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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1991/07/24 - Minutes - Joint (Chamber of Commerce) July 24, 1991 CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA CITY COUNCIL MINUTES Joint Meetinq of the Citv Council and the Chamber of Commerce A. CALL TO ORDER An adjourned joint meeting of the City Council of the City of Rancho Cucamonga and the Rancho Cucamonga Chamber of Commerce was held on Wednesday, July 24, 1991, in the Rains Conference Room of the Civic Center, located at 10500 Civic Center Drive, Rancho Cucamonga, California. The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Mayor Dennis L. Stout. Present were Councilmembers: William J. Alexander, Charles J. Buquet II, Pamela J. Wright, and Mayor Dennis L. Stout. Absent was Councilmember: Diane Willjams. Present from the Chamber of Commerce were: Danielle Watson, Executive Director; Jackie Amsler, President; Bob Dutton; Rance Clouse; William Stevenson; Gary Christian; Duane Huennekens; and Vince Elefante. Also present were: Jack Lam, City Manager; Linda D. Daniels, Deputy City Manager; Rick Gomez, Community Development Director; Susan Mickey, Management Analyst I; and Jan Sutton, Deputy City Clerk. B. ITEMS OF DISCUSSION B1. DISCUSSION OF JOINT CITY/CHAMBER ACTIVITIES FOR VISITING DELEGATION FROM CHINA (1180-02 CHAMBER) Danielle Watson, Chamber, stated they were contacted by a gentleman who was in contact with some businessmen from China, and was interested in bringing them to the Rancho Cucamonga area because he sees some potential for some mutual business transactions. She stated they were interested in finding out the City's feelings on how far they wanted to get involved with it, because they were not sure at this time if he was using this opportunity to just promote his business. She stated the gentleman also raised the question of a sister city, which they also wanted to discuss with the City, and it did not necessarily have to be a city in China. City Council/Chamber of Commerce Joint Meeting Minutes July 24, 1991 Page 2 Councilmembers Buquet and Wright stated they would be interested in having a sister city in Australia. Jack Lam, City Manager, stated in 1981 the Council discussed having a sister city in either Australia or New Zealand, but it was never followed through with at the time. He presented information on the Sister City International organization, which is a non-profit organization, and how a sister city was usually set up. Bob Dutton, Chamber, stated they could ask the Rancho Cucamonga Community Foundation if they would be interested in participating as a basis for a cultural exchange program. Councilmember Wright stated she would like to have a joint project with the Chamber, which would help the overall connection between the City and the Chamber.' Bob Dutton, Chamber, stated usually the City provides credibility by their involvement with the program, and the Chamber would provide the financial support. Councilmember Buquet stated he would be in favor of having a sister city. asked what type of business were the Chinese delegates in. He Danielle Watson, Chamber, stated they were only given a brief synopsis of the city the Chinese were from, that there was approximately a population of 125,000, and it was mostly industrial. She stated they were supposed to be receiving further information, but at this time they were not sure if there were any hidden agendas involved. Councilmember Alexander stated he was also interested in the sister city idea, but would like to approach it more from the standpoint of helping a community that was not as well off as Rancho Cucamonga, such as one in Mexico, and have the whole community involved in helping out their sister city. He felt this would increase that country's awareness of Rancho Cucamonga by their humanitarian efforts. JackieAmsler, Chamber, felt this idea has been around for a long time, and that various groups are interested in this, and felt the Chamber needed to decide what would be the purpose and parameters under which they would want to operate a sister city program. Or if the City wanted to be involved, what would be their criteria. Councilmember Buquet stated he saw a sister city program as being more of a cultural exchange, as well as an economic exchange, that he envisioned it being with a city that was almost comparable to Rancho Cucamonga. Gary Christian, Chamber, stated they would need to look for ways to make it a two way exchange. City Council/Chamber of Commerce Joint Meeting Minutes July 24, 1991 Page 3 Councilmember Alexander felt that his approach did involve a two way exchange, in the good will and name recognition they would be receiving for their efforts, as opposed to the financial exchanges. Gary Christian, Chamber, felt they needed to be careful about considering having a sister city in China due to the current situation. Mayor Stout stated if the City was interested in economic benefit, they might want to consider a city in Japan, Korea or Taiwan. He stated he understood the charitable side as expressed by Councilmember Alexander, but felt that would be more of a community effort instead of a focus by the City. He stated the immediate problem was what to do in September when the Chinese delegation arrived. Danielle Watson, Chamber, stated they were looking for some direction from the City on how far they would like the Chamber to be involved in this, or if they not want to be involved at all. Mayor Stout stated from the way it was described, he felt they needed more information before taking a position. Jackie Amsler, Chamber, stated they would keep the Council apprised of any further information they received on the