Economic & Community Development Committee

Village Hall Village of Lombard 255 East Wilson Ave. Lombard, IL 60148 villageoflombard.org Minutes Economic & Community Development Committee Bill Johnston, Chairperson Reid Foltyniewicz, Alternate Chairperson Dennis McNicholas, Garrick Nielsen, Matthew Pike, Brian LaVaque, Markus Pitchford, Christopher Carter and Paula Dillon Advisory Members: Alan Bennett and Larry Kelly Staff Liaison: William Heniff Monday, October 12, 2015 7:00 PM Village Hall - Community Room 1.0 Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance The meeting was called to order by Trustee Johnston at 7:00 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited. 2.0 Roll Call Present 9 - Bill Johnston, Reid Foltyniewicz, Dennis McNicholas, Brian LaVaque, Markus Pitchford, Matthew Pike, Christopher Carter, Alan Bennett, and Larry Kelly Absent 2 - Garrick Nielsen, and Paula Dillon Also present: William Heniff, Director of Community Development; Jennifer Ganser, Assistant Director of Community Development and Sarah Richardt, Executive Director of Lombard Town Centre. 3.0 Public Participation 4.0 Approval of Minutes A motion was made by Mr. Pike, seconded by Mr. LaVaque, to approve the minutes from the September 14, 2015 meeting. The motion passed by a unanimous vote. Trustee Johnston asked Trustee Foltyniewicz, Larry Kelly, and Alan Village of Lombard Page 1 Economic & Community Minutes October 12, 2015 Development Committee Bennett to introduce themselves to the ECDC members. 5.0 Unfinished Business 150368 Downtown Improvement and Renovation Grant Program Recommendation for approval of parameters required for proposed projects to qualify for the program. (DISTRICTS #1 & #4) Following up from discussions at previous meetings, Ms. Ganser reviewed the staff memo and the staff recommendation of allowing a business to apply multiple times for signage/awnings. The business would need to wait seven years in between applications and have a contract price of $2,000.00 or less. Mr. Heniff reviewed the appeals paragraph and noted that staff works with the applicants throughout the process. He also reviewed the procedure requirements and timeline. Mr. McNicholas asked if a ninety (90) day lookback should be included for installed signage/awning and if new business should be defined since an owner could become a LLC and be considered new. Mr. McNicholas stated that the new business should have no relationship or controlling interest in the previous businesses. Mr. Heniff asked if this should be reflected in the minutes only or in the guidelines. Mr. Pitchford and Mr. McNicholas said the minutes are sufficient and others agreed. A motion was made by Mr. Pike, seconded by Mr. Pitchford, for a recommendation of approval. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 5- Dennis McNicholas, Brian LaVaque, Markus Pitchford, Matthew Pike, and Christopher Carter Absent: 2- Garrick Nielsen, and Paula Dillon 150378 Lombard Economic Incentive Policy - Initial Overview Recommendation for approval of policies and the framework for the Lombard Economic Incentive Policy. (DISTRICTS - ALL) Mr. Heniff introduced the discussion and said that the draft policy was brought to ICSC Chicago and discussed with developers. They liked the policy concept and thought it was a good starting point. Mr. Heniff noted that the Village will market the policy should it be adopted by the Board of Trustees. He noted that Mr. Bennett had comments on zoning relief being added under in-kind incentives and that staff will make that edit. Mr. Heniff discussed the zoning relief that Sam’s applied for through the Plan Commission. Mr. McNicholas said this will be an excellent tool. Mr. Heniff said that all zoning relief would go before the Plan Commission who would review the Standards and a hardship. Mr. Bennett discussed the flexibility of planned developments. Ms. Dillon asked if business expansion is accounted Village of Lombard Page 2 Economic & Community Minutes October 12, 2015 Development Committee for. Mr. Heniff noted that it would depend on a case by case basis and gave the example Lombard Toyota expands and makes a sizeable impact on sales tax. The magnitude of their stormwater expenses needed an incentive. A motion was made by Mr. LaVaque, seconded by Mr. Carter, for a recommendation of approval to the Village Board of Trustees. