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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-04-01 ACE MINUTES' • • • ALLIANCE FOR COMMERCE IN ENGLEWOOD April 1, 2004 Members of the Alliance for Commerce in Englewood convened for the regular meeting in the City Council Conference Room of the Englewood Civic Center at 11:30 a.m. Present: Absent: Guest: Staff: Cook, Rees, Schalk Vasilas, Alternate Member Yurchick, Council Liaison Ackerly, Chamber Liaison Ashenfelter and Panetta (both members provided previous notice of absence) Guinther and McDermott (unexc used absence) Wolosyn, City Council Member Hollingsworth, Business Development Specialist Voboril, Pl anner Graham, Senior Planner Vice-Chair Rees noted that no voting quorum of the ACE was present. It was the consensus of those in attendance to proceed with informal discussion of agenda items. The Business Visitation Program was discussed. Name tags were presented to members of ACE that were present -these name tags will be worn by members of ACE who will be visiting busi- nesses. The members of the Visitation Team met last week to develop survey/questionnaire for use during the visits in compliance with directives of ACE for consistency of information sought. Drafts of a questionnaire/information request sheet and an introductory flyer were presented for consideration of the membership. Members reviewed the information. Mr. Cook suggested that inquiring about the number of employees -full time or part time - could be problematic. Some businessmen may not respond to this question, and discount the re- mainder of the questionnaire as too intrusive. Ms. Wolosyn suggested that it be an "optional" question - a businessman may or may not answer the question as they choose. Ms . Ackerly stated that she thinks it is an important piece of information, and impacts other questions in- cluded on the questionnaire. Discussion ensued. Mr. Cook suggested that if a business is asked whether they plan to increase their staff it might not be so "intimidating". Mr. Yurchick sug- gested using a "block/check" system -small size business , medium-size, large business -maybe 1-5 employees for small sized businesses, etc. This could provide a general idea, but not get into the specifics that a businessman may not be comfortable sharing. Mr. Schalk asked if a lot of this information was not gathered as part of the survey done by Anne Tankersly a couple of years ago. What is the purpose of this survey now -what will be done with the information? H:\GROUP\BOARDS\ACE\Minutes\2004\ACE 04-01-04 .doc 1 • • • The general approach of the Visitation Team to the businesses was also discussed. Mr. Yurchick noted that the "presentation " will be very important -there is need to introduce oneself, and ini- tiate a conversation with the businessman before handing them a questionnaire/survey form. Ms . Wolosyn stated that in her opinion , one of the benefits of the Visitation Program is to intro- duce the ACE group to other businesses , and to open a "dialogue" with the business community with the intent to let them know the City is interested in the success of the business and for us to learn the needs of the business community. Mr. Schalk suggested that questions might be aimed toward what the businessman thinks should happen , what needs they have , what sort of business opportunity do they see in Englewood. He stated that he isn 't sure where ACE is going with the survey/questionnaire. Mr. Vasilas stated that the Visitation Program is a public relations effort to improve communica- tion between the business community and the City -to get feed-back from the business people and recommend possible changes if needed. Mr. Rees asked what use had been made of the survey information gathered two years ago. Mr. Hollingsworth stated that the information gathered by Ms . Tankersly two years ago was used as the basis for the Economic Development Strategy that the ACE has considered over the last sev- eral meetings . Mr. Yurchick commented on the "generic" quality of the last question , and suggested more spe- cificity might be in order. Mr. Schalk and Ms. Wolosyn both discussed the need to identify the "area" of Englewood in which the business is located. Mr. Schalk agreed with the need for specifics -what are the needs of the "area", and what are the needs of the business . He stated he wanted a more "result-driven" reason to do the program; he does not think that the questions listed move the program forward . Mr. Hollingsworth stated that the goal of the Visitation Program is to get to know your business "neighbors'', to attract new businesses as well as retain existing businesses. When the program was f!rst proposed ACE stated that a goal of the program was to gather quantifiable, measurable information that could be used to improve the conditions for and retain existing businesses, as well as attract new businesses. Mr. Vasilas emphasized that the Program is a way to improve dialogue with the business com- munity; businessmen may be more willing to share information with each other than with some- one from the City who might "visit". Further discussion ensued. Mr. Hollingsworth questioned if ACE wanted to proceed with the "questionnaire/survey" part of the program, or whether to just go with the flyer and the program information sheet. Mr. Schalk suggested that steps be taken to find out what the business community thinks of the Economic Development Strategy. Mr. Yurchick agreed -focus the survey or questionnaire on the points delineated by ACE two months ago. He commented that there will be a variety of businesses , but there may be common issues the businessmen are facing . H :\GRO UP\BOARDS\ACE\Minutes\2 004\A C E 04-01-04 .doc 2 \ • • • Mr. Vasilas suggested th at a "sign-up sheet" is needed for the Visitation Team. He also stated that there is another meeting of the team scheduled for next week. Mr. Hollingsworth noted that he and Mr. Simpson will be attending an Economic Development training session next week, and will be out-of-state until