Chinese delegation. Mayor Stout stated they could give that information to Jack Lam, City Manager, and he could distribute it to the Council. B2. DISCUSSION OF JOINT CITY/CHAMBER PUBLICATION ON DEMOGRAPHICS AND STATISTICS (1180-02 CHAMBER) Danielle Watson, Chamber, stated she and Rance Clouse had met with Jack Lam, and apparently several City departments were thinking of doing an informational booklet on Rancho Cucamonga, and since they were also thinking of producing a statistical booklet on the City, it seemed the next step would be to have one publication that was produced jointly to be used by both groups. They spoke about a variety of ways to fund printing the booklet, such as having low key ads in it. Mayor Stout felt the problem with doing a printed booklet was that the information changes so fast it was outdated before it could be printed and distributed. He would like to see a computer with desktop publishing capabilities utilized with the demographic information so that the booklet could be updated monthly and would always be current. Rance Clouse, Chamber, stated they have been trying to get an economic database off the ground in the Chamber, along with the general type of information the City has available, and combine that with specific information that the business community needs to know in making a decision on whether to locate to Rancho Cucamonga or not. This would include average wage scales, building permits (2) City Council/Chamber of Commerce Joint Meeting Minutes July 24, 1991 Page 4 issued, business licenses by categories, the labor pool statistics, and educational statistics that are not the typical community profile type of information. He felt they would want to update that on a regular basis so the use of a computer would probably be the most appropriate way to do that. He stated they might know where to identify the data they need, and could work with the City on bringing it together in a comprehensive manner. He stated the IECC has something similar, and they have talked about coordinating with that. Mayor Stout felt they could do several things to put out a quality package, but felt the thing that would impress business people the most would be having current information. William Stevenson, Chamber, stated that the majority of information they need was produced by the sources monthly, or at the most quarterly. JackieAmsler, Chamber, stated Chaffey College has also been discussing the need for an economic database for the area in conjunction with their Center for Economic Development. She felt there were several groups that were interested in putting out information like this, and the Chamber should be coordinating it so that it could be used by everyone. William Stevenson, Chamber, felt some other city has probably already developed the type of publication they were talking about, and that they should try to get samples so that they did not have to start from scratch. Mayor Stout stated what they could do was have certain canned parts of the presentation, such as an introduction, a good cover, etc., and then the demographic information would be interspersed inbetween. With a desktop publishing system you could print out the updated demographic information at any time, and then collate the booklets as needed. JackieAmsler, Chamber, stated they wanted to let the Council know that they have a committee formed that was looking into this, and were finding out who else was trying to create a similar document, as well as work on funding mechanisms for it. Councilmember Wright asked if when they go to Chamber of Commerce conventions, was there information available from other cities that could be shared. Danielle Watson, Chamber, stated they could always contact the U.S. Chamber and tell them what they needed, then they will contact cities that have that information and have it sent out. Mayor Stout stated he would like to see the City take a more aggressive approach with this in conjunction with the Chamber. Jack Lam, City Manager, stated the Chamber committee could meet with Rick Gomez, Community Development Director, and his staff and decide who should work with what resources and decide how to put the information together. City Council/Chamber of Commerce Joint Meeting Minutes July 24, 1991 Page 5 B3. DISCUSSION OF ITEMS OF MUTUAL CONCERN (1180-02 CHAMBER) Jackie Amsler, Chamber, stated they were interested in speaking about the Crime Stoppers program. Mayor Stout stated this was touched upon at their retreat, and felt it would be a way for the Chamber of Commerce to gain some credibility in the community in the area of law enforcement/public safety. He stated local communities have this program so it would be easy to copy. He stated it did not require a lot of work, that it involved having the local radio station read public service announcements prepared by the police department on crimes they were investigating, and having the newspaper print up small ads with the same information. Bob Dutton, Chamber, felt the Chamber would be interested in participating, and that they could assist in initiating the program, because they have found in other communities that once this program was begun it became an entity of itself. Mayor Stout stated the Chamber could take a poll of their membership to see who would be interested in servicing on the board and working on fund raising. Bob Dutton, Chamber, felt it was important to the success of a program like this to have the support of the elected officials. Councilmember Buquet stated he would like to know more about the program, and how it differed from the programs they have in place already, like We-Tip. Mayor Stout stated We-Tip was set up for citizen generated information, whereas