Economic Development Commission

MINUTES MEETING OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION CITY OF DEKALB DECEMBER 14, 2016 The Economic Development Commission (EDC) of the City of DeKalb, Illinois held a regular meeting on Wednesday, December 14, 2016 in the Executive Conference Room of the DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, Illinois. The meeting was called to order at 6:12 p.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 (Chair), Mark Sawyer, David Barrow, and Mohammed Labadi Also present were City Manager, Anne Marie Gaura, Management Analyst, Alderman Bob Snow, Aaron Stevens, Mim Evans (NIU Center for Governmental Studies, and Melissa Henriksen (NIU Center for Governmental Studies). APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION Chair O’Flaherty asked for a motion to approve the agenda. A motion was made by Mr. Sawyer and seconded by Mr. Barrow. The motion carried on a voice vote. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION No previous minutes were voted on due to this being the first meeting of the EDC. BUSINESS 1. Introductions Planner Michnick asked those in attendance to introduce themselves as it was the first time the group had met as the EDC. Planner Michnick started introductions by saying he was the City’s Economic Development Planner and would be serving as the staff liaison to the EDC. Ms. O’Flaherty shared that she was the owner of Gordon Hardware. She moved to DeKalb to attend NIU in the early 90’s and never left. Mr. Sawyer stated that he was born and raised in DeKalb and is currently a commercial real estate broker for RVG. Mr. Labadi also came to DeKalb to attend NIU and has started multiple businesses in the community. Alderman Snow stated that he was the representative of the City’s Fourth Ward and is the council liaison to the EDC. Mr. Barrow is originally from Denton, Texas, but came to DeKalb to teach English at NIU. He was also the owner of OC Imageworks, which was recently sold, and is now working on several independent projects. Ms. Evans and Ms. Henricksen both shared their history with CGS and their involvement with the City’s 2025 Strategic Plan. Economic Development Commission December 14, 2016 Page 2 of 3 2. Structure Planner Michnick asked the commission about their long-term availability and preference for future monthly meetings. With only four commissioners present, it was not possible to come to an agreeable time and day. Planner Michnick stated he would be sending out a survey to the commission and providing an update via email. Planner Michnick also asked how the EDC would like to take minutes moving forward. Two options were provided to the commission. The first was asking for a volunteer secretary, and the second was a revolving assignment. Planner Michnick stated he would take the minutes for the first meeting and create a template for commissioners. Mr. Sawyer volunteered to take minutes for the commission for the near-term. 3. Creating an Implementation Strategy Planner Michnick informed the commission that the City received a grant from the DeKalb County Community Foundation for economic development planning. As part of this grant opportunity, the City was contracting with NIU’s Center for Governmental Studies to facilitate a planning discussion amongst the EDC in regards to the current 2025 Strategic Plan. Planner Michnick shared the background of how the 2025 Strategic Plan was created and asked Ms. Evans and Ms. Henriksen to take over the discussion and share the proposed process. Ms. Henriksen started by asking the commissioners what made them want to get involved with the EDC and their hopes for the community. Ms. O’Flaherty stated that she wanted to see positive economic growth and to try things that have not been done in the past. She was also interested in bridging the university to the community and developing a strategy for retaining residents and businesses. She also emphasized the need to concentrate on the people and making them want to stay. Mr. Sawyer stated that with his background in real estate and business, he was interested in developing actions and tasks that can actually happen. A plan on paper is great, but he wants to see something happen. Mr. Labadi has been investing into the community for the past 20 years and owns several businesses. He stated that he wants to make the community a better place for his family. He is also interested in seeing the revitalization of the downtown and for it to become a magnet for people in the community. He also wants to be able to see the vision for the community from an inside perspective. Mr. Barrow shared that the town he is from, Denton, Texas, is also a community with a university. When he left to come to DeKalb, there were several comparisons between Denton and DeKalb. Since then, Denton has grown to become a city of over 100,000 with a lively downtown square filled with art and thriving entertainment/restaurant options. The university there has also thrived and enrollment was up over 36,000. He stated that he is interested in creating a similar story here in DeKalb. Ms. Henriksen stated that the commission passion for the community was critical in regards to the EDC being a volunteer organization. She then shared a timeline of the planning process which would involve a survey being sent out to the commission through Planner Michnick, sometime after the holidays. Another step would be to conduct a  Economic Development Commission December 14, 2016 Page 3 of 3 SWOT analysis for the community and using data and research to support discussions that lead to a final document. The two planning sessions would be about 3 hours and be sometime in the first quarter of 2017. Final dates are TBD. Ultimately, a document that the commission could work from would be completed in the early Spring. Mr. Barrow asked what the relationship to the 2025 Strategic Plan is. Ms. Henriksen provided an example, stating that one of the visions is “community vitality and a vibrant downtown.” Within that vision is an element of seeing more business start-ups, which could come from a business incubator. There are already other organizations engaged, such as Proudly DeKalb, and the EDC could be a guiding force for the City in how to engage those specific organizations. Mr. Sawyer asked if there are any guidelines for how the commission works and operates. Planner Michnick pointed out that the ordinance creating the commission was included in the binders provided. The ordinance is written somewhat loosely to allow the commission to adapt to the economic environment at the time. Mr. Labadi asked if during the 2025 Strategic Planning process, there were other cities used as examples. Ms. Evens stated that during that process, the overriding objective was to engage with the community and develop a shared vision. This planning process may want to include examples of other communities and strategies that were taken, such as Denton, Texas. City Manager Gaura stated that she wished for the commission to look at the 2025 Strategic Plan and what actions the City has already taken towards accomplishing those elements. Is the City on the right track? What are we doing well, and what are we not doing well? Is there something missing that we need to consider? Planner Michnick stated that if anyone had any additional questions in regards to the process, to reach out to him via email. He also asked that commissioners be diligent in remember the guidelines of the Open Meetings Act when discussing the planning process with other commissioners. One-on-one conversations are fine, but if three commissioners were talking outside of an open meeting, it would be a violation. Planner Michnick closed by letting everyone know he would be reaching out after the holidays with a survey of meeting times. ADJOURNMENT MOTION Chair O’Flaherty requested a motion for adjournment. Mr. Sawyer moved to adjourn the meeting; seconded by Mr. Barrow. Motion carried on voice vote. The meeting adjourned at 7:09 p.m. ______________ __________________ Jason Michnick, Economic Development Planner Minutes approved by the Economic Development Committee on February 3, 2017