Economic Development Committee
Meeting Minutes
November 8, 2005

Bill Hines called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m.

Opening Comments

Dan Packer was unable to attend the meeting because he was in Washington lobbying Congress for assistance to Entergy New Orleans which is critical to the infrastructure in New Orleans. The Committee will hold weekly meetings on Tuesdays at 10:00 12:00 and all meetings will be open to the public. Public comments will be taken at the end of each meeting. Beginning on November 15, the meetings will be held at the New Orleans Convention & Visitors Bureau located at 2020 St. Charles Avenue. Parking is available in the back of the building.

Bill announced the names of the Committee members and the Chairs of the Subcommittees as follows:

Bill mentioned that some of the subcommittees may be able to pull information from the past and update it while other subcommittees may require additional work.

Bill asked Doug Ahlers to update the Committee on the Harvard Business Schools (HBS) offer to assist the Bring New Orleans Back Commission. Doug verified that there are approximately 100 people including students, faculty and alumni who have expressed interest in helping identify a substantial project to work on for the Commission. It was suggested the HBS would pick the project theyd like to focus on but we should get the request to them as soon as possible. The following were possible projects for the HBS team to review:

• Revamp the City of New Orleans permitting process
• Look at the best practices in the finance field of other top notch cities
• Look at new business opportunities for New Orleans such as the city becoming an insurance hub or some specialized business that currently isnt functioning in the city.
• Revamp city government entirely. We need to send a message that there is a new day in New Orleans and make it easier to do business here.
• Tulane/LSUHSCHC medical district issue including hospitals, medical school, gene therapy, cancer research and neurobiological center.
• Design and delineate how to create the most dynamic economic zone in the United States

It was determined that the most pressing need in New Orleans is to keep the LSUHSCHC/Tulane medical centers in the greater New Orleans area. Yvette Jones and Tim Ryan will get with Doug Ahlers to discuss this potential project being supported by the Harvard Business School group along with GNO, Inc.

Process

Bill Hines introduced Geoff Edleman from Kepner-Tregoe. Geoff volunteered his time to come work through a proven process and framework to help deliver the final results to the Mayors Commission with the Committee. Attached are the notes that resulted from Geoffs work with the Committee.

Action Items

• Bill Hines will get a liaison to the Louisiana Recovery Authority for their economic development group.
• Project should be identified for the Harvard Business School to concentrate on. (All)
• Request assistance from David Mize for this Committee.
• Mark Drennen and Don Hutchinson will update the Committee next week on the ongoing economic development projects they have going on in the City.
• Send any new economic development ideas to Mark Drennen. (All)
• Send ULI a list of our Committee members in order for them to be interviewed next week while ULI is in town. (Melanie)
• Don Hutchinson will confirm when the Committees report is due to the BNOB Commission and what type format it should be written in.
• Each subcommittee chairman will give a brief report on their progress at each Committee meeting beginning November 15.
• A status report on the downtown medical district will be given next week.
• Dan Packer will find out if there is another Committee covering the airport.
• Bill Hines will coordinate a brainstorming session with ULI and locals.
• Mark Drennen will pursue selling our city as a homeland security base.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:40 p.m.

Kepner-Tregoe
Meeting Notes
November 8, 2005

Points of Contact

Dan Packer, Chair, 504-250-5315 (cell phone)
dpacker@entergy.com

Bill Hines, Co-chair, 504-582-8272 (office phone)
bhines@joneswalker.com

Melanie Nye, Dan Packers Executive Assistant, 504-250-1987 (cell phone)
mnye@entergy.com

Geoff Edelman, Facilitator, Kepner-Tregoe, 770-587-1546 (office phone)
gedelman@kepner-tregoe.com

Tentative Project Statement

Provide the Economic Development Committee Project Plan to the

BNOB Commission by 12/19/2005

Tentative Project Plan Objectives - when we are done we will have:

• A strategic vision for business retention and restoration, while simultaneously attracting new and diverse businesses
• An economy that is growing and has sustainability
• A plan that broadly retains the good things we have in New Orleans and adds new ideas for the future
• A community that embraces all age groups and cultures, with a strong focus on attracting bright, young people
• An atmosphere that sets priorities and has a sustained fiscal management
• An environment that attracts and retains essential business venture capital
• A local culture that builds on traditional New Orleans, while adding the best features of other leading cities worldwide (i.e. San Francisco)
• A labor force that meets present and future needs of public and private sector employers

All - please read and provide feedback as appropriate to Dan Packer and Bill Hines. Please include changes to the above statements as preferred, delete statements, or form new statements. Please recognize that Project Objectives are not only outcomes, but also constraints.

What Is Outside the Scope of the Committee

All - please provide any statements that help create a border and boundary for work of this committee.

By What Measures and Metrics Will We Know If Weve Been Successful?

All please provide input as appropriate.

Urgent/Emergent Issue Protocol for the Economic Development Committee

Issues will be communicated to Dan/Bill for discussion and documentation. Resolutions and responsibility assignments will be communicated to the full committee.

Critical Issues and Decisions by Urgency for Action in the Short Term

• The committee needs to identify and consider issues already in the process of action planning and influence them in the direction of this committees vision.
• The committee must coordinate with other organizations and activities in progress that are going along a similar path. We must ensure that we work from one plan and that we have one message.
• There are several academic and outside entities interested in helping, including the local colleges, a cadre of Harvard MBA students, and the Urban Land Institute (ULI.) Doug Ahlers will coordinate inputs and outputs. If you have an opportunity in need of academic study, please contact Doug for assignment. If you are approached by an outside resource with an offer to help, also please contact Doug.

All - please provide additional issues to Dan and Bill for consideration and action planning.

Next Steps

Provide input to the questions in bold above (all)

Stay in touch by checking the website:
www.bringneworleansback.com

Work currently in progress or completed documentation needs to be identified that may be incorporated into the Committees report. (Provide to Dan/Bill)

The real timelines for the committees report needs to be defined. Also, questions were raised about the format for the report (White Paper format was recommended), and who specifically is the customer for the report? (Dan/Bill to answer)

The Committee needs to identify all other work in progress that is running roughly parallel to the work of this committee, so that relationships can be managed effectively going forward.

The following points were made:

     the Legislature is working on issues related to the work of the committee, but given the short timeframe, it may
     not be realistic to try to influence anything until the January session.

     interests of the LA International Airport need to be recognized in by the Committee.

     cleanliness of the city and in transportation areas will be critical in developing a positive image of the city
     going forward.

     there needs to be a protocol and responsibility assignment to liaise with local talent and foreign entities
     wishing to volunteer aid to the area.

     there needs to be a clear agenda and process in place that promotes meeting effectiveness at the next
     meeting.

All - please provide feedback and recommendations for maximizing committee effectiveness going forward.

 Economic Development Committee