Economic Development---August 2007

1. Call to Order. Tony Wyse called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Present: Chair Tony Wyse, Fred Juergens, Gene Bass, Julie Meredith, David Olsen, Roger Berg , and Matthias James. Rock County Rep. James Otterstein, Mayor Sandy Decker, Dan Wietecha City Administator and Bridgit Larsen Chamber of Commerce were also present. Also present were visitors.
2. Approval of Agenda. Fred Juergens made the motion to approve the agenda and Gene Bass seconded. All in favor.
3. Motion to waive reading and to approve the minutes of the Aug. 21st. 2007 regular meeting and approved as printed. Fred Juergens made the motion and David Olsen seconded. All in favor.
4. Citizens appearances other than on the agenda – None.
5. Chamber of Commerce report. Met with the East Side Businesses to discuss their needs. One of their issues was the lack of signage or visibility of the signage. The Chamber is organizing the focus groups for the strategy/summit. They had members and non-members meet at the Night Owl for a social hour.
6. City Administrator Report. Update and discussion on motel. Talked about where the possible site for the motel would be best suited for Evansville; several members of the public participated in the discussion with the committee. Talked about the tax increment financing this development has requested. Fred Juergens made a motion to support this project on the east side of Evansville and David Olsen seconded. Six voted yes in favor and Tony Wyse voted opposed.
7. City Website Update and Discussion. Some of the links were down for a little while when city switched from Charter to Litewire. The camera will be aimed at the west side of the construction on Main Street.
8. Report from the Downtown Reconstruction Task Force. The sidewalks on the west side to be started on Monday, along with the 8 inch concrete to be put on the street before the bricks are to be laid down. This concrete will take 2 to 3 weeks to cure.
9. Update and Discussion on Economic Development Strategy/Summit. Mayor Sandy Decker, Bridgit Larsen and Judy Whalen to meet next week with the small focus groups. They had a great response to this project. Fred Juergens made a motion to finance up to $300 for the lunches for the focus groups, $1000 for the main summit, and $400 for the key note speaker. Roger Berg seconded, and all voted in favor.
10. Final review and approval of the revised policy for the Economic Development revolving loan fund. Edit the draft and will discuss and approve next month.
11. Adjournment. Fred Juergens made a motion to adjourn and Roger Berg seconded. All in Favor.