Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-07-26 ACE MINUTES• • • I. ALLIANCE FOR COMMERCE IN ENGLEWOOD Jul y 26, 2007 CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Alliance for Commerce in Englewood (ACE ) was called to order at 11 :46 a.m. in the City Council Conference Room of the Englewood Civic Center, Ch air Schalk presiding. Pre se nt: Schalk, Panetta, McDermott, Lonbor g, Vasilas, Verbeck, Espinoza Absent: Guinther (excused) Also present: Olga Wolosyn, City Council Liaison Jim Woodward, Councilman Katie Mendel, Chamber Representative Alexia Jennings, Micro Business D evelopme nt Cory Everett, Micro Business Developm ent Rodney Lontine, Museum of Outdoor Art Dary l Estes St aff present: Darren Hollin gswo rth , Economic D evelopment Coordinator Harold Stitt, Acting Community Development Director (entered 12:0 1) APPROVAL OF MINUTES June 14, 2007 Chair Schalk stated that the Minutes of June 14, 2007 were to be cons idered for approval. Panett a moved: McDermott seconded: The Minutes of June 14, 2007 be approved. The motion carried unanim ously. Chair Schalk announced the Annual Board, Commis sio n & Authority Appreciation Night will be held on Saturday, August 25 th at Pirate 's Co ve . II . ACE BUSINESS ARTABOUT ENGLEWOOD Mayor Wolosyn stated that the Cultural Arts Comm iss ion and Community Development are once again holding Artabout, which is a studio tour of some 40 artist's wo rk s. It will be done in conjunction with the Sacred Water performance. The Mayor provided posters for the merchants to place in th eir windows and postcards to hand out. Last year's Artabout was a very successfu l event. • • • ARTS IN ENGLEWOOD Mr. Lontine said the Museum of Outdoor Arts (MOA) is housed on the second floor of City Hall. They do exhibitions, art education, internships, and art performances throughout the year. Primarily the museum's mission is to make art a part of everyday life by placing outdoor art around the City of Englewood and the Metro area. Most of the large art in City Center is owned by the Museum. He stated they do an annual performance . This year's is on August 11 1 " and is called Sacred Water, which incorporates music, dance, art and film . It will be held at City Center Amphitheater, is open to the public and is free of charge . That will be followed up by Sacred Water, The Exhibition on September 14th. Mr. Woodward noted in the many national press articles that have been written about City Center they always mention the wonderful art work. Mr. Lontine said the Museum of Art is one of the largest museums in the country that has a multimillion dollar art collection that is placed strictly outdoors in public locations. Chair Schalk asked Mr. Lontine what future plans the Museum of Outdoor Art has for adding more art in the City of Englewood . He noted they have purchased a significant piece that will be placed in the atrium of City Hall later this year. The MOA is continually collecting and buying more art. Mr. Hollingsworth thanked Mr. Lontine for his presentation. Mr. Hollingsworth stated he would be emailing an article on the economic benefits of art in communities to all ACE members. Ms. Lonborg inquired as to whether Englewood could become a city known for its art. Mr. Lontine said that Englewood already has a powerful base and it could be built on. Mayor Wolosyn said she believed that Community Development has been encouraging every new development that comes in to include art in their project. VISITATION PROGRAM UPDATE Mr. Hollingsworth stated the visitation program will receive a grant from the State of Colorado and the program will kick off in September or October. Th e first round of businesses to be contacted will come from the Primary Employer Study. MICRO BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT Chair Schalk introduced Ms. Jennings and Ms. Everett from Micro Business Development (MBD ). Ms . Everett provided some background information on the company. She stated the Englewood City Council approved a small grant to lend to community businesses in Englewood. The goal today is to introduce ourselves to the business community and to create awareness we are in the community and the programs we have. ACE is an incredible asset to MBD. Ms. Everett gave a short overview of who MBD is and what they can do for the community. 2 • Ms. Everett said they envision three different events taking place the last week of August -~~---an-cl-tfte-fl-rs-t-week-ef-&er:itefflber.