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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1998 New Century Partnership MINUTES Special Meeting of Board of Directors New Century Partnership For Elgin Wednesday, January 7 , 1998 8 : 00a .m. I . President Kellenberger called the meeting to order at 8 : 05a .m. II . Roll Call : Members Present: Allen Anderson, Norman Bartels, Paul Bednar, Richard DeBoer, Judy DiFulvio, Todd Drafall, Frank Halsey, Rich Hirschberg, Caesar Kalinowski , David Kellenberger, Vicki Kirkland, Ken Moran, Larry Narum, Michael Pastreich, Don Rinehart, John Roberson, Jamie Smith, William Stickling, Ernie Yaniz Members Absent : Michael Armato, Cort Carlson, Lewis Gordon, John Graham, John Lucks , Christopher Matus, John McKevitt, Rhonda Pokoj , John Wentland III . Consideration of Minutes - Meeting of November 19 , 1997 Narum moved, seconded by Yaniz, to approve the minutes of the November 19 , 1997 Board of Directors meeting as presented. All ayes . Motion passed. IV. New Business A. Election of Officers Bartels nominated the following slate of candidates for officer positions : President: Judy DiFulvio Vice-President : Paul Bednar Secretary: Michael Armato Treasurer: Larry Narum Nominations were seconded by Moran. There were no other nominations . All ayes . No nays . B. Phase Two Report of Center City Plan. eft After discussion of the report, Bartels moved to accept the report as discussed. Second by David Kellenberger. All ayes . Plan will be sent to the City Council and distributed to downtown businesses . C . Committee Reports/ Announcements Finance - no report Business Retention & Expansion - no report Parking, Traffic, Maintenance & Security - Moran discussed the 1998 phase of the CBD street lighting • project Promotion & Marketing - no report V. Old Business - none VI . Other Business There will be no board meeting on January 21 . The board discussed suggestions regarding quorum levels . VII . Anderson moved to adjourn. Second by DeBoer. All ayes . Meeting adjourned at 9 : 35 a .m. Respectfully submitted, ian A(c4 ry) i6L rik Caesar Kalinowski DIRECTOR.J98/TEXT081/NEWCENTU.RY r rws MINUTES BOARD OF DIRECTORS NEW CENTURY PARTNERSHIP FOR ELGIN WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1998 8:00 A.M. • I . Meeting was called to order by President DiFulvio at 8 : 10 a.m. II . Roll Call Members Present: Allen Anderson, Paul Bednar, Cort Carlson, Richard DeBoer, Judy DiFulvio, Todd Drafall, Lew Gordon, Frank Halsey, Rich Hirschberg, Caesar Kalinowski, David Kellenberger, Vicki Kirkland, Chris Matus, John McKevitt, Ken Moran, Michael Pastreich, Rhonda Pokoj , John Roberson, Jamie Smith, William Stickling. Members Absent: Michael Armato, Norman Bartels, John Graham, Edward Grissette, John Lucks, Larry Narum, John Wentland. Staff Present: Deborah K. Nier, Director President DiFulvio added a report from John McKevitt under new business . III . Consideration of Minutes--Special Board Meeting of January 7, 1998 . Kellenberger moved, seconded by Moran, to approve the minutes of the special meeting of January 7 , 1998 as presented. All ayes . Motion passed. IV. New Business A. Report from John McKevitt McKevitt reported on the status of the NBD building and Borden building. Regarding the Borden building, he stated that the City Council may consider the question of demolition at a March meeting. Page 2 Board Minutes of February 18, 1998 Kellenberger asked if the City Council had considered adoption of the Center City Master Plan update report. McKevitt said that the Council had reviewed the report, but no action was taken. To have the recommendations of the report adopted would require action by the Planning Commission. Kellenberger had asked if such step had been taken. Nier said that the direction received was to provide a copy to the City Council . The report will be passed along to the Planning Department for transmittal to the commission. B. Design Charette Bednar reported that plans were being made for a design charette focusing on the river. It is expected that the charette will be held in May. The Executive Committee had authorized a budget for the charette of up to $4 ,000 . C. Organization Restructuring President DiFulvio reported that the committee is continuing to work on the reorganization plan and will report at the March meeting. eft D. 1998 Work Plans President DiFulvio asked committee chairs to have work plans completed