Economic Development Committee Meeting Minutes

DRAFT Economic Development Committee Meeting Minutes Regular Session January 27, 2015 6:15 PM – City Hall Council Room

Members in attendance: Ed Holicky Wayne Moore Phil Wright Leo Slenker Rusty Beck Jeff Becker Steven Garrett – staff Lia Jennings – Chamber of Commerce Dr. Lora Cohn – Park University University Students (list attached)

The meeting was called to order at 6:20 by Chairman Holicky. Wayne Moore made a motion to approve the December 23, 2014 minutes, seconded by Leo Slenker. The Vote: All Ayes, the motion passed. Chairman Holicky thanked Chef Justus for hosting and providing refreshments at the December meeting. Chairman Holicky presented the chairman’s report (copy attached). Lia Jennings presented the Chamber report (copy attached). Old Business Park University/City Project – The Committee, Dr. Cohn and students discussed the projects to be undertaken by each group. The undergraduate students were divided into three groups to work on focus groups and citizens surveys regarding needs of business owners, citizens and communications. The students from the Masters Program were working on message framing. Members of the committee answered questions from the students for clarification. The message framing exercise is to be complete by March, but the work performed by the undergraduate students will occur throughout the semester. The Strategic Plan will be reviewed at the February meeting Jeff Becker made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Wayne Moore. The Vote: All Ayes, the meeting was adjourned. Students Attending Name Representing Kristen Leth Citizens Emilee Vance Citizens Lauren Hamilton TBD Chloe Durand TBD Max Mohn Businesses Elizabeth Orosco Businesses Christina Runyon Businesses Alex Phillips Businesses Cooper Bayiha TBD Youness Naciri TBD Jeremy Everts TBD Cordell Hylton TBD Rachel Bruning Davijela Anaic Message Framing Grad Olga Pashohenko Message Framing Grad Najla Alkhalifa Message Framing Grad Lora Cohn Economic Development Chairman Report January 27, 2015

1. On January 12, 2015 in the afternoon went to Edgerton and Dearborn Missouri to hand out flyers on the Million Cups Smithville kickoff event.

2. On January 13, 2015 in the morning went to Gower Missouri to hand out flyers on the Million Cups Smithville kickoff event.

3. On January 14, 2015 attended the Million Cups kickoff event in Smithville. We had about 20 to 25 people. It was a good event and I met a few business owners. There was a glitch in the live stream, but it was not on our end. There was some good discussion and we had a guest speaker from KC Source Link.

4. On January 14, 2015 also attended the Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

5. On January 16, 2015 Steve Garrett, Jack Hendrix and I attended a meeting at the end of the day with Dr. Cohn to work out any issues and have a draft plan for the projects Park University students will work on that will be discussed at the January 27, 2015 Smithville EDC meeting.

6. On January 21, 2015 attended the Million Cups event in Smithville. We only had about five people, but we had some good discussions on what type of program we should have in the future. 7. On January 23, 2015 attended a meeting with Steve Garrett, Lia Jennings and Jeff Becker to discuss EDC and Chamber events and the future Million Cups events.

SMITHVILLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT MONTHLY UPDATE January 2015

BUSINESS FOLLOWUP:

JC Speedy Lube Contact: John & Jasen Currie Location: 106 E. Hwy 92 # of Employees: 6 Comment: John and Jasen Currie are brothers who bought Smithville Lube from Roger Smith this month. They have six other locations, 2 locations – Independence, MO, 1 locations – Edwardsville, KS, 1 location – Mission, KS, 1 location – Emporia, KS, 1 location – Aurora MO, with their headquarters in Edwardsville, KS. They have redone the inside of the shop, hired a new on-site manager and retained 2 of the previous employees prior to the sale.

Primitive Creations Contact: Ric and Alice Bomberger Location: 117 N. Bridge St. # of Employees: 2 Comment: Ric and Alice put their business up for sale at the beginning of January. They have had a strong response to putting their business up for sale and have talked with a few different interested parties. They actually have a potential buyer lined up with the goal of relocating back to Arizona by the end of the year.

H & R Block Contact: Jack Woods Location: 101 US Hwy 169 # of employees: 3 Comment: Sis Woods is the main contact for the business. Her office is located in Prairie Village, KS. Jack is the office manager of the Smithville office. They operate full time out of this office during tax season, but keep a lease on the office space year round, manning the office part time after tax season.

BUSINESS MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES/OTHER:

 1 Million Cups in Smithville We have had two 1 Million cups events so far. Our first 1MC, on January 14, had 23 attendees. Our second meeting on January 21, had 6 attendees. We have been brainstorming, trying to figure out how to capture the interest of our local entrepreneurs. We have decided to invite a local entrepreneur out to present at our 1 Million Cups Smithville in hopes this will get more people out. We will be featuring Thornell Corporation at our next 1MC on Wednesday, January 28.

 Mid Continent Public Library – Old Building - I received a call from William Glascow with Block Real Estate in regards to the old library building. He received a call from Steve Potter from Mid Continent Public Library, asking for a status update on the property Block Real Estate has listed for them. William has asked me to reach out into the community to see if there is a potential buyer for the building. It appraised at $650,000 last year, and they have it listed at $500,000. I told them I would pass the information on.

 Clay County Tourism - On Monday, January 26, the Clay County Commission unanimously passed the 2015 Budget County budget. Some highlights of benefit to us in the budget, are in the tourism area. Funding for a 3rd or 4th quarter hire for a full time Tourism staff, and funding for a tourism website for Clay County. This is going to be a great resource for helping connect the city of Smithville to the lake.

 KC Source Link - Smithville is a resource partner with KC Source Link. I am meeting with Jenny Nepper, a Network Navigator with KC Source Link on Friday at 11am to discuss initiatives we have such as 1 Million Cups, the small business climate in Smithville and to learn about the benefits of being a resource partner with KC Source Link. We are hoping to incorporate some of their educational benefits into our 1 Million Cups program along with connecting some of our small business owners with available resources out there to assist them.