Citizens' Community Enhancement Commission

Citizens’ Community Enhancement Commission Regular Meeting Agenda March 21, 2016 4:00 p.m. DeKalb Municipal Building PLEASE NOTE LOCATION Haish Conference Room, Second Floor Our mission statement: We will listen to the community to identify, develop and test initiatives to improve the quality of life. We will develop public/private partnerships to implement sustainable initiatives. CALL TO ORDER ROLL CALL APPROVAL OF AGENDA (ADDITIONS OR DELETIONS) APPROVAL OF MINUTES - February 16, 2016 regular meeting BUSINESS - Discuss keeping NIU window clings up year-round - Discuss placing #ProudlyDeKalb on entry signs in to DeKalb - Discuss placing #ProudlyDeKalb signs under population signs - Discuss how the Commission can help the ABC Team win the ABC grant competition - Open Meetings Act (OMA) update ADJOURNMENT Assistive services will be provided upon request  MINUTES MEETING OF THE CITIZENS’ COMMUNITY ENHANCEMENT COMMISSION CITY OF DEKALB February 16, 2016 The Citizens’ Community Enhancement Commission (CCEC) of the City of DeKalb, Illinois held a regular meeting on Monday, November 16, 2015 in the Haisch Conference Room of the DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, Illinois. In response to unknown attendance of Chair Susan Johnson, Management Analyst Jared Heyn requested attendees select a temporary chair to oversee the meeting. Motion was made by Mike Mooney to select Cohen Barnes as Temporary Chair, motion was seconded by Camyle Tate. Motion carried on voice vote. The meeting was called to order at 4:05 p.m. ROLL CALL Roll was recorded by Deputy City Clerk Tammey Higgins, and the following members of the Citizens’ Community Enhancement Commission were present: Susan Johnson (arrived at 4:07 p.m.), Cohen Barnes, Bob Boey, Mike Mooney, Camyle Tate, and Deborah Booth. Absent were Brad Hoey, Brad Pietens, and Lisa Small. Also present were: Management Analyst Jared Heyn and Deputy City Clerk Tammey Higgins. In addition, Alex Nerad, Executive Director of the Egyptian Theatre, was present. Discussion occurred relating to the arrival of Chair Johnson; she deferred to Temporary Chair Barnes continuing position through the meeting. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION Mr. Mooney moved to approve the Agenda; seconded by Ms. Tate. Motion carried on voice vote. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION Mr. Boey moved to approve the minutes for November, 2015; seconded by Mr. Mooney. Motion carried on voice vote. BUSINESS 1. America’s Best Communities Update Citizens’ Community Enhancement Commission February 16, 2016 Page 2 of 3 Temporary Chair Barnes provided attendees with an update on the America’s Best Communities (ABC) Competition. He also asked attendees to consider how the Commission could “plug” into the ABC task and move forward. He referenced Mr. Alex Nerad’s involvement with the Arts, Culture and Entertainment Corridor (ACE) initiative which was going before City Council at the February 22, 2016 Council Meeting. He advised that Mr. Nerad would provide attendees with additional information relating to ACE later in the meeting. Temporary Chair Barnes then passed out a summary sheet of the ABC effort and provided a refresher on the beginning of this competition with the establishment of the DeKalb Revitalization Plan and the current status of the effort. He shared that the City had progressed to being one of the top 15 candidates and that selected members would be traveling to Durham, North Carolina to submit a ten-minute presentation on April 27, 2016, and a question response period of five minutes. Temporary Chair Barnes further advised that the top 8 candidates will receive $100,000 to further fund their community initiatives. He shared that participants were “moving the ball forward as fast and hard as they can” to impress the judges. Attendee discussion occurred throughout addressing concerns and clarifications relating to information provided. Temporary Chair Barnes advised that the teams working on the seven projects listed on the summary sheet were beginning to weave tighter. Mr. Mooney clarified that each of the seven projects has a champion to coordinate the efforts. Temporary Chair Barnes then proceeded to address the seven projects. With the exception of No. 1 (ACE Corridor), he provided background information on each item, examples of approaches being considered by each team, and additional informational commentary. He provided comments on No. 6 (Branding and Marketing) from the aspect of being the head of the team. Stickers of the #ProudlyDeKalb.com logo were provided to attendees. Discussion and commentary on each project occurred. Mr. Nerad provided background on the project he headed, No. 1 ACE Corridor. He commented on existence of 40 different types of venues located in DeKalb. He stated that a request to adopt the ACE Corridor was being submitted to the City Council on February 22, 2016. He advised attendees that DeKalb was not recognized for having these types of resources and that companies looking to relocate operations took this type of resource into consideration for their employee base. Discussion followed encompassing different aspects of the ACE Corridor, the identification of the three primary entities (City, County, and NIU), and the current focus of the project team. Additional discussion ensued encompassing possibility of winning competition; underlying aspect that action not really about seven things, more about actually transforming how community interacts; clarification on #ProudlyDeKalb; further effects of components of each project. Temporary Chair Barnes appealed to attendees to consider the competition as a call to action, how to become engaged, write to the Mayor to encourage support, work with the Arts Council, and provide direction which has some weight to it. Chair Johnson called for a motion for the Commission to submit a letter to the Mayor and Council in support of the ACE Corridor consideration. Temporary Chair Barnes so motioned and was seconded by Ms. Tate. Motion carried on voice vote. Chair Johnson was to provide a letter to staff for submittal to Council at the February 22, 2016 Council meeting.  Citizens’ Community Enhancement Commission February 16, 2016 Page 3 of 3 Mr. Nerad and Mr. Boey excused themselves from the meeting at 5:10 p.m. Continued discussion regarding multiple ideas relating to the ABC effort continued. Temporary Chair Barnes stated that there were 30 days until the next meeting of the CCEC and challenged attendees to share what they had done during that time, he urged them to go online for information, follow what activities were happening, and engage in anything that appealed to them personally. He also advised attendees that a Town Hall meeting concerning the ABC effort was scheduled for March 15th at the Egyptian Theatre. 2. Citizens’ Community Enhancement Commission Involvement in #ProudlyDeKalb Initiative Discussion intertwined in Item 1. above. 3. Discuss Arts, Culture, and Entertainment (ACE) Corridor Participation Discussion intertwined in Item 1. above. 4. Project Liquid Sunshine Update No action taken. ADJOURNMENT MOTION Mr. Mooney moved to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Ms. Tate. Motion carried on voice vote. The meeting adjourned at 5:25 p.m. ____________________________________ TAMMEY HIGGINS, DEPUTY CLERK