HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-12-11 ACE MINUTES• ALLIANCE FOR COMMERCE IN ENGLEWOOD COMMITTEE
City Council Conference Room
December 11, 2014
CALL TO ORDER
The regular meeting of the Alliance for Commerce in En g lewood Co mmittee (AC E) was
called to order at 11 :30 a.m. in the City Council Confe re nce Room of th e En g lewoo d
Civic Center, Chair Whyte presiding.
Present: Whyte, Knoth , Michels, Vigliano
Absent: Farris, Miller, Weinberger
Also present: Eric Keck, City Manager
Staff present: Alan White, Community Development Direc tor
Darren Hollingsworth, Economic Deve lopm e nt M an age r
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
October 9 , 2014
• Chair Whyte stated that the Minutes of October 9, 2014 w e re t o b e co n side red fo r
approval. It was determined there was a quorum. Chair Whyte as ked if th e re we re an y
changes or adjustments to the Minutes. There were non e .
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Knoth moved ;
Michels seconded: THE MINUTES OF OCTOBER 9, 2014 BE APPROVED A S W RITTEN.
The motion carried unanimously.
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II. ACE BUSINESS
The Committee has been asked to provide recommend ation s for th e ESBD C (En g lewood
Small Business Development Corporation) funds that will b e return ed to th e C ity. Th e
amount is approximately $130 ,000.
Suggestions include:
1) Apply to fee waive rs or use taxes for new bu sin ess es th at b r in g e mpl oy m e nt to t he
City.
2) Signage for the major entry points to Englewood .
3) Provide resources to businesses such as website or t ech n i ca l trainin g .
4) "Roadmap" for new businesses to outline the steps to st artin g a new b u sin ess.
5) Web portal for businesses to provide information and ea se of acces s t o C ity
services.
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6) Develop "incubator space" for st artup s.
7) Recognition program for bu si nesses that embody positive traits for th e co mmunity .
8) Signage to announce City events, possibly sponsor ed by loca l busi nesses.
Mr. Keck remarked that marketin g Englewood 's locatio n to transpo rt at io n and major
thoroughfares co uld be b e nefici al. Mr. H o llin gswo rth ad d ed that a bu siness (Parad ise
Lugga ge) chose Broadway for a new locati on due to the hi gh v isibili ty and fam ili ar it y of
the Broadway corridor.
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The three top choices of th e Committee are:
1 .) Entrance sign
2.) Incubator space for new busin esse s
3.) Training for businesses on u sin g the web and socia l m ed i a market in g
Consensus was rea c hed by th e Commi ttee t o forwa rd thes e three ideas to City Council for
co nsideration.
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II. Rebootin g ACE
Mr. Keck addressed th e Committee with feed back from City Council. Discussion included
giving more direction to ACE so that t he Com mi ttee w ill have a clearer obj ec tive. In order
to b e more effective at creating a dy nam ic busi ness e nvironm e nt, ACE can foc us on
activities directly related to enhan c ing the co mmunicati o n and interaction w ith
busin esses.
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Ms. Vi g liano spoke to th e challenge of communi cat in g w ith bus in esses . Mr. Keck added
that En g lewood has opportunities that are not necessa ril y be in g nurtured at this t im e. e
Mr. Keck expressed that Staff will com mit to ass istin g ACE by prov idin g d irec tion and
support to advance ideas for bu siness developm ent.
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Mr. Michels suggested that action pl ans be developed bas ed o n th e Committee's mission
statement.
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Chair Whyte asked Mr. Keck abo ut th e most appropriate way to co mmuni cate w ith City
Council regarding the Committee's activities an d Council 's expect atio ns.
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Mr. Knoth stated that he feels it is th e Committee's respo n sibi lity to adopt an id ea and
implement an action plan.
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Discussion included co ntinuing meetin gs in January and Febru a ry a nd h ave a presentation
for City Council in M arch.
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Mi c hels moved;
Vigliano seconded: To co ntinu e with regular m ee tin gs and define a m1ss1on statement
and plan of action to present to City Council in March 20 15.
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Ayes: Whyte, Vigilano, Michels
Nays: Knoth
Motion carries.
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Mr. Keck stated that the Committee may have access to th e ESB DC fund s if th ey deve lop a
defined plan to present to Council.
Ill. PUBLIC COMMENT
No members of the public were present.
IV. COMMENTS
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
No representative of the Chamber was present.
STAFF COMMENTS
r;] Director White shared information on th e En g le w ood For wa rd we bs it e and
encouraged the Committee members to sign up fo r th e no t if ica ti o n sys te m. He a lso
encouraged them to provide feedback on the three pl a nning pr o jec ts th at a re c ur re ntl y in
progress (the Comprehensive Plan , Next Steps Stu dy a nd th e Ka is e r W a lk a nd Wh ee l
study) .
In order to help ACE be successful, Director Whit e state d th at he a nd Mr. Hollin gswo rth
will be assuming a more active role in supporting th e Committee.
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Mr . Hollingsworth asked the members to submit a ny na me s th ey may have of bu s in ess
speakers that would be appropriate for the Busine ss Summit. Th e d ate has not bee n se t
but planning will begin after the holiday se a son with a ta rg et d ate in April o r May .
CITY COUNCIL COMMENTS
No members of City Council were present at the me etin g.
ACE COMMENTS
Members of the Committee did not have any furth e r co mm e nt s.
V. UPCOMING ACE BUSINESS
a. The next meeting is scheduled for January 8, 20 1 5 .
No further business was brought forth for considerati o n. Th e meetin g was adj o urn e d at
12:45p.m .. ~ ~ Reco ~g Secretary
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