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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-07-14 ACE MINUTES• I. ALLIANCE FOR COMMERCE IN ENGLEWOOD June 14, 2007 CALL TO ORDER The 1·egular meeting of the Alliance for Commerce in Englewood (AC E) was called to order at 11 :40 a.m . i n th e City Council Conference Room of th e Engle wood Civic Center, Chair Schalk pres id in g. Present: Schalk, Panett a, Guinther, McDermott (entered 11 :53) Absent: Lonborg (exc used ), Vasi/as (exc used ), Verbeck (exc used), Espinoza (exc used) Also p resent: O l ga Wolosy n, City Council Liaison Jim Woodward, Councilman Katie Mendel, Chamber Representative Staff present: D arren Ho lli ngsworth, Econom ic Develop ment Coordinator APPROVAL OF MINUTES May 10 , 2007 • Chair Scha l k stated that the Minutes of May 10 , 2007 were to be cons id ered for approval. • It was determined there was not a q uorum present. Th e Mayl 0 , 2007 minutes will be considered for approva l at the July meeting. Mr. Pan etta requested the date of the July meeting be changed to Jul y 26 , 2007. It was agreed to change the meeting date. II. ACE BUSINESS Mr. H oll in gswo rth distributed a copy of a n article regarding redevelopment in Englewood that was published in the Colorado Real Estate Journ al, May 1 5 -Jun e 5, 2007 ed iti on. Mr. Hollin gsworth provided an update on the se lection process for th e ne w Comm u nity De ve lopment Dire cto r. He stated the fie l d has been narro wed to thre e candidates and an announcement should be made shortly. Mr. Panetta and Ms. Mendel served on the se lec ti o n panel. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 101 Mr. Pan e tta , Mr. Verbeck, Ms . Mendel and Mr. Woodward attended a DRCOG workshop on small community economic development. Mr. H o llin gswo rth presented a PowerPoint presentation on Economic Development prepared by the Economic D eve lopment Council of Colorado an d Mr. Clarke Becker. Issues discussed were: • • • • Challenges in Englewood • What is Economic Development • What does Economic Development Encompass • What is the role of the Economic Development Professional • Economic Development Basics Art in Englewood, the future of the Art Shuttle, sales taxes and housing was discussed. Mr. Hollingsworth stated $21 million in sales and use tax was generated on the 2006 budget out of a total of $35.4 million. The business community and others drive a huge amount of Englewood 's budget. Staff is trying to advertise the community and attract new businesses with adver tising such as the ad placed in the Colorado Real Estate Journal. Chair Schalk felt adve1·tising was very important and money well spent. Mr. Hollingsworth stated Vitamin Cottage has announced they have rented a warehouse in Englewood with 50 new base jobs . They will be next to Kacy Fine Furniture . Mr. Panetta asked if Community Development has learned anything as a result of the Vitamin Cottage and Kacy Fine Furniture relocation in terms of ease of entry into our community compared to other jurisdictions. Mr. Hollingsworth said Staff is working very closely across departments (Build ing, Fire and Zoning). Mr. Hollingsworth announced a pool and spa company has rented a 14,000 square foot building with occupancy sometime in August. Fii'st co ntact with the City was through the Fire Marshall who in turn contacted Zoning, Building and Economic Development. All three departments met with them on very short notice . The y were very impressed with how quickly everything moved forward. Mr. Panetta suggested Community Development summarize some of the best practices to be incorporated in the future. Mr. Hollingsworth said he has been thinking about the possibility of establishing an Economic Development Response Team to businesses . When a business is looking at Englewood the team can approach them collectively to help the deal move ahead smoothly. The business environment is extremely important. Mr. Woodward stated that several of the new businesses (Starbucks, Subway remodel, Panela Expre ss) that have recently located in Englewood ha ve come to a Council meeting and complimented Mr. Hollingsworth and the process they went through to move into Englewood. Several businesses have said they would be happy to be a spokesman to help bring new business into Englewood. Mr. Hollingsworth said Staff has used testimonials in the past and they have been very effective. Chair Schalk would like the visitations to focus more on the new businesses who have moved in. Mr. Panetta said you could take it a step further when you visit them and ask who else they would like to see in the community. Ms. McDermott asked if several of the new businesses had moved to Englewood because of Staff's outreach or another reason. Mr. Hollingsworth said it was not directly a result of reaching out to them , but he said he would like to think Staff played a role in influencing them to locate in Englewood . Mr. Hollingsworth stated several issues have emerged that are impediments such as parking, signage and landscaping. 2 • • • Mr. Hollingsworth noted the City does not have a formal incentive program. Mayor Wolosyn wanted to know if people ask Staff "What can I get?" Mr. Hollin gsworth said Vitamin Cottage early on asked what local incentives exist. Mr. Hollingsworth mentioned the Enterprise Zone, the Catalyst program and that incentives have been given in a few instances . Mayor Wo losyn and Chair Schalk noted that other communities are providing incentives for businesses to move in. Discussion ensued. Chair Schalk said one of the things City Council can look at is to foc us on incentives for new construction which will encourage tear downs and rebuilds versus fix-ups. The scope of work needs to be narrowed. The City's permit process was discussed. Mayor Wolosyn stated on July 23 "1 City Council is meeting to discuss how the City moves forwar·d with flat sales tax. She said she believes Council does not want the money from the golf course to be spent to cover general fund items. It is money from an asset the City held for a number of years and it has to go into making the City better in the future. She would like to see at least 50 % of that money set aside for some type of community development programs. Mr. Hollingsworth said he would like to get the new Director on board and then have a conversation with him regarding incentives. Th e topic can be put on the agenda for an upcoming ACE meeting. He said he would like to get an analysis done on what other jurisdictions offer formally and what they have adopted . Mr. Hollingsworth will provide a copy of an Economic Gardening article to all ACE members. Ill. COMMENTS & EVENTS CHAMBER Of COMMERCE Ms . Mendel had nothing further to report. ACE MEMBERS Chair Schalk suggested the following for the July meeting agenda: 1. Art -Have a representative from Outdoor Arts attend. 2. Visitation Program -Staff to prepare names and contacts of new businesses in the City so a vis itat i on cou ld be set up. 3. Incentive Program -Check on what other communities offer. Chair Schalk asked if Staff could contact ACE members several weeks before a scheduled ACE meeting to inquire as to whether they have an item they would like on the agenda . 3 • • • BID CO MME NTS Mr. Vasilas was not present. STAFF COMMENTS Ms. Mendel asked about the hotel study. Mr. Hollingsworth stated Staff met with Horwath Consulting, Mr. John Montgomery, on June 13 1h and they are finalizing the study. It will be presented to City Council in the near future. He stated the study showed a hotel such as La Quinta with meeting facilities would be the proposed demand level generated by the community. Every project is different and a developer could come i n and feel a boutique hotel would work at or near City Center to be close to the li ght rail. Mr. Holl i ngsworth stated Englewood High School has a school to career program and the Principal would like to attend the July meeting. No further business was brought forth for consideration. The meeting wa s adjourned at 1 :00 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Ju ly 26, 2007 . 4