as soon as possible. E . Committee Reports/Announcements Parking, Traffic, Maintenance and Security-- Ken Moran. The committee had voted to reaffirm an earlier recommendation to demolish the remaining portion of the Borden building. Moran made a motion to recommend to the City Council that the Borden building be demolished. Motion was seconded by Gordon. There followed considerable discussion about the value of the Borden building and efforts to seek developers . Hirschberg wished the Board to be careful in this decision and be sure that the property had been adequately marketed for an adaptive reuse. Bednar and Roberson expressed concern that an important piece of local history would be lost. Other Board members, including Gordon, few Stickling and Pastreich, expressed the need for parking to serve existing community facilities , including Hemmens Cultural Center, Page 3 Board Minutes of February 18, 1998 Gail Borden Library and the law enforcement facility. The question was called and a roll call vote taken: Members vote: Ayes--Anderson, DeBoer, DiFulvio, Gordon, Halsey, Kalinowski, Kellenberger, Moran, Pokoj and Stickling. Nays--Bednar, Carlson, Drafall, Hirschberg, Kirkland, Roberson and Smith. Abstain--Matus . 10 ayes, 7 nays , 1 abstain. Motion passed. Moran continues to report that the committee wished to recommend that the Board agree to the following as priorities for use of the $350, 000 budgeted for parking and report such to the City Council : 1 . determine the feasibility of adding a roof or additional parking level to the Spring Street parking deck. 2 . conduct a study to determine the highest and best use of the NBD property. 3 . develop parking for the northern area of the center city (Civic/Cultural district) . Anderson suggested that the item addressing the NBD property be dealt with immediately since discussions were underway between Kane County and the City for the purchase of the NBD building. Anderson made a motion authorizing the Parking, Transportation, Marketing and Security Committee to take the necessary action (s) to obtain conceptual drawings of the possible uses of the NBD building and property at a cost not to exceed $15, 000 . Anderson then made a motion to accept the recommendation regarding the remaining two priorities and inform the City Council . President DiFulvio asked that the difference between a motion and recommendation be explained. Moran then seconded the motion. All ayes . Motion passed. AMIN • Page 4 Board Minutes of February 18, 1998 NOTE: Due to another commitment, Nier excused herself from the meeting at 9 : 10 a.m. No further minutes were taken of discussion or action on remaining agenda items . Respectfully submitted, A l A • Deborah . Nier Dirpctor dkn/dkm MINUT.298/NCPBOAR.D r MINUTES rm. BOARD OF DIRECTORS NEW CENTURY PARTNERSHIP FOR ELGIN WEDNESDAY, MARCH 18, 1998 8:00 A.M. I . President DiFulvio called the meeting to order at 8 : 05 a.m. II . Roll Call Members Present: Allen Anderson, Michael Armato, Norman Bartels, Paul Bednar, Cort Carlson, Richard DeBoer, Judy DiFulvio, Lewis Gordon, Frank Halsey, Richard Hirschberg, David Kellenberger, Vicki Kirkland, Chris Matus, Ken Moran, Larry Narum, Michael Pastreich, Rhonda Pokoj , John Roberson, Jamie Smith, William Stickling, Ernie Yaniz . Members Absent: Todd Drafall, John Graham, Edward Grissette, Caesar Kalinowski, John Lucks, John McKevitt, John Wentland. Others Present: Deputy Chief Jim Burns, Elgin Police orik Dept. ; Chief Chuck Gruber, Elgin Police Dept. , Deborah Nier, Director; Clay Pearson, Director, Code Administration; David Plote, owner, Ideal Ride. III . Consideration of Minutes--Meeting of February 18, 1998 . Anderson asked that the minutes be amended to more accurately reflect his motion regarding the NBD property: " . . .authorizing the Parking, Traffic, Maintenance and Security Committee to take the necessary action (s) to obtain conceptual drawings of the possible uses of the NBD building at a cost not to exceed $15,000 . " Narum moved, seconded by Smith, to approve the minutes of the February 18 meeting with changes . All ayes . Motion passed. IV. New Business A. Parking on Highland Avenue (between State Street and Crystal ) rim Moran provided the board with background regarding the request from Ideal Ride to restore parking in -2- front of his store. Mr. Plote then explained that the parking is crucial to his business and that it tt will be difficult for