{"id":126,"date":"2014-07-15T01:08:33","date_gmt":"2014-07-15T01:08:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reports.cityofsandy.com\/economicdevelopment\/?p=126"},"modified":"2014-07-17T00:13:41","modified_gmt":"2014-07-17T00:13:41","slug":"economic-development-monthly-report-june-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reports.cityofsandy.com\/economicdevelopment\/2014\/07\/15\/economic-development-monthly-report-june-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Economic Development \u2013 Monthly Report \u2013 June 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

General notes:\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>Sandy Mountain Festival.\u00a0 Music Fair and Feast.\u00a0 Summer Sounds.\u00a0 Shakespeare in the Park.\u00a0 Wine in the Woods.\u00a0 The Brewgrass Festival.\u00a0 Hood to Coast.\u00a0 Fiber contractors trenching through people\u2019s yards.\u00a0\u00a0 Hiring a new RARE coordinator.\u00a0 Oy!<\/p>\n

With all of the activity that is going on in Sandy right now, I\u2019m going to take a hiatus in the general notes section this month so I can focus on getting some things done.\u00a0 There is nothing currently \u201con-fire\u201d with regard to Economic Development right now\u2026.just a lot of reporting that needs to be completed. \u00a0If you have any questions, concerns or comments, please don’t hesitate to call or email me.<\/p>\n

There is one exception to this, and it’s just an FYI. \u00a0I was informed last week that Firwood Designs is going to be hiring another engineer in September. \u00a0This is great news for Firwood and for the general economy, as it shows that the local economy continues to improve. \u00a0However, it also means that Sandy Main Street (and yours truly) is going to have to find a new home by the end of September. \u00a0We have paid our rent through this period, and Kelli Grover has been very hospitable by giving us 90 days to figure this out instead of the typical 30 days. \u00a0The most promising new home for SMS is probably our old home — sharing the space in the Wheatland Building with SandyNet. \u00a0However, considering the growth of SandyNet and their space needs during this fiber rollout, that might not be an easy transition. \u00a0Seth and I are currently discussing our next move, so if you have any suggestions for other sites to conisder, please let us know.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Commercial Properties (vacancies, new businesses, etc.):<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dolly\u2019s Pet Shoppe:\u00a0 \u00a0Anna and Marlene have settled nicely into their new storefront and are currently working on improving their signage and other exterior issues.\u00a0 Last week they removed the wooden Sandy Area Chamber of Commerce sign on the west wall of the building and have replaced it with their old teal backlit sign (which is no longer backlit).\u00a0 I also asked Public Works to remove the sign outside on the old B of A property advertising for the Visitor\u2019s Center and Sno-Park permits, which they did last week as well.\u00a0 They are now looking into having an awning company make some covers for the awnings covering up the SACC verbiage and replacing it with Dolly\u2019s verbiage, thereby eliminating the last clues that the Chamber was once there.<\/p>\n

Barbara Sah Properties; Mike Maiden Properties; Jody Argue Properties:\u00a0 I will be meeting with Barbara next week to discuss the remaining vacancies in her building, including what we can do to help market them (like putting them on the City\u2019s Commercial Properties database).\u00a0 If available, I will take Scott from SandyNet with me to possibly discuss wiring the building for fiber and setting Barbara up as a reseller of those services, an idea that she has been surprisingly open to in the past.<\/p>\n

I understand that Mike Maiden has a couple more spaces available over in his metal pre-fab building complex on 362nd<\/sup>.\u00a0 Last I spoke with him, he was looking to lease to a local group contemplating a distillery in one of his two vacant properties.\u00a0 I will contact him this week to get those properties (if still vacant) on the commercial properties database.\u00a0 Also, Jody Argue (owner of the house on Pioneer across from Berkshire Hathaway) has requested a meeting with Terre and I to discuss what is necessary for moving forward with the needed construction on her property, indicating that she has likely either found some independent financing or has found someone willing to finance the work in exchange for rights to lease the space.\u00a0 Either way, good for her\u2026.hopefully this means another leased property by the end of the year.<\/p>\n

Sandy Organic:\u00a0 Had a productive meeting about collective marketing ideas with Jennifer Davis, Khrys Jones and Cindy Bloomer (SACC Board President) this week.\u00a0 Came up with some good ideas, including pooling local food related businesses\u2019 resources and buying ads through the SACC (non-profit discount) in certain publications to try and get skiers and other recreators to stop in Sandy to \u201csupply-up\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sandy Main Street: \u00a0<\/strong>We will be conducting interviews the week of July 14th<\/sup> for Aubrey\u2019s 2014-2015 RARE replacement.\u00a0 We currently have four prospective participants on the schedule of the five that we were given; we had a bad phone number for the fifth, but have corrected this and are currently awaiting his return call.\u00a0 The interview panel currently consists of myself, Seth, Aubrey, and Councilor Exner (our current Business Committee chair).\u00a0 Councilor Coleman, as a foundational member of Sandy Main Street you are welcome to participate in any of the interviews if you wish; an invite will be extended to George Hoyt as well.\u00a0 The interview schedule is as follows:<\/p>\n