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City staff present 'Invest Bend' economic strategy; advisory panel seeks more review time
Summary
City staff described a draft five‑goal economic development strategy called Invest Bend and a near‑term schedule with a draft for advisory review in early November and a council adoption target of Dec. 3. Advisory members asked for additional briefings, clearer funding figures and time to craft recommendations; staff said the plan is intended as a
City staff gave the Business Development Advisory Panel (BDAP) a detailed briefing on a new economic development strategy branded “Invest Bend,” outlining five goals, an engagement process and a near‑term schedule for advisory review and council action.
The staff presentation described Invest Bend as the city’s first multifaceted economic development strategy, with five core goals: build a more business‑friendly city, leverage Bend’s competitive advantages, cultivate entrepreneurship, expand opportunity for all residents (including housing and dependent‑care support), and ensure neighborhoods are vibrant and resilient. Staff said the strategy will include an executive summary, a state‑of‑the‑city overview, an industry cluster appendix and a SWOT analysis drawn from stakeholder focus groups and forthcoming business surveys.
Why it matters: city leaders intend the strategy to be a foundation for a new economic development function. Staff said it will guide what actions the city pursues and how staff prioritize limited resources; advisory members said they want time to digest the draft before making formal recommendations to council.
Staff described the timeline and process. The steering/ focus‑group process will finish late October, staff said, with BDAP receiving a draft roughly two weeks before BDAP’s scheduled November meeting and staff seeking council action on a resolution on Dec. 3 to authorize continued implementation. Staff emphasized the document is intended as an adaptable, iterative plan with mid‑plan check‑ins rather than a final 20‑year prescription.
BDAP members asked for more opportunities to review and deliberate. Several members said the package is substantial and that the advisory panel needs time to examine priorities and likely funding pathways before endorsing a recommendation to council. Staff responded that the adopted biennium budget is set but described small, pilot funding options the economic development office can deploy immediately — including a limited pilot small‑business assistance grant program and some sponsorship funds — and said additional resourcing discussions would follow in subsequent budget cycles.
Staff also described connected work streams that will feed Invest Bend. City planners will commission a retail/leakage assessment for the core and Murphy’s Crossing urban renewal areas and staff plan to overlay delivery‑data (DoorDash) and other metrics to locate retail need and to study “micro commercial” sites across the city. Urban renewal will remain a distinct funding tool, staff said, and the strategy will try to align urban renewal investments with the strategy’s priorities.
BDAP’s next steps: members asked staff to provide the draft materials in advance and recommended at least one additional public BDAP work session (a formal, posted meeting) so the panel can deliberate in public before any final recommendation. Staff agreed to circulate the draft early and to organize one or more BDAP meetings to walk through priority sections (for example, the action plan and a proposed short‑term retention strategy).
Ending: staff said Invest Bend is meant to be implemented over the coming biennium with iterative adjustments and that more detailed funding and implementation decisions would follow in the year after adoption. The panel will review the draft in November and the city council is scheduled to consider the plan and a resolution on Dec. 3.
