Economic Development Commission

Regular Meeting

DeKalb, IL · April 7, 2017

Minutes

MINUTES CITY OF DEKALB ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION APRIL 7, 2017 The Economic Development Commission (EDC) held a regular meeting on Friday, APRIL 7, 2017 in the Council Chambers of the DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, Illinois. Chair O’Flaherty called meeting to order at 8:09 a.m. ROLL CALL Members of the Economic Development Commission present were Trixy O’Flaherty, Mark Sawyer, Mohammad Labadi, and David Barrow. Vernese Edghill-Walden was absent. Also present were City Manager, Anne Marie Gaura; Jason Michnick, City Planner; Matt Duffy, DeKalb Chamber of Commerce; Mim Evans, NIU Center for Governmental Studies; Melissa Henriksen, NIU Center for Governmental Studies; and Paul Borek, DeKalb County Economic Development Corporation. APPROVAL OF AGENDA A motion to approve agenda was made by Mr. Barrow and seconded by Mr. Labadi. The motion passed on a voice vote. MOTION TO APPROVE MINUTES A motion to approval minutes from last meeting was made by Mr. Barrow and seconded by Mr. Labadi. The motion passed on a voice vote. BUSINESS 1. Summary of Sessions One & Two (February 3 & March 3, 2017) Ms. Evans reviewed the discussions and survey results from previous meetings completed by the commissioners regarding the prioritization of projects from the 2025 Strategic Plan. Economic Development Commission April 7, 2017 Page 2 of 2 2. Review Prioritizing Projects Previous projects were discussed with a general trend towards focus on strategies the link the City with NIU. Mr. Duffy spoke about Proudly DeKalb goals and accomplishments within this conversation. This lead into item 3 on the agenda and the prioritization of various aspects of the work to date. 3. Discussion of Community/University Relations Continuing discussion focused on some of the projects that Proudly DeKalb has worked on and their impact on the goal of increasing enrollment at NIU. CGS presented research done since the last meeting regarding what other universities and towns have done to improve economic development in their respective towns. Mr. Barrow related what happened in Denton, TX, where he is from. Denton revitalized their downtown around being a “university town” and has seen population growth and increase in enrollment. The following discussion focused on what might be the best type of project to focus on for the City in regards to accomplishing goal of strengthening NIU. 4. Discussion of Project Implementation as group Discussion at this point evolved more towards what can/should we do as a group? What will the document that we create for the City entail? How much detail, or lack of detail and more general direction is desired from the group? CGS stated that they would provide a rough outline of the document for the next meeting, so the commission can have an understanding of what to expect in the first draft. The first draft will be reviewed at the June meeting. It was also recognized that the City will need to come forward and state more clearly what they want from the commission to be able to form this document. 5. Next steps The City will work towards answering the above question as they work with CGS on a draft of the report. This working document will then be discussed and worked on by the commission with a goal of having it finalized after the June meeting. ADJOURNMENT Mr. Barrow moved to adjourn, as Mr. Sawyer had to leave the meeting and a quorum was no longer present, and the motion was seconded by Mr. Labidi. The motion passed on a voice vote. The meeting was adjourned at 10:12. Respectfully submitted, Jason Michnick, Economic Development Planner Minutes approved by the Economic Development Commission on June 2, 2017.

Agenda

DeKalb Municipal Building PLEASE NOTE LOCATION Council Chamber, Second Floor 200 South Fourth Street DeKalb, Illinois 60115 AGENDA Economic Development Commission April 7, 2017 8:00 a.m. A. Roll Call B. Approval of Agenda – Additions / Deletions C. Approval of Minutes – March 3, 2017 Meeting D. Public Participation E. New Business 1. Summary of Sessions One & Two (February 3 & March 3, 2017) 2. Review Prioritized Projects 3. Discussion of Community/University Relations 4. Discussion of Project Implementation as group 5. Next steps F. Adjournment MINUTES MEETING OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION CITY OF DEKALB MARCH 3, 2017 The Economic Development Commission (EDC) of the City of DeKalb, Illinois held a regular meeting on Friday, March 3, 2017 in the Council Chambers of the DeKalb Municipal Building, 200 South Fourth Street, DeKalb, Illinois. The meeting was called to order at 8:07 a.m. ROLL CALL Trixie O’Flaherty, Mark Sawyer, Mohammad Labadi, David Barrow, Tom DeVries, Vernese Edghill-Walden. Also present were City Manager, Anne Marie Gaura, Economic Development Planner, Jason Michnick, Alderman Bob Snow, Matt Duffy (DeKalb Area Chamber of Commerce), Mim Evans (NIU Center for Governmental Studies), and Melissa Henriksen (NIU Center for Governmental Studies). Chair O’Flaherty called meeting to order. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Motion agenda by Labadi with DeVries seconding the motion. Passed MOTION TO APPROVE MINUTES Motion to approval minutes from last meeting by Sawyer second by Barrow. Passed BUSINESS 1. Summary of Session One (Feb 3, 2017 meeting) Ms. Henriksen and Ms. Evans reviewed the results for the survey completed the commissioners regarding the possible 2025 projects. Discussion followed, the survey results varied regarding priorities among the commissioners. Both Ms. Henriksen and Ms. Evans said that it was helpful for them and provided an insight into the group. 2. Overview of EDC Project Scoring Survey Results Following the discussion the notes from the first session were reviewed and some discussion and clarification of some issues were covered. Mr. Barrow asked about national trends regarding college freshmen class sizes. It was confirmed that the national trend was towards lower incoming freshmen class sizes. 3. Discussion of economic development strategies The EDC moved on to more detailed review of the prioritization of the development strategies that resulted from our survey answers. ie. Why certain ones rose to the top and others didn’t. This discussion resulted in a lose consensus that the downtown should be at or near the top of the list. Mr. Barrow also raised the point that the NW corridor should also be near the top. 4. Additional information on high scoring projects & Evaluate/Prioritize Projects At this point we had a working break, at which time we started combining all of the items on the list into groups of like projects. We continued this and transitioned to discussion regarding “strategy into action” planning. Two groups were formed and after a short time came back with basically the same focus for action – a streetscape plan visually connecting downtown to campus. Adjournment Mr. Sawyer moved to adjourn, as time had run out, and it was seconded by Mr. Labadi and the meeting was adjourned at 11:05 am. Working Draft-Not for Distribution-4-3-17 City of DeKalb Economic Development Commission (EDC) Economic Development Implementation Plan Planning Session 2-March 3, 2017 Uniquely NIU     1 Working Draft-Not for Distribution-4-3-17  Additional Projects/Ideas  o o o o Prioritization        2 Working Draft-Not for Distribution-4-3-17                            3 Working Draft-Not for Distribution-4-3-17 4