Business Retention and Development Committee Agenda and Packet 2012 01 11

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BRaD Meeting Summary December 5, 2011 Page 2 of 4 PUBLIC COMMENTS NOT ON AGENDA David Sinkey, Boulder Creek Builders, offered to host a tour of Boulder Creek Homes at Steel Ranch on January 13 from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Discussiontook place about open meetings rules and that it would be difficult to arrange under these circumstances. BRaD member, Chris Pritchard, suggested making this visit a Retention Visit. The group agreed and it was decided Michael Menaker and John Benedettiwould handle the Retention Visit. RETENTION MEETINGS: Tim’s Toy Trains – Hank Dalton reported on this retention visit. Tim Burton bought Hank’s Trains and relocated it to space on South Boulder Road at Highway 42 on the southwest corner. Tim inherited a customer base from Hank’s Trains, but has plans to change over the stock. Tim has no complaints; good interactions with Bonnie Star. The store is on the internet, but not currently accepting orders. MP Associates – Chris Pritchard and Rob Lathrop visited this company. This company is located in the CTC with 15 employees and has been in business in Louisville for quite some time. Company organizes and manages the logistics involved in putting on tradeshows; provides the administration, manages mailings, facility arrangements and transportation. The company would like to have RTD service and more options for food service. Rob reported there is a need for a strong network in CTC. Chris would like to target owners of businesses in CTC. Commentby Troy Russ, Planning and Building Safety Director, said that the revitalