Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Buoie Business Innovation Center outlines strategy to convert retail leakage into local jobs
Summary
June Evans presented Buoie Bick's FY26 impact report: 98 Buoie-based businesses served, flagship programs reporting multi-million-dollar revenues among cohorts, and proposals to leverage government-contracting work and Buoie State University partnerships to retain talent and attract companies.
June Evans, executive director of the Buoie Business Innovation Center (Buoie Bick), told the council on June 1 that the center assisted 98 Buoie-based businesses in FY26 and that several flagship programs produced measurable revenue among participants: Innovate Buoie (8 businesses, $2.5 million; 29 employees), a Capital Accelerator (5 businesses, $5.7 million; 6 employees), an ADA-focused accelerator (one Buoie firm, $1 million; 5 employees) and other cohorts whose combined reported revenues were cited in the presentation. Evans also described broader regional totals for the center's government-contracting center of excellence and urged city support for incentives to attract government-contract firms to locate in Buoie.
Evans highlighted key challenges: a 13% office vacancy rate, $223 million in annual retail leakage, and the fact that only about one-third of Buoie residents work inside the city. She proposed strategies that pair the Buoie Bick's training and incubator work with targeted incentives, a customer-experience innovation lab in partnership with Buoie State University, and a student consulting studio intended to keep graduates in Buoie.
Council members asked about metrics, timelines and how the Bick's work ties to the city's economic-development plan. Evans said the city's $150,000 seed funding is leveraged with other grants and partners and asserted the center has delivered an estimated 8.9x return on that city investment (as presented). She and partners from the chamber and Buoie State University described collaborative initiatives already underway.
Why it matters: The presentation framed the Bick as a central tool to build local entrepreneurship, increase local employment and reduce retail leakage. Council members asked staff to keep aligning incentives and marketing to ensure local return on municipal support.
