Economic Development Commission

MINUTES MEETING OF THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION CITY OF DEKALB May 11, 2018 The Economic Development Commission (EDC) of the City of DeKalb, Illinois held a regular meeting on Friday, May 11, 2018 in the Council Chambers 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, Mohammed Labadi, Jeff Richardson, Tom DeVries, David Barrow, and Mark Sawyer. Not present was Vernese Edghill-Walden Also present were Alderman Pat Fagan, Executive Director of DCEDC, Paul Borek, Community Development Director, Jo Ellen Charlton, Fire Chief, Eric Hicks, and Chief Building Official (CBO), Thaddeus Mack. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION Mr. Sawyer made a motion to approve the agenda as posted. The motion was seconded by Mr. Richardson. The motion was approved by voice vote. APPROVAL OF MINUTES MOTION Mr. Sawyer made a motion to approve the minutes from the April 6, 2018 meeting. Mr. Richardson seconded the motion. The motion carried on a voice vote. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION None NEW BUSINESS 1. Discussion on Building Inspection Procedures and Program Chief Hicks and CBO Mack informed the commission on the different inspection programs including Commercial Building Inspections (basic fire inspection), Fire Life Safety Inspections (gas stations, hotels, restaurants, rooming houses, etc.), and Building Maintenance. Commercial Building Inspections are handled by the Fire Department, and Fire Life Safety (FLS) Inspections are conducted by the Fire Prevention Officer (part of Fire Department but housed in Community Development). Commercial Building Inspections are scheduled inspections, while FLS Inspections are unannounced. The purposed of FLS Inspections being unannounced is to inspect whether businesses are operating in a safe manor from day to day, and not making corrections just for inspection purposes. In the event that something more serious is found during one of these two types of inspections, the CBO will be notified. Building Division inspectors will then go to investigate whether there are conditions present to warrant immediate action or future citation. When these types of inspections are conducted, the national Property Maintenance Code is applicable, which is more stringent. The commission asked whether all of the inspection data that is collected is aggregated in any fashion currently. Inspections data collected by the Fire Department is computerized through the Fire House software. Building Division is currently working to roll out software that would allow this. Years ago, all inspections were done through the Community Development Department, but the structure changed when the Community Development Department was disbanded. The City has recently restructured the inspection process to involve Community Development again. The Commission also discussed the recent condemnation of two buildings in the downtown and asked what the relationship between the County Health Department and the City was. CBO Mack informed the commission that the Health Department is informed when issues related to sanitation are found on an inspection, but the Building Maintenance Code does also allow the City to take action if there are such conditions present. The Commission also discussed the importance of customer service for inspectors and front line employees. Community Development Director Charlton stated that because CBO Mack has a background in the private sector and architectural training, he has been successful thus far in being able to consult property owners on strategies to navigate the code and improve their buildings. The Commission asked if TIF funds were available to assist property owners with code violations or upgrades. Planner Michnick informed the Commission that depending on the violation and condition, TIF funding could be used but it was a policy decision on whether to assist in situations of deferred maintenance. City Council will be having such a discussion at their next meeting and looking to expand the Architectural Improvement Program. 2. Discussion on Defining “Business Friendliness” The term Business Friendly has been used frequently in conversations by various City commissions and Council, as well as stories in the press questioning whether the City was Business Friendly. The Commission began to discuss this topic, but determined that it was too broad a topic to handle in one meeting. The item will be a reoccurring item on future agendas as the Commission works to define the term and develop a lens for evaluating policies and procedures. ADJOURNMENT MOTION Mr. Richardson made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Mr. Devries. The motion carried on a voice vote and the meeting was adjourned at 9:45 a.m. ________________________________ Respectfully Submitted by Jason Michnick, Economic Development Planner