By Keri Luiz
Assistant Editor

Taking a look back at 2012, the Economic Development Board heard a report last week highlighting the accomplishments of the Office of Economic Development.

Members also heard an update on the Business Resource Incentive Program, discussed the topic of a Benicia Arts Center and talked about the city’s participation in Clean Expo 2.0.

The 2012 recap, presented by Economic Development Manager Mario Giuliani, focused on the development of the Benicia Business Improvement District, tourism promotion efforts and work on the Business Development Action Plan. It ended with a look ahead to continued work on Industrial Park needs.

Giuliani said the video about business at the Industrial Park was presented to the Council in November. It and a PowerPoint presentation that highlighted OED accomplishments from 2012 “will be display on our beniciabusiness.com website when it goes live,” he said.

He pointed out that the city took a big first step last year in deciding to invest in economic development. “It took a lot of advocacy to make economic development a priority,” he said.

In June 2012, when the City Council amended their budget for 2012-13, the panel invested $1 million, which “included additional funding, that also included reallocation of funds for the intermodal project,” Giuliani said. “Part of that was a loan, so we will have to figure out how to pay that back. Nevertheless, that was an investment.”

Now the city has a set of strategic goals, he said. Formation of the Business Improvement District was a big development, leading quickly to the installation of permanent downtown lights.

“Great accomplishment for the merchants on First Street,” Giuliani said.

Tourism and brand promotion have also been an important part of the economic development strategy, he said, including the work of consultant Jack Wolf and Wolf Communications. Most recently these efforts have yielded articles written about the city in the Los Angeles Times and SF Gate, the San Francisco Chronicle online. “It’s that constant drumbeat of Benicia, and telling our story,” Giuliani said. “It has helped having Wolf Communications promote Benicia and have those articles picked up by various newspapers and agencies.”

2012 also saw the adoption of the Business Development Action Plan, which the Council approved in March. It outlines 120 strategies and tasks, and “it has been our task to
identify and look at those and see which ones we can tackle now, which ones we can tackle in the future, and which ones will need additional funding,” Giuliani said.

Giuiani then gave an update on the Business Resource Incentive Program (BRIP) — “the poster child, our key tool in the tool box when we go out to speak to businesses in the Industrial Park,” he said.

“It is something that will really highlight the Business Development Action Plan. It is the signature program from that plan.”

The Council approved the program last April. It is designed to save financial resources and reduce waste and carbon emissions of businesses in the Industrial Park.

Funded through the Valero Improvement Project-Good Neighbor Steering Committee agreement, “$100,000 has been earmarked for assessment or analysis of the businesses, and $525,000 is to be used to support the businesses implementing the changes recommended in those assessments,” Giuliani said.

Through BRIP, businesses can apply to have a professionally prepared business resource management analysis provided to them at no cost, which includes energy efficiency and opportunities for renewable energy generation, water efficiency, solid waste and recycling, transportation and fuel usage and procurement practices.

The analysis also includes recommendations and cost estimates identified to improve a business’s efficiency and to reduce operational costs and greenhouse gas emissions.

Funding and reimbursement to implement the suggestions is broken down into three categories. Participating businesses are eligible to apply for a low- or no-interest loan to implement the recommendations.

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