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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-02-10 ACE MINUTES• • • ALLIANCE FOR COMMERCE IN ENGLEWOOD February 10, 2005 I. CALL TO ORDER The Alliance for Commerce in Englewood regular meeting convened in the City Council Con- ference Room of the Englewood Civic Center at 11:40 a .m., Chair McDermott presiding. Present: Absent: Staff: Cook, Guinther, Lonborg, Schalk, McDermott Verbeck, Alternate Member Wolosyn, City Council Liaison Penning, Chamber of Commerce Liaison Woodward, City Council Member Panetta, Vasilas (both excused absences) Hollingsworth, Business & Redevelopment Coordinator It was noted at the time the meeting convened (11 :40 a.m.), that a voting quorum was not pre- sent; therefore, official action could not be taken . Chair Mc Derm ott welcomed Brian Verbeck, newly appointed Alternate Member, to the Com- mission . II. CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES Janu ary 13 , 2005 Chair McDermott noted that the Minutes could not be formally approved because of lack of quo- rum , but asked if members in attendance had any changes or corrections they wished to suggest. No corrections or changes were proposed. Chair McDermott directed attention of the members to P age 4 of the Minutes, wherein the 2005 work program of ACE is cited. She stated that we need to keep these topics in mind to meet the goals of the Commission . Mr. Woodward entered the meeting and took a seat with ACE members. Mr. Verbeck inquired abo ut the ACE goals. Ch air McDermott stated that some goals have yet to be determined, and some goals have been established. Discussion ensued. Mr. Hollingsworth stated that the work program defines what ACE will be looking at during the coming year, and is derived from the Economic Develo pment Strategy. The work program has been reviewed and prioritized by ACE, with top priorities being improved communication with the business com- munity and the business visitatio n program . Chair McDermott noted that at the January, 2005 meeting , ACE also reviewed and adopted By- laws for the Commission. H:\GROUP\BOARDS\ACE\Minutes\2005\ACE 02-10-05.doc 1 • • • Ms. Lonborg entered the meeting at 11 :45 a.m. and took a seat with the ACE members . III. NEW BUSINESS A. Community Development Annual Report Chair McDermott asked Mr. Hollingsworth to review the Report. Mr. Hollingsworth stated that the Community Development annual report is a brief review of the Departmental activities of the previous year, covering such issues as projects considered by the Planning Commission, inquir- ies from prospective businesses, enterprise zone and catalyst activities, and housing rehabilita- tion activity. Brief discussion ensued. Members commented on the quality and attractive pres- entation of the report. B. Web s it e ACE Pag e Chair McDermott asked for an update . Mr. Hollingsworth noted that information from the exist- ing WEB page on ACE was included in the packet. The City's WEB page is being updated , and is expected to "go live" sometime in March or early April. Mr. Hollingsworth also cited a "pro- file " of members of the Planning Commiss ion that was recently done, and asked if ACE mem- bers might be interested in a simil ar document -brief bios and business information. He did note that the Planning Commission profile is not part of the WEB information, but is available for distribution. He suggested that the ACE "profile " could be included on the ACE WEB page . Ms. Guinther suggested that the ACE WEB page should list the 2005 Work Program, goals , and contact references . Discussion followed. It was noted that the ACE and business WEB pages should be attractive and encourage people to go beyond the "front door". Chair McDermott suggested that possibly ACE could see a draft of the proposed WEB page. Mr. Hollingsworth stated he would take ACE comments back to the WEB committee. Mr. Hollingsworth asked what the commission felt regarding the bios and photos for a "profile" document. Mr. Cook suggested that the "bios" be only one or two sentences -there is no need for a full paragraph . The issue of photos was discussed , and it was determined that a "group" photo , with member identification, was acceptable, but not individual photos. Mr. Hollingsworth said he will arrange for a group photo to be taken at the next meeting -if the full membership is present, and asked that members provide a brief bio for the "profile". Chair McDermott inquired about the Business Directory on the WEB site . Mr. Hollingsworth discussed the status of the Business Directory and asked what information ACE members felt was important for inclusion. A sample form for business response was distributed and members were asked to review and comment. Ms. Guinther asked the purpose of the business directory. Mr. Hollingsworth suggested that it could be regarded as a business roll-a-dex -citing business name, category or type, phone and fax numbers, address . Someone seeking a particular business -or type of business -could make use of this resource . H:\GROUP\BOARDS\A CE\Min ute s\2005 \A CE 02-10-05 .doc 2 • • • Chair McDermott asked how the request for updated information would be gotten to existing businesses . Mr. Hollingsworth suggested several ways existing businesses could be made aware of the need for updated information -through the Englewood Citi zen, via the Chamber of Com- merce newsletter, business fax, etc. Mr. Cook expressed his opinion that the City should not be providing "free advertising" for busi- nesses on the WEB or in the Business Directory. He pointed out that the City has experienced a revenue shortfall the past few years, and in his opinion providing linkage from the City's WEB page to a business WEB is "free advertising", and there should be a fee paid for inclusion in this program. He reiterated that this is a case where "the City pays and the business reaps the bene- fits ". Ms. Wolosyn suggested that this should be considered as a service offered by the City, and as an investment in the business community. Mr. Woodward stated that our goal is to promote economic development in the City, and we need to support and promote existing businesses as well as try to attract new business . Ms. Lonborg suggested th at inclusion of an e-mail address on the form for businesses to com- plete would be advisable. Mr. Hollingsworth agreed that this would be good information . He asked what the Commission felt about inclusion of a "business category" line. Discussion en- sued. Mr. Woodward suggested that commonly used business categories -retail , warehousing, m a nufacturing , etc. -be included a t the bottom of the form with a request that the respondent circle the applicable category . Mr. Hollingsworth brought up "shopping districts " within Englewood a s cited in the Broadway Plan -"Gateway", "Downtown", "Cherrelyn", and "Brookridge". What is the opinion of the Commission regarding designation of the "district" in which a business is located ? Discussion ensued . Mr. Woodward noted that this could exclude businesses that might be located in the Centennial area at Belleview and Federal, as an example. Other members questioned the need to di vi de the City into "districts", noting that Englewood is a smail town and the goal is to tie the retail/commercial community together -not separate it. Ms. Lonborg suggested that reference could be made to the "Englewood shopping district", which would be all-encompassing. Mr. Schalk entered the meeting at 12:20 p.m., and took a seat with members of the Commission. IV. OLD BUSINESS A. Economic Development Strategy Chair McDermott stated that the Economic De velopment Strategy was approved by the City Council at their meeting on February 7, 2005 . Discussion ensued. Mr. Hollingsworth referenced some "Englewood marketing pieces " that have been done, among them the award-winning CD from a couple of years ago, and the recent "take a closer look at Englewood" which was distributed to attendees at the Chamber "Gala" in January. He stated that there are limited State grant funds available to aid in marketing projects , and efforts to in- crease awareness of the Englewood business community in the state and national markets. Mr. Verbeck asked when the CD will be updated. Mr. Hollingsworth stated that it is not an "imme- diate" project. H:I GRO UP\BOARDSIAC E\M inutes \2005 \AC E 02-10-05 .doc 3 • • • Methods of matching available properties with business inquiries were discussed. Mr. Hollings- worth noted that a link to the "broker community" will be included on the "portal page'', and that brokers will update the information on this page on property availability. Businesses interested in relocating or starting up will be able to access this information . Ms. Lonborg led discussion on establishing a list of businesses Englewood needs or is interested in attracting . Discussion ensued. Ms. Lonborg emphasized that this is not a discriminatory process, but rather a "targeting" process -it is commonly used by medical communities