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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-01-11 ACE MINUTES• • ALLIANCE FOR COMMERCE IN ENGLEWOOD Ja nu a ry 11 , 20 07 I . CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Alliance for Commerce in Englewood (ACE) was called to order at 11 :40 a.m. in the C ity Council Conference Room of the Eng lewood Civic Center, Cha i r McDermott pres iding . Present: McDermott, Scha lk, Vasi las, Panetta, Verbeck (entered 12:02), Gu inther Absent: Lonborg Also present: Katie Mendel, Chamber Representative Olga Wolosyn, City Counc il Liaison Ji m Woodward, Councilman Staff present: Darren Hollingsworth, Economic Development Coordinator Mark Graham, Senior Planner APPROVAL OF MINUTES September 28 , 2006 October 12, 2006 Chair McDermott stated that the Minutes of September 28, 2006 and October 12, 2006 were to be considered for approval. Panetta moved: Vasi las seconded: The Mi n utes of September 28, 2006 and October 12, 2006 be approved as amended. The motion carried unanimously. 11. ACE BUSINESS PRIMARY EMPLOYER STUDY Mr. H oll i ngsworth stated this was an item that ACE has d iscussed over time. It looks at Englewood 's primary employer base and growth opportunities. Mr. Hollingsworth turned the meeting over to Mr. Graham . Mr. Graham stated the job density in Eng lewood is seco n d only to Bo ul der for cit ies larger than 25,000. The number of jobs per capita in Englewood is qu ite h igh, 26,000 jobs for a • city of 32,500 people. D aytime spend ing is very high. 1 • • • Primary jobs are jobs that pay above average salaries and create the surplus in the economy. They tend to sell products to people outside of the city or region. They are importing dollars into the Englewood community. The six categories studied represent about 70% of all of the jobs in town. They are : • Automotive services • Business Support • Construction • Life Sciences • Durable Goods Manufacturing • Sporting Goods The point of the report was to look for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to the six key industries . In the report there is a summary of each industry giving an indication whether that industry is growing locally and how it is doing regionally and nationally. With the exception of automobiles all of the categories are growing in Englewood. Also, most of the categories are declining regionally and nationally. Patty Silverstein , author of the report, thought this was due to the swings in the economy and not due to the fact that Englewood is stronger, and therefore the businesses are growing. She believes there is still potential for job growth in Englewood . One of the messages Mr. Graham said he would take from the report, was it is going to be easier to grow and retain the existing businesses than it is to attract new businesses . That has an effect on how staff administers their programs. He feels there is ample opportunity for Staff to work on business retention and expansion. This is accomplished by keeping the business environment attractive to the businesses , such as eliminating the admissions tax and adjustments in the development code . Mr. Graham gave a brief overview of each of the six categories. Mr. Panetta asked who commissioned the study and who else besides Council has seen the study. Mr. Graham said City Council commissioned it and the Old Town Merchant's Association asked for digital copies for distribution to the merchant's downtown. Mr. Panetta asked what we do with the study now that we have it. Mayor Wolosyn stated Council may be in a position to do some investing in the future because of the money coming in from Sheridan. Council is looking at how to best invest that money. Mr. Panetta stated he would be frustrated if the City paid for the study and nothing gets done. Mr. Schalk said he thinks the study shows what we have known for a while, there are some high paying jobs in Englewood and there is money being made in Englewood and not really being retained. Somehow, this study needs to look at the incomes. There are over 2800 people making over $60,000 per year, and this income is going outside for eating, shopping and entertainment. Some of the projects on Broadway have been put on hold because of the Sheridan redevelopment. Why doesn't the City go back to those people who were doing those projects and repitch them? 2 • • • Ms. Mendel asked how commercial leasing costs in Englewood compare to other local areas. Mr. Hollingsworth stated Englewood is lower and more competitive, but also there is a lack of investment that drives those lower rates in many cases. The Acoma project was discussed. Mr. Vasilas asked if the other