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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2001-07-12 ACE MINUTES• • • ALLIANCE FOR COMMERCE IN ENGLEWOOD July 12, 2001 I. CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of Alliance for Commerce in Englewood (ACE) was called to order by Chair Van Der Zwaag at 11 :40 a.m . in the City Council Conference Room of the Engle- wood Civic Center. Present: Absent: Staff: Kathy Ashenfelter, Deborah Guinther, Nick Panetta, Steve Schalk, Doug Van Der Zwaag, Jon Young, Marilyn Brenengen, Mike Yurchick Randall Taylor, Jim Rees Jan Johnson , Business & Redevelopment Coordinator Darren Hollingsworth, Business Specialist Ken Ross, Director of Public Works Members present were asked to introduce and provide a brief background sketch of them- selves. II. CITY DEPARTMENTS & THE BUSINESS COMMUNITY Public Works Department -Ken Ross , Director Mr. Van Der Zwaag noted that the agenda for the meeting indicates Mr. Ross w ill present an overview of his department and its responsibilities, and will discuss the transportation plans . He asked Mr. Ross to make his presentation . Mr. Ross stated that he is Director of the Public Works Department; there are 78 people in three divisions of this Department: Engineering, Streets and Traffic, and Operations. The Engineering Division deals with project engineering, traffic engineering, and development review. Streets and Traffic, located at 2800 South Platte River Drive, does street mainte- nance, snow removal, street sweeping, and maintains all traffic signals and street signage in the City. Operations encompasses building maintenance services for Civic Center, the po- lice and fire stations, golf course, recreation center, Malley Center, and the Servicenter. Mr. Ross stated that there are 120 centerline street miles, and 40 miles of alle y s that are main - tained by the Street crews ; 58 traffic signals and 750 intersections are serviced by traffic maintenance personnel. Fleet maintenance is done internally at the Servicenter; this en- compasses 350 pieces of equipment. Mr. Ross stated that all vehicles and equipment used by the City are on a replacement schedule; all Departments are charged based on the number of v ehicles they ha v e and usage of those vehicles ; these funds are put into a re- placement fund (Capital Equipment Replacement Fund -CERF ). Mr. Ross stated that the project taking a majority of his time this year is an update of the transportation plan. A series of public meetings, held in all quadrants of the City, have been conducted to elicit comments and concerns from citizens regarding transportation issues in the City neighborhoods. Mr. Ross stated that 15,000 brochures were mailed to residents H:IGRO UPIBOA RDSIACE\Min utes \7 -12-200 I .doc • • • advising of the date, time , place, and intent of the meetings. The first six meetings, held in May 2001, yielded a total of 75 citizens in attendance. Mr. Ross stated that in addition to public meetings in the residential neighborhoods, they have met with the Chamber of Commerce members, and other business-oriented organizations to elicit comments and concerns of the business community. He noted that many of the comments deal with Broadway, left-turning movements from Broadway to east/west streets, and speeding on neighborho0d collector streets . Mr. Ross discussed the work his department has done with Nanc y Peterson, the Crime Prevention Officer in Safety Serv ices; he noted that Ms. Peter- son has pushed the speed pledge, and has received recognition for this program. Mr. Ross noted that responses from the busines s community were more "global " in nature than those recei ved from the residents . Mr. Ross stated that the community outreach and data collection phase of the study has been completed; the ne xt step is to identify solutions, and go back out to the citizenry a nd business community with the suggested so lutions. Mr . Ross stated that solutions, once identified and approved, will be put in the Traffic Action Plan , and will be budgeted for im - plementation over the next several ye a rs. Mr. Ross stated that the information received on the transportation issues will be an important component in the revising the Transportation section of the Comprehensive Plan , also being done this year. Mr . Ross stated that one goal of the project is to develop a traffic calming "tool box" that can be used throughout the City. Mr. Ross stated that the goal is to conclude the project earl y in 2002. Mr . Yurchick asked if there will be models developed to show the impacts of the problems and concerns raised . Mr. Ross stated that models showing impacts will not be developed; the y do hope to show the problems that can be sol ved; he advised that the solutions ma y be very expensive . Mr . Young asked about the feedback from the business community. Mr . Ross stated that there were about 25 people in a ttend a nce a t the Business Transportation meeting, and ma ybe eight or ten people at a Chamber Governmental Affairs luncheon where they also made a presentation. Mr. Young asked what the business community is sa ying . Mr. Ross stated that he will make available copies of the comments and concerns voiced by both the riti7onr\/ -,nrl h " t ho h11 c inac c rnrnrn11nih 1 /\;1c Rr o n ocr::l n o rh norl /\;1r R n c::c::'c:: nrP11in 1 IC .......... ~ ....... ,., .............. .....,,, 1..1 •-..._,,_..., ....................... ....,, .................. , ............................... 