Crime Stoppers was a request for information by the police department on a specific crime. Danielle Watson, Chamber, stated they could get an informational package from the City of Ontario on the program. Councilmember Wright stated she would like suggestions on how to improve economic development in the City, and how they could do that from an RDA point of view. Bob Dutton, Chamber, stated one of the problems now is since the federal government was keeping a tight rein on the banks, it was going to remain difficult for people to get financing, plus companies were looking for incentives to relocate their businesses, which usually involved financial incentives for development and moving. Mayor Stout felt it was important to have members from the financial institutions involved so that they could understand the community and how it would affect them, and that there would be positive results for the risk that they take. William Stevenson, Chamber, stated most banks are comfortable with investing when they can be put in a primary position, so the RDA could be a very useful tool in receiving financing for projects. (3) City Council/Chamber of Commerce Joint Meeting Minutes July 24, 1991 Page 6 Bob Dutton, Chamber, felt another problem was that most banks in the local area were not large enough to finance large loan amounts for any major project that might be developed in the community. Rance Clouse, Chamber, stated that economic development was business driven, that the government or personal desire could not force it to happen, it has to come from the business side. So it comes down to how to entice businesses to the community, and right now that usually involves economic advantages. Bob Dutton, Chamber, presented information on how the City of Albuquerque, New Mexico, approached Lockheed about relocating to their community, and suggested maybe the City and Chamber could work together on a joint project like that. Mayor Stout stated they have taken a similar approach with the bonding agencies in New York, and felt they could do the same thing for a major user if necessary. Bob Dutton, Chamber, stated they were dependent on the brokerage community and felt the City and Chamber have done a good job in heading off rumors that might cause problems. Councilmember Buquet felt there was a real problem with the type of coverage the City was getting from the local newspaper, that they do not provide positive coverage. He stated the paper does not have a large enough circulation, and with the recent reorganization, local coverage suffers. He felt the Chamber could have a large impact on the newspaper, so possibly they could work together to get more objective coverage. Mayor Stout stated that since the newspaper has compressed its format down, it was hard for the reporters to get their stories in the way they were written, that the editors revise them to fit a certain space allocation, so oftentimes that causes the distortion. Councilmember Wright felt the goal was to lure large corporations to Rancho Cucamonga, so if they all stayed aware of opportunities, and if the Chamber could let the City know when there was such an opportunity, they could work together on that. Bob Dutton, Chamber, stated it might be worthwhile for the City to host a function for the brokers from Los Angeles and Orange County, since they would be the contacts for the large corporations. Rance Clouse, Chamber, agreed that the major deals would be handled by brokers from outside the local area. Councilmember Alexander stated that Rancho Cucamonga was in the process of changing its image of being a hard City to deal with which would help with future development. Councilman Buque~ left the meeting at 8:40 p.m. City Council/Chamber of Commerce Joint Meeting Minutes July 24, 1991 Page 7 Linda Daniels, Deputy City Manager, stated the Redevelopment Agency does an annual presentation for the Chamber to go over what has occurred in the past year and what they are looking at for the future, and to go over what the Agency can do and how the Chamber can assist them. She then discussed the criteria the Council approved for incentives for incoming businesses. Jack Lam, City Manager, presented examples of projects they have offered incentives to, such as the regional mall, the Price Club, and the Sears credit center. He stated they do not offer incentives to companies that would be coming to the area anyway, and since each project is looked at on a case by case basis, you could not really compare their program with that of another city. Bob Dutton, Chamber, felt there was a problem with doing business in California overall, and thought the Chamber needed to frequent the legislature in Sacramento to let them know how things were affecting the Inland Valley. He felt the local area would help to lead California out of the recession, but they need to decide what they want to happen, and then go out and get it. Mayor Stout felt one of the problems American business had in competing with foreign business was that they do not plan far enough in advance. He felt Rancho Cucamonga was in an evolution process, and was in a better position when the region matured to a more economically sophisticated area because they still have large parcels of land available for development, and they needed to let people know what the community needs. Jack Lam, City Manager, stated the two things the City has looked at consistently in the past is sales tax revenue and large employers that match the City's labor pool. Rance Clouse, Chamber, explained the three cycles of a city's growth, the first being affordable housing and creating the labor base, that were typically distribution types of facilities and construction