Economic Development Commission

DeKalb Municipal Building PLEASE NOTE LOCATION Council Chamber, Second Floor 200 South Fourth Street DeKalb, Illinois 60115 AGENDA Economic Development Commission March 2, 2018 8:30 a.m. A. Roll Call B. Approval of Agenda C. Approval of Minutes – February 2, 2018 Meeting D. Public Participation E. New Business F. Old Business 1. Economic Development Website Update & Review 2. Annie Glidden North Revitalization Plan – Status Update 3. Tax Increment Financing – Phase Out Plan & CBD TIF Eligibility Update G. Adjourn  MINUTES MEETING OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION CITY OF DEKALB February 2, 2018 The Economic Development Commission (EDC) of the City of DeKalb, Illinois held a regular meeting on Friday, February 2, 2018 in the Council Chambers of the DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, Illinois. The meeting was called to order at 8:32 a.m. ROLL CALL Roll was recorded by Economic Development Planner, Jason Michnick, and the following members of the Economic Development Commission were present: David Barrow, Vernese Edghill-Walden, Mohammed Labadi, Jeff Richardson and Mark Sawyer. Not present were Tom DeVries and Trixy O’Flaherty. Also present were City Manager, Anne Marie Gaura, Economic Development Planner, Jason Michnick, Mayor Jerry Smith, Alderman Pat Fagan, Natalie Nelson, Executive Director of the DeKalb Area Chamber of Commerce, Matt Duffy and Executive Director of DCEDC, Paul Borek. Chair O’Flaherty was absent, Mr. Richardson made a motion for David Barrow to chair the meeting, the motion was seconded by Mark Sawyer. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION Mr. Sawyer made a motion to approve the agenda. The motion was seconded by Mr. Labadi. The motion carried on a voice vote. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION There were a couple of minor changes made to the minutes as drafted. Mr. Sawyer made a motion to approve the minutes from the January 5, 2018 meeting. Mr. Richardson seconded the motion. The motion carried on a voice vote. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION None NEW BUSINESS The Finance Advisory Committee talked to Mayor Smith about having a joint meeting with the EDC. Mayor Smith said there was a request because of the EDC’s mission to see how they can work together. There is no time frame set for this, it will be put on the agenda for the next meeting. OLD BUSINESS 1. Business Resource Guide & Website Update Planner Michnick discussed revising the website and resource guide. Natalie Nelson will be helping with the outline. Mr. Sawyer would like to see any inquiries stay local and answered quickly instead of sending people off to other people. Mr. Labadi commented the outline is a good start for people looking into coming to DeKalb. It should be structured so people could be guided through what information they need and be as easy as possible. There should not be a perception that the City will be difficult to work with. Mr. Richardson asked where or who prospective businesses go to initially to ask for help in bringing a new business to DeKalb. Some people will go through the Chamber of Commerce first before the City. Mr. Labadi feels he would go to the City first if he wanted to open a business and only go to the Chamber to learn more about the community. Ms. Edghill-Walden commented looking at everyone like partners, the flow needs to be easy, and there should always have a single point of contact. Mr. Duffy suggested to have a form to complete, then someone from the City makes the contact, that way the City knows how far they are in the process. Planner Michnick brought up there could be different levels of inquiries, but for the most part this is for first time businesses and entrepreneurs. The commission felt that the more technology that could be infused into the process, the better it would be. Mr. Duffy commented we need to help people through this process, direct them to the resources they need to make them successful and not just have information about the process and regulations. Planner Michnick will continue to work with Natalie Nelson and present a draft to the commission at the next meeting. 2. Annie Glidden North Revitalization Plan – Status Update Planner Michnick reported the task force met this last Monday, and will be breaking down into 4 different sub committees: public safety, housing & commercial development, social services, and infrastructure/open space. Task Force members will be appointed to the sub-committees at the February 12, 2018 City Council Regular Meeting. The subcommittees will be identifying desired outcomes, action items, and potential partners. There will also be a Town Hall meeting mid-March, but a date is still to be determined. 3. Tax Increment Financing – Phase Out Plan & CBD TIF Eligibility Update Mr. Sawyer recused himself from the conversation and left the meeting at 9:45. Planner Michnick updated the commission on the process of the new TIF district. SB Friedman is currently working on the eligibility portion of the TIF study and the results will hopefully be available in March. City Council discussed TIF during the January 22, 2018, Committee of the Whole, and stated that they are still unsure if they support creating a new TIF district. Staff will continue to work with SB Friedman on the eligibility study and will return to Council when the results of that are available. This topic could also be discussed at a future EDC or joint FAC meeting. TIF updates will continue to be on the agenda as a reoccurring item. ADJOURNMENT MOTION Mr. Richardson moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Ms. Edghill-Walden. Motion carried on voice vote. The meeting adjourned at 10:05a.m. ________________________________ Respectfully Submitted by Linda Odom, Recording Secretary