HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-03-13 ACE MINUTESALLIANCE FOR COMMERCE IN ENGLEWOOD COMMITIEE
City Counci l Conference Room
March 13, 2014
I.C ALL TO ORDER
The regular meeting of the Alliance for Commerce in Eng lewood Committee (ACE) was
called to order at 11 :40 a.m . in the City Council Conference Room of the Englewood
Civic Cent e r, Chair Knoth pre siding.
Pr esent:Knoth , W e inberger, Miller, Whyte , Farris
Ab sent: None
Also present:Joe Jefferson , City Council Liaison
Coll een Mello, Englewood Chamber of Commerce
Thomas , Intern with Englewood Chamber of Commerce
Jeff Holwell, COO , South M etro Denver Chamber of Commerce
Staff pres ent:Alan White, Community Development Dire ctor
Darren Hollingsworth, Economic Development Manager
II.APPROVAL OF MINUTES
June 20 , 2013
Chair Knot~ stated that the Minutes of June 20 , 2 013 were to be consid e red for
approval. It was determined there was a quorum . Chair Knoth asked if there were any
changes or adjustments to th e Minutes. There were none.
Weinberge r moved;
Mill e r se conded:THE MINUTES OF JUNE 20 , 2013 BE A PPROVED AS WR ITTEN.
Unanimously approved.
The motion carried .
II. ACE BUSINESS
Darren Hollingsworth introduced Jeff Holwell , Economic Development Director and
Chief Operating Officer of the South Metro Denver Chamber of Commerce. Mr.
Holwell has extensive experience working with the local business communities with the
State of Colorado Office of Economic Development and with the South Metro Denver
Chamber of Commerce. He reviewed the history of the Chamber and business
development in the area. The Chamber has four priorities:
1 )Economic Development throughout the south metro area through retention and
recruitment
2)Education and direct support through complimentary consultancy to support small
businesses.
3)Public Policy advocacy for businesses (similar to a trade association)
4)1nvestor and Member Relations to add value to Chamber member businesses and
affiliates.
The Business Protection Program solicits information from businesses located in the
South Metro area to help the Chamber gain insight into issues that are affecting
businesses. ; One of the most common concerns is the lack of hotels within the area.
Discussion followed about the efforts, both past and current, that are being made to
secure a hotel for Englewood.
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The issues related to attracting a hotel to the area is the cost to build and the income
from a room night. An increase in the dollars per room night would be necessary to
make a hotel project feasible . One possibility is a private/public development and tax
credit inc entives.
Chair Knoth asked Mr. Holwell his opinion on what direction ACE should take to be an
effective advocate for Englewood. His suggestions included looking at the Littleton
Business Coalition and their activities including holding meetings at different
commercial locations such as a major employer.
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Councilman Jefferson asked how he would recommend the city approach development
in areas wh~re there is opportunity for redevelopment. Marketing opportunities within
the City and. encouraging activity rather than waiting for it to happen are ways to spur
interest in the area. With the anticipated growth in Denver, Englewood becomes more
valuable as its proximity to Denver is convenient and affordable. Mr. Holwells opinion
is that residential redevelopment will increase with new employment opportunities in
Denver.
Mr. Holwell emphasized that the strongest industries in Colorado are aerospace and the
emerging energy economy. These industries attract high paying jobs to the area and the
supply chain vendors surrounding those businesses will continue to grow. Healthcare
is an important sector that continues to grow, in particular those services for the aging
population. Denver is also becoming a popular location for secondary and tertiary
centers for large corporations due to geographic location.
Councilman Jefferson inquired about possible funding sources for the July 4th
celebration' that the City of Englewood sponsors each year. The event requires
considerable resources and incurs significant costs. Mr. Holwell suggested that
obtaining sponsorships and donations may help offset those costs and is an idea worth
pursuing given the size of the event. Developing marketing information for City of
Englewood events to present to potential sponsors could generate interest in
sponsorships.
Mr. Holwell suggested that oil and gas companies are very interested in promotion right
now due to the pressures they are experiencing from a public relations standpoint.
Chair Knoth requested ideas for future meeting topics. Hollingsworth gave details
regarding the upcoming Englewood Business Summit. It was agreed that the members
of ACE could help make the event more successful by promoting within the community.
Councilman Jefferson shared recent ideas from City Council including South Broadway
improvements, a "Buy Englewood " campaign to promote local retail and other general
promotion of the City.
The incentives created by the City have been successful to a degree but possibly should
be modified to target preferred land uses.
Chair Knoth asked the group for ideas on how to implement the ideas that are
developed in their discussions . Plans for implementation should be included with the
ideas.
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Councilman Jefferson suggested that identifying the preferred land uses and the
potential locations along South Broadway would be a good starting point to determine
what and how those changes can be facilitated. If ACE could make suggestions for
improving the Economic Development policy, those ideas could be presented to City
Council for discussion .
The focus of the next meeting will be on South Broadway and documenting ideas.
Members are asked to bring their copy of the Comprehensive Plan to the next meeting
for referenc~. More discussion is required on the topic of bringing a hotel to the City
and Councilman Jefferson suggested that a detailed plan should be presented to City
Council.
Ill.PUBLIC COMMENT
No public present.
IV.COMMENTS
a.CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
The Chamber is hosting a coffee 2nd Friday of each month at different locations and
Happy Hour on the first Wednesday of each month. The Chambers Facebook page will
be utilized to promote events.
b.ST AFF COMMENTS
Darren Hollingsworth shared that the Sprouts mid pad site tenants are a mattress
company, Five Guys Burgers and a hair salon. The Regency commercial site is 100%
occupied. The City Manager, Gary Sears, has announced his retirement in September.
c. CITY COUNCIL COMMENTS
Councilman Jefferson did not have any additional comments.
d .ACE COMMENTS
Dan Miller shared that the campus expansion at Swedish will make it the second largest
hospital in the Denver metro area.
Jason Whyte will meeting with Mayor Penn at his scheduled morning meeting next
week.-
Colleen Mello recommended that ACE should be promoted at the Business Summit to
generate interest in membership.
V.UPCOMING ACE BUSINESS
a.The next meeting is scheduled for April 10, 2014 . Members will be reminded
to ;bring their notebooks to discuss the Comprehensive Plan.
No further business was brought forth for consideration. The meeting was adjourned at
1 :00 p.m.
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/sf Julie Bail~~(]
Recording Secretary