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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-02-12 ACE MINUTESI. ALLIANCE FOR COMMERCE IN ENGLEWOOD COMMITIEE City Council Conference Room February 12, 2015 CALL TO ORDER The regular meeting of the Alliance for Commerce in Englewood Committee (ACE) was called to order at 11 :30 a.m. in the City Council Conference Room of the Englewood Civic Center, Chair Whyte presiding. Present: Knoth, Weinberger, Miller, Whyte, Vigliano, Michels Absent: Farris (Excused), Phelps Rogers (Excused) Also present: Joe Jefferson, City Council Liaison Eric Keck , City Manager Colleen Mel lo , Englewood Chamber of Commerce Staff present: Alan White, Community Development Director Darren Hollingsworth, Economic Development Manager APPROVAL OF MINUTES January 8, 2015 Chair Whyte stated that the Minutes of January 8, 2015 were to be conside red for approval. It was determined there was a quorum. Chair Whyte asked if there were any changes or adjustments to the Minutes . There were none. Knoth moved: Weinberger seconded: THE MINUTES OF JANUARY 8, 2015 BE APPROVED AS WRITTEN. The motion carried. l?J ACE BUSINESS Chair Whyte reviewed the meeting with City Council on February 9th. Mr. Whyte, Mr. Michels and Mr. Knoth were in attendance. City Council members liked the idea of the neighborhood map. The process of naming the neighborhoods is being explored by staff and City Council expressed a desire to have community input on the names. Electronic meetings can be allowed with the modification of the by-laws. Mr. Whyte requested that Mr. Hollingsworth work with the City Attorney's office to draft the amendment to the by-laws . City Council is in f~vor of ACE developing a plan for a business survey. ACE will form a committee to explore options related to conducting a formal business survey. The cost of a survey is approximately $15,000. ACE would request that the survey be paid for by the proceeds of the liquidated ESBDC funds in the amount of $130,000. Mr. Knoth emphasized that City Council would like to have fully vetted ideas presented for consideration . Mr. Keck agreed that definitive plans are preferable as City Council is not apt to give direction to ACE on specific projects but to look to ACE for detailed plans and fully vetted ideas. ~ Mr. Whyte suggested that the group form committees to address the ideas that have been brought forth. Discussion ensued regarding various methods of obtaining information from local businesses . It was determined that information from the City is necessary in the form of a list of businesses in Englewood that are registered for sales and use taxes. Mr. Whyte suggested that the business survey could take p l ace in conjunction with the Business Summit on May 141h. Discussion continued about who to survey and how to formulate the questions for a formal survey. Survey Committee Karen Vig I iano Chad Michels Hugo Weinberger Dan Miller The committee will gather information to formulate the survey and bring a draft to the next meeting with proposed questions and methods of distribution. ~ Business Attraction and Retention Mr. Michels presented research he had compiled regarding the activities of groups similar to ACE. He feels that after the survey is completed , ACE will be able to better define what actions they can recommend to City Council to meet the objectives of business attraction and retention. Mr. Michels feels that they will be able to make viable recommendations to City Council with the information . Mr. Whyte suggested that ACE also forms a committee to assist with the marketing and rebranding effort by the City . Mr. Keck explained that the City is embarking on a marketing/rebranding initiative and will be presenting information to Council on February 23rd and invited the members of ACE to attend. ~ Mr. Michels added that he has been working directly with Mr. Keck in regards to an investigative article in the Denver Business News. He spoke about Englewood Forward and how the data that is being collected can be used for a marketing effort. Councilman Jefferson asked how that information can be used to address businesses, Mr. Keck explained that there i s not a differentiation between businesses and residents in the data that was collected. ~ Mr. Whyte spoke about the fire department issue facing City Council at present. Business owners may not be represented on the fire department decision. Ms. Mello spoke to business owners who own property in the City and encouraged them to voice their opinion through the City's website. The potential tax increase to business property owners would be significantly greater than homeowners, approximately 4 times what homeowners would pay . Mr. Jefferson added that he has talked to business owners and they are united in backing the proposal to contract with Denver Fire. Mr. Jefferson feels that this would be an issue for ACE to express support to Council. ~ Mr. Keck spoke about the impact of increased property taxes on businesses and rising overhead costs. Mr. Miller agreed that ACE should communicate with City Council to support the fire department recommendations put forth by City Manager Keck . Beyond the fire issue, Mr. Miller stated that it is difficult to reach out