finalists for the Acoma project could be contacted to see if they are still interested in doing the project. Mr. Graham stated the second place contractor, Englewood Lofts, was contacted but they are busy working with Cherokee on several projects. Council recommended that Staff watch the market and look for signs that the kind of development Englewood wants is beginning to happen, rewrite the request for proposal and then go back out to the market. Mr. Graham stated Englewood is getting some fallout from the Sheridan redevelopment. It is not entirely a negative thing. Discussion is ongoing with Kohl's. Staff should hear back from them in January. Mr. Graham stated there are concerns regarding safety. Staff has heard that the impact team program was a good idea. It may be that the impact team needs to be reinstituted to focus on areas where there are perceptions of it not being safe in order to turn the area around. Mr. Schalk asked if there was a way to take the current document and put it into a more aggressive recruiting document. Mr. Graham stated there was an article about Englewood's City Center in the Wall Street Journal in December. It spawned several businesses to contact the City . Mr. Graham said he is putting a packet together to send to them. Mr. Schalk asked if the packet was tailored to meet the needs of the business. Mr. Graham stated that was correct. Chair McDermott asked if there were any further questions for Mr. Graham. Mr. Panetta said he still did not feel he had an answer as to where we go from here. Mr. Graham asked what if Staff brings back to ACE the work program that is prepared in January to show the items that relate to this report. Mr. Panetta asked the other ACE members, if they have not done so already, to read in detail the report before the next meeting. Mayor Wolosyn said it is an important time for Englewood to not make Sheridan be something that puts projects on hold here, but makes people say ... they're near Sheridan, let's go there. Mr. Vasilas said we have beautiful apartments at The Alexan , which are 95 % occupied . This is a perfect area in which to live . Sheridan does not have any housing in the area of the redevelopment. Mr. Woodward said one thing he had been thinking of was to have something like the ART Shuttle that goes between Sheridan and light rail, down Hampden, up Broadway and down Englewood Parkway. People will probably be coming on light rail that will want to shop at the Sheridan redevelopment. If we could partner with Sheridan, we take advantage of their redevelopment and turn it into opportunities. WELC O ME PACKAGE Mr. Hollingsworth stated Staff is bringing back an old idea of having a welcome packet/information brochure . Staff would like to get ACE 's input on the idea. This would be given to new businesses coming into town. It would serve to make them feel welcome and to help them understand some of the programs and services that they need to be aware of. Communicating is an area that the report showed the City needs to do better in. 3 • • • Chair McDermott asked if Staff had a mock-up of the packet to look at. Mr. Hollingsworth stated it is very early on and Staff does not have a mock-up at this time. Staff would like ACE's input in shaping the packet. Mr. Hollingsworth said what Staff is imagining is an information brochure that lays out the City of Englewood benefits and some of the programs and services available. Mr. Hollingsworth reviewed a list of some of the information that could be contained in the brochure. Mr. Hollingsworth stated he hoped to have a draft in ACE's hands in February. Mr. Hollingsworth asked for comments from the ACE members . Mr. Vasilas said he thinks it is important to have a welcome package from the City side and the business side, such as the Chamber of Commerce and the BID . It is a good PR tool . Chair McDermott said it is important that businesses have information available to them, such as the Catalyst program. It may help the new business move forward faster to make some changes. It is important to outline what the City has for services. Mr. Hollingsworth said one of the programs the City has that is not being as heavily used as it needs to be is the Enterprise Zone. On average, approximately 120 businesses per year out of 2,200 take advantage of the Enterprise Zone. The intent of this packet is to make people aware of all the programs available for business assistance . BID UPDATE Mr. Vasilas stated invoices will be sent out by the end of January to collect the tax money. Mr. Hollingsworth stated the City is responsible per statute to collect money for the BID. The BID is entering into a Memorandum of