70th Economic Development Advisory Committee Meeting
April 22, 2010
11:00 a.m.
City Hall
Members Present: Chairman Rick Buckner, Mark Phillips, Dean Infinger, Ron Henderson, Ron Anderson
Members Absent: David Warner, Joseph Bagwell
Staff Present: Jeff Molinari, Assistant City Administrator, Dennis C. Harmon, City Administrator, Jesica Johnson, Public Information Officer, Daniel Ben-Yisrael, Planning Director
Guest: Jessica Gillis, BCD COG
I. Call to Order – Chairman Rick Buckner
Mr. Buckner called the meeting to order at 11:00 a.m.
II. Approval of Minutes:
Mr. Phillips requested clarification on the minutes from the previous meeting. Mr. Molinari offered clarification of the statement in question. Mr. Phillips made a motion to approve the minutes from the January 11, 2010 meeting. Mr. Infinger seconded the motion. Hearing no other discussion, Mr. Buckner called for a vote. All in favor, none opposed. Motion carried.
III. Comprehensive Plan Update:
Mr. Molinari recognized Jessica Gillis, from the BCD COG and Daniel Ben-Yisrael, Planning Director. He stated the City is at the midpoint of the process to update the Comprehensive Plan where Chairman Buckner serves on the Steering Committee as the representative from the EDAC. Mr. Molinari also introduced Jesica Johnson as the new Public Information Officer for the City and gave the floor to Daniel Ben-Yisreal for an update on the Comprehensive Plan.
Mr. Ben-Yisreal stated he had provided members of EDAC with an overview of the nine (9) elements of the comprehensive plan. He stated they had also reviewed a slideshow inventory of available commercial and industrial properties within the City. He stated the committee requested guidance on how they could contribute to the comprehensive plan update. Mr. Ben- Yisreal stated he suggested an appointment to the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee and Chairman Buckner has been serving in that capacity; as well as, scheduling joint meetings between the Steering Committee and the EDAC in order to formulate specific goals and objectives related to land use and economic development. He stated each of the nine (9) elements of the Comprehensive Plan have three (3) components; the existing conditions, goals and objectives, and the strategy to achieve the goals and objectives. Mr. Ben-Yisreal stated the steering committee had completed discussing the existing conditions for all of the elements and had begun discussing the goals and objectives. He stated the Comprehensive Plan committee wanted to discuss the economic development strategy with members of EDAC to ensure all of the contributions of the committee were captured.
Mr. Ben-Yisrael introduced Jessica Gillis who has worked with other municipalities within Berkeley County to develop comprehensive plans. She stated the Council of Governments considered physical, social, and economic growth, as well as, development and redevelopment of the community when developing the plan. She stated that in order to define improvement opportunities and gather public input; a survey was distributed to the residents of Goose Creek. She stated the results of the public survey showed residents of Goose Creek wanted the City to grow while maintaining its small town character. Ms. Gillis stated the comprehensive plan outlined goals that fell within the business goals of EDAC as well as the City’s strategic plan. She requested input from the committee in order to ensure the comprehensive plan reflected similar goals and expectations as the EDAC. She stated the gathered information would be available for review after it was collected and a draft was compiled. Chairman Buckner inquired how the gathered information would impact the City’s strategic plan, Mr. Molinari stated per Mayor Heitzler’s request, staff compared the comprehensive plan and the strategic plan and found that both plans aligned consistently well together. Ms. Gillis stated with that information, the City staff was able to match the goals from the strategic plan with the element it fit into in the comprehensive plan. Chairman Buckner inquired about the expiration dates of the TIF funds and how they would integrate with the plans they were currently making. Mr. Harmon stated the terminal deadline for the tax district was December 31, 2012, and the City posed its own deadlines in order to complete the downtown redevelopment by that date.
IV. Downtown Redevelopment Update:
Central Avenue Rehabilitation: Mr. Molinari stated the Central Avenue redevelopment project proved to be more difficult than anticipated in terms of utility conflicts, communication and coordination with DOT. He stated the City had been able to run water lines to make way for the new drainage structures, but the cross line storm drain pipe at Central and Etiwan Avenues was deficient. He stated the City decided to replace the deficient pipe at that time, rather than risk failure a few years later and have to dig up the pipe to make the repairs. Mr. Molinari stated once the repairs were completed, the project would be able to move forward. He stated the work on Central Avenue had the potential to be a strong catalyst for redevelopment in that area. He stated the City has secured all of the easements from the owners along Central Avenue except for Bank of America, the only property owner to require additional insurance before they would allow the city rights to the easement. Mr. Molinari stated Thomason Boulevard; the next street to be renovated was anticipated to be less difficult because there were less utility conflicts and fewer property owners. Mr. Harmon stated he did not anticipate the same storm drain issues on the other two (2) cross streets because the field conditions were different. He stated the drainage system on Thomason Boulevard was very deep, and the Department of Transportation had requested the City to determine the condition of the drain. Chairman Buckner inquired the cost of the Central Avenue project, Mr. Molinari stated the contract was awarded for just under $1.4M and the adjustments have not made a significant change.
