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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-09-10 ACE MINUTES• • • ALLIANCE FOR COMMERCE IN ENGLEWOOD September 10, 2009 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 City Council Conference Room of the Englewood Civic Center, Chair Lonborg presiding. Present: Lonborg, McDermott, Vasilas, Schalk, Espinoza Absent: Panetta Also present: Sean McDaniel, Englewood School Superintendant (entered 12:0 7) Joe Jefferson, City Council Liaison (E xited the meeting at 11 :50 ) Jim Woodward, Mayor Staff present: Alan White, Community Development Director Darren Hollingsworth, Economic Development Coordinator Michael Flaherty, Deputy City Manager APPROVAL OF MINUTES July 9, 2009 Chair Lonborg stated that the Minutes of July 9, 2009 were to be considered for approv al. It was determined there was a quorum. Chair Lonborg asked if there were any changes or adjustments to the Minutes. There were none. Vasilas moved: McDermott seconded: THE MINUTES OF JULY 9, 2009 BE APPROVED AS WRITIEN . The motion carried unanimously. 11. ACE BUSINESS ~~, Mr. Sean McDaniel, Englewood School Superintendant, was introduced. Ever y on e introduced themselves to Mr. McDaniel. Ms . Lonborg thanked Mr. McDaniel for coming. She said ACE represents the businesses in Englewood. As we were talking about what ACE can do to help our community thri v e we realized we did not have a who le lot of knowledge about what is going on with th e schools. We'd like an update, what your priorities are, what are some of the issues y ou 're facing, what issues are you tackling and what, if anything, can ACE do to help you. Mr. McDaniel thanked ACE for inviting him to attend a meeting. He gave an overview of the Mission Statement and goals of the school district. Issues discussed included prioriti es, recruitment of teachers, CSAP testing, new student recruitment, student/teacher ratio, 1 • • • technology in the classroom, marketing, awards various schools have recei v ed , and wh at type of help the business community can offer to the school district. Mr. McDaniel said when you compare the Englewood School District with districts of very similar populations and demographics, Englewood exceeds every single school district in the State, but we're not having a party because what we look at is , are we keeping pace with the State . The State is the average for all districts and Englewood is hit and miss. That is troublesome because we need to be on pace with the state, at least minimally. The district has been in declining enrollment for the past 11 years. In 2008 and 2009 kindergarten through fifth grade increased, but when students reach middle and high school they leave. There are 430 plus children who live in Englewood and attend school elsewhere. Mr. McDaniel said he sent a letter to all those households inviting the children back and several students did return to Englewood. He said he makes it a point to visit every school in the district once a week and periodically have lunch with the students. Ms. Lonborg asked why the students leave. Mr. McDaniel said for man y differ ent reason s. The district has not done a good job of tracking that, but has now hired a person through a grant who spends her day calling those families and collecting information . What th ey are finding is the mass exodus over the years has been transition from fifth grade to sixth grade; they do not want to go to middle school in Englewood . Over the past two years the middl e school test scores are the highest scores in the district in most areas. He said he believes it may be the perception, based on what happened 10 years ago, that the school was having problems. Another mass exodus is from the middles school to the high schools. One reason is the International Baccalaureate program ends in 1 o th grade; we do not have the last two years of the program. Another reason may be the instrumental music program is v e ry limited in the secondary schools. The issues are being isolated and addressed. The ke y is t o get the word out as to what is happening. Ms. Espinoza asked what the student/teacher ratio is . He said it is the best in th e D e nv er metropolitan area: K, 1 and 2: K to 5: 6thru 12: 20 to 1 on average 22 to 23 to 1 on average 22 to 1 on average Mr. McDaniel noted that two art teachers were named Colorado State Art Teachers of th e Year for 2006 and 2007 and the PE teacher at Charles Hay was just nam ed the Ph y si c al Education Teach er of the Year for Colorado. Charles Hay just received notice the y are now being recognized as an International World School. That means there is International Baccalaureate philosophy there, which is an inquiry based delivery method. It's a four year process to become an International World School and only 10% that apply actuall y become one. Maddox is an award winning early childhood center. The Englewood Leadership Academy is also an International Baccalaureate school that will eventuall y go through grade 12 and is one of the top schools in the nation . Chair Lonborg asked what help the school district needs from the business community. 2 • • • Mr. McDaniel said one of the things he hears repeatedly is that the students are coming out of the schools without the necessary skills and aptitude to succeed in the workplace without remediation . Sixty percent of Colorado students entering college have to b e remediated in core areas (reading, writing, math, science, social studies, etc). We have businesses that come in and tutor students. We'd love to have you volunteer yo ur time. Mr. McDaniel offered to take the ACE members on a tour of the schools. ACE thanked Mr. McDaniel for coming to speak to the group. 