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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/11/1996 EDC MinutesMINUTES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION 2nd Floor Conference Room, Village Hall Thursday, April 11, 1996 8:00 A.M. The meeting of the Economic Development Commission (EDC) of the Village of Mount Prospect was held on Thursday morning, April 11, 1996, in the second floor conference room of Village Hall, 100 South Emerson Street, Mount Prospect, Illinois. CALL TO ORDER Chairman John Riordan called the meeting to order at 8:00 a.m. Members present were: John Riordan, Norman Kurtz, David Lindgren, Ben Trapani, Patricia Biedar and Bruce Gillilan. Also present were Mayor Gerald Farley; William J. Cooney, Director of Community Development; and David Hulseberg, Deputy Director of Community Development. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was made by Norman Kurtz and seconded by Bruce Gillilan'to approve the minutes as presented. John Riordan and David Lindgren abstained from the vote. There was no discussion and the minutes were passed unanimously. OLD BUSINESS Bill Cooney gave a brief update on current projects. He stated that US Robotics was continuing to move along aggressively on the upgrade of their manufacturing facility. He stated that the Village Board had tentatively given approval to the five story office building and that it was moving forward for final approval on April 16th. He also indicated that Braun Manufacturing will be breaking ground within the next few weeks and hope to complete the project by fall. He added that Starbucks Coffee had recently opened in the downtown at the Clocktower Development. In addition, Friedrich's Funeral Home is considering the expansion of their facility. The facade improvement on TriState Electronics was nearing completion and staff was working with the owner to fill the vacant space. Marketing Tool Update Mr. Cooney disseminated the recently completed Marketing Brochure for the Village of Mount Prospect. He indicated that this would be utilized in the Commission's business attraction and retention efforts. He said that Source One Printing completed this project. Mr. Hulseberg gave a brief update on the proposed video for the Village. He stated that the Marketing Subcommittee had met the week prior to prepare a request for proposals for this project. The Committee expects to receive bids by late April and to award a contract by mid -May. Economic Development Commission Minutes Page 2 Shop Mount Prospect Mr. Hulseberg indicated that the Chamber of Commerce was spearheading the "Shop Mount Prospect" Program. The Chamber will be holding a breakfast meeting on April 25th with the local shopping center owners to discuss the program. The goal is to produce a Mount Prospect Retail Directory that would be available by the end of summer or early fall. NEW BUSINESS Business Retention Program Mr..Cooney indicated that, after a discussion with Chairman Riordan, it was determined that three separate subcommittees should be formed to address various Commission activities. One of these committees would be the Business Retention Committee that would be responsible for retaining local businesses. Therefore the business liaison list was not re- formatted but will be distributed at the May meeting. Subcommittee Appointments Mr. Cooney indicated that he and Chairman Riordan discussed the formation of three separate subcommittees that would each consist of two Commission members. It was Chairman Riordan's feeling that the two member committees would be much more effective in addressing specific areas that the Commission is responsible for. The committees would be the Marketing Committee, Business Attraction Committee and the Business Retention Committee. Mr. Cooney recommended that Mr. Kurtz and Mr. McCarthy formulate the Marketing Committee, that Mr. Trapani and Ms. Biedar formulate the Business Attraction Committee and that Mr. Gillilan and Mr. Lindgren formulate the Business Retention Committee. There was general discussion regarding the roles of each of these Committees and it was agreed that those committees would stand as presented. Mr. Cooney stated that he would like each of the Committees to meet individually to begin formulating a plan for the respective efforts. OTHER BUSINESS Mr. Kurtz questioned the status of the downtown redevelopment efforts. He asked if Northwest Electric had made any progress in beginning their project. Mr. Cooney indicated that staff is still working with the owners of Northwest Electric to complete a redevelopment agreement. He also indicated that the Village Board wished to discuss the subject of downtown redevelopment at an upcoming Committee -of -the Whole meeting in June. Several Commissioners concurred with Mr. Kurtz that there needs to be a stronger push to encourage redevelopment in the downtown. Mr. Kurtz and Mr. Trapani stated that they would appear before the April 13th Coffee with Council meeting to discuss this issue with the Village Board. There was a general agreement that the Economic Development Commission should pursue this matter with the Business District Development and Redevelopment Commission and should be present at the Committee-of-the- Whole meeting when this matter will be further discussed with the Village Board. Economic Development Commission Minutes Page 3 Chairman's Report Chairman Riordan indicated that his term on the Commission was due to expire in May. He stated that since his recent retirement from banking, he and his wife had been traveling extensively and he didn't feel that he would be able to give the Commission the time that he would like to. He stated that he was therefore requesting that Mayor Farley not reappoint him to the Commission as of May. He stated that he has enjoyed working on the Commission over the past several years and he feels the Commission has achieved several significant accomplishments during that time. He said that he is confident that the Commission will continue these efforts and thought that the recently appointed committees should help towards that effort. The Commission members all stated they appreciated Chairman Riordan's efforts in the past years and wished him success and enjoyment on his retirement. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 9:30 a.m. on a motion by Ben Trapani, seconded by Norman Kurtz.