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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-07-08 ACE MINUTES• • • ALLIANCE FOR COMMERCE IN ENGLEWOOD July 8, 2004 I. CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Alliance for Commerce in Englewood convened in the City Council Conference Room of the Englewood Ci vie Center at 11 :40 a.m. Members present: Members absent: Staff present: Chamber Liaison: Guest: McDermott, Schalk, Panetta, Vasilas, Cook and Guinther (excused absence) Lonborg Robert Simpson , Director of Community Development Darren Hollingsworth, Business Development Specialist Don Ingle , Information Technology Director Cristin Ackerly Olga Wolosyn Mr. Hollingsworth noted that City Council will not officially act on Board and Commission ap- pointments until July li\ therefore, while individuals have been designated for appointment or reappointment , a voting quorum of ACE is not present at this meeting . Mr. Panetta has been des- ignated for reappointment; Mr. Vasilas has been designated as a voting member, and M s . Julie Lonborg has been designated as a new member replacing Kathy Ashenfelter as a representative of Swedish Medical Center. Mr. Hollingsworth stated that the ACE membership present needs to elect an "interim Chair" for this meeting. Mr. Vasilas moved: Schalk seconded: Motion carried. Mr. Panetta is elected interim Chair of ACE for the meeting of July 8, 2004. Mr. Hollingsworth noted that Mr. Cook and Ms. Guinther had both notified staff they would be unable to attend today's meeting. Ms. Lonborg 's voice mail indicated she is out of her office through July 9th . Mr. Panetta noted that with no voting quorum present, ACE cannot approve minutes or take any official action. II . EVENT COORDINATION BROCHURE Mr. Hollingsworth presented a brochure prepared by staff, which sets forth ideas on ways that merchants may be able capitalize on special events throughout the year . The brochure was avail- able to merchants prior to the recent sidewalk sales event , and was well received by the Old Town Merchants Association. Mr. Hollingsworth indicated that the downtown merchants are H:\GROUP\BOARDS\ACE\Minutes\2 004\ACEk 07-08-04.doc 1 • • • now considering hosting a car show and having "give-aways" as an enticement to attract visi - tors/customers. Ms. McDermott stated that the brochure is well thought out, and well presented. Mr. Vasilas asked when the car show is scheduled. Mr. Hollingsworth stated that discussion of the car show is in the very early stages; the dates and actual location haven't been determined, nor is there a professional group engaged to oversee the show . Mr. Schalk asked if the City is participating in promoting the car show, and whether there will be City-sponsored events that could tie in with the car show. Mr. Hollingsworth stated that the car show has been initiated by the Old Town Merchants Group , and that Doug Cohn has really taken the lead on this issue. Mr. Schalk discussed the need and advantages to coordinate City events with merchants' events; he commented that merchants don't have the time to devote to planning the special events, and really do need City involvement and support. He stated that he understood the City had a full- time person working on special events for the City, and if the merchants could tag onto the City events it could generate revenues . Ms . McDermott commented that in her opinion, businesspeo- ple will make time to assure success of an event that a merchants group plans . She agreed that good City support and involvement in any special event is very important. Ms . Wolosyn noted there have been changes in job responsibilities for Amy Doe-Torres , former Recreation Program Administrator. She suggested that the merchants need to present ideas to the City Council and give the City an opportunity to determine what level of support and participation the City can provide . Mr. Vasilas commented on the recent sidewalk sales, noting that the three "big" attractions were the Surplus Store, the lingerie store, and the music store. He noted that he can place a table of high-priced merchandise that is marked way down on the sidewalk but it does not attract the browsers or buyers that the Surplus Store, for example, attracts. Mr. Vasilas stated that he would support the car show -both financially and promotionally because he feels that it "could be a people attractor, but it must be done the right way." Mr. Panetta commented that he liked the promotional brochure prepared by staff -it is visual , colorful, and shows that the City is pro-active . He stated that Mr. Schalk's comments are well- taken regarding coordination of event activities. III. WEB SITE GIS Mr. Hollingsworth introduced Don Ingle, Director of Information Technology for the City of Englewood. Mr. Ingle presented a demonstration of software that has been designed to address economic de- velopment activities. The software can identify available business sites, provide a variety of data, and is user friendly. The software can mesh maps with accompanying data, and those seek- ing a location for a particular business can determine zoning, traffic counts , public facilities, etc . quite easily. Development of the program originated in Kirkland, WA . Other communities us- ing the program include Chula Vista, Inglewood, Stockton, and Fresno, CA. Dayton, Ohio; and H:\GRO U P\BOARDS\ACE\Minutes\2 004\AC Ek 07 -0 8-04.doc 2 • • • Rio Rancho, N.M. Mr. Ingle stated that Jefferson County in the Denver Metro Area may have a program that is similar. Mr. Simpson stated that much of the supporting data is available; however, Englewood does not have a good data base on the business community unless the business is retail and is required to have a sales tax license -if the business is industrial or office oriented, we have no record of the type of business, the number of employees, the needs of the business, etc. He briefly discussed a possible business registration program that could provide much of this information, and could improve the economic development possibilities for the city. Mr. Simpson commented that the Community Development Department typically gets about 10 inquiries for business locations each month, and while staff can get the information together, this software package could en- hance and ease staff efforts . Discussion on the software package ensued. Mr. Schalk asked if an e-mail function could be in- tegrated in the package. Mr. Ingle stated he felt that e-mail could be integrated pretty easily. Mr. Panetta asked what the "down-side" of the program is. Mr. Ingle discussed the cost of the program through lease, maintenance, and service from outside sources. He also discussed the outright purchase price of the program --$36,000. Discussion ensued. Mr. Ingle pointed out that the City is currently involved in a redesign of the City WEB page, and is also looking into purchase/development of a permit tracking system. Mr. Ingle echoed Mr . Simpson's