Tension over Who Should Take the Lead in Foster City’s Economic Development Strategy

During the City Council’s regularly scheduled meeting on Monday night, some council members appeared to be at odds over how big of a role the should play in helping the City develop an economic development strategy aimed at making local businesses more successful.

The development of an economic development strategy was put on the list of major policy goals for the City Council for 2011-12. The City decided to partner with the Foster City Chamber of Commerce on the plan, and the Chamber formed a group of seven task forces and committees to study the issue, devise an “economic blueprint” to serve as a guideline for the actions its members thought would help achieve the overall goal, and present a draft to the Council that had been approved by the Chamber’s Board of Directors.

Chris Messina, CEO of the Chamber of Commerce, appeared before the City Council Monday night to present a blueprint draft to the Council.

City Manager Jim Hardy prefaced the discussion by impressing upon the Council and audience how important the issue of economic development is to Foster City.

“We want to make it possible for Foster City’s commercial and retail sectors to succeed, and have the overall best business climate we can,” he said, adding how, in his opinion, both the City and Chamber play key roles in achieving that goal.

Messina touched upon some of the blueprint’s big-picture goals as he addressed the Council. Key elements included a plan to target many current local businesses, focusing on which ones are “key to the city’s success” and strategizing on how they can help make them more successful; and devising new ways to market Foster City as an attractive destination for new business.

Messina did not go over the entire blueprint, but it can be downloaded off of the City’s website.

After Messina’s address, council members were given the opportunity to comment, and some tension appeared to develop as members differed in their opinions of the City’s needs and how to accomplish the goal of improving the city’s economy.

Councilmember Charles Bronitsky gave an impassioned speech in which he expressed his disappointment over how little he felt has been done to address economic development in Foster City over the past two years he has served on the Council.

Bronitsky said he first saw the issue of economic development appear on a Council agenda in late 2009, shortly after he won his seat, and that since then, little to nothing concrete has been done toward making headway on any action, despite what he calls many personal efforts on his part to study the issue and get things rolling.

Bronitsky added that he feels the City has been depending too much on the sale of City-owned land to keep money coming in, rather than increasing revenues through economic development.

“The sale of land is not a viable model for economic development. When you sell land, you get money, but once you’ve spent that money, you have no money, and you have no land,” he said. “Eventually, we’re going to run out of land to sell, and eventually, that’s going to lead to the worst, which is more cuts, more cuts, and more cuts.”

Bronitsky said he felt letting the Chamber take the lead on devising the City’s plan for economic development is the wrong way to go.

“While I think the Foster City Chamber is a wonderful partner, I do not think they should hold the responsibility for making a plan for Foster City as a city,” he said. “The City should take the lead.”

Bronitsky said the City should take more time to study the finer points of business in Foster City, and that residents need to be made a more integral part of the plan. He suggested the formation of two additional task forces—one to study and work with small to midsize businesses, including a designated city council liason; and one to focus solely on large businesses. Bronitsky pointed out a fact brought up by City Attorney Jean Savaree in which he explained that a whopping 80 percent of the City’s annual tax revenue comes from a group of 25 large, local businesses.

“Large businesses such as those are not only generators of income, they are consumers as well,” he added.

Some of Bronitsky’s fellow council members appeared to take offense with his comments.

Councilmember Pam Frisella resented Bronitsky’s inference that he had been the sole voice within the City advocating for efforts toward improving the Foster City business climate.

“I’m quite taken aback by you saying you brought these issues forward. I think we’ve all talked about that,” Frisella said, adding that she thought Bronitsky’s concerns over the Chamber taking too large of a role in the process were unfounded, and that the Chamber’s efforts should be welcomed with open arms.

Mayor Linda Koelling echoed Frisella’s sentiments, and said the Chamber was doing wonderful work toward helping the City and that she thought no additional task forces were needed.

“I look at the Chamber as the conduit between the business sector and the government. I look at the Chamber as a vehicle to help facilitate this blueprint, together with the City staff,” she said. “I don’t think we need a separate committee to do this. I would like to move forward as it is written.”

Vice Mayor Art Kiesel agreed.

“It’s a blueprint, and blueprints are written on paper,” Kiesel said. “Papers can be written upon, so changes can be made.”

Councilmember and former mayor Rick Wykoff appeared insulted by Bronitsky’s suggestion that the City has been funding itself solely through selling off its land. Wykoff first came to Foster City as a City employee in 1977, and said he has been around to see it all.

“I’m sorry, but I’ve got to take exception with your remarks,” he said. “I don’t agree with that, at all.”

Bronitsky defended his position, stating that he was only suggesting that the City return to its actions and policies of the past, when developing and strengthening the local business climate was more of a priority.

“I don’t have a problem with that,” Wykoff replied.

In the end, the City voted to move forward with the Chamber’s blueprint. A final draft is expected by the start of the first fiscal quarter of 2012.