-B·ne-weuki-be-fe-the-wfl·kifl·g-eOfflmttri-tt+es-s-peei-fi·eal+•+-,----- one would be a community focus group and lastly for agencies such as government, City • Council and for non-profits . MBD does not want to copy a service; they want to fill the gaps. She invited all members to attend at least one of the events. Mr. Hollingsworth said he would be looking to ACE for contacts or a list of names to attend the events. Ms. Lonborg suggested Mr. Munds, of the Englewood Herald, be contacted. She suggested he cover a session and interview MBD. Mr. Woodward suggested the Villager also be contacted. Ms . Everett said MBD is much bigger than just their lendin g department. They couple that with their professional consulting d epar tment. They also hav e a coaching program , m e ntoring program , and a peer exchange program. There are many opportunities for a business to become involved and start thinking strategy before they are at the crisis mode. Ms. Everett introduced Ms . Jennings, who will be Englewood 's representative from MBD. Chai r Schalk asked what the loan range was. Ms. Everett said MBD's maximum loan is $60,000, but they will guarantee a loan up to $100,000. Most loans are in the $6,000 - $8,000 range. A lot of clients are repeat clients so as not to overcapitalize at any one time . The payback rate is 96.4% . M r. Panetta stated he would like to have a brochure from MBD. Ms. Everett said she will see that Staff receives brochures. He also asked about how long the grant will la st and what the City can expect in return . Ms. Everett stated the grant was for $218,000. There will be a one-time 10% start-up fee . The interest earned off of the revolving loan fund will keep the program running and pay for operating costs. As far as measurable, MBD would like to demonstrate economic activity, increased sales tax, increased payroll tax , and increased property tax. Mr. Hollingsworth stated Staff is ant1c1pating quarterly reports to ACE from MBD. Ms. Lonborg offered her help in securing meeting rooms at the hospital for MBD's use. Ill. COMMENTS & EVENTS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Ms. Mendel said the golf tournament was not as successful this year as in past years. Planning for the Taste of Englewood is currently underway. It will be held the same day as Englewood Days. Seven restaurants are currently signed up. ACE MEMBERS • Chair Schalk announced he is under contract to purchase the Sport Bowl. Closing is set for next week . He said he plans a major renovation with a grand opening in October. He 3 • • • stated the bowling lanes and billiard tables will remain, a restaurant and bar will be added, and there will be some late night entertainment. The restaurant will be open for lunch and efi-nn-er~. ------------------------------------- Ms. Lonborg asked if Mr. Hollingsworth could give the members some perspective on what is happening at the City. There have been several negative headlines in the Herald lately regarding the City. Mayor Wolosyn said she would be happy to provide clarification. She said for the past 4 or 5 years the City 's sales tax has been re latively flat, but other revenue s have filled in the gap. This year that did not happen. The City is 1.5% ahead in sales taxes , but with increased expenditures of 3 to 4 percent that does not allow us the opportunity to maintain the reserve of 16.79% we had in 2006. Council is looking at taking some of the money from the golf course and putting it towards the general fund to hold steady. Ther e are several other opportunities coming online in the nea r future. Currently, Council is working on putting together the 2008 budget that continues the City on a forw ard momentum and looking at ways we can invest in the community. She said she would like to see ACE involved in the process. Ms. Lonborg asked is the City has staff assigned to work with the press in order to prevent wrong information from being printed . Mayor Wolosyn said the City 's communications department cannot be held responsible for what we as policy makers say and how it is interpreted by the press. The transition from one City Council to the next was discussed and how the trans1t1on might go smoother in regards to economic development in Englewood. Mayor Wolosyn stated new Council members attend an orientation, which acquaints them with the different departments in the City. She said ACE made a good point... .. maybe new Council members could visit each Board or Commission to see how they function and the life of the City does not necessarily reside in City Hall. It resides in the people who do business here