the business to survive without it. Clay Pearson and Chief Gruber explained the decision of the Neighborhood Services Committee to remove parking and the advantages of keeping Highland Avenue free of on-street parking. Since parking had been removed, there had been a drop in accidents at the State Street/Highland Avenue intersection. In addition, the traffic flow would have the added benefit of reducing traffic "cut-throughs" in adjacent neighborhoods . Some board members disagreed that removing parking had the impact stated by Pearson and Gruber. Hirschberg felt that more information was needed on the impact of returning on- street parking. Armato suggested that the parking committee recommendation be followed. Moran moved to recommend to the City Council that parking be restored in front of Ideal Ride. Kellenberger seconded the motion. All ayes . Motion passed. B. State Street Facade Program Anderson provided background on the activities of the State Street Facade Program. DeBoer added that he had served on the task force and felt that it was eP. important that the benefits to property owners be expanded to include an initial grant of $3,000 . He explained that the properties in the area are not "Better Homes and Gardens quality" and needed an incentive beyond that now provided. He added that the original recommendation had not been given adequate consideration by the City Council . He stated to the board that the Elgin Image Advisory Commission suports the recommendation to increase benefits . Smith made a motion to recommend to the City Council that the State Street Facade Program be amended to provide for (a) a $3,000 grant for approved exterior improvements plus (b) a dollar-for-dollar match of funds invested for exterior improvements beyond $3,000 . Further, the application period for the $3,000 benefit would be limited to ninety days . Second by Kellenberger. All ayes . Motion passed. C. Director' s Report Nier reported on activities of the office and issues of interest. -3- D. Reorganization rft The board discussed a plan submitted by the Reorganization Committee. Committee members answered questions from board members : Q: Where would the funds for an Executive Director come from? A: Funding would come from a variety of sources . We will ask for continued City support for a year or two. Other municipalities have "autonomous" downtown redevelopment groups which are supported to some degree by the municipality. Q: What benefit is there to the City for this group to separate? A: There is support for such a move to autonomy from members of the City Council . Q: Becoming autonomous and more self supporting is moving up to a new level . This suggests that the organization is operating very efficiently at its current level and is ready for this new level . Is it? A: Due to its size (high number of Board members) r and dependency on the City for funding and staffing, the current organization is not capable of being more than it is . Q: Who would be on the Board of Directors? A: Depending on how many members ( 15 or fewer) the Board would have, two would be from the City, one-third from downtown business people, and the rest would consist of individuals interested in the downtown and willing to participate. The organization itself would be larger, consisting of those on committees, task forces, etc. Q: If some funds supporting the organization come from the City, would we not still be controlled by the City? A: This depends on how the reorganization is negotiated with the City. If the City and this organization agree on what the role and goals of the organization are, it should be free to then pursue those goals independent of City control . Stickling stated his opposition to this effort, noting that without eminent domain powers, the organization will be ineffective. He also felt this organization would be nothing more than a duplication of the Chamber of Commerce. -4— Pastreich supports item one in the reorganization list of recommendations, but none of the rest. Armato stated that items three and four could be struck. Item three, he noted, is assumed in item 2 . He also stated that we need to be a smaller, self-directed organization but that ultimately what we are is up to the City. Smith noted that the reorganization recommendations are a request to the City to give this organization the latitude to make real decisions about the downtown and not have to take everything