0-·· ............................... ····· ... ..._,...., ... ._, ,.... . ._ ......... _ .... statement that concerns voiced by the business community were "global" in nature, but th at a major ity did c e nter a long the Br oadway/Ha mp de n corrid o rs. Mr . Youn g a sked whether an y cone-ems from the trucking businesses had been received ; he noted that large deliver y vehicles seem pro to have difficult y at Dartmouth and South Platte River Dri ve; what about ra il lines t hrou gh the industrial area . Mr . Ross stated that there was very limited, if any, concern expressed by the trucking industry. Mr. Pa nnetta asked about projections for traffic flo w; how will the projections impact street tre a tmen t. Mr. Ros s st a ted that p eople are d riving to the light rail station , pa rkin g their ve - hicle , and using the light rail line to get to downtown Denver . Mr. Ross discussed the pro- H:IGRO UPIBOARDSIA C E\Minu tes \7-12-200 1.doc • • • jections that RTD had made regarding ridership on the light rail line by the year 2015, and noted that those projections have already been met or exceeded . Mr. Ross discussed the challenges of providing circulation and parking for those using the light rail. Ms. Guinther entered the meeting. Mr. Ross discussed efforts to encourage RTD to build a parking structure to accommodate the motorists using light rail; there is a brief opportunity for RTD to lease the Trammell Crow residential parking structure for transit riders and allow RTD to erect a parking struc- ture on the lot that is devoted to parking for the transit station. So far, RTD has not re- sponded to the "encouragement". Mr. Ross discussed installation of traffic signals at Floyd and Inca to accommodate traffic in the CityCenter project once development is completed. Mr. Ross discussed the duties of the Inspection Division of Public Works. This Division fo- cuses on capital projects; if a developer is working on a private project, Public Works' in- spection efforts stop at the property line. This division does address drainage issues, how- ever. Mr. Ross emphasized that the inspection duties occur primarily on public right-of- way. Mr. Ross emphasized that the Public Works Department is very conscious of the business community, and make every effort to work with the business community. He acknowl- edged that there were some concerns regarding the Broadway median and overlay pro- jects, and he tries to see that his department "learns" from every experience. Mr. Ross stated that there will be a major storm sewer replacement project along Dartmouth Ave- nue. Every attempt will be made to keep one lane open each way, but traffic flow will be impacted for several weeks this fall. Ms. Johnson asked Mr. Ross if he has contacted businesses along Dartmouth Avenue, and if there is anything the Business & Redevelopment Division of Community Development can do to assist in this project. Street maintenance programs were then discussed. Mr. Ross stated that the policy for Englewood is that main streets are not plowed unless there is at least a four-inch (4") snow- fall. Mr. Ross stated that the street crews will apply sand and melting substance to intersec- tions, but unless the snowfall is four inches or greater, more problems are created with plowing -driveways and vehicles being plowed in. Ms. Brenegan discussed the freezing of snowmelt along curbs and gutters with no southern exposure . Mr. Ross stated that the ~treet crew tries to keep this broken up, but they do have to take into account weather forecasts before it's placed in the right-of-way -is the weather forecast to be warm enough to melt the ice once it's broken away from the curb and gutter . H:I GROUPIBOA RDS \ACE\Minutesl 7 -12-200 I .doc • Ill. E-GOVERNMENT WORKSHOP Ms. Johnson stated that a workshop on E-Government has been scheduled for July 30, 2001, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. She encouraged anyone. who is interested in this work- shop to plan to attend. The goal is to determine services the community is interested in ac- cessing via the Internet, and how to make them available. Ms. Johnson stated that the de- velopment of the E-Government program will be a very gradual process. Mr . Young indicated interest in attending, as did Mr. Schalk. Discussions of web-site development, maintenance, and up-dating ensued. IV. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES Ms. Johnson stated that the proposed Policies and Procedures for ACE were included in the meeting packet. She stated that each Board has to establish policies and procedures. Ms. Johnson stated that the proposal has been reviewed by City Attorney Brotzman. Pannetta moved: Ashenfelter seconded: The Policies and Procedures for ACE are adopted as written. The motion carried . • v. BUSINESS ACTIVITY REPORT • Ms. Johnson distributed a memorandum on Business Activities. Included was a report that LaPorta Art Gallery will be closing the business effective July 31. Ms. LaPorta is actively seeking a tenant interested in this retail space. Ms . Johnson stated that a plumbing and heating business is seeking to relocate; they need two or three acres to accommodate parking for their vehicles, and need a structure with between 25,000 to 40 ,000 square feet. This business is being displaced by the T-Rex pro- ject along 1-25. Mr. Pannetta asked about the 3400 block South Broadway Robohm site . Ms. Johnson stated that a business from Denver is relocating to this site; she stated that she thought the name of the business is Acoustic Music Revival, a music store . Mr. Schalk indicated that he knew the owner of this business, and that "he is also having problems with the City -it 's taking a long time". Ms. Brenegan asked what the owner perceives as the "bottleneck". Mr. Hollingsworth stated that the contractors have been an issue, and that the entire move has been a "struggle" for the business. Mr. Hollingsworth stated that he has been working with the owner regarding a grant for new signage. Mr. Schalk inquired about construction that is occurring on the east side of Broadway in the 3300 block. Mr . Hollingsworth stated that this is the "Bishop site"; the delay in develop- H:IGRO UP\BOARDS IA CEIMinutes \7-12-200 I .doc • • • ment of this site has been financial in nature. The proposal will have 4,500 square feet of retail use on the lower level, with residential use on the upper level. Mr. Young asked what ACE can do to assist Ms. LaPorta in securing a lessee for the build- ing. Ms. Johnson stated that she will contact some people that she knows are interested in locating in Englewood. Mr. Van Der Zwaag asked about posting properties that are avail- able on the City web-page. Mr . Schalk asked if the Chamber of Commerce has a web site. Ms. Brenegan discussed the status of the Chamber web site . Mr . Pannetta stated that it would be nice to have the information on available properties available to the committee. He noted that people in the banking business have contacts from people who are interested in business sites. He suggested that this might be a web- page topic. Mr. Yurchick stated that at one time , the Business Division did a newsletter. Ms. Johnson stated that there have been discussions regarding regenerating the newsletter; another pro- posal is to do "broadcast fax " notifications to the business community. Ms. Johnson stated that if members of the Commission will submit their e-mail addresses, she will get as much information to them as possible, including City Council study session agendas . Mr. Pannetta asked if it would be possible to have listings of properties available in Engle- wood prepared for the ACE meeting in August. Ms. Johnson stated that staff will work on this. Ms. Guinther suggested that a formal letter be prepared and sent to Ms . LaPorta, acknowl- edging her contributions to the City, and offering assistance in marketing the property. Brief discussion ensued regarding the closure of LaPorta Art Gallery . Publicizing space available in the Cit y was discussed further. Mr . Young discussed attrac- tion of chain restaurants to the area through publicizing available sites. Ms. Johnson stated that the City subscribes to the Colorado Real Estate Journal; ads can be submitted for pub- lication there . The City also participates on the Denver Metro Network web site. Mr. Van Der Zwaag suggested that there are real estate brokers to deal specifically with restaurant locations, and that the City contact such a broker. Further discussion regarding the City web site ensued. Mr. Pannetta suggested that the City should do whatever is needed to promote commerce -attraction and retention -in Englewood. Ms. Brenegan suggested that perhaps information might be available at the E- Government workshop; the membBrs in attendance can let the workshop leaders know what we want. Ms . Johnson stated in her opinion, there is a need to talk about "community" versus "gov- ernment"; consideration needs to focus on a community project rather than a government project. H:\GRO UPIBOARDS\ACE\Mi nu tes\ 7-12 -200 I .doc • • • Ms. Brenegan stated that a question frequently asked of the Chamber is "how many busi- nesses are in Englewood ; where are they"; the City has the best list that she knows of. Ms . Johnson stated that the Business Directory isn 't really "user friendly ", and discussed infor- mation she would like to have included. Ms . Johnson stated that business registration re- quirements would provide a wonderful source of information . Mr. Yurchick stated that when business information is collected, staff should