VILLAGE OF EVENDALE
COMMUNITY IMPROVEMENT CORPORATION
Minutes for the April 22, 2014, 2014 Meeting
Evendale Municipal Building, 10500 Reading Road, Evendale, Ohio
Attendees: Members Jeff Albrinck, Dick Finan, Dave Harwood, Al Pearlman, Chris Schaefer, Chris Patterson (Planning Commission Liaison), Sean Balnes (Saint Francis Group), John Vollbracht (Saint Francis Group), Al Schutte (Resident), Stiney Vonderhaar (Resident), Jack Cameron (Administrative Assistant to the Mayor), and Pam Morin (Building Department Clerk).
Chris Schaeffer acted as Chairman in the absence of Chairman Hugh McKinnon.
Recurring Business:
1. Approval of the minutes from the March 23, 2014 meetings was made on the motion by Dick Finan and seconded by Chris Schaefer. Motion passed with a vote of 5 yes, 0 no.
New Business:
1. Economic Development Update - Jack Cameron led a short discussion on the recent initiative by the Greater Cincinnati area on being federally designated an advanced manufacturing hub. The Village has submitted a letter of support which is being done across Southwest Ohio, Northern Kentucky, and Southeast Indiana. The areas designated will have grant dollars available to target and enhance their advanced manufacturing cluster, specifically regarding aerospace in our region.
2. St. Francis Group Monthly Activity Report – Sean Balnes informed CIC that Gordon Geraci (Elite Photography) has listed his property for sale at 10268 Reading Road and that Mrs. Dover’s house at 3040 Inwood Drive has been razed.
Contact has been made with the City of Cincinnati to determine their interest in selling their 29.02 acre lot at 10139 Spartan Drive. Sean discussed the City’s possible reaction or position with former Police Chief Tom Streicher. He shared a few thoughts on what could be done to help the Cincinnati PD envision moving portions or the majority of their firing range activities. Certainly possible but still some challenges to have Cincinnati consider selling or having it be developed.
Village Landing, at I-75 and Glendale-Milford Road, has generated the greatest interest from developers. So far only industrial uses have been proposed by the developers for this parcel. John Vollbracht discussed the possibility of developing a branding strategy for just this specific 13 acre parcel. The strategy would include aero technology, advanced manufacturing technology and business incubator space for tech startups. Sean and John will be contacting GE Aviation, Kinetic Vision and other technological companies to determine their interest in supporting this type of development and what the Village can do to attract advanced technology businesses. John stated that the greatest drivers to attract developers are economic/financial incentives and funding mechanisms.
The CIC members agreed to continue to explore this type of development, realizing that additional land and time will be required to see this type of project to the end. Properties in proximity of Village Landings that could provide opportunities for expansion to improve the development of the parcel are the Firing Range, Spartan Drive, Feibelman’s and Landmark properties. Jack Cameron has spoken to Landmark, 1600 Glendale-Milford Road, and the real estate broker representing the Feibelmans, 1500 Glendale-Milford.
Chris Patterson expressed concern that the initial engagement with the Saint Francis Group is being shifted with this type of approach and pointed out that the time line for this development would be bumped out to 2 – 5 years. Chris asked Sean to generate a proposal showing the amount of money and time needed to complete this type of development.
Sean reassured CIC that St. Francis will continue the search for Class A Office for this site and the marketing for the Reading and Inwood Roads area. In the meantime they would explore with the Director of the UC Research Institute, General Nano, and others about the possibility of the tech incubator and related build out of areas adjacent to the Village Landing site in the future.
3. St. Francis Group Payment – Dick Finan made and Dave Harwood seconded the motion to approve the next payment to St. Francis Group. The motion passed with a vote of 5 yes and 0 no.
The next scheduled CIC meeting was set for May 20, 2014.
| 
