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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/11/1997 EDC MinutesMINUTES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION 2nd Floor Conference Room, Village Hall Tuesday, March 11, 1997 8:00 a.m. The meeting of the Economic Development Commission (EDC) of the Village of Mount Prospect was held on Tuesday, March 11, 1997 in the second floor conference room of Village Hall, 100 South Emerson Street, Mount Prospect, Illinois. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Norman Kurtz called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. Commissioners Norman Kurtz, John Arndt, Patricia Biedar, Bruce Gillilan, David Lindgren and Ben Trapani were present. Commissioner Brian McCarthy was absent. Also present were William J. Cooney, Director of Community Development, Fire Chief Ed Cavello and Fire Marshall Paul Valentine. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Ben Trapani moved to approve the minutes of the February 6, 1997 meeting. Mr. Bruce Gillilan seconded the motion and it was passed unanimously. OLD BUSINESS Follow -up presentat by Fire Department related to Village Fire Code Amendments Chief Cavello stated that he and his staff had revised the proposed fire code amendments to reflect the conversation held by the EDC at their previous meeting. He stated that as a result of the previous meeting, that Staff had eliminated the provisions to require sprinklering of business and/or mercantile use groups less than 5,000 square feet or if there is a change in use group of either mercantile or business. Chief Cavello indicated that he and Mr. Valentine had presented this information to the Chamber of Commerce at their Government Affair's meeting last week. He indicated that the Chamber had similar concerns that were raised by the EDC and that therefore the proposed amendments had been modified to reflect those concerns. Mr. Gillilan inquired about the potential for the Village to subsidize some of the cost for this requirement. He stated that at the last meeting the EDC discussed the potential for reducing the water hook -up fee for sprinklering or providing some sort of rebate for businesses that were being required to retrofit buildings. Mr. Cooney stated that Staff had not thoroughly investigated this possibility, but that he would address it with the Public Works Department. Mr. Lindgren moved to recommend approval of the proposed fire code amendments as presented to the Village Board. Ms. Biedar seconded the motion and it passed unanimously. Status Report of Current Developments Mr. Cooney handed out the bi- monthly economic development update. There was discussion regarding the recent purchase of U.S. Robotics by 3Com, the closing of Mount Prospect Cadillac, the interest of Northwest Community Hospital in an outpatient facility, the potential for Wace USA location into Mount Prospect and several other pending developments. Economic Development Commission Minutes - Page 2 Downtown Redevelopment Chairman Kurtz inquired as to the status of the proposed multi- commission meeting regarding downtown development. Mr. Cooney indicated that no formal date has been set and that it is unlikely that it would be held prior to the April 1st election. There was much discussion by the EDC about the critical need for this meeting to encourage some sort of redevelopment in the downtown. The EDC wanted to strongly encourage the Village Board to convene this meeting with BDDRC, the EDC, and the Board to discuss a strategy for downtown redevelopment. It was agreed that Chairman Kurtz would send a letter to the Mayor and Village Board indicating such a desire and that Chairman Kurtz would contact Hal Predovich of the BDDRC to discuss this matter further. Subcommittee Reports Business Retention Committee - There was discussion regarding the need to visit Joe Mitchell Buick in light of the recent Mount Prospect Cadillac closing. Mr. Cooney stated that he would contact Mr. Mitchell to determine his long -range status at this location. Ms. Biedar also stated that she thought it would be beneficial for the Retention Committee to make some visits to Starbucks and Montana Bread to determine their status at these locations. Business Attraction Committee - Ms. Biedar stated that she would be contacting the operator of an Einstein Bagel facility in Elk Grove. She stated that she felt this would be a beneficial use in the downtown. In addition, she stated that she would be contacting the Chicago Manufacturing Center in an effort to increase the visibility of Mount Prospect in the region. Mr. Cooney stated that he would attempt to visit the Chicago Manufacturing Center's booth at the Illinois Manufacturing show at McCormick Place. It was agreed that the sub - committees would meet in April and that the next official meeting would be held on May 1, 1997. The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 a.m.