Village Center Commission (No longer holds meetings)

APPROVED DRAFT Village Center Commission Meeting Minutes June 3, 2015 A meeting of the Village Center Commission was held on Tuesday, June 3, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. at the Village Hall Conference Room, 850 Waukegan Road, Deerfield, Illinois. Chairperson Jannes Zobus called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Present were: Garo Emerzian Joan Reed Janice Shaw Vicki Street Jannes Zobus, Chairperson Also present: Dan Nakahara, Associate Planner Jeri Cotton, Secretary Public Comment: There was no public comment on non-agenda items. Document Approval: Ms. Street moved to approve the minutes from the March 4, 2015 VCC meeting. Dr. Emerzian seconded the motion. The minutes were approved unanimously on a voice vote. Business: 1. Discussion on developing resources to promote the Village Center and future businesses Prior to the meeting, Mr. Nakahara sent the commissioners examples from other communities on how to establish a business in those communities and examples of brochures that promoted various communities on why a business would locate to their community. With that in mind, he shared a video presentation from the Lake County Partners website (lakecountylife.org.) promoting Lake County. The commissioners were impressed with the Lake County video. Mr. Nakahara explained the purpose of the Lake County video is to attract and maintain businesses in Lake County and answers the question of “why” companies would want to locate their business in Lake County. Mr. Nakahara asked the commissioners to think not only about “how” a company would establish a business in Deerfield but “why” a business would want to Village Center Commission June 3, 2015 Page 2 of 4 come to Deerfield. Mr. Nakahara suggested that the “why” question is in line with the charge of the VCC as to advocating for businesses and helping create a vibrant Village Center. Mr. Nakahara noted the Commission might want to focus on “why” do business in Deerfield. Mr. Nakahara recited some statistics from the National Center from Biotechnology about average attention span in the age of the internet bringing to light that any proposed brochure should be simple and easy to read in order to keep the reader’s attention. He believes the Commission could create a brochure promoting the Village Center and the Deerfield community which would help future businesses and the Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Street noted some Villages also have “how to do business in the Village” brochures or information on their websites. Mr. Nakahara noted that a lot of the information that prospective businesses need on how to establish a business in Deerfield is currently on the Village website although prospective business will usually call and talk to the Planning Department about specifics of the zoning and the type of use that is being considered. In most cases, an inquiry from a prospective company or business owner is handled over the phone or face to face because of the questions that they have. Mr. Nakahara distributed a spreadsheet he put together showing the information from the “how to establish a business” handbooks from the Villages of Highland Park, Northbrook and Gurnee. He compared the information on Village of Deerfield’s website to the handbooks. Mr. Nakahara noted all of the information is available on the Village website but the information may not be as user friendly or intuitive. Ms. Street believes the website needs to be more user friendly. Mr. Nakahara noted that the Village Manager’s office is considering a website redesign. Dr. Emerzian believes there is too much information on the Village website. Ch. Zobus noted the website could be simplified. Mr. Nakahara commented that if the Village were to produce a “how to establish a business” guide they could use the information from the website and put it together in a simplified version that could work in conjunction with the website. Ms. Street noted the Village of Bannockburn has nice information including a video and a brochure which markets the Bannockburn community. Mr. Nakahara explained that a “why” do business in Deerfield and its information could possibly be used as a marketing tool for prospective residents as well. Ms. Reed does not know if the Commission should duplicate information from the Chamber community guide. Ms. Zobus believes the Commission could come up with information to be used in tandem with the community guide. Mr. Nakahara distributed an information page from Lake County which promoted the county and asked for feedback. The Commission did not have a favorable impression of the one page promotional material. Ms. Street will send Mr. Nakahara the Bannockburn “why” brochure as an example and for reference. Ms. Shaw believes the Village has a lot of information to include, such as the train, interstate, bus routes, etc. She thinks the information needs to be professional and well organized. Village Center Commission June 3, 2015 Page 3 of 4 Ms. Street believes the “how” would be staff generated information. Ms. Reed indicated the “why” is important but, if someone is already inquiring about opening a business in Deerfield, they would also need to know “how.” Ch. Zobus believes the “why” can be an introduction. The Commission was in agreement that a brochure or promotional piece on “why” a company or business would want to locate in Deerfield is something that the VCC is interested in creating. Mr. Nakahara noted that he will begin a draft brochure on the “why” do business in Deerfield with hopes of having a piece to review by the Commission by early fall. The Commission is looking for completion in November, to present to the Board. He will also work with the Village manager’s office to see if the website can be adjusted to help business owners get information on how to establish their business in Deerfield. 2. Village Center Update Mr. Nakahara reported that Pet People is locating in the Village Centre on the corner of Deerfield and Waukegan Roads. He also reported that Precor Fitness and American Mattress will be moving into the Charles Ifergan building and Mattress Firm will be moving into Cadwell’s Corners. Nine businesses have taken advantage of the flower planter program. The commissioners are thrilled with how the planters look. Mr. Nakahara noted the Deerfield Road preconstruction has started and would continue through November and indicated the Metra platform will be replaced with stamped asphalt. Mr. Nakahara indicated violation letters were sent out to C2Education, MGL Nails and Back-to-Bed for too much window signage. He mentioned that Shopper’s Court is under new ownership. There was an inquiry on the proposed Portillo’s restaurant. Mr. Nakahara commented that no public hearing has been scheduled as of yet for Portillo’s. He explained that a comprehensive traffic study was done on Deerbrook Shopping Center and they were awaiting the results of the study. He noted that a Mexican themed restaurant is looking at the former D.C. Sarnies location. Village Center Commission June 3, 2015 Page 4 of 4 Items from the Commission Ms. Reed reported the Farmer’s Market will open on June 13th. The market lost eight vendors and gained five. One new vendor will be selling jams, jellies and pies. Another vendor will sell gluten free cookies. There will be a new fundraiser called Zucchini Day. Ms. Street noted the Chamber of Commerce is moving out of their current location and is currently looking for a new space. Ms. Reed expressed concern about the garbage in Deerfield Square especially around Whole Foods. She pointed out that at the former Tom & Eddie’s outdoor al fresco space there is an area where the ground tiles have broken off. Also, several dead trees were removed in the parking lot across from Whole Foods and begonias were planted in their place. While the flowers are pretty, that area would look better if the flowers had been planted in tall containers instead of at ground level. Adjournment: There being no further business or discussion, the meeting was adjourned at 8:48 pm. The next regular meeting of the Village Center Commission will be in August 5, 2015. Respectfully submitted, Jeri Cotton Secretary