Veneta committee expands business interview program, schedules trainings and May–June interviews

Vice Chair Brittany Lehman presided over the Veneta Economic Development Committee meeting and heard staff plans to broaden the city’s business outreach program.

Marlon Harris, City Management and Communications Intern, told the committee the goal is to expand the Business Retention & Expansion (BRE) outreach and have “the 30-member group identified by the end of March or early April, conducting training sessions throughout April, and interviews in May and June.” Management Analyst Jacob Thode said the expanded scope anticipates interviewing 30–45 businesses, up from the prior BRE that covered 12 businesses with six volunteers; staff plan to pair volunteers into teams of two for roughly one-hour interviews.

Committee members advised widening the sample of businesses to include newer startups, long-standing successful firms and businesses that previously received city grant funding, to better capture startup barriers and success factors. Thode listed target sectors discussed by staff, including retail, storage and rental, manufacturing and industrial, fuel/convenience stores and entrepreneurs.

The committee did not take a formal vote on the outreach plan during the meeting; Thode and Harris will continue recruitment of the volunteer interview pool and coordinate training dates. The outreach effort is intended to inform the city’s economic development priorities and the upcoming Economic Opportunity Analysis work.