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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-06-10 ACE MINUTES• • • I. It] ALLIANCE FOR COMMERCE IN ENGLEWOOD June 10, 2010 CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the All iance for Commerce in Engl ewood (ACE) was called to order at 11 :50 a.m. in the City Council Conference Room of the Englewood Civic Center, Chair Lonborg presiding. Present: Lonborg, Schalk, Champion, Calonder Absent: McDermott, Vasilas, Sarconi Also present: Joe Jefferson , City Council Liaison Rosemary Cabramcavral, Cuttin' it Loose Staff present: Alan White, Community Development Director Darren Hollingsworth, Economic Development Coordinator APPROVAL OF MINUTES May 13, 2010 Chair Lonborg stated that the Minutes of May 13 , 2010 were to be considered for approval. It was determined there was a quorum. Chair Lonborg asked if th ere were any changes or adjustments to the Minutes. There were none. Champion moved: Calonder seconded: THE MINUTES OF MAY 13 , 2010 BE APPROVED AS WRITIEN. The motion carried unanimously. II. ACE BUSINESS EVENT COORDINATION lfll Mr. Hollingsworth distributed a spreadsheet of City events to be h eld in 2010. H e briefly reviewed last month's discussion on event coord inati on. Mr. Schalk asked Staff if they knew how much the City budgets for all the events. Staff stated they could get that information with the cooperation from each department. Chair Lonborg asked Mr. Schalk why ACE would want to know that. Mr. Schalk sa id nothing on the list is target ed to businesses or interaction with business . He stated he would lik e to know which events have bi gge r budgets and how th e money is being spent. Maybe it could be done differently. He said he would like to know how much the City pays and how much the sponsorship pa y s to make each of the events work. Could monies be spent differently to make it an event th at would involve the business community and the residents of Englewood? He said I'm a business paying for all these events, right? Why can't I know? Chair Lonborg said sh e didn't think anybody is saying we can't. She said she 's trying to understand Mr. Schalk 's position. H e said businesses are not involved in anything listed under the target audience category. Chair Lonborg said that's not true; that's what I'm trying to understand . Mr. Schalk said he 1 • • • was too and asked how are the businesses brought into this mix other th an spending money as a sponsorship? Chair Lonborg said the hospital is a sponsor of some of the events listed so as a business the hospital is involved. Mr. Schalk asked if that was something that helps your business or makes you money. Chair Lonborg said she believed so, yes. She said she wanted to see if there are other opportunities to combine some of the events so we ar e not duplicating efforts. This spreadsheet helps me to understand that. She is reluctant to send the message to any of these people that ACE wants to have oversight in that as an organization. Mr. Schalk asked how you would combine the events . Chair Lonborg said this is the first she's had an opportunity to look at the list. As a business in this community she really does not care what the event budget is ; she is more interested in what the sponsorship opportunities are. Mr. Champion said he thought the reason this was taken to the BID was hoping that we could put several of the events together and make a larger event that would hopefully be b en eficial to the businesses themselves versus having your name listed as a sponsor. He said h e agreed with Chair Lonborg that ACE should not be interfering with how the people who are responsible for each of the events spends their money unless the event is goin g to be combined with something else. He said he wasn 't sure it was ACE's place or the BID 's place to say if any of th e events should be combined. Mr. Calonder said for example the Great Egg Hunt is held in Mill e r Field .... that does Englewood no good. Why don't the merchants put together a broader event...such as a treasure hunt that includes businesses downtown, it won't cost the businesses anything. If we 're going to have all these events and they are so specific to a group and a place how do we get the business people involved in order to generate more exposure downtown ? Chair Lonborg said she believes that is what ACE is looking for . Let's look at all the events to see if ACE can help recommend some coordination so that there is a bigger event that would benefit the businesses. Mr. Schalk said if you look at all the events they benefit the community and the community does not include the businesses. He said that's always been a problem for him. When Denver holds events there are many ways a business can be involved, make money and get exposure for your business. Chair Lonborg said the targ et audience for the event is the general public, right? Mr. Schalk said yes . Ms . Mello said the Sounds of Summer concerts are sponsored by businesses. Mr. Schalk said he cannot just spend money all the time to get his name out to the Englewood business community; you also have to get your product out there . There doesn't seem like there is much of an opportunity to do that. He said he wants to talk about the budget to see if there is an opportunity to combine some of the events with the larger budgets to b e made bigger and better. Chair Lonborg said what ACE started out talking about last time was creating a bigger event in Englewood and to see a complete list of events in order to determine if there was an opportunity with an existing event to make it bigger so that the businesses in the area could be more effectively showcased and participate in the event. Ms. Brown, owner of the Quacker Gift Shop, was here last meeting and discussed an event held in Colorado Springs that she was attending. Ms . Mello said she did over $7,000 in a three day period. 2 • • • Mr. Calonder asked Mr. Hollingsworth if there was a way to measure the effectiveness of the monies being spent on each of the events listed. If the City is spending money on events that are only benefitting a few, should we either combine or cancel and focus on a new event that benefits more people downtown? Mr. Hollingsworth said to his knowledge there has not been an analysis. Mr. Hollingsworth credited the City Manager's office for assembling all the event information in the spreadsheet. Chair Lonborg said it would be helpful to know what the City is funding versus the sponsorship funding. Mr. Schalk asked how we can turn the events into self-sustainable and maybe profitable events; what happens if there comes a time when there isn't a budget for special events . Chair Lonborg asked if any of the events listed are designed to make revenue. Mr. Hollingsworth said he could not speak to that issue. Chair Lonborg asked how ACE could find that out. Director White said he would say most of them are not, most are free events funded through the General Fund, sponsorships and a few grants. Chair Lonborg said do we want to create an event that gives businesses in the area an opportunity to generate revenues? Mr. Champion said he believes the answer is yes, the closest event on the list would be Englewood Days and it did not make money, but did draw people. In order to make money t h ere needs to be an entrance fee of some sort. Mr. Jefferson said he felt that will be part of the process as City Council discusses this. He felt the BID is probably better positioned to bring forward an idea that the City can partner with to come to fruition. Mr. Schalk said speaking from the BID side of it; the BID has so many restraints. How do you justify spending money from those few blocks unless you are going to make money; there's a bigger community you are serving. Mr. Jefferson said he is proposing a cooperation and generally the private sector is more oriented towards being able to significantly throw off a profitable or more sustainable event. He said part of the reason is budget; the BID has a little over $100,000 to work with. He said he can't imagine there is going to be broad based support to throw the event totally on the City. Mr. Schalk said he feels it should definitely be a cooperative situation. It is much easier a decision for Council to make to assist a group with funding rather than going to the drawing board. Ms. Mello said at the last BID meeting they talked about doing a concert and whether or not they would close Broadway. The BID did not want the 3400 and 3500 blocks of South Broadway closed; they would prefer Dartmouth to Yale. Mr. Schalk said he didn't like the idea of closing Broadway. Ms. Mello asked if you held a car show and concert with vendors where would you do it in Englewood that would benefit everyone. The BID wants the event held in their area, but you can't do it on the back side of a building and expect it to be profitable. Mr. Schalk said he was part icipating in a bluegrass event on Pearl Street this weekend. He invited everyone to come out and see how the event is set up. Ms. Mello said to her the first priority is to find a place to hold such an event. Chair Lonborg said ACE had talked about deciding what type of event would benefit the businesses and then we can determine how large of space we'll need. Mr. Schalk noted there is no parking on Pearl Street, people park in the neighborhoods. Chair Lonborg said you create an event that people want to go to bad enough that they are willing to park and walk. Mr. Jefferson said he felt the businesses are better suited to figure out what will work best for them. Chair Lonborg said she agreed, personally, she did not think it was the City. She said between the BID and the Chamber they could create and craft the event. Mr. Schalk did not agree. The members asked why? He asked why some of the funds can't be reallocated. If the