the evening of April 9 1 h. He will contact the Visitation Team upon his return to begin the visitation program . Vice-Chair Rees stated that the next issue for discussion is the South Broadway Plan. He asked that Mr. Grah am lead the discussion on this topic . Mr. Graham stated that the Plan edition before the ACE today is the third draft of the Plan. He reviewed the past drafts of the Plan and the changes the Plan has undergone in the third re-write . Mr. Graham reviewed the "History" of Broadway , and noted this street has undergone many ch anges over the years , and will change still more in years to come . The "Goals" section of the Pl an has been modified , specific objectives have been delineated , and strategies to address the objecti ves are set forth . Mr. Grah am s tated that the foc us of the Plan is to assure that public im- provements along Broadway are maintained or impro ved -such as sidewalk repair, installation and replacement , curb and gutter repair or repl acement , and then offer "assistance" to private owners where fe asible . The City will not undertake assemblage of land and all reference to emi- nent domain or condemnation has been remo ved from the verbiage . Mr. Graham noted that South Broadway is very vehicle oriented -on-street parking, new and used car lots , and vehicle maintenance shops of one type or another line the corridor. Mr. Graham suggested that using the front portion of Broadw a y facing lots for parking is "wasted area" and could be better used for retail purposes with required parking located at the rear of site. Mr. Graham noted that the cur- rent Plan draft is no longer focused on any one particu la r business type, but addresses the broader spectrum of maximizing the use of Broadway frontage. Mr. Graham stated that devel- opment of housing uses along Broadway and in the downtown area is an opportunity to capital- ize on support of residents for new or improved rest aurant and entertainment venues . Mr. Yurchick asked what housing along the commercial corridor and in the downtown area would bring to Englewood that would be better than improved retail development, and why woul~ anyone want to live along Broadway. Mr. Cook noted that residents will spend money locally -at restaurants , shops, entertainment outlets if available. Mr. Schalk noted that a lot of developers of new businesses want to have a residential support base. Ms. Wolosyn noted that increased residential development would bring people into the area, and they would visit and pa- tronize local businesses. Mr. Yurchick suggested that changing use of a site from a used car sales lot to an apartment house isn't improving tax revenues that much . Mr. Graham noted that Englewood has no venues which cater to the "young, hip people", or to the "empty-nester" group. He noted that there are some people who like night-time activity on streets -such as theaters, clubs, restaurants , etc. Ms . Wolosyn noted some developers in Denver are encouraging mixed use developments with residential and retail uses. Mr. Graham pointed out that Englewood is over-zoned for commercial usage according to ac- cepted studies of cities. It is not a realistic goal to see that Broadway is developed with 100 % commercial uses. What Englewood does need is the correct mix of uses -residential, service H:\GRO UP\BOARDS\AC E\M inutes\2004\AC E 04-0 l -04 .doc 3 .. • retail, restaurants, entertainment venues, etc. He also pointed out that with use of design stan- dards, visual interest along Broadway could be improved and would encourage people to walk along the corridor and maybe visit the stores . • • Mr. Graham stated that staff will hold a public meeting on the proposed Broadway Plan on April 14, in the Community Room of the Englewood Civic Center at 7:00 p.m. Notices have been mailed to all who attended previous public meetings in October. If ACE members would like to attend the public meeting on April 14, or submit comments to staff after this presentation today, they may do so. Mr. Graham stated that the Plan will probably not be taken before the Planning Commission until sometime in May. Mr. Rees suggested that anyone on ACE who has comments regarding the South Broadway Plan, please submit those comments via e-mail to Mr. Graham no later than April 21. Mr. Schalk asked if Englewood City Council is still exploring ways to equalize tax burdens on various types of retail -car sales lots versus other cash/carry retail outlets. Ms. Wolosyn stated there is a group studying this issue. Mr. Vasilas discussed the need to develop new restaurants and night clubs in Englewood. He noted that his sons go to entertainment clubs in Denver frequently. He noted that many of these clubs are located in basements of existing structures, such as nice townhouse and condo devel- opments. Mr. Schalk stated that there is no support in Englewood for such outlets. He noted that there is no place for people who attend shows at the Gothic to go after the show is out -there are no restaurants that are open late -everything is closed up by 8 p.m. He emphasized that restau- rants and entertainment venues in Englewood are very limited, and while things are beginning to change, it's a very small change . Mr. Rees noted that the Economic Development Strategy will be taken to the City Council for discussion at study session on May 3, at 6 P.M. Members of ACE are encouraged to attend. Mr. Rees asked for comments and events. Ms. Ackley stated that the Englewood Chamber will sponsor the annual Taste of Englewood on May 13. The need to better publicize this activity was b-riefly mentioned. Mr. Rees stated that he will be out of the country at the time of the May ACE meeting, and will be out of town at the time of the June meeting. He does not plan to request reappointment to ACE, so this is in effect his last meeting. He thanked members for their support and participa- tion of the very important tasks ACE has considered and undertaken. The "unofficial meeting" was declared adjourned . H:\GRO UP\BOARDS\AC E\Minutes\2004\ACE 04-01-04 .doc 4