through the City Council . Roberson moved to table this issue and call a special meeting to discuss this matter further. Narum seconded the motion. The motion was carried by a nine to eight vote. The President will ask Debbie Nier to poll directors regarding the special meeting date. The choices are March 23, 24, or 25 at 8 : 00 a.m. E . Committee Reports/Announcements A question was asked of the Parking Committee regarding its efforts to obtain conceptual rk drawings of the Riverside Drive and NBD Bank area. Ken Moran replied that his committee is consulting with City staff regarding the best way to proceed with this effort. V. Old Business--None. VI . Other Business It was asked why the Elgin Fest will be held on South Grove and not in the open space just North of the Riverboat Pavilion. One answer was that the Riverboat must give its permission to use that area for festivals and they have been reluctant to do so in the past. VIII . Bartels moved, seconded by Kellenberger, to adjourn. All ayes . Meeting adjourned at 10 : 00 a.m. Respectfully submitted, 1c , arc Deborah�2 . Nier, Director eim. MINUTE. 398/NCPBOAR.D ti MINUTES EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE NEW CENTURY PARTNERSHIP FOR ELGIN WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 1998 8: 00 A.M. I . Meeting was called to order at 8 : 10 a .m. by President Judy DiFulvio . II . Roll Call Members Present: Michael Armato, Paul Bednar, Judy DiFulvio, Rich Hirschberg, Larry Narum, John Roberson. Members Absent: Norman Bartels , Richard DeBoer, Ken Moran. Others Present: Deborah Nier, Director III . Consideration of Minutes--Meeting of March 11, 1998 . Narum moved, seconded by Roberson, to approve the minutes of the March 11, 1998 Executive Committee meeting as presented. All ayes . Motion passed. Before discussing the items of business identified by the agenda, President DiFulvio announced new policy as follows : 1 . Board members should call the NCP President or New Century Partnership office if unable to attend a Board meeting. 2 . No written communication can come from the New Century Partnership members without the President ' s signature. 3 . A motion has to be provided in writing as it was passed by a committee or persons with a rationale for that recommendation. . IV. Items of Business A. Reorganization Based upon the outcome of informational meetings held, DiFulvio stated that reorganization would, at this time, focus on amending the by-laws to reduce the size of the board and give the board eft appointment authority. Proposed changes to the by-laws, prepared by Allen Anderson, were presented by DiFulvio for discussion. These changes were 4. Page 2 Executive Committee Minutes of April 8, 1998 discussed by the Executive Committee . Bednar expressed concern about proposed language regarding "abandonment" of office . He felt that the process was too automatic and did not allow for special circumstances . The proposed changes will be presented to the Board at its April 15 meeting. It is required that thirty ( 30) days notice be given to the City Manager and Mayor regarding plans to amend the by-laws . Therefore, the Board would vote on the amendments at a May meeting. B. Design Charette Bednar and Roberson reported on planning of the design charette (May 9 ) . A letter will be sent to City Manager Joyce Parker inviting her to the event and asking the City to provide information for use at the charette. C . 1998 Work Plan Work plans and budgets submitted by committees were reviewed. After discussion, the following budget will be recommended to the Board: Committee Allocations $23,500 Business Retention & Expansion 6 , 000 Finance 0 Parking, Traffic, Maintenance & 5 ,000 Security Promotion & Marketing 11,500 Riverfront Development 1,000 • Other Board Projects 6 , 700 Books/Publications 100 Photocopy Expense 400 Office Supplies/Office Services 2 , 000 Travel, Conference, Training 3, 800 Telephone 400 Memberships 600 Special Events 2 , 800 Total 1998 Budget $40, 300 r Page 3 Executive Committee Minutes of April 8, 1998 D. Committee Reports/Announcements Riverfront Development. Roberson reported that the committee would be meeting with the Mayor on April 16 to discuss plans for the bike path. E . The agenda for the April 15 Board of Directors meeting was discussed. V. Other Business--none VI . Bednar moved, seconded by Armato, to adjourn. All ayes . Meeting adjourned at 9 : 50 a .m. Respectfully submitted, 001.