Highway 52 Improvements (CSX): Mr. Molinari stated the City was still negotiating with CSX for an encroachment permit to complete the landscaping and beautification project. He stated the project is approaching two (2) years of attempting to secure an encroachment permit from CSX. Mr. Molinari stated the original proposal for securing the permit was $244,000.00, but CSX had agreed to accept a $1,000.00 annual fee adjusted annually. He stated that now CSX was requiring a higher amount of liability insurance than the City normally provided. Mr. Harmon stated he had requested CSX to reduce the amount of liability insurance required. Mr. Molinari stated the only change to the original conceptual drawing was the removal of the pedestrian path
V. Google:
Mr. Molinari stated Google had been in the process of evaluating and eventually beta testing communities to run Ultra-high speed internet, which was one-hundred (100) times faster than standard Internet connections. He stated the company solicited applications from communities across the country, including the City of Goose Creek. Mr. Molinari stated that although the City was not selected for the testing, they were in discussions with Google to provide Wi-Fi within the City. He stated Google had originally spoken to the Town of Moncks Corner, who did not want to participate in the project because they did not want unfettered access to the Internet. Mr. Molinari stated Google contacted the City of Goose Creek about the possibility of installing a Wi-Fi network within the City which targeted places such as the downtown area, parks and other areas people congregate. He stated Google was willing to contribute up to $150,000.00 to put infrastructure in place. Mr. Molinari stated they are still working out logistics and the plan is very preliminary. Mr. Infinger stated he thought the benefits of this project would be huge for young professionals in Goose Creek. Mr. Harmon state the City would benefit from the project as well because it would strengthen the signal the police officers use to download data while they are on duty. Chairman Buckner stated the City of Charleston had problems when they had tried to install Wi-Fi and he stated it would be good to speak to them to prevent the same mistakes from being made.
VI. Restaurants:
Mr. Molinari stated upon the suggestion from Mr. Phillips, he and Mr. Ben-Yisrael had lunch at the Firewater Grill in Summerville. He stated the owner of the restaurant lives in Goose Creek and he was able to speak to him regarding expanding his business. Mr. Molinari stated the proprietor stated he was looking to expand, but was interested in a turnkey establishment. He stated that would limit the owners’ options to either buying land or retro fitting an existing restaurant in one of the shopping centers. Chairman Buckner inquired if there would be significant charges for this particular restaurant to relocate to Goose Creek; Mr. Molinari stated if the infrastructure was already built, the impact fees would be minimal. Chairman Buckner stated the opportunity for economic development was to make accessing fees and expenses from other entities such as the water and sewer authority simpler in order for the business owner to create an accurate business plan easily. He stated there should be information on the website for all of the information a business owner would need, not just information for the City. Mr. Molinari stated the St. James restaurant was officially open for business and doing well.
Mr. Infinger inquired if there had been interest in the industrial parks with the information that Boeing was moving into the Charleston area. Mr. Molinari stated he had conversations with a realtor about marketing the vacant parcels. Mr. Harmon stated there was a misunderstanding with the Alliance marketing the properties because they were not represented by a realtor. He stated the properties are now represented, and the Alliance has begun marketing the properties.
VII. Chairman’s Time:
Chairman Buckner asked the members to remember to fill out their surveys for the comprehensive plan, remembering the perception of the facts is just as important as the facts themselves.
VIII. Comments from Staff:
Mr. Molinari distributed the Certificates of Appreciation that were given out at the employee appreciation banquet. Chairman Buckner thanked the volunteers for their service, and the contributions they make to the City.
IX. Adjournment:
Hearing nothing further, Mr. Infinger asked for a motion to adjourn. Mr. Anderson seconded the motion. All in favor, none opposed. Meeting adjourned 12:20 p.m.
Minutes approved and adopted:___________________________
Date: June 3, 2010 Rick Buckner, Chairman
