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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/06/1997 EDC MinutesMINUTES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION 2nd Floor Conference Room, Village Hall Thursday, February 6,1997 8:00 a.m. The meeting of the Economic Development Commission (EDC) of the Village of Mount Prospect was held on Thursday, February 6, 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, Bruce Gillilan, David Lindgren, Brian McCarthy and Ben Trapani were present. Commissioner Patricia Biedar was absent. Also present were Mayor Gerald "Skip" Farley, William J. Cooney, Director of Community Development, Fire Chief Ed Cavello and Fire Marshall Paul Valentine. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Brian McCarthy moved to approve the minutes of the December 5, 1996 meeting. Mr. Bruce Gillilan seconded the motion and it was passed unanimously. OLD BUSINESS Status Repgrt of Current Developments Mr. Cooney reported on the following projects: OTI, Menards, United Airlines, Dominicks, Montana Bread and other retail activity. NEW BUSINESS Presentation by Fire De2artment related to Village Fire Code Amendments Chief Cavello introduced himself and Paul Valentine to the Commission. He stated that the purpose of today's presentation was to discuss the proposed changes to the fire code related to sprinklering of buildings in Mount Prospect. The proposed code changes would require sprinklering of all new construction, buildings undergoing a renovation of 50% or more or a change of use group classification. These changes would not be retroactive. The Chief pointed out that many surrounding communities have a less restrictive square footage requirement but implemented a retroactive clause. Most retroactive clauses require existing buildings to comply at the time of code adoption or within a specified time frame. Mr. Valentine went through many of the proposed technical changes to the fire code. He ran through the financial implications for the various scenarios that would be proposed. In addition, he explained the various use groups that would be impacted by the proposed changes and described what types of businesses would be affected. The floor was opened to the EDC for questions. Chairman Kurtz indicated that he saw some potential problems with the code's requirement for renovations greater than 50% and/or the change of use group classification. He stated that this would negatively impact redevelopment in the downtown area due to the prohibitive cost related to installing sprinklers in existing buildings. There was much discussion regarding this matter and staff was asked to determine if there were financial incentives that could be provided for individuals undergoing such renovations. Economic Development Commission Minutes- Page 2 The EDC then discussed the issue of requiring all new construction to be sprinklered. There was general concurrence that this would be acceptable since the cost of installing sprinklers during new construction may actually be less than the tradeoffs that would be required otherwise. The Commission stated they generally support the concept of sprinklering commercial buildings given the historical evidence of their success at saving lives and minimizing property damage. However, they stated that they do generally have a concern with requiring sprinklers to be installed in rehab situations given the extreme costs and the likely financial impact it may have on small businesses. It was agreed that staff would put together additional information to provide the EDC before a final recommendation would be made. � =V Public Relations Committee - Mr. John Arndt stated he, Mr. McCarthy and Mr. Cooney met to discuss the Committee's 1997 goals. He stated that their primary goal would be to make contacts with the various foreign consulates that are located in Chicago to establish a relationship with those individuals. He stated that they felt that would give the Village a leg up on other communities for foreign businesses looking to locate in the Chicago metro area. In addition, he stated he felt the committee would need to work closely with the Attraction Committee to enhance their attraction efforts. Business Attraction Committee - Mr. Trapani handed out an outline of the Business Attraction Committee's goals for 1997. He stated that he felt it was imperative that the Village utilize its marketing tools to get Mount Prospect's name out among the various trade associations and development agencies. In addition, the committee felt that the Village needs to really stress the benefits of doing business in town and target specific companies for attraction. Business Retention Committee - Mr. Dave Lindgren stated that the Chamber gave him positive feedback on the January 16th presentation by the Economic Development Commission. He stated that the Chamber actually received one new member, Douglas TV, who provided the television for the Economic Development Commission's presentation. It was agreed that the Commission would meet in March if there was sufficient information from the Fire Department regarding the sprinklering issue. Otherwise, next Commission meeting would be held on its regular scheduled date in April.