and live here . Mayor Wolosyn stated she appreciates sitting on the ACE board because it stretches her to see the bigger picture. Mr. Panetta asked what the strategy is to deal with the negative articles in the paper. Ms. Lonborg stated she doesn't believe you solve this with a press release. She believes it's a long-term strategy on the City's part to continually portray to the press the positive aspects of what is happening in the City and some counsel to the Council about how their words can be interpreted. Mr. Panetta did not agree . He said it's a matter of stating the fa c ts ; it is a negative that needs to be addressed. He said he believes the citizens are owed an explanation. Mayor Wolosyn stated after the next two budget meetings she is planning to ask Mr. Munds if she could do a viewpoint for the paper. Mr. Panetta asked what the status is of the scenario that Mr. Graham was to put together on housing and business for a CDC. He stated Mayor Wolosyn and Mr. Woodward addressed at an ACE meeting that hopefully 50 % of the monies from the sale of the gol f course could be set aside for some type of community development. Mayor Wolosyn said that at the time she said that she knew that some of those monies may be needed to back up the budget, but she still feels some portion of that money could go into something that invests in the future. Mr. Panetta asked for follow-up as to what monies are available for 4 • • • community development and plans for putting that money to use. He also requested follow-up on the testimonials from businesses in the City. Mr. Hollingsworth said a discussion needs to happen to determine where Council is budgetarily before we can discuss incentives. It is on the agenda for a future meeting. Mr. Panetta asked if Staff could provide an update on the hotel study. Mr. Hollingsworth stated it is in its final state of draft and anticipates having a final in the next several weeks. ACE will receive a copy when available. Mr. Panetta said he had requested Mr. Hollingsworth provide him with a copy of the ACE By-laws. Mr. Hollingsworth distributed a copy to each member. Ms . Lonborg asked if the position of Safety Services Director had been filled . Mayor Wolosyn said the position has not been posted. An interim Director has been appointed . BID COMMENTS Mr. Vasilas said the banners are in production and should be ready and out by mid-August. The business directory should be out soon. Collections have been a problem . Currently, there is approximately $40,000 outstanding. There will be a meeting next week to discuss how to handle this issue. On the agenda for late August or September is a town meeting with all the businesses in the BID area to obtain feedback. The police department will also be invited to the town meeting to discuss how we can make Englewood safer . STAFF COMMENTS Mr. Hollingsworth provided an update on new and proposed businesses locating to Englewood . 1 . 2. 3 . 4 . 5 . 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11 . Sportique Scooters in the 4200 block of South Broadway A pool supply company is relocating to the Dartmouth Industrial Park Smart Car is considering a location in Englewood A Corvette dealership is looking at Broadway frontage Vitamin Cottage's warehouse is expected to open in 2 weeks . They have expressed a preliminary interest in finding a location for a retail store. A bar-b-que catering operation is looking at a location in Englewood . They may expand their catering operation to include retail sales . Spanky's restaurant is looking at several Englewood locations . Freeman's Signs is looking to expand and seeking to buy a larger building. An artist recently expressed an interest in purchasing property. He would lease out space to artists. Two dollar stores have leased property .... one where Heavenl y Ham was located and the other will be on Broadway . US Bank on Hampden has resumed work on their property. The property will be subleased . 5 • • • Mr. Woodward wanted to know what happened to Hawthorne Botanical on Broadway . Mr . Hollingsworth said Hawthorne Botanical has moved to new space. It is believed Ultra Legs will remain in Englewood. Mr. Hollingsworth noted that Mr. Alan White, the new Community Development Director, will start on Monday, August l 3 1 h. An article on Economic Gardening was included in the meeting packet as an ACE follow- up. No further business was brought forth for consideration. The meeting was adjourned at 1 :14 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for September 13, 2007 . 6