- E,_/„„nc borah/„„ LA Nier MINUTE . 498/NCPEXCO.M • rft r MINUTES BOARD OF DIRECTORS NEW CENTURY PARTNERSHIP FOR ELGIN WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 1998 8:00 A.M. I . President DiFulvio called the meeting to order at 8 : 10 a.m. II . Roll Call Members Present: Allen Anderson, Norm Bartels, Paul Bednar, Cort Carlson, Judy DiFulvio, John Graham, Lewis Gordon, Frank Halsey, Rich Hirschberg, David Kellenberger, Vicki Kirkland, Ken Moran, Larry Narum, Rhonda Pokoj , John Roberson, William Stickling. Members Absent: Michael Armato, Richard DeBoer, Todd Drafall, Edward Grisette, Caesar Kalinowski, John Lucks, Christopher Matus, John McKevitt, Michael Pastreich, John Wentland, Ernie Yaniz . elk Guest: Joyce Parker, City Manager. Others Present: Deborah K. Nier, Director. III . Consideration of Minutes--Meeting of March 8, 1998 Kellenberger moved, seconded by Narum to approve the minutes of the March 8, 1998 meeting as presented. All ayes . Motion passed. IV. Treasurer's Report Consideration of the Treasurer' s report was delayed until later in the meeting. V. Items of Business President DiFulvio introduced Elgin City Manager Joyce Parker. President DiFulvio explained to the Board that Ms . Parker wished to address the members . Ms . Parker expressed the City' s continued support for New Century Partnership and wished to continue its partner relationship in revitalizing the downtown. She explained that recent meetings with the Partnership' s Reorganization Committee had been held so that she could '' learn of the Partnership's preferences for organization and plans for implementing that plan. In light of those Page 2 row Board of Director Minutes April 15, 1998 _ discussions, Ms . Parker proposed that changes take place in the Partnership staffing. She further explained that in ninety days, Deborah Nier will be transitioned out as the New Century Partnership Director and will be assigned other administrative duties . This action, she stated, is being taken in response to ( 1) comments expressed by the Partnership that it wished to have a director entirely under its control and (2 ) the City' s need to respond to anticipated retirements of employees taking advantage of early retirement opportunities . Roberson asked when the 90-day period would conclude, adding that July 15 would be 90 days from this day. Ms . Parker agreed that the transition period would end July 15 . Stickling asked who would administer such programs as the City' s Facade Improvement Program. Ms . Parker replied that those assistance programs would continue to be administered by the City and that Nier' s responsibility for them would continue. Kellenberger asked how the Partnership will staff its organization and if the City will pay for a director. Ms . Parker suggested that she and the e Reorganization Committee discuss a temporary arrangement, keeping in mind that any additional funds to the Partnership would have to be approved by the City Council . Gordon asked about clerical staff . Parker suggested that temporary staff could be funded out of the Partnership' s existing budget. Graham asked for Ms . Parker to comment on the Partnership' s role. She responded that the Partnership should establish a vision for the center city and be actively involved in advising the City on such matters . A. Reorganization President DiFulvio presented proposed amendments to the by-laws (attached as part of these minutes) to the membership, then asked Narum to explain the proposed changes . Narum explained that the proposed amendments would accomplish the following: 1 . downsize the Board membership to eleven; 2 . eliminate representation based on specific constituencies; 3 . provide appointment authority to the Board of Directors, rather than the City Council . • elm- Page 3 Board of Director Minutes April 15, 1998 DiFulvio explained that current Board members will be asked to indicate whether he/she wishes to be considered. DiFulvio and Anderson pointed out that the proposed changes must be provided to the City Manager and Mayor for comment at least thirty days prior to the Board voting on the changes . A vote on the by-law amendments will be taken at the May Board meeting. Smith made a motion to authorize the Reorganization Committee to make changes to the by-laws and circulate those proposed changes per the provisions of the current by-laws . Second by Kellenberger. All ayes . Motion