wherein physicians specializing in a particular medical field may be "targeted" to locate in a medical of- fice building or hospital campus, but physicians specializing in other medical fields are not ex- cluded. Further discussion ensued. Mr. Hollingsworth noted that a "void analysis" is proposed to determine types of businesses Englewood needs -maybe household appliances , or other prod- ucts, and develop a target list. Further discussion ensued. Mr. Hollingsworth pointed out that demographic and purchasing pat- terns impact location choices exercised by businessmen. Mr. Verbeck discussed the offering of tax incentives to businesses to encourage location in Englewood. Mr. Verbeck also expressed his opinion reg arding development of and the leasing process at CityCenter Englewood. He asked whether the City or ACE can "mandate" approved uses and leasing breaks to facilitate get- ting spaces filled. Mr. Hollings worth stated that the City of Englewood has approved "incen- tives " for two bu s ines ses, and both bu sinesses were multi-million dollar deals. Each proposal must be approved by the City Council. Mr. Hollingsworth noted that businesses locating in Englewood do re cei ve some "incentives " through the Enterprise Zone tax credits, and assistance through the Catalyst Program which aids in property improvement. There are uses that the City has expressed interest in seeing locate in CityCenter, but leasing of the available space is the re- sponsibility of the property owner-not the City . Mr. Woodward stated that it is very important to work with the broker community. Nation-wide advertising of available properties or interest in business categories was briefly dis- cussed. Mr. Hollingsworth stated that Englewood does "tag on" with the Denver Chamber of Commerce in noting property availability ; this does achieve state and some national advertising. Financial "packages" that can be offered to new businesses were briefly discussed . Mr. Hollingsworth reiterated that each request is evaluated and must be approved by the City Coun- cil. The City does not have a tax credit program , nor does the City have "deep pockets" to pro- vide tax credits to many businesses. Chair McDermott pointed out that if demographics and pur- chasing patterns don't support a business, even with a tax incentive to locate in an area the busi- ness will not be successful, and businesses carefully scrutinize demographics and purchasing pat- terns prior to determining where to locate . Brief discussion ensued. B. Business Visitati on 2005 Chair McDermott noted that time is running short, and that possibly this issue could be delayed to the next meeting and be placed first on the agenda. Mr. Hollingsworth distributed suggested "interview tips" and policies for consideration and discussion at the next meeting . H:\GRO UP\BO A RDS \AC E\Minutes\2005\ACE 02-10-05 .d oc 4 • • The "visitation" packet is in need of updating -cite current officers, and update phone numbers . IV. COMMENTS AND EVENTS A. Chamber of Commerce Ms . Penning stated that the Student Recognition luncheon is planned for the end of March. B. ACE Members Ms. Lonborg distributed a proposal whereby ACE can partnership with Swedish Medical Center in celebrating the 1001h anniversary of the hospital. Proposals such as a window art contest, shots for tots Dala sales, Broadway banner, etc. were all noted as programs for consideration. Ms. Wolosyn distributed posters for the "Back to Bach" concert. Chair McDermott distributed an article from the Denver Business Journal on the Englewood TOD project. A flyer noticing a meeting on Historic Preservation was also distributed to ACE members . It was noted that there is a voting quorum present, and that the Minutes can now be considered for approval. Cook moved: Lonborg seconded: The Minutes of January 13, 2005 be approved as written . The motion carried. Chair McDermott noted that the next meeting of ACE will be on March 10 at 11 :30 a.m. The meeting was declared adjourned. Gertrude G . Welty, Recording Secretar Action Items: • ACE WEB page to contain 2005 work program, goals , and contacts • ACE WEB "profile" bios -no more than 2 sentences; group photo • ACE members to see "draft" of ACE WEB page • Include e-mail address line on form for Business Directory • Business "categories" be listed on bottom of form for respondent's choice • Update Visitation handout Agenda Items: • 2005 Business Visitation Program • • Group photo for "profile" H:\GRO UP\BOARDS \ACE\Minutes\2005\ACE 02-10-05 .d oc 5