06/16/2009 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of 6/1612009 an emergency. Mr. Myers gave an overview and presentation on what has been taking place in the area of economic development over the past couple of years. First, he discussed the current contract arrangement, which in the past was a flat fee basis for the services to be provided on a yearly basis. At the request of the administration, the suggestion was made that we proceed with an hourly basis for purposes of cost consciousness, and Silverlode agreed. This benefits the city because we can keep better track of the exact service that is being provided. Silverlode has additional staff that bills at different rates, and we can take advantage of the services of their staff who bill at a lesser rate. Mr. Myers discussed some of the things that have taken place in the past few years while he has been working with the city in economic development. One main focus of his efforts has been business attraction-going out and seeking new, expanding, or up- and-coming businesses that would seek to come to North Olmsted to bring in additional jobs. This would provide an enhancement to our tax base, but also would provide some additional opportunities for our local retailers and restaurants. He said it was an easy thing to do. North Olmsted in terms of its location- proximity to the airport, proximity to the turnpike, a very short drive time for the labor pool, proximity to I-71, 480, and 90-is a very attractive market for any business that would like to locate here. Mr. Myers presented a very comprehensive discussion of the competitive costs of operation, which are fairly good. One of the things he mentioned is that he achieved that message and laid the groundwork for that type of economic development through utilization of the real estate market and contacts that he had in real estate. He was able to put the word out and develop these relationships over long term, whereby over a period years we would begin to realize some return on those relationships and the advertisement of North Olmsted as a good business-friendly community. He also spoke about the commencement of the marketing of Crocker/Steams. He commented we have a lack of available space for business to locate in North Olmsted. He mentioned 40,000 square foot of space at North Olmsted Towne Center. But we do not have large spaces for office use available. This is a blessing and a burden at the same time because we are trying to attract new business to North Olmsted. Practically speaking, there are one or two spaces that are open. That brought him to Crocker/Steams and how Silverlode is trying to market Crocker/Steams as an opportunity to develop for an office use. He also talker about the possibility of redevelopment of other areas. For instance, Lorain and I-480 which would require some rezoning, but which has some very large tracks of land available for development. He also talked about the prospect of redeveloping some old sites. We have some retail sites which are no longer viable and which might become available for a change of use. He did say, because of the downturn in the economy and current economic climate, they were shifting toward retention and reaching out and creating relationships with the business community to try to determine if they are going to retain their leases or if they would be doing some expansion. Silverlode will work with them to identify their needs to make sure they are being satisfied by the city in the event that they have some relocation issues or if they wish to grow in the current location. The committee brought up the issue of retail as residents often want to know what we are doing about retail vacancies in North Olmsted. He said, unlike relocating businesses and office space, retail is based upon consumer spending. It's based upon demand, both the residents who live here and the employees who come here and swell the city in population each day and how they utilize that. It is market driven. When something is 5