ACTION REQUESTED:
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Communication from the City Manager with a Request to APPROVE a Service AGREEMENT with the GREATER PEORIA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL in Conjunction with the City's STARTUP IN A DAY GRANT from the Small Business Administration and to Authorize the City Manager to Execute the Necessary Documents.
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BACKGROUND: The City of Peoria was awarded a $50,000 prize in October 2015 as part of the Small Business Administration's "Startup In A Day" (SIAD) campaign to assist municipalities to support entrepreneurs by making it easier for them to obtain permits, financing, and technical assistance. The grant (attached) was submitted in July 2015 as a collaborative partnership between the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council, Startup Peoria, and Peoria County, with the City serving as the lead agency and grant administrator.
The City and its partners pledged to support entrepreneurs by reducing barriers to business startup. As part of the City's proposal, GPEDC and StartupPeoria (now a GPEDC program) were allocated $25,000 to focus on several key challenges and opportunities to improve Peoria's entrepreneurial ecosystem. Other funds were allocated to streamlining the permit process ($12,500) and developing minority businesses ($12,500). Both of these initiatives are underway with the hiring of DevBright to develop an on-line permitting center on the City's website and the development on a minority business competition award program in November/December.
The SIAD Service Agreement with GPEDC (attached) was drafted to address key challenges in the entrepreneurial ecosystem which include: (a) service deficiencies; (b) resource gaps; and (c) lack of coordination within the region. The scope of work is based on completing and delivering the items listed in the original grant application which include: (a) the strategic alignment of business development services; (b) placing a business resource navigation system on-line that can direct en...
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