Economic Development Commission
Regular MeetingDeKalb, IL · December 7, 2018
Minutes
MINUTES
MEETING OF THE
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
CITY OF DEKALB
December 7, 2018
The Economic Development Commission (EDC) of the City of DeKalb, Illinois held a
regular meeting on Friday, December 7, 2018 in the Ellwood Conference Room of the
DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, Illinois.
The meeting was called to order at 8:31 a.m.
ROLL CALL
Roll was recorded by Economic Development Planner, Jason Michnick, and the following
members of the Economic Development Commission were present: Trixy O’Flaherty,
Sam Walt, Mohammed Labadi, Vernese Edghill-Walden, and Mark Sawyer. Not present
was Jeff Richardson.
Also present were Alderman, Pat Fagan; Executive Director of the DeKalb County
Economic Development Corporation, Paul Borek; Transit Manager, Marcus Cox.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION
Mr. Walt made a motion to approve the agenda as posted. The motion was seconded by
Mr. Sawyer. The motion was approved by voice vote.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
MOTION
Mr. Sawyer made a motion to approve the minutes from the November 2, 2018 meeting.
Mr. Labadi seconded the motion. The motion carried on a voice vote.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
Bessie Chronopoulus addressed the commission and stated that while the City needed
to strive to be business friendly, it should not come at the cost of ignoring existing codes
and regulations. If high quality is demanded, high quality businesses will be attracted to
the City. She also stated that the City has not been active enough in its retention efforts
and encouraged the commission to discuss retention strategies in the future.
The commission discussed various retention strategies that have been used in the past,
or with other organizations such as the DCEDC. In the past the commission has
discussed inviting business owners or developers to a commission meeting. Recruiting
guest speakers has been difficult because they are not comfortable stating their concerns
or issues publicly, but the commission will continue to make attempts at reaching out to
have conversations with the business community and bring their feedback to the rest of
the commission.
Mr. Borek also informed the group that one of the Comprehensive Economic
Development Strategy (CEDS) working groups was discussing the concept of a “business
friendly” climate that is consistent countywide. He also informed the commission that the
DCEDC retention groups have a specific survey tool that could be utilized for future
discussions. The commission requested to review that survey at a future meeting.
OLD BUSINESS
1. Park 88 Transit Route Update
Mr. Cox informed the commission that the City and DCEDC representatives held a meeting with
the managers of several of the businesses located in or near Park 88 to discuss a proposed fixed
route that would serve that area. Currently, the transit network does not have any routes that go
to the Park 88 area. The route that was proposed at that meeting was designed to align with the
shift changes times of the different businesses. Shift times were provided via survey prior to the
meeting, which allowed the transit team to evaluate and design the proposed route.
The next step will be for those businesses to survey their employees about whether they would
consider using the new route in an effort to measure possible demand. Understanding demand is
critical to making sure there would be adequate buses available for the routes. It is anticipated
that survey results will be available in early 2019.
The commission was also informed that the route would be eligible to be funded by the federal
grant that the City receives for the transit system, up to 65% of the total cost of implementation.
The remaining 35% could be funded by those businesses if they choose to participate in funding.
Due to Voluntary Action Committee’s participation in the route, funding from the businesses could
qualify as a possible tax-deductible donation. If the businesses are unwilling to participate, the
City could consider possible fundraising strategies to cover the remaining cost of implementation.
2. Discussion and Recommendation of Projects for DeKalb County Community
Foundation Economic Development Grant
Planner Michnick informed the commission that he received a quote from OC Creative for the
design work of three different documents in both English and Spanish, totaling approximately
$9,000. Planner Michnick believes this would be the higher end of possible design costs, but also
in the quality of design. Another document that OC Creative has designed for the City was shared
with the commission. If the commission were to choose to move forward with OC Creative, the
balance of the grant would go towards production of the actual documents.
The commission also discussed possible alternatives that would be free or low-cost, such as
working with Northern Illinois University’s Creative Services or a design class. Ms. Edghill-Walden
stated that she would check on the possibility of receiving in-kind services from NIU and report
back to Planner Michnick. The commission felt that this would be a better approach if NIU was
willing to provide the service in-kind.
Mr. Sawyer made a motion to recommend that the City apply for the remaining $11,000 in DeKalb
County Community Foundation Economic Development Grant funding for the design and
production of material that informs residents about the transit network changes and other
resources that are available in the community. The motion was seconded by Ms. Edghill-Walden.
The motion was approved 6-0.
ADJOURNMENT
MOTION
Mr. Sawyer made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Ms. Edghill-Walden. The motion
carried on a voice vote and the meeting was adjourned at 9:58 a.m.
________________________________
Respectfully Submitted by
Jason Michnick, Economic Development Planner
Agenda
DeKalb Municipal Building
PLEASE NOTE LOCATION
Ellwood Conference Room, First Floor
200 South Fourth Street
DeKalb, Illinois 60115
AGENDA
Regular Meeting
Economic Development Commission
December 7, 2018
8:30 a.m.