industry, which creates your basic shopping needs and local centers. The second cycle was executive housing, higher end housing, a more educated labor pool, which should lead to the next level of manufacturing base, the advanced technology industry, electronics and medical industries, which then leads to a higher level of shopping interest. Then you advance to the cultural side of the community. He stated the City needs to decided publicly what it is they are after and give some specifics to the brokerage community to work with. Councilmember Wright stated they are going to be getting a report back soon on the City's economic development, and felt that would be the perfect opportunity to target their philosophy and state what their intentions are. Jack Lam, City Manager, stated a general rule of thumb is that no matter how much money was available for incentives, they had to look at how could they best invest that money to receive the greatest return. City Council/Chamber of Commerce Joint Meeting Minutes July 24, 1991 Page 8 Councilmember Wright stated the Chamber used to have an education committee, and asked if they would consider reinstating that committee. At the National League of Cities convention the main topic was schools, and how cities and businesses fit in with schools, and if they look at what makes a quality community, schools play a key part in that. She stated the school community was saying the Chamber was not involved in that any more, and they feel that void. She stated they should keep in mind there are three new superintendents in the City. Bob Dutton, Chamber, stated that when Floyd Stork was put in charge of the education committee, it transitioned into a school facilities focus, and there was no one at that time who really knew what to do with it. Jackie Amsler, Chamber, stated they have discussed it and she felt that every committee in the Chamber had a responsibility for monitoring education, instead of just having one committee on education. She stated they have not had any specific requests from the schools for assistance. Danielle Watson, Chamber, stated the requests they have received from the schools lately have been only for funding. Gary Christian, Chamber, stated that the schools have asked the Chamber for support in legislative matters on several occasions, but have not been willing to give that support back to the Chamber. Councilmember Wright stated the President's mandate on businesses was filtering down, and schools were starting to turn around and reach out to the business community. She stated she has received a packet of information on business partnerships which tells what schools are supposed to be doing for the businesses, where the business gets to promote itself by it association with the school. She felt the Chamber needed to invite the superintendents to participate with the Chamber, and to start up a program again and get both parties working on it. Jackie Amsler, Chamber, felt a separate education committee gets too narrow in its scope and the other committees do not get involved, so this way each committee stays aware and helps to monitor the education process in the community. She agreed that they needed to send an invitation to the superintendents along with an outline of the separate committees they could work with. Councilmember Wright felt the superintendents were interested but felt the Chamber was not, so if they heard the Chamber was interested that could be the door they were looking for. She felt if the superintendents were interested in doing something, then they should pursue that. Vince Elefante, Chamber, stated the interest for the business community would be that the students now will be the labor force of the future. Duane Huennekens, Chamber, stated there was also the Junior Achievement program but did not know if that program was offered in this community. City Council/Chamber of Commerce Joint Meeting Minutes July 24, 1991 Page 9 Gary Christian, Chamber, stated there was a regional government subcommittee meeting tomorrow morning, and they would like the City's opinion about the direction of a regional government. He stated there were four bills going through the legislature, and Willie Brown's bill, AB 1, just went through the Assembly and was on its way to the Senate. He stated the Governor has asked the authors of all the bills to hold off until the inter-agency council conducts hearings through the end of the year and presents something to the Governor January 1, 1992, but Willie Brown was pushing his through anyway. He stated it was likely the Governor would veto that bill if it passed the Senate, but it was a hot topic they were trying to stay on top of. Bob Dutton, Chamber, stated the Executive Committee approved a position paper opposing AB 3 and supporting Marian Bergeson's bill which calls for voluntary cooperation between local governments. Gary Christian, Chamber, stated he just wanted to make sure the City stayed involved with it because they felt local government was the most effective method and wanted to make sure that legislation did not get passed that tied the hands of the local elected officials. C. COMMIFNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC No communications were made by the public. D. ADJOURNMENT MOTION: Moved by Alexander, seconded by Wright to adjourn to July 25, 1991 at 7:00 p.m. for a joint meeting with the Public Safety Commission, in the Tri- Communities Conference Room of the Civic Center, to discuss the Law Enforcement Study. Motion carried unanimously, 3-0-2 (Buquet, Williams absent). The meeting adjourned at 9:20 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jan Sutton Deputy City Clerk Approved: August 7, 1991