111. COMMENTS & EVENTS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ·~1 Ms. Espinoza said Englewood Days was a success and the Chamber is looking into expanding the event next year. The next Business after Hours will be held at the Twin Dragon on September 15 th. She noted Amy Dolezal is no longer with th e Chamber. In the interim Randy Penn will be helping out and several members of the Board have stepped up and are also helping fill in the gaps. Activities being worked on are a service club lunch for Englewood non-profits and the winter gala. A ribbon cutting will be held at the new Vectra Bank on South Broadway on September 22nd. Ms . Lonborg suggested combining several of the Englewood summer events into on e big event. She said as a company, it was hard to justify sponsoring three similar events within several weeks. Ms. Espinoza thanked her for her comments and will take th em to the Chamber Board and Randy Penn for further discussion. BID COMMENTS .. lflL Mr. Vasilas said planters and bike racks will be installed by the end of th e month in th e 3400 and 3500 blocks of South Broadway. Looking ahead, the BID will be developing a new website and concentrating on marketing and advertising. Assessments have slow ed down. For the first time in 2 1/i years there was no assessment income during the month of August; that is of concern. Ms. McDermott asked if business has improved overall in the BID district. Mr. Vasilas said many people have commented on how nice the area looks, but business is flat. The Mayor noted sales tax through August in that area was fairly stable. ACE MEMBERS ~ Mr. Schalk would also like to see several of the summer events combined into one large event. He feels businesses are not involved in them . In Denver they have a variety of events, such as the Taste of Colorado, where the City works with the business community to put them on. They are successful, profitable experiences. He would love to have the same happen in Englewood. Why does Fun Fest have to be separate from Engle wood Days? Why all the separation? 3 Chair Lonborg asked what the history was of some of the events . • Mayor Woodward provided some background on several Englewood eve nts . Ma yo r Woodward said there is a chance that Fun Fest will not be funded in 2010 so that may be the time to incorporate it into Englewood Days. Mr . Schalk asked about the Summer Concert Series. Mayor Woodward said that is another event that may not be fund ed. Mr. Schalk said there is no income generated from either of th ose events lik e at the Ta st e of Colorado . • • Mr . Flaherty said the events Mr. Schalk mentioned, such as th e Taste of Colorado a nd People's Fair, are not City events . The City provides a venue, but the events are corporate driven or done by a non-profit group . The Englewood Summer Concert Series a ctuall y started out as a downtown business event that the City participated in and eventually th e businesses dropped out and the City picked it up with the assistance of th e lott ery fund s. Mr. Schalk said he would like to see more cooperation. Mr. Flaherty said Engle wood's problem is that there is not a central venue to hold events . Belleview Park is our lar ges t area, but is far separated from Englewood businesses . We certainly do not have a central venue that serves the same purposes as Civic Center Park in Denver. Once you hav e a venue it becomes much easier to put the events together. Mr. Schalk agreed. STAFF COMMENTS Director White invited all ACE members to attend and participate in a publi c meetin g on September 22"d at 6:30 to discuss sign code issues. Chair Lonborg asked Director White what the issues are . He noted there ar e several types of temporary signs (banner and sandwich ) that are not allowed under the c urr e nt code. Code Enforcement respond ed to several complaints regarding violations and as a res ult numerous others were brought to our attention. Ms. McDermott asked if there was a time limit stated for temporary signs . Director Whit e said there is, you can get six permits in a calendar year for two weeks each. Ms . Espinoza asked how the community was being notified of th e public meeting. Director White said the BID has been asked to send information to their members, Chamb e r of Commerce the same, an invite was sent to ACE and several other boards, and th e re is information on the front page of the City's website. Mr. Vasilas encouraged everyone to personally get the word out. Chair Lonborg requested a recap of that meeting be presented at the October ACE meeting. Mr. Schalk said ACE needs to get behind this issue and make a change as the current restrictions are hurting the business community. He asked if there could be a tempora ry suspension of enforcement of the two week time limit for a banner while the Cit y goes through the process . 4 • • • Mayor Woodward said at Monday night's City Council Study Session a discussion was held regarding selective enforcement. It was determined that is not the way Council wants to go . Chair Lonborg said instead of going to something selective is it possible to lengthen the current two week time limit and extend it to six weeks until we have a chance to revisit the sign code in order to make it more palatable for business owners? We want to be a city whe re we are friendly in which to do business. Mr. Flaherty stated that could not be done administratively; it would need to go to City Council. Mayor Woodward said he understands that the two week time limit does not work. On the other hand, in the area by Breakfast on Broadway where all those banners were plast ered against the wood fence and there was at least one sandwich board, that was horrible marketing and it looked horrible. To suspend, do a moratorium or extend the time limit is not as simple as one might seem. Those are City Attorney questions that certainly can b e asked . It was determined a Council Request would be done and the response emailed to all ACE members. Mr. Flaherty cautioned everyone that placing anything in the right-of-way is prohibited. It creates a safety issue. Placing of banners on fences and sandwich boards in the right-of-wa y is not allowed and is not covered under the sign code. Mr. Schalk said public safety is very important, but putting a banner on a fence in not unsafe. Mr. Flaherty said the solution you are proposing here will address part of, but not all of, the issues. Chair Lonborg suggested the October ACE meeting be dedicated to sign code issues. No further business was brought forth for consideration . The meeting was adjourned at 1:16 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for October 8, 2009 . s