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 6- Dennis McNicholas, Brian LaVaque, Markus Pitchford, Matthew Pike, Christopher Carter, and Paula Dillon Absent: 1- Garrick Nielsen Ms. Dillon introduced herself to the ECDC members. 6.0 New Business 150479 Downtown Improvement and Renovation Grant Program - 6 S. Park Avenue Request a grant for 6 S. Park Avenue. (DISTRICT #1) Angela Pinto described her grant request for a new awning for her business, Paradiso. Ms. Ganser summarized the staff memo and noted that Ms. Pinto obtained three contractor bids as required by the program. Paradiso is a new business to the downtown. A motion was made by Mr. Pike, seconded by Mr. LaVaque, that the ECDC approve this petition subject to the conditions in the staff report. 1. Permits must be applied for and received for all of the work. 2. Before the grant can be paid out, Paradiso will submit a final receipt (showing the project is paid in full), waivers of lien from the contractors, and an IRS W-9. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 6- Dennis McNicholas, Brian LaVaque, Markus Pitchford, Matthew Pike, Christopher Carter, and Paula Dillon Absent: 1- Garrick Nielsen 150480 Business Retention Discussion of business retention initiatives and outreach strategies. (DISTRICTS - ALL) Ms. Ganser summarized the staff memo and noted that retention is about relationship building. Staff hopes to start retention meetings in Spring 2016. Mr. McNicholas said staff may want to publicize this Village of Lombard Page 3 Economic & Community Minutes October 12, 2015 Development Committee program. Ms. Dillon agreed that long surveys are not effective for business retention. Mr. Kelly asked if the meetings would be held at the business office and Ms. Ganser said yes. Mr. Heniff said this will help engage business owners and answer questions. Trustee Foltyniewicz asked who staff would meet with for a large business or retail store. Ms. Ganser said staff would look for titles like Director of Government Affairs, Director of Facilities, Director of Human Resources, or a store manager. If necessary, staff could follow up with someone from corporate, if out of area, via phone or email. Ms. Dillon asked if the Village has data showing early warning signs and Ms. Ganser said data such as employment are self-reported which can make early detection difficult. Ms. Richardt noted this could be marketed on Facebook. 150481 Prevailing Wage Act Applicability and Program Amendments Discussion on prevailing wage in the TIF grant program guidelines. (DISTRICTS - ALL) Mr. Heniff reviewed the staff memo and discussions with Village Counsel. Prevailing Wage is still needed for a project that will be owned by the Village, like a sewer extension. Most TIF grant items, such as an awning, would not become owned by the Village. Deleting this requirement would give more flexibility to the grant applicant. Mr. Kelly asked if other municipalities have deleted this requirement and Mr. Heniff said it varies. Mr. LaVaque clarified that the State of Illinois doesn’t require municipalizes to use prevailing wage for projects they won’t take ownership of and Mr. Heniff replied yes. A motion was made by Mr. McNicholas, seconded by Ms. Dillon, for a recommendation of approval. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 4- Dennis McNicholas, Matthew Pike, Christopher Carter, and Paula Dillon Nay: 2- Brian LaVaque, and Markus Pitchford Absent: 1- Garrick Nielsen 7.0 Other Business 8.0 Information Only Lombard Town Centre Report Ms. Richardt summarized her report to the ECDC. She gave an update of the Illinois Main Street program which will now be under the Department of Tourism. She noted that LTC is not bound by Illinois Main Street. Mesa Electronics is scheduling a grand opening on November 5, 2015. MKT has opened. She gave an update of Village of Lombard Page 4 Economic & Community Minutes October 12, 2015 Development Committee Babcock’s Grove and Balkan Bakery. Mr. Bennett informed the committee of the John Noel Public Transit Conference on October 30th. 9.0 Adjournment A motion was made by Mr. Pike, seconded by Mr. McNicholas, to adjourn the meeting at 7:56 p.m. The motion passed by a unanimous vote. Village of Lombard Page 5