OP Business Association Council - August Meeting Notes

OPRF Chamber of Commerce | Sep 22, 2014 12:00 AM

Oak Park Business Association Council
Wednesday, August 27
8AM Village Hall

Attendees:
Village Staff: Tammie Grossman, Loretta Daly
Elected Officials: Anan Abu-Taleb
BAC Chairman: Paul Zimmermann
Representing:
OPEDC - Viktor Schrader
Chamber of Commerce - Cathy Yen
Hemingway - Dan Haley, Paul Zimmermann
North Avenue - Dan Finnegan
Arts District - Mark Finger
Madison Street - Linda Sahagian, Kim Rasmussen
Chicago-East of Ridgeland – Colleen Maia
Southtown – Lydia Villanueva-Soto

Guest: Pete Howstrawser, OPRFHS School of Business

CAVEAT: THESE ARE UNOFFICIAL MEETING NOTES TRANSCRIBED TO ASSIST BAC ATTENDEES WITH COMMUNICATION TO STAKEHOLDERS. PLEASE DIRECT ANY QUESTIONS TO YOUR BAC REPRESENTATIVE.

Guest Speaker: Pete Howstrawser, OPRFHS School of Business

Oak Park River Forest High School’s top-rated Department of Business takes a “collegiate” approach to educating students in business disciplines.
In addition to coursework in accounting, marketing and management, the program introduces students to real-world experience through problem-solving project partnerships with businesses and internships. After much success with large corporate entities, the program is deliberately re-orientating its projects and internships towards local businesses.
Any local business interested in hosting an intern, presenting a problem for use as a case-study project or exploring the business department should visit www.oprfschoolofbusiness.com
The Department is also raising money for scholarships to fund students’ trip to Eurpoe for participation in the Summer 2015 “Global Leadership Summit” that will focus on Equity in Education. Contact Mr. Howstrawser for information about contributing to the trip or becoming a corporate sponsor. phowstrawser@oprfhs.org

Taxing Bodies' Procurement Policies and Local Business

Current RFPs are posted online at http://www.oak-park.us/your-government/budget-purchasing/requests-proposals
Village staff is working on setting up an initial meeting of the subcommittee that will review how to make it easier for local businesses to participate in local opportunities
The subcommittee includes: Cara Pavlicek, Cathy Yen, Kim Rasmussen, Dan Finnegan, Tammie Grossman – and anyone else interested in participating.

Retail Sales on “Public Way”

Sidewalk sales require a special event permit. They are organized by/within a business district.
The Village will be reviewing zoning laws in 2015, including zoning for outdoor restaurant seating.
Currently, use of sidewalk for retail sales / display and signage not associated with a special event or district sidewalk sale or for restaurant food service is governed by Article 10 of the Oak Park Village Code “Commercial Use of Sidewalk Space.” Bottomline – use of public way currently requires a permit.
The group discussed the pros and cons of amending the ordinance. Key considerations include: accessibility, resident concerns, business district vibrancy, appropriate level of oversight.
Until further review of the zoning code, the group recommended not to request changes in the ordinance at this time. The individual business districts would like to monitor issues and develop guidelines within their own districts and to help the Village respond to complaints as they arise by working one on one with their respective merchants.

Business Highlights as Part of VOP Board of Trustee’s Regular Agenda

Village Trustees are encouraging businesses to introduce themselves via a few minutes on the regular Village Board Meeting agendas. The Board requests that business district heads facilitate inviting and selecting businesses in their respective districts.
One business will be invited per meeting to share a short presentation (about 3-4 minutes). The presentation could include: business description, how long the business has been in Oak Park, number of employees, recent investments in the business and why the business chooses to operate in Oak Park
Businesses are welcome to provide slides but not required to do so. If slides are part of the presentation, the business will need to get them to the Village two weeks beforehand.
Loretta suggested a tentative timetable for the districts:
- September 15 - TBD
- October 6 – Roosevelt Rd
- October 20 – Madison St.
- November 3 - Southtown
- November 17 – Arts District
- January 5 – Pleasant District
- January 19 – Hemingway District
- February 2 – Downtown Oak Park
- February 16 – Chicago/Harlem
- March 2 – Chicago/Austin
- March 16 – Lake/Austin
- April 6 – Harlem Garfield
- April 20 – North Ave

District & Association Updates from Attendees

Arts District: Albany Bank currently owns the former La Majada building; the zoning board will be hearing from developers interested in turning the former “Juice Factory” building into a “live/work environment,” described as building with both office and residential but no retail; no update on the Kleronomos properties

Chicago-East of Ridgeland: Colleen Maia reported on developments on her block, specifically that Bee Home Gardens will be moving into the adjacent larger property this fall. Its current space is on the market.

Hemingway: New businesses include Amour De La Terre and Lively Running, with Hamburger Mary’s progressing towards a “winter” opening. The former MacSpecialist space in Scoville Square will be subdivided to accommodate retail storefront as well as office space. A subcommittee of the Hemingway business district leadership team is meeting to suggest parameters for 2017 streetscaping. The group is calling for “modest but handsome” improvements.

Madison Street: Sugar Beet is working towards meeting its member goals, a key criterion to receiving its funding. Walgreen’s is completing its renovations at the corner of Madison and Oak Park Ave.

North Avenue: district leadership’s goals for fourth quarter include a clean-up event and planning for the Annual Meeting. The street is looking forward to a new Pizza Hut in the strip mall on the OP corner of Harlem and North as well as a new pharmacy a few blocks east.

Roosevelt Road: Planning continues for “Light the Veltway” and the Zombie Walk (October 25). There will be a special session of the Village Board on September 8 to review consultants’ findings on possible funding strategies for economic development on Roosevelt Road

Southtown: Public Way improvements to sidewalk, benches, intersections and landscaping are coming soon, including installation of a bike shelter/station in the Village-owned parking lot on Oak Park Avenue south of the expressway.

Chamber of Commerce: currently working with The State of Illinois Comptroller’s Office and Senator Harmon to publicize procurement opportunities for small business. Illinois spends $10BN annually with its local small business vendors. Marketing Mania 2014, a one-day conference on marketing topics for small businesses is set to take place on Wednesday September 10 at the Nineteenth Century Club.

Village Board: Trustees are considering how much debt to take on in order to complete alley and street improvements. Pete’s Fresh Market looks to be behind schedule though Lake and Forest is on schedule. Technology and Madison Street are two primary areas of focus.

Next BAC Meeting: Wednesday, September 24 @ 8am Village Hall