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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/06/2000 EDC MinutesMINUTES ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION 2nd Floor Conference Room, Village Hall Thursday, April 6, 2000 8:00 a.m. The meeting of the Economic Development Commission (EDC) of the Village of Mount Prospect was held on Thursday, April 6, 2000 in the second floor conference room of Village Hall, 100 South Emerson Street, Mount Prospect, Illinois. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Norm Kurtz called the meeting to order at 8:05 a.m. Commissioners John Arndt, Pat Biedar, Ben Trapani, Bruce Gillilan, Kevin Davies, and David Lindgren were present. Also present were Mayor Gerald Farley and Michael Blue, Deputy Director of Community Development. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes of the February 3, 1999 meeting were reviewed and approved unanimously. OLD BUSINESS Development Update Mr. Blue provided a brief update of economic activity in the Village. He summarized the status of developments moving through the review and approval process (Jule's Beef and Dogs, CVS Pharmacy, Norwood Phases IA and 1B, and the commercial center at Rand and Kensington). Other projects discussed were the Hobby Lobby, Country Inns and Suites, and 3Com. Mr. Davies provided an overview of the current projects at Randhurst — including plans for a breakfast oriented restaurant in the former East Side Mario's building. The Commission discussed possible enhancements being considered by IDOT at the Route 83/ Kensington/Rand intersection and asked to be kept informed about possible traffic improvements there by IDOT. NEW BUSINESS A. Finalize EDC Goals for FY2000 Mr. Blue asked if the Commission members had additions or comments for the FY2000 goals of the EDC Annual Report discussed at the last meeting. Chairman Kurtz stated that he would like for the Commission to align their tasks with those of the Village Board in order to better assist the Board in its decision making. Mr. Lindgren asked that the EDC be apprised of a recent study about the Mount Prospect Fire Department's personnel and physical plant. It was decided that this item should be on the agenda for the next meeting and that the Fire Chief should be invited Finally, Mayor Farley expressed his concern about Village Boards and Commissions requiring specific building materials for developments during the approval process. He asked that the EDC consider the potential impacts of this activity, up to and including an Architectural Review Board. It was agreed that Staff would research such practices in other communities and the topic would be placed on a future EDC agenda. B. EDC Link on Village Home Page and other Internet Options Economic Development Commission April 6, 2000 Minutes Page 2 Mr. Blue summarized the memo distributed to the Commissions regarding EDC options for the Village's internet web page. The first option was that an economic development section be added to the Village's web page by the Public Information Officer and MIS Coordinator, with assistance from Community Development staff. This addition was rather straight forward and would be created by staff in the near future — any comments or suggestions by the Commissioners was welcomed. A second notion was creation of an Economic Development newsgroup for the business community. It would create opportunities for businesses to network and create connections to the Village. It was noted that this type of internet activity is very free -form and difficult to control. Commissioners also expressed concern as to whether comments raised on the newsgroup would be responded to, and by whom. Since it is already possible to e-mail Village staff from the web site regarding economic development, it was decided that the web site already provides adequate opportunities for questions and comments. It was suggested that this might be an appropriate forum for the Chamber of Commerce. Consensus of the Commission was that an economic development section for the web site should proceed, but an EDC newsgroup should not be implemented. Other suggestions related to the internet were that the Village assemble web site and e-mail information through the business license process to facilitate using e-mail for any appropriate bulk mail items. C. Formalize Retention Program Chairman Kurtz introduced this agenda item and there was discussion regarding business retention visits. The Commission members all agreed that the retention program was very useful and they enjoyed participating in the visits. It was decided that the most desirable way operate the program was for Village staff to set up the visits and invite members of the Commission CHAIRMAN'S REPORT Chairman Kurtz announced that a group of downtown business people were organizing as "Do it Downtown ". Their next meeting would be April 10, 2000, and that they would be having a ribbon cutting ceremony to kick -off Route 83 construction on April 14, 2000. Chairman Kurtz also announced the "Our French Connection" Sister Cities banquet on May 17, 2000. It was suggested that EDC sponsor a table for its members (staff will determine who plans on attending and arrange for the table). ADJOURNMENT Mr. Lindgren moved to adjourn the meeting. Mr. Arndt seconded the motion and the meeting was adjourned at 9:05 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Michael Blue, AICP Deputy Director of Community Development "0