Agreement with the City to do that. It is on the City Council Agenda for February 5th. He said it is not a tax, it is a special assessment. Ms. Mendel asked how long the businesses have to pay . Mr. Vasilas said the first payment must be paid by February 25t 11 , second payment in May or paid in full by April, just like property taxes . The first phase of improvements will include four to six banners in each block from 285 to Yale Avenue plus four at Yale and Broadway and four at 285 and Broadway in front of the surplus store. Mr. Vasilas stated he is working with the City to install some of the banners in the median. The BID is also working to put together a booklet to include a list of all the businesses. A meeting will be held in two weeks to discuss the second phase. Chair McDermott stated that Mr. Vasilas voiced concerns regarding safety at a previous ACE meeting and was wondering if that issue would be addressed. Mr. Vasilas said he spoke to Mr. Chris Olson, Director of Safety Services , and he would like to have a meeting with the BID to discuss safety. Mr. Vasilas stated he would discuss that issue at the BID meeting in two weeks. Mr. Schalk said he thinks the safety services department is awesome. He said he has great response time from the police and communication with them is essential. Ms . Guinther said she feels the same way ... the police department is fabulous in response and PR. She also felt it is very difficult for the police to keep on top of things regarding their resources . 4 • • • Mr. Vasilas mentioned during the past several weeks of snow storms he worked very closely with the Public Works department and he felt they did a great job cleaning Broadway and the parking lot behind his store during the storms. Mr. Vasilas called Mr. Rick Kahm regarding thick ice behind his store and he immediately sent a crew and a machine that broke it up. They deserve a lot of credit and try to do their best. 111. COMMENTS & EVENTS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Ms. Mendel stated the Chamber Gala will be held on January 18, 2007 at the Gothic Theater. She said 80 some people are planning on attending as of today. Lannie Garrett will entertain and Footer's will do the catering. The theme this year is Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Mr. Hollingsworth said Community Development is a sponsor and has sixteen tickets available. He invited all ACE members to attend. He asked ACE members to please let Katie know if they would like to attend. Chair McDermott said she also purchased a table . ACE MEMBERS Mr. Panetta said at a previous ACE meeting there was talk of doing a hotel study. He asked what is happening with the study. Mr. Hollingsworth said Staff has a Scope of Work and Contract pending with Horwath Hospitality Services and John Montgomery. The study should take three to four weeks to complete and the report should be ready by the end of February. Mr. Panetta asked when land would be available. Mr. Hollingsworth said he was not aware of the status of the Flood Middle School land . Mr. Graham stated the group that is looking to develop an art center at Flood Middle School approached the City asking for the study. The City expanded on that scope and asked them to tell Staff, as a hospitality provider, where they would want to locate and where the best opportunities are. He stated there have been inquiries from several hotels already. The opportunities are not necessarily limited to the Flood property. Mr. Panetta asked about the property next to Steakhouse 10. Mr. Hollingsworth said the property is now owned by US Bank and they have a new plan for the land. The permit was pulled in August, but redevelopment has ceased at this time. STAFF COMMENTS Mr. Hollingsworth briefly discussed several articles that were included in the ACE packet, An Elected Official's Guide to Economi c Development, several articles from "Downtown Idea Exchange", and a summary of a citizen survey from the Denver Economic Development Council of Colorado . Mr. Hollingsworth provided an update on several new businesses looking to locate in Englewood. The first is a bakery at 11 West Hampden. They are moving from a home-based business. They will have a retail component as well as sell wholesale. The second business is Kacy Fine Furniture which will lease 92 ,000 square feet in the Dartmouth Industrial Park. 5 • • • They are relocating from Denver and will employ 100 people. It will be a warehouse and clearance center. He also noted work has begun on the new Starbuck's at Quincy and Broadway . 6 UPCOMING ITEMS • • Small Area Plan Update • Cluster Analysis /Employer Study Update • Chamber Gala • • 7