publicize the reason for the requested information. Mr . Van Der Zwaag discussed soliciting the businesses we want to see in Englewood; what incentives will the City give to attract specific businesses . Ms . Johnson stated that City Council looks at incentives on a case-by-case basis. Mr. Yurchick stated that Council con- siders "subsidy" versus "incentives ". Mr . Schalk stated that he d idn 't receive any incentives when he was working on remodeling the Gothic The atre ; this program began after his project was underway. Discussion ensued. Ms . Johnson stated that she would develop a list of incentives and how to attract specific businesses to the City. Mr . Schalk stated that he is a representative of Business in Englewood ; he noted that Mr . Cliff Weinberg, owner of considerable property in downtown Englewood, has submitted a proposal for development of the 3400 South Elati Street site, and is trying to work with the City to get approval of his proposed office building. The 3400 South Acoma street parking lot project appears to b e in limbo. He suggested the need to communicate between the Cit y and the business community on projects that are proposed, under way, status update, etc. Ms. Johnson stated that the City was going to do a request for proposals on the South Acoma Street site , but decided there is need for a parking study in the downtown area prior to going out for proposals. She noted that an y response to the RFP would have to be "self- contained " as far as parking is concerned, and may provide an additional 130 parking spaces. Discussion ensued. Ms . Guinther asked if this was the RFP that is now under consideration . Ms . Johnson stated that the RFP that was advertised was for the Elati Street site; the one under discussion was for the Acoma Street site, and it is in dr aft form onl y. V!. BU S!N!:SS !SS U !:S & PR!OR!TH:S Ms . Johnson briefly discussed the B1,1siness Issue Priorities paper she prepared and included in the packet. The issues included : City Departments & the Business Community; Image Enhancement; Economic Growth ; and Workforce De velopment & Primar y Jobs . Ms . Brenegan commented on the Zoning Ordinance revision, and that this is a voluminous document. H:IGROUPIBOARDSIACE\Mi nu1es17-12-200 I .doc • • • Ms. Johnson noted that City Attorney Brotzman has information regarding the Building Codes. VII. APPROVAL OF MINUTES June 14, 2001 Ms. Johnson stated that the Minutes of June 14, 2001 were to be considered for approval. Ms. Brenegan suggested that the last page be amended to indicate that Mr. Simpson and Ms. Johnson were "presenting" at the Chamber meeting, not just "attending". It was so noted; the minutes stand approved as amended. VIII. CITY STAFF COMMENTS Mr. Ross distributed copies of comments received during the course of the transportation study meetings -from citizens as well as from the business community. Ms. Johnson reiterated her request for those interested in attending the E-Government workshop to let her know. IX. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE COMMENTS Ms. Brenegan discussed formation of a traffic advisory committee, and stated that it is very critical to have business input on this committee. Mr . Ross stated that an advisory commit- tee will be formed, and we need both residential and business representatives on the committee. X. BOARD MEMBER COMMENTS Mr. Young stated that he wants a better understanding of tools available to interact with the community; he wants to find out what we can do to attract businesses. Ms. Johnson stated that she is working on a report for City Council regarding establishing rebate standards. Ms . Johnson commented that she felt an issue receiving a lot of consideration is "growing" Englewood businesses -what can be done to assist in this growth so that we don 't lose good, vital businesses. Mr . Yurchick asked that consideration be given to the "little guvs"; he noted that the major- ity of discussion and benefits seem to be geared to the large business establishments, but the "little guys" make up 80% of the business sources in Englewood. He emphasized the need to find out how to get "mom & pop" businesses here, and how to keep them. Brief discussion ensued. Ms. Brenegan noted that there are so many things to discuss during the course of an ACE meeting; she suggested that the order of the agenda might be changed to focus on issues at the beginning of each meeting. H:\G RO UPIBOARDSIACE\Minutcs\7-12-200 I .doc • • • Mr. Schalk briefly discussed the "restructuring of codes", and pointed out that the inten- tions of the ACE membership may not be considered in this restructuring. Ms. Johnson stated that the project is rewriting and revising the Zoning Ordinance; this restructuring will not address Building Code issues that have been brought up for discussion in the ACE meetings. Ms. Johnson stated that the next meeting will be August 9, 2001. The meeting adjourned at 1:10 p.m. Ge'rtrude G. Welty, Recording Secreta H: IGROUPIBOARDSIACE\Mi nutesl 7-12 -200 I .doc