A. Roll Call
B. Approval of Agenda
C. Approval of Minutes – November 2, 2018 Meeting
D. Public Participation
E. New Business
F. Old Business
1. Park 88 Transit Route Update
2. Discussion and Recommendation of Project for DeKalb County Community
Foundation Economic Development Grant
G. Adjourn
MINUTES
MEETING OF THE
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION
CITY OF DEKALB
November 2, 2018
The Economic Development Commission (EDC) of the City of DeKalb, Illinois held a
regular meeting on Friday, November 2, 2018 in the Executive Conference Room of the
DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, Illinois.
The meeting was called to order at 8:30 a.m.
ROLL CALL
Roll was recorded by Economic Development Planner, Jason Michnick, and the following
members of the Economic Development Commission were present: Trixy O’Flaherty,
Sam Walt, Jeff Richardson, Mohammed Labadi, and Mark Sawyer. Not present was
Vernese Edghill-Walden.
Also present were Alderman, Pat Fagan; Mayor, Jerry Smith; Executive Director of the
DeKalb Chamber of Commerce, Matt Duffy; Executive Director of the DeKalb County
Economic Development Corporation, Paul Borek; IT Director, Marc Thorson;
Management Intern, Jason Blumenthal; and Transit Manager, Marcus Cox.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION
Mr. Richardson made a motion to approve the agenda as posted. The motion was
seconded by Mr. Sawyer. The motion was approved by voice vote.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
MOTION
Mr. Sawyer made a motion to approve the minutes from the October 5, 2018 meeting.
Mr. Richardson seconded the motion. The motion carried on a voice vote.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
None.
OLD BUSINESS
1. Discussion of the City of DeKalb Website Redesign.
Planner Michnick introduced the commission to IT Director, Marc Thorson, and Management
Intern, Jason Blumenthal, informing them that they would be leading efforts to redesign the City’s
website. Mr. Thorson stated that the five year contract that the City has with CivicPlus includes a
“refresh” that will take place next year. The City has already held two public forums to discuss the
website, and plans to hold two more.
Mr. Thorson stepped the commission through the City’s website and explained the various
features. CivicPlus has multiple templates/forms that can be used to for the redesign. Multiple
examples of other municipality websites were shared with the commission for the purpose of
showing possible design layouts, including:
• Portland, Maine
• Elgin, Illinois
• Schaumburg, Illinois
• Berea, Ohio
• Oak Hill, Tennessee
• Orlando, Florida
The commission discussed the pros and cons of the various layouts and formats of other websites
and provided feedback to Mr. Thorson and Mr. Blumenthal. Some of the specific feedback that
was discussed was the following:
• New format should be visually pleasing and include pictures that highlight the assets of
the community. The website should be a marketing tool for the City.
o Possibly introduce form so citizens can submit their own pictures of the community.
• Making payments, specifically parking tickets, should be less cumbersome. Also need to
fix the system that updates when a ticket is paid so notifications for unpaid parking tickets
are not sent out when they have been paid.
• Simplify the options in the pull-down menus. Current website has too many options that
make it difficult to find information (e.g. is zoning regulations under business, economic
development, or municipal code).
o Utilize a flowchart approach to guiding people to the information.
• Could a chat feature be offered?
o May require outsourcing, because City does not have central call center.
• Include community events on the calendar, not just City commission meetings.
• Orland is a great example of providing and organizing information for businesses.
2. Central Business District TIF Update and Discussion
Planner Michnick and Alderman Fagan updated the commission that the Joint Review Board and
a working group had been developing an intergovernmental agreement that would result in new
regulations on reporting and spending of TIF funds, as well as the declaration of an $11.25 million
surplus declaration. It is anticipated that the ordinances approving the proposed CBD TIF and
IGA would be brought forward at the next Council Meeting.
3. Discussion and Recommendation of Projects for DeKalb County Community Foundation
Economic Development Grant
Marcus Cox, the new Transit Manager for the City informed the commission that he and other
staff, as well as Mr. Borek, have held an initial meeting with representatives from the businesses
located in Park 88 (Nestle, Panduit, 3M, Target, and Westrock) to discuss the creation of a new
transit line that would serve that area of the City. In addition to the new transit line, the overall
consolidation of the City’s two transit systems has resulted in some changes to bus routes. One
of the challenges with the merger has been informing residents about the changes. The
commission discussed the use of the remaining DCCF ED Grant to fund the design and initial
round of printing for a marketing piece for residents about the transit system.
A possible idea would be to have posters printed that could go on the bus stop shelters, of which
there are a total of 15-20 shelters throughout the City. A question was asked about the cost of a
new shelter, as adding those to stops may be another possible project. The cost of a single shelter
is approximately $15,000, which would exceed the remaining grant. Another idea was a mobile
application, but there is already one in place with Huskie Lines that will be transferred over to the
City in 2019. Planner Michnick stated he would look into the cost of hiring a design firm for the
flyer/poster and report back to the commission at the next meeting, as well as providing an update
on any progress with the Park 88 transit conversations.
ADJOURNMENT
MOTION
Mr. Sayer made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Mr. Richardson. The motion carried
on a voice vote and the meeting was adjourned at 10:20 a.m.
________________________________
Respectfully Submitted by
Jason Michnick, Economic Development Planner