City staff outline 'Invest Bend' economic strategy timeline and outreach plan

City staff presented an update on Invest Bend, the city’s economic development planning effort, outlining a process to develop a 10‑year economic development strategy and an associated urban renewal investment strategy.

Cyrus Mooney, business advocate in the City Manager’s Office, and Jonathan Taylor, urban renewal project manager, told the Stewardship Subcommittee the project will produce a vision and a work plan aimed at adoption of an economic development strategy by the end of 2025. Taylor said the final plan will set a 10‑year vision through 2035 and recommend priority strategies and a two‑year implementation cadence tied to five objectives (a “5 by 2” approach).

Why it matters: staff said the plan will guide how the city deploys resources to support business growth, workforce development, housing access and preservation of community character. Mooney said the project will align with prior planning efforts and the Bend Urban Renewal Investment Strategy.

Engagement and schedule

Staff said they aim to collect extensive input: a target of 100 stakeholder interviews spread across business, civic and community partners, and three facilitated focus‑group sessions scheduled for June 10, July 10 and Aug. 28. The team anticipates presenting material to full council on July 16 and a streamlined annual update thereafter.

Staff described four companion technical products that will feed the strategy: a state‑of‑housing report, a state‑of‑economy report, an industry and labor analysis, and a real‑estate market assessment. Mooney and Taylor said stakeholder interviews and focus groups will include industry groups, workforce partners (including Cascades East/WorkSource partners) and local business support organizations such as Cultivate Bend and the Chamber’s young‑professionals networks.

Staffing and next steps

Mooney and Taylor said the city will add staff capacity to the project as hiring is completed. They also said the economic development strategy will be coordinated with a separate urban renewal investment strategy so investments align with the plan’s priorities. Staff asked committee members to share recommended business contacts for stakeholder interviews.

Questions from council

Committee members asked about how the plan will capture perspectives from younger workers, remote workers and startup communities. Staff said they plan targeted outreach to coworking spaces, young professionals and industry groups and may use surveys with incentives to boost participation.

Ending

Staff described the current phase as data assembly and narrative development. They said the Invest Bend team expects to present key materials to council this summer and will continue community outreach.

Speakers

- Cyrus Mooney, Business Advocate, City Manager’s Office - Jonathan Taylor, Urban Renewal Project Manager - Mike Riley, Councilor (asked scheduling and refresh questions)

Authorities

- none cited

Actions

- No formal actions or votes recorded for this agenda item; informational briefing only.

Discussion vs. decisions

- discussion_points: ["Project scope and timeline for a 10‑year strategy","'5 by 2' implementation cadence","stakeholder interviews and focus groups","coordination with urban renewal investment strategy","staffing and outreach to young and remote workers" ] - directions: ["Staff to conduct stakeholder interviews and focus groups; share draft materials with council at scheduled touch points.] - decisions: ["No formal decisions recorded at this meeting; staff to continue data collection and outreach."]

Clarifying details

- {"category":"stakeholder_interviews","detail":"Staff goal: 100 stakeholder interviews between now and August","value":100} - {"category":"focus_groups","detail":"Three focus sessions scheduled: June 10, July 10, Aug. 28","value":3} - {"category":"presentation_schedule","detail":"Target council presentation date: July 16 for key materials","value":"2025-07-16"}

Proper_names

- {"name":"Invest Bend","type":"program"} - {"name":"City Manager's Office","type":"agency"} - {"name":"Cultivate Bend","type":"organization"} - {"name":"Cascades East/WorkSource","type":"organization"}

Community relevance

- geographies: ["City of Bend","regional partners"] - funding_sources: ["city budget and urban renewal funds (to be aligned)"] - impact_groups: ["local businesses","workers (including young professionals)","startups","workforce development partners"]

Searchable_tags

["economic_development","Invest Bend","urban_renewal","stakeholder_engagement","workforce"]

Provenance

- transcript_segments: [{"block_id":"block_2412.74","local_start":0,"local_end":96,"evidence_excerpt":"Next up is invest then campaign update. This is advocate Cyrus Mooney and urban renewal project manager Jonathan Taylor.","global_start":2412.74,"global_end":2508.74,"tc_start":"00:40:12","tc_end":"00:41:48","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"block_3535.385","local_start":0,"local_end":24,"evidence_excerpt":"Okay. That's it. Thank you.","global_start":3535.385,"global_end":3559.385,"tc_start":"00:58:55","tc_end":"00:59:19","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]

Salience

- overall: 0.58, overall_justification: "Longer‑term planning with implications for economic development spending decisions; mainly strategic but with potential budget implications.", impact_scope: "local", impact_scope_justification: "Citywide economic development and urban renewal focus.", attention_level: "medium", attention_level_justification: "Council will receive further briefings as strategy develops.", novelty: 0.30, novelty_justification: "Continuation of an announced initiative rather than a new program.", timeliness_urgency: 0.45, timeliness_urgency_justification: "Scheduled deliverables this summer and an adoption target by year‑end.", legal_significance: 0.10, legal_significance_justification: "No laws or ordinances proposed at this briefing.", budgetary_significance: 0.40, budgetary_significance_justification: "May affect future budget and urban renewal spending priorities.", public_safety_risk: 0.05, public_safety_risk_justification: "Not applicable."},