HomeMy WebLinkAbout5.f. Chamber of Commerce :� R CITY OF ROSEMOLTNT
EXECIITIVE SII�SARY FOR ACTION
CIT�! COUNCIL MEETING DATE: MAY 4, 1993
1�GENDA ITSD�: CHAMBER OF COMMERCE - ITEMS FOR AGENDA SECTION:
COOPERATIVE PRC�GRAMS OLD BUSINESS
PREi�ARED �Y: STEPHAN JiLK, CITY ADMINISTRATOR AG NO.
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ATTACFIIKENTS: MEMO AP O 8 :
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Th� Rosemount Area Chamber of Commerce has been workin� wi h its membership
to develap a consensus building on major issues that they, as a business
com�nunity, see are vital ta them, the?r success and development.
On April 6, 1�93 the Chamber held its first "Business �orum" to bring the
business community together to discuss th�se issues, list thern and develop
a program to continue their efforts.
�ut of that meeting came a consensus on three major areas to work on: 1)
government, 2) community, and 3) business issues.
In the area of government the following were listed as items to address;
bureaucracy, accountability, trust, priority of budget items, user
friendly, and communication.
In an attempt to build on the existing relationship between city government
and the Rosemount Business Community and to address some af the areas
listed, the Chamber has suggested a "one stop shop" for businesses as they
work with City Hall.
Attached find a memo as to my recommendations as to how to implemen.t such a
concept with the limited resources we have available.
RECOblMENDED ACTION: Motion to support the concept of a "One Stop Shop°
for businesses relating to city government in Rosemount as outlined
in the City Administrators memo of April 30, 1993 .
COUNCIL ACTION:
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` T0: Mayor McMenomy
City Council Members
Chairperson Ed Dunn
Port Authori�y Members /
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FROM: Stephan Jilk, City Admin,is,� r� o ,�
r
DATE: April 30, 1993 �
RE: °One Stop" Service Idea
In an effort to improve on the communication and cooperation
between the City af Rosemount and the Rosemou.nt Business
Community and to create even greater opportunities to build on
the relationship already in place, I believe there are several
ideas we can consider. These ideas, if put in place, will not
only help develop the idea of "one stop" service for businesses
but will help in. other ways to build on our communication with
our business community. �
It is extremely important that as we move forward with
implementation of these ideas that doing so, even if successful,
will not result in developing a utopia for our business '
community. The ideas presented here are meant to provide methods '
of improving our unde�rstanc3ing of issues of importance to the
business community; ways city government can assist businesses,
where appropriate, to stay in Rosemount, expand when desirous to
do so, and to maintain an open line of communication in the
process.
I would recommend the followin :
g
1. Position Development. Designate John Miller, our Economic
Development Coordinator, as the contact person for all
communication between the business community and the City in
ma.tters of governmental relations . John was hired and the
position established to deal with all economic development
issues and to act as staff support to the Port Authority.
In this capacity he is already working with the Chamber of
Commerce, the Star City Committee, the Government Action
Committee, the Dakota County Private Industry Council -
Economic Development Marketing Committee, the Downtown
Scoping Committee, and as staff support to the Port
Authority.
I believe what needs to be done is to develop the position
even more into a focal point for business and government
relations. How can this be done? To start with, the
position title could be revised to Economic Development/
Business Relations Coordinator. This will go a long way in
indicating the City' s understanding of the need for this
relationship.
John already attends many meetings of the Chamber but this
will be increased so that any events that pertain to the
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Chamber and government John will attend and be recognized as '
the point-person to communicate with on "business" issues. '
John can also carry information back to the Chamber on i,
projects and issues relating to the business community that '
the city is considering or working on so that he can bring
feedback to City Staff, City Council and the Port Authority.
2 . Project Coordination. It is important to local businesses,
especially the smaller ones who have only an occasional
issue to deal with the City on, to have someone "guide° them
through a building permit, sign permit, or zoning change.
As these projects come up John will be the initial contact
person and then "monitor° the progress of these projects
, through to insur.e the local business person is being dealt
with in a proper manner and the issue is being resolved -
maybe not always to the satisfaction of the applicant but so
that decisions are made and communication is maintained.
Th�s nmonitoring" is different from "hand �olding" in that
John' s responsibility won' t be to handle or take care of
every case that comes through City Hall . His job won't be
to take the responsibility or work of the applicant in, say
applying for a building permit and supplying the right
information. It wi11 be to nmonitor" the progress, help
educate the first time applicants as to a specific process
and then monitor, overall, how business needs are being met.
For instance, if sign permits are difficult to process, why?
What can be done to improve on the process?
If a lot of sign permits are being turned down, should the
ordinance be changed? The City would work with the business �
community.
Are there ways ordinances can be changed to alleviate
bureaucratic red tape? The City could help develop a
process to do this.
John should not be seen as an advocate for business but as
the communication link between the business commun.ity and
local government.
3 . City Staff. John will monitor, through information
gathering at staff level, the °business�� projects being
worked on, or considered, by the Planning and Building
Departments to develop a "data base" of information
regarding °business development" projects. This will help
John get a handle on what activity there is and help him
monitor what kinds of activity there is to develop a better
- sense of how ta help local business.
4. Business Retention Program. Along with the Star City
Program, this program should be retained and utilized to
continue a opportunity for businesses to relate their
concerns and issues to the City as to the problems they
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face how the Cit c n be of a intainin
, y a ssistance in ma g the
business presence in the community so that we will not only
keep the businesses we have but also help them e�and if
feasible. John has to have the assistance of the Star City
Committee to run this program as it requires field visits
with businesses on an annual basis and the accumulation,
dissemination and processing of lot information. It can
successfully be used to target problem areas and areas of
opportunity.
5 . Business/Government Information Forums. I would suggest
that we tak� the recommendation of the Chamber and cause the
development of several "For Business Forums" . These
informational forums, put on by City Staff through the
coordination of John Miller, would provide opgortunities for
- the business cammunity to learn more about how we do our
business in the areas of planning, zoning, building
inspection and public safety.
City Staff from these departanents could provide information
presentations to explain what our regulations are, what
processes to follow and how our budgeting restricts, in many
cases our opportixnity to develop even greater support for
services.
These forums could also be used to gather feedback from the
business community as to suggested changes in ordinances and
ideas as to how a "process" could be improved.
Understanding one another and the issues we deal with can be a
major step in our warking toward better relations.
Can all of this be done without additional staff? I wauld
suggest not likely. John is attempting to involve himself in all
of these areas now while developing projects for the Port
Authority.
Building and maintaining a strong link of communication with the
entire business community is not a one hour a week task. The
combination of those ideas I have proposed here and the ongoing
project coordination John has will be more than one person can
handle even if John calls on and gets the cooperation of
volunteers through the Chamber, Star City, etc.
I would recommend that we begin this effort in 1993, monitor the
additional time and efforts needed and consider additional
staffing in the 1994 budget if the programs are successful and
they require additional staff and support is there for budget
purposes.
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