to other businesses to keep them informed about what is happening in the City . Mr. Michels suggested that a vehicle be developed to communicate to businesses. Mr. Weinberger suggested that Survey Monkey could be one way to keep businesses informed. A simple survey could be an effective communication tool . ~ Mr. Whyte asked the group if they agreed that ACE should communicate support to City Council. The Committee reached consensus to go forward with a letter. Mr. Miller asked that the letter contain the statement that patients wi 11 be taken to Swedish and that patient choice wi 11 be honored. The City of Sheridan is contracted with Denver Fire and patients are typically transferred to Denver Health, but Sheridan had a different approach to their contract. ~ Knoth moved; Weinberger seconded : In support of local businesses , the Alliance for Commerce in Englewood Committee supports the proposal from Denver Fire to contract with the City of Englewood to provide fire protection and emergency medical services . Patients requiring emergent medical care will be transferred to Swedish Hospital , however, patient choice will be honored. Motion passed unanimously. ~ Mr. Knoth expressed that he feels ACE needs to work a task to completion . Mr. Michels responded that he feels that once ACE has information from the business survey , they will be able to formulate an actionable recommendation to City Council. Mr. Weinberger concurred. ~ Mr. Whyte asked the Committee about the recommendations for the ESBDC funds. Mr. Jefferson asked if a "Buy Englewood" program is being considered by ACE and suggested that it be added to the list of topics to address at a future date. ~ Gateway Signs Colleen Mello, Greater Englewood Chamber, offered to investigate the costs associated with signage. Mr. Miller offered to assist with this project by having his staff help with the technical details. Incubator Space Mr. Weinberger and M s. Vigliano volunteered to work on gathering information on incubator space . Mr. Weinberger stated that he already has space in his building for start-up companies. Web Development and Marketing Training Mr. Whyte stated that he was directed to see if the Chamber of Commerce can sponsor classes . Suggestions included the City's computer lab and Mr. Miller offered to donate computer lab usage at no fee at Swedish that will be available after April. ~ Mr. Whyte reviewed the activities that ACE will work on. Discussion continued regarding the naming of the neighborhoods. Director White added that a lot of information will come from the Comprehensive Plan research and it may be a topic to revisit at a later time. Mr. Jefferson agreed that this may be best addressed at a later time given the project s that ACE has already committed to. Ms . Mello asked for details on the signage. The project will require additional research before location and type of sign can be determined . Mr. White asked the members to commit to working on the ACE objectives in light of City Manager Keck 's suggestion that ACE take a hiatus. Councilman Jefferson commented that Ms. Phelps Rogers will be a valuable addition to ACE and that another application has been received. Mr. Miller explained that he is hoping to be replaced by someone at Swedish who will have more time to devote to ACE activities due to the potential changes in his position . fl! Chair Whyte spoke about the Englewood Forward projects and encouraged members to look at the website www.englewoodforward.org to see the information that has been collected to date . He asked if the Committee is interested in becoming involved in a "Buy Englewood" program. Ms. Mello responded that she feels that Englewood does not have the shops to support such a program. Mr. Miller suggested an award system to encourage local businesses to participate . Mr. Jefferson feels that the awards that are currently given to businesses are not used to effectively market the businesses that receive them. Distussion ensued regarding various ways to incentivize local businesses. Mr. Jefferson commented that encouraging business to business activity is also important. Ill. PUBLIC COMMENT No members of the public were present at the meeting. IV. COMMENTS CHAMBER OF COMMERCE The Chamber is hosting a breakfast at Trompeau Bakery Friday, coffee with the Mayor will be February 181h and the Community Banks of Colorado is hosting an event. Ms . Mello requested a list of all licensed General Contractors in Englewood. STAFF COMMENTS Mr. Hollingsworth reminded the Committee of the Business Summit that will be held on Thursday , Ma:y 141 h. CITY COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilman Jefferson did not have any further comment. ACE COMMENTS Mr. Miller announced that Swedish now has a dedicated Burn Unit opening in June , they are also opening a freestanding eme rgency room in Belmar and with the expansion of the bed tower, they will be adding over 200 jobs to the local economy . Mr. Michels encourage members to communicate between meetings to make the most o f their time . V. UPCOMING ACE BUSINESS a. The next meeting is scheduled for March 12, 2015. No further business was brought forth for consideration. The meeting was adjourned at 1 :05 p.m . ~~cording Secretary