiveness normally increases the effectiveness of municipal funding for districts, according to PUMA’s summary. So districts should be required to prove their organizational strengths and market characteristics.
Council members Pete White and Skip Kelly expressed concern over how the proposed changes would affect chamber operations. They cited the south chamber’s successful efforts to develop several business corridors.
“Some of our small chambers I think could benefit a great deal to this program,” Kelly said. “I would like for us to continue to be open-minded as we go forth with this to make sure that we don’t put too much on the backs of some programs.”
O’Connor said after the council meeting that city staff will meet with those groups over the next year “to develop transition plans and ideas about how the chambers can continue to provide valuable services to the city to support economic development.”
O’Connor said such services might include business training for new Hispanic entrepreneurs, for example, or communication skills training for company board members. Possible benchmarks could include documented proof that certain business plans or market studies are completed.
“The recommendations point to how the city can best spend its money and get the best outcomes and results,” she said and those methods have not yet been specified.
As program changes are implemented, PUMA researchers say, the city government’s financial investment should decline as private-sector shareholder support increases.
The Journal Record - Article (http://www.journalrecord.com/article.cfm?recid=103605)