statement that the City already has a lot of "base information'', but doesn't have suffi- cient business information. The Commission further discussed cost ramifications of the software. Mr. Ingle stated that in his opinion, the program could be a source of revenue enhancement for the City. Mr. Ingle stated that while he has not been able to gather definitive information on actual dollars the program has generated for any one community, there have been several that have said this or that business located there because of site information they were able to obtain via the software package. Mr. Hollingsworth suggested that the software program could tie in with the available commer- cial property report that is currently on the City's WEB site. Mr. Ingle stated that the commer- cial property report is one of the top three "hits" on the City WEB site. Ms. Ackerly asked if the software package could also have a link to the Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Ingle stated it could, and demonstrated such a link on the Kirkland program. It was the consensus of ACE that this is a good program. Mr. Simpson and Mr. Ingle stated that the City will be pursuing this software. Mr. Simpson expressed the opinion that Mr. Ingle will research cost options and make a fiscally sound determination whether to lease or purchase the software . H:\GRO UP\BOARDS\ACE\Minutes\2004\ACEk 07-08-04.doc 3 • • • IV. DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS UPDATE Mr. Simpson provided updates on the Acoma Street site (3400 block South Acoma), noting that this site has been vacant for approximately 20 years . A Request for Proposal was sent out in March or April; three proposals were received. After review by the Development Review Team (Ms . McDermott serves on this team), the proposals were narrowed down to two -both from lo- cal businessmen. Mr. Simpson stated that we will work to refine the concept of both proposals , and that a final determination will be made later this year. He suggested that spring , 2005 is probably the earliest date to expect a development contract. Mr. Simpson stated that the redevelopment of the 3400 block of South Elati Street is nearing completion , with a grand opening anticipated in late September or early October. This redevel- opment project was begun approximately 1.5 years ago , and is a medical office group affiliated with Swedish Medical Center. A small coffee/sandwich shop is proposed for the first floor level , with medical offices on the second and third floors. Mr. Simpson then discussed the proposed redevelopment of the Denver Seminary site at U.S. 285 and South University Boulevard. This is an 11.4 acre site presently zoned for high-density residence/office use . The Denver Seminary has outgrown the site and is relocating to Littleton . Mr. John Forstmann , JVF , Inc of Avon, Colorado , has presented a redevelopment proposal that will encompass 350 residential units (townhomes and condominiums) as well as 65 ,000 square feet of retail space . Mr. Simpson stated that the proposal has been through the Public Hearing process before the Planning Commission , and it is anticipated that the City Council can begin Public Hearings by mid-August with possible demolition of existing structures beginning in Oc- tober. Mr. Simpson stated that he was pleased with the support the proposal received from the community , and that many of the supporters were willing to speak in support for the record. Mr. Simpson updated the Commission on the shuttle service that the City has been working on for a couple of years. This shuttle service will provide a linkage between The Meridian , Swedish Medical Center, downtown Englewood, and the Englewood Town Center. The service will be operational later this fall , will be free , and there will be 10-minute "headways" for the shuttle. Eighty percent (80 %) of the cost is funded by Federal funds; if the shuttle proves to be successful in the first three years, RTD has committed to assume operation. There will be public art in- stalled at each of the stops ; this is accomplished through a public/private partnership with local artists and will make the stops interesting as well as provide a "market" for the artist. Mr. Panetta asked about the price of the residential units in the Denver Seminary redevelopment. Mr. Simpson stated that prices quoted for some of the townhomes are in the $950,000 range . The ACE membership was enthusiastic about and supportive of this proposal. V. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY Mr. Hollingsworth stated that the Economic Development Strategy was initially presented to City Council at a study session last month , and will be taken before the public at two open houses planned for July 20 and July 27. He encouraged ACE members to plan to attend at least H:\GRO UP\BOARDS\ACE\Minutes\2 004\ACEk 07 -0 8-04.doc 4 • • • one of the open houses. A brief presentation is planned, and copies of the ED Strategy will be available for attendees . Mr. Panetta stated that City Council was appreciative of the time taken by the ACE membership and staff to develop the ED Strategy. The Business Visitation Program was briefly discussed. Mr. Hollingsworth suggested the goal of visiting 100 businesses within 100 days. A report would then be prepared and submitted to City Council. He noted that there has been discussion whether or not to do a "survey" in con- junction with the visitation; in his discussions with other jurisdictions most do surveys. He stated that the survey (standardized questions) would form a basis for the findings in the Council report. Ms. McDermott noted that the "interview team" has met on several occasions , and asked if the group will get together again before the visits begin . Mr. Hollingsworth suggested that a meet- ing might be set following the open houses for the ED Strategy -sometime in very early August , for instance. He noted the need for "consistent training" for the visitation team. Mr. Simpson asked Mr. Hollingsworth if he will be coordinating the date for the meeting and contacting the members. Mr. Hollingsworth stated that he will be doing so. VI. COMMENTS AND EVENTS Ms. Ackerly commented that the Chamber golf tournament is scheduled very soon, and there are still 12 openings for players . Members of the Commission were asked whether they wanted to meet in August, or have a "break". Ms. McDermott noted the need to have the visitation group discussion. Mr. Simpson agreed that the August meeting could be devoted to the visitation project, and in September the Commission could begin a new "work program". Mr. Panetta noted that the Commission does need to meet in August to elect a new slate of officers. Mr. Panetta inquired about the sales tax revenue. Ms. Wolosyn stated that revenues in May were a little "down", but didn't know about the June returns . The meeting adjourned at 1 :05 p.m. Gertrude G. Welty, Recording Secret y H:\GRO UP\BOARDS\ACE\Minutes\2004\ACEk 07-08-04.doc 5