businesses could help with the City coming to the table with an offer, why can't the City make an offer at some point? Why does the burden always have to be on the businesses? If 3 • • • the City is going to block and put barriers up and put all the burden on the businesses he said he did not want to do it. Mr. Jefferson said he totally understands where Mr. Schalk is coming from, but new programs at this point are a difficult sell. Mr. Schalk said he does not want a new program; he wants to change the program. Mr. Jefferson said if we change the program and we say whatever money, i.e. say $50,000, there is a lot of pressure to allocate that towards employee benefits or other areas. The event budget would be cut. Mr. Schalk said the People's Fair was not started by a BID. Chair Lonborg asked who started it. Director White said the Capital Hill United Neighborhood organization; the City has nothing to do with it. Mr. Jefferson said the City is might consider sponsoring something, but is not generally in the business of throwing events. Mr. Schalk said you are and referenced the spreadsheet. Mr. Jefferson said the events on the list are not profit generators, they are more of a public benefit rather than sustainable or profitable. Maybe that idea needs to change. There certainly is an opportunity for ACE to suggest to City Council they set aside $10 -$20,000 for a downtown Englewood event. The City is happy to partner with whoever wants to hold the event, but someone has to say what type of event will benefit the businesses, the cost, and what percentage they want from the City. Chair Lonborg asked Mr. Schalk what Denver events he is talking about. Mr. Schalk said there are always things going on and it's not "Fun Fest". Mr. Calonder said the chalk art festival was just held. It was a free event. Chair Lonborg asked who put that together. Mr. Calonder said probably Larimer Square, but the City shut the streets down. Chair Lonborg asked if Larimer Square was a BID. Mr. Calonder said he would assume so. Chair Lonborg asked if the event drew kids and adults and if beer was served. Mr. Calonder said yes, it is a full blown event. It started around 9 or 10 a.m. on Saturday and finished on Sunday. It's a huge success. Discussion ensued. Chair Lonborg asked again what type of event the members thought was the right type of event for Englewood. Mr. Champion said we've always thought about music, but this is the first I've thought about something else. He liked the chalk art idea; it brings a lot of people in and also keeps all the retail doors open. He said this would be a condition in which shutting down two or three blocks of Broadway would be worthwhile. Including the businesses south of Hampden was discussed. If they wanted to be part of the BID it would have to be redone or they could form their own BID. Mr. Calonder said his family attends the First Friday event along Santa Fe. Why can't Englewood do something like that? The businesses could open up, put merchandise out on the sidewalk, you get some attraction down here and it's free. We have such a unique downtown he thinks we should capitalize on what we have and open up to the public. Chair Lonborg asked Mr. Hollingsworth and Director White if they could get ACE the overall scope of the events budget; what is the City portion and what the sponsor portion would be. Mr. Hollingsworth said staff could look in the City's budget to see if it is itemized with this information . 4 • • • Chair Lonborg said she believes ACE should give some thought to the kind of event that would work for the City. Is it a kid, family or grown up event or a combination and how do you create it? Mr. Schalk said the Pearl Street events were free years ago. You need a controllable area. You could have the Great Chili Cook-off and maybe a couple of bands and vendors. A bar- b-queue challenge is another idea. He said he does three every summer in the mountains that draw a lot of people. Ms. Mello said several people have agreed it takes close to $30,000 to advertise and get vendors for a large event. Mr. Schalk said take some of the pieces and put them together and instead of having 20 -25 events in a year do maybe 10 events. What is the attendance at these events? Chair Lonborg said she feels that would be helpful to know. Mr. Jefferson said in looking over the list the Sounds of Summer might be one that may work with the businesses. Ms. Mello said the ice cream social could be combined with Sounds of Summer. Mr. Schalk said why do 15 concerts, let's do two good ones. Mr. Jefferson said keep in mind a lot of the listed events are very small. The Sounds of Summer draws between 400 and 500 people each week. Mr. Calonder said his family attends the concerts and wishes there was something to eat there. There 's plenty of space to offer hamburgers and beer. Chair Lonborg said let's say we want to target that event and grow it to provide a better