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Home My WebLink About2010-05-13 ACE MINUTES• • • ALLIANCE FOR COMMERCE IN ENGLEWOOD May 13, 2010 I. CALL TO ORDER llll The regular m ee ting of the Alliance for Commerce in Englewood (ACE) was called to order at 11 :35 a.m . in the City Council Conference Room of the Eng lewood Civic Center, Chair Lonborg presiding . Present: Lonborg, McDermott, Vasilas, Sarconi , Champion, Calonder Absent: Schalk Also present: Joe Jefferson, City Council Liaison Jim Woodward, Mayor Jennifer Brown, Quacker Gift Shop Rosemary Cabramcavra l, Cuttin it Loose Staff present: A lan White, Community Development Director Darren Hollingsworth, Economic Development Coordinator Michael Flaherty, Deputy City Manager APPROVAL OF MINUTES April 8, 2010 Chair Lonborg stated that the Minutes of April 8, 2010 were to be considered for approval. It was determined there was a quorum . Chair Lonborg asked if there were any changes or adjustments to the Minutes. There were none. McDermott moved: Vasilas seconded: THE MINUTES OF APRIL 8, 2 010 BE APPROVED AS WRITIEN. The motion car ri ed unanimously. Chair Lonborg asked that everyone introdu ce themselves as there are several guests. II. ACE BUSINESS f5.1l BUILDING CODES t=OR HISTORIC STRUCTURES Mr. Hollingsworth said in March ACE discussed histori c structures and attended th e Broadway post office meeting. At that time there was a qu es tion as to how our bui ldin g codes handl e historic structures in regard s to remodeling. Staff contacted Chief Building Offi c ial Lanc e Smith, who pull ed from th e 2 006 International Building Code Section 3407 Historic Buildings, which was includ ed in today's packet. The Code indicates th e Chief Building Offi c ial is all owed some discretion in t er ms of dealing with co de issues related to historic buildings. Chair Lonborg asked if it's the Staff's assessment that the code is friendly to someone c oming in and purchasing a historic structure and being able to work w ith that historic structure. Director White reminded everyone a structur e must hav e already been designated historic for this section to apply and said it is friendly. Ms. McD e rmott sa id it is a 1 • • • little more forgiving about bringing things up to current code and just because a building is old doesn't mean it is historic. Complying with the ADA was discussed. There are several structures in Englewood that have been designated historic and several more could be. COORDINATION OF EVENTS ~ Mr. Hollingsworth stated at the last meeting ACE discussed the coordination of City events . He distributed a memo listing some of the City events and a current City Recreation Guide that lists events. Ms. Mello discussed Chamber events . Chair Lonborg asked about events held by Safety Services. Mayor Woodward also noted National Night Out is held every year. Englewood Days and the car show are not being held this year. Mr. Vasilas stated the businesses and building owners on the north end of the BID area do not see the benefit in spending BID money to support a car show as they do not benefit from it. Mr. Vasilas stated next year the BID is planning a music and beer festival. Mayor Woodward reminded everyone there is not an area large enough in downtown Englewood to provide for the number of people and the green space that would be required, nor is there enough space at CityCenter. If you move the event to a park you have taken it away from the business area. The idea of closing several blocks of Broadway for a large event was discussed. Mayor Woodward said comparing Main Street in downtown Littleton and Broadway is not comparing apples to apples. Ms. Brown said the town of Lafayette closes their State highway each year for a large event, which is very successful. Mr. Flaherty said it is not unlawful to close Broadway, but it's a matter of the impact on major bus routes being rerouted and emergency access to the hospital that would have to be accommodated. The biggest impact on the City is the cost of police traffic control and barricades. To do so would require a lot of coordination, effort and cost depending on how many blocks would be closed , but it can be done. Mr. Flaherty said he felt Staff could put together a more complete list of events to bring to ACE. He suggested adding who the target audiences are for each event. Discussion ensued. Chair Lonborg said she believes we can't just say having a music festival and having people come to the City is a formula for increased business. We need to look at what will drive people to this area. Mr. Vasilas said the issue will be brought up at the next BID meeting. Chair Lonborg suggested asking the merchants in downtown Englewood what type of event they think would work to promote their business. 111. COMMENTS & EVENTS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE l?lJ Ms. Mello stated the next After Hours will be held next week at the Johnson Adult Day Program at 3444 S Emerson Street. The Chamber is in the process of redoing their directory. Information is due by June 15 th. 16,000 copies will be distributed by mail and through Chamber events . The golf tournament will be held on June 11 th and the Chamber member's picnic will be held on June 29 1 h . 2 • • • BID COMMENTS ~ Mr. Vasilas sa id the BID website is being worked on and should be co mpl et ed by the en d of May. The sidewalks on both sid es of Bro adway from Yale Avenue to H ampde n Ave nu e wi ll be power washed ne xt Monday, Tu esday and Wednesday. Flowers wi ll be planted in the la r ge planters n ex t week once the power washing is comp lete. Assessments were slow to come in this year, but the BID did rece iv e some funds in April. Ms. Mello asked if the BID cou ld place a sign o n the planters stating the BID was respo nsibl e for in st allin g them. She said many residents believe the City made th e improve m e nts . Mr. Vasilas said yes, signs will be placed on eac h planter as fund s become available. ACE MEMBERS l?li There were no comments. STAFF COMMENTS ~ Mr. Vasilas st ated h e missed the last meeting and asked w hat happened w ith the sign code regarding banners. Director White said Staff is working o n the iss u es. Staff met w ith C ity Co un ci l to present some id eas an d the outcome was that most of the sign code i s wo rk ab le; temporary signs (ban n e rs, sa nd w ich board si gns , balloons, etc.) are the issue . Staff presented a n ew idea and it seemed lik e Council wan t ed Staff to pursue this n ew sign co n cept further. Director White briefly described the n ew concept. Th e Mayor noted th e moratorium was ex t ended on enfo rce m e nt of banners and portable signs. Consignment and thrift stores in the downtown area were discussed . Mayor Woodward said th e City Council public h ear in g is n ext Monday ni ght and th e proposed Ordinance will be o n the City's website o n Friday. H e enco ura ged eve ryo n e to read it and attend th e public hearing to vo ice their opin i o n s. IV. UPCOMING ACE BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP -CREATING A BUSINESS-FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT No further business was brought forth for cons id eratio n . The m eetin g was adjo urn ed at 1 :20 p.m. The next meeting is sched ul ed fo r June 10, 2010 . 3