passed. NOTE: At 8 : 50 a.m. , Deborah Nier left the meeting for another commitment. Minutes which followed are presented as taken by Jamie Smith, Board Director. Committee members agreed to call absent members to urge elow them to attend the May meeting for the vote on the by-laws revision. Discussion indicated that May 20 was at risk for quorum (20 members required) . Smith moved, seconded by Gordon, to reschedule the meeting to May 27 . Approved unanimously. Non-attending members to be contacted immediately and notified of the change. All members, the City Manager, the Mayor, and as a courtesy, the City Council, to be notified in writing of both the date change and the proposed change in the by-laws . Treasurer' s report was submitted and amended to reflect expenditures of $4,000 for the design charette and $15,000 for the NBD building study, leaving a balance of $19,761 . 71 . Accepted unanimously. Bartels moved, seconded by Graham, to accept 1998 work plans as presented. No discussion. Approved unanimously. Bartels questioned applications for funds by Allen Graff, et. al, for Senior Appreciation Day and by the Downtown Association for funding for purchase of publications, citing lack of specific details required by the NCPE funding application form. Smith requested $500 for support of Elgin Clean Up Day tee-shirt purchase. Kellenberger moved, seconded by Graham, to request additional information from Graff and the Downtown Association but to accept the request from Smith because • • el- Page 4 Board of Director Minutes April 15, 1998 of prior history of support for clean up day tee-shirt purchases . Approved unanimously. Bednar discussed the riverfront design charette to be held May 9 , 9 : 00 a.m. to 1 : 00 p.m. in the Wonderland Ballroom, lunch provided. Anticipates 100-120 participants . Encouraged NCPE members to attend because of their intimate knowledge of riverfront issues . Will have participants from Hitchcock Design, Dahlquist and Lutzow, and Burnidge Cassell architectural firms . Discussions to cover I-90 to Route 20 bypass, with focus on National Street to salvage yard. Goal is master plan for riverfront. Anderson moved, seconded by Roberson, to fund 1 (one) member of Downtown Association to attend International Downtown Association Spring Workshop on May 2-4, 1998 . Approved unanimously. Riverfront Committee Report--Planning a request to City for funding for master plan for riverfront to include bike paths, conversion of extension of railway line to bike paths, city paving of rail bed. Committee expects to provide amenities . Moran expressed concern about congestion and safety where rail bed crosses downtown streets . Stickling moved, seconded by Gordon, to accept a resolution he presented for partial conversion of rail bed to bike path with remainder to be converted to alleys . Bednar requested to table discussion until the May meeting. DiFulvio requested submission of resolution to Riverfront Committee and Bartels requested that other options be explored. After additional discussion, Gordon withdrew his second of the initial motion. Anderson moved, seconded by Gordon, to send the resolution to the Riverfront Committee. Approved unanimously. Parking Committee--Moran submitted a copy of a letter to City Manager Joyce Parker and accompanying motion to retain the $25 . 00 parking fine and add warning tickets to first time offenders . He also requested investigation of automated ticketing and tracking system which has already been approved by the City, but not implemented. His motion was seconded by Bednar and approved unanimously. eft Page 5 Board of Director Minutes April 15, 1998 Moran reported that the flowers program was continuing to operate and that the committee is contacting businesses to solicit participation. They are also seeking bids for additional sidewalks and streetlights . Moran also reported that Plote will get the requested four parking spaces on Highland Avenue. The City will inset the curb and restripe the road in front of Plote ' s business . No other committees made reports . The need for a partnership secretary was pointed out by DiFulvio. After some discussion, it was determined that solutions should be investigated and discussed at a later date. Gordon moved, seconded by Smith, to adjourn. Approved unanimously. NOTE: This ends minutes taken by Jamie Smith. Respectfully submitted, ( n2) Deborah K12 Nier dkn/dkm MINUTES.498/NCPBOAR.D