opportunity for business people . Does it make sense to cut a deal with the restaurants early on until we grow it to a point of X number of people? The members said absolutely. Several members said the talent line up could be better. Mr. Calonder said considering the budget situation let's take what is working and expand on it so next year you could have more shows or an extended season or it becomes big enough to move downtown . Chair Lonborg asked Director White if the Sounds of Summer event was under Mr. Jerrell Black, Parks and Recreation Department. Director White said yes . Chair Lonborg asked if ACE is saying they would like to talk to him next year regarding partnering with ACE to help grow the event. Mr. Calonder said to talk to him this year as the event might be cut next year. He volunteered to participate in the discussion. Mr. Schalk suggested several music artists he would like to see. The members said if you have 1,000 people attending an event it doesn 't matter what the music line-up is. Director White distributed a flyer showing the 2010 Sounds of Summer line-up . Mr. Calonder said the concerts are not an event; it is an hour of music and then everyone leaves. He said he 'd love to have a beer and bar-b-queue and be there from 6 to 9. Director White asked Mr. Schalk if he would be interested in taking over the Sounds of Summer and what would it take for him to attend. Mr. Schalk said he is interested in participating, but no one has ever asked him. He said he doesn 't feel the Parks and Recreation Department and the City want participation from the outside. Director White said it might be worth exploring. Ms. Cabramcavral said she wasn 't asked to participate last year; she went to the City and told them what she would like to do. Mr. Schalk said he could have done that. 5 • • • Chair Lonborg asked Mr. Schalk to give examples of bands he would like to see at the Sounds of Summer. Mr. Schalk said Chris Daniels and the Kings, Hazel Miller and Runaway Taxi . He said he believed some of those had performed in past years. Chair Lonborg asked if Staff would look into the concert series in Highlands Ranch. Their program is very similar. Mr. Hollingsworth said he would be happy to look into it. Chair Lonborg asked if a representative from the Parks and Recreation Department could attend the next ACE meeting. Director White said he would see. Mr. Calonder asked if anyone knew why beer was11 1 t being served at the event. Ms. Mello said you have to pull a liquor license, have an officer there and the area has to be fenced. Director White said some of those requirements are State laws, not the Cit/s. Chair Lonborg stated she has attended events where you do not have to keep the liquor inside a tent or fenced area. Chair Lonborg said the next meeting will include an invite to the Parks and Recreation Department and the Highlands Ranch and City of Louisville concert series will be discussed. She asked Mr. Schalk if he would bring a list of bands. Mr. Champion said he felt a lot of progress has been made at toda/s meeting. Mr. Jefferson said the scope of the conversation has changed. Initially, we were talking about a Broadway/BID oriented event. We are now discussing changing a current event and the City is open to comments and suggestions. Ms. Cabramcavral said this would open up the event to other businesses, not just those in the BID area. Mr. Jefferson said even if there is no fee for the food vendors it still would be tough from a food vendor's prospective. Chair Lonborg said she believes we will have to build it. RELATIONSHIP -CREATING A BUSINESS FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT l?lJ Due to time constraints, Chair Lonborg asked that this discussion be postponed. Ill. PUBLIC COMMENT 15.lJ There were no public comments. IV. COMMENTS & EVENTS l?lJ CHAMBER OF COMMERCE l?lJ The golf tournament will be held tomorrow at the Broken Tee. The next After Hours party will be held at Cuttin' it Loose next Tuesday. Invitations were presented to all present. The Chamber picnic will be held at 6:00 on June 29th at Cushing Park . It is a cash or food donation with all the money/food going to House of Hope. BID COMMENTS 15.lJ Mr. Champion stated Mr. Vasilas asked him to let ACE members know that the BID talked about holding a large event in the downtown area. He said they were not too happy about the prospect of shutting down Broadway, but that may have been because there was no specific event to discuss. The website is still being worked on. ACE MEMBERS 15.lJ ACE members had nothing further to report. STAFF COMMENTS 6 • • • ~ Staff had nothing further to report. IV. UPCOMING ACE BUSINESS 1. Event Coordination discussion continued 2. Relationship -Creating a business friendly environment No further business was brought forth for consideration. The meeting was adjourned at 1 :00 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for July 81 2010 . 7