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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-11-08 ACE MINUTES• ALLIANCE FOR COMMERCE IN ENGLEWOOD November 8, 2007 I. CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of th e Alliance for Commerce in En glewood (ACE) was called to order at 11 :40 a.m. in the City Council Conference Room of the Englewood Civic Center, Chair Schalk presidin g. Pres ent: Absent: Schalk, McDermott, Lonbor g (e ntered 11 :SO), Guinther, Verbeck (entered 11 :49 ), Espinoza (a lterna te) Panetta (exc used ), Vasilas (excused) Also present: Ray Tomasso , Councilman Staff present: Alan White, Community Development Director Darren Hollin gswo rth , Ec o nomic Development Coordinator APPROVAL OF MINUTES October 11, 200 7 • Chair Schalk stated that the Minutes of October 11 , 2007 were to be considered for approval. It was determined there was not a quorum at this time . • II. ACE BUSINESS TESTIMONIALS Mr. Hollingsworth stated ACE had requested copies of testimonials from new businesses . He referred to information in the meeting packet, which consisted of testimonials from Englewood businesses that have been published or from City Council minutes. He said he would reserve obtaining testimonials from face to face meetings until visitations or a particular article is being done. Quotes were from Jerry's Artarama, Kacy Fin e Furniture, Panda Express, Subway, Sportique Scooters, and Windsor Indu stries. Staff will talk to IT to see if they can be used on the City's website and on the City's primary marketing site , Englewoodsites.com. Ms. McDermott said she finds the testimonials excellent. The other members agreed. They say what ACE wanted to hear. ... the City is easy to deal with, there are many opportunities in the City ..... businesses should move to Englewood. She said she can visualize the testimonials being used in many ways . Chair Schalk said he believes they would be great to give to people inquiring about the Englewood area. 1 • • • As quotes appear in the paper or in Council minutes Staff will add them to the original list. Mr. Tomasso suggested a quote from Sun Country Pools be obtained . He said they were very happy to be in Englewood. Previously they were located in Denver. They worked closely with fire, building and planning and drew on several of the City 's resources to make the relocation happen. Mr. Hollingsworth stated he did want to draw from quoted published sources such as newspapers or Council minutes. APPROVAL OF MINUTES October 11, 2007 Chair Schalk stated there was now a quorum and the Minutes could be considered for approval. Mr. Hollingsworth read a memo from Mr. Panetta requesting the minutes be amended on page 3, section 3 ACE MEMBERS, first paragraph . He asked the following sentence be added: Although ACE was not involved in Kent Place , ACE was a supporter of the project and ACE has long been an advocate of more diversified housing stock within Englewood including upscale alternatives. Guinther moved: McDermott seconded: The Minutes of October 11 , 200 7 be approved as amended. The motion carried unanimously. BUXTON COMPANY Mr. Hollingsworth said Buxton, a national retail marketing firm, approached Staff a short time ago. They were interested in talking to Engle wood. They have a high-tech way to approach retailers by doing high-end demographic studies and developing target marketing for the retailers . Staff met with a Buxton representative in Englewood and also saw them recently at a conference. They provided a great deal of information about their company and some of the results they have seen from their efforts. Englewood has a large vacancy in several shopping centers (City Center, Englewood Marketplace, Phar Mor Shopping Center, etc.). Flood Middle School could also be a retail opportunity. Buxton proposes to put together ten marketing proposals for ten specific businesses. Buxton would not approach the company, the City or a developer would. They have worked with numerous national retailers and use local demographics, daytime population, and local spending patterns based on actual credit and data to develop consumer profiles based upon what is actua lly spent in an area. Englewood has a void in women's apparel , televisions and home electronics, bookstores and entertainment. A Buxton type study would name specific retailers that would fit vacant spaces today or potential pad sites in the larger developments. It is not meant for Broadwa y businesses. It 2 • • • would go towards regional and national franchises that would have a likelihood of locating in Englewood. The larger power shopping centers along the 285 corridor would be the focus of the study . There are a couple of pad site opportunities at one or more of these locations. Ms. McDermott asked if Staff had alread y contracted with Buxton. Mr. Hollingsworth stated the City only has a proposal from them at this time . Ultimately, Staff would receive a list of ten specific businesses to approach, each with their own marketing package. Mr. Hollingsworth referenced the Buxton case studies included in the ACE packet. Ms. McDermott stated Broadview, Illinois sounds like Englewood. It has an expanding and contracting population and it would be very interesting to talk to someone in that community. Mr. Hollingsworth noted he has not seen samples of reports . He stated he wants to contact several communities that are similar to Englewood that have used the report to see how they have put it to use . They are working in Broomfield right now and are looking to work in Denver along the Colfax corridor and in Grand Junction. Chair Schalk asked Mr. White for his opinion . Mr. Wh~te said Buxton had approached him at his last job as well and they decided not to use them . It's doing a market study and void analysis based upon consumer spending data rather than your typical income and household. It does give you an indication of what types of businesses you should go after, but he said he felt Staff already has some of that analysis done by Development Research Partners. It may get a Chili 's, Applebee 's or an Auto Zone store, but is that what we want and need? It's all franchise driven. Usually the program is done with a specific site in mind and costs $55 ,000 with additional costs for more than one site . The area of the report is based upon drive time rather than a radius . The void analysis provided good information, but how do we get to the businesses that have been identified in the void analysis. Mr. Verbeck asked if Staff had contacted anyone on the community reference list. Mr. Hollingsworth stated they had not. He said he was familiar with several of the cities in California and they are very rough areas and would like to know what they are doing to attract business. Chair Schalk said he is wondering how the Sheridan project will affect Englewood and would the report convince a business to locate in Englewood rather than in Sheridan. Mr. Hollingsworth said that's a real challenge . He said $55,000 is a lot of money for a municipality to spend. Staff has discussed ways to cost share with the development community. After further review, cost sharing on the City Center site does not make sense, but may on other sites such as Flood Middle school. Ms . McDermott said we have two things of value: 1) space and 2) we have a preliminary study with fairly new data. She asked about negotiating a lower price since we already have 3 • some data. She said she felt one of the values they provide is providing specific names of franchisees that are expanding so it gets us closer to a retailer. She felt the price could be negotiated. Ms. Lonborg said from what she read Buxton is not going to want the Void Analysis data. They have their own data based upon the existing purchasing habits of people in this area . She asked the members if they were familiar with a company called Looking Glass, which is based in Denver. None were. She said they do something similar to Buxton. Staff will attempt to locate the company and contact them. Mr. Hollingsworth said he would talk to other communities about their expenditures with Buxton. Mr. Verbeck asked what was spent on the Void Analysis. Mr. Hollingsworth stated he was not involved in that particular contract. Chair Schalk said he supports the Buxton report, but feels Staff needs to negotiate the cost. Mr. Tomasso asked how the data was obtained for the Void Analysis . Mr. Hollingsworth said it was obtained by using demographic information, drive time demographics, and actual sales tax data. After discussion it was determined staff will attempt to obtain information from other companies and contact several cities that hav e used the Buxton report and ask if they would spend the money again. • Mr. Hollingsworth said the analogy used in a meeting was that the average sales of a particular business would justify the cost in year one based upon their published annual average sales. That 's to attract a business . Then there's the business retention side. The Buxton reports can also be used to influence existing businesses. Mr. Hollingsworth noted there may be an opportunity for a representative of Buxton to give a presentation to ACE . Chair Schalk asked Staff to pursue that opportunity. • Chair Schalk called for a motion. Schalk moved : Lonbor g seconded: Move forward in contacting competing companies that do similar business, continue negotiations with Buxton and have a representative of Buxton give a presentation at an upcoming ACE meeting. The motion carried unanimously. Ms. Lonborg provided Staff with a name and phone number for a contact that may be able to put Staff in touch with the Looking Glass company. BUSINESS STARTUP CHECKLIST Mr. Hollingsworth distributed a memo of a draft of the Business Startup Checklist. He stated several businesses have encountered pitfalls along their journey to opening up a business. Staff is trying to help the businesses by developing a checklist. He asked ACE 4 • members for their advice on what would be of help in opening up a business. Members discussed three areas: 1) Business Structure, 2) Pulling It Together and 3) Making It Happen. He noted there would be links on the website to the Small Business Development Center, SBA, etc. as well . Ms. Lonborg said if you go to the website of SCORE, The Society of Retired Executives, they have almost all of what you are presenting on their website and the documents are free. Ms. McDermott said she believes there is value in putting a checklist together in how a person works with the City as well as othe r organizations, such as SCORE, Tri-County Health and Micro Business Development. Mr. Hollingsworth said he will refine the checklist to include these recommendations . 111. COMMENTS & EVENTS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Ms. Mendel was not present. ACE MEMBERS • The members had nothing further to report. • BID COMMENTS Mr. Vasilas was not present. Mr. Tomasso stated the mill levy was approved at a Board meeting and the public hearing for the 2008 mill levy will be held on the 28 th at Bank of Choice at 1 :30 . He noted the mill levy will be the same as it was in 2007. STAFF COMMENTS Ms. Guinther said Current Factory Outlet is going out of business in December. She asked if anyone knew what happened. Mr. Hollingsworth stated he had not heard they were closing. No further business was brought forth for consideration. The meeting was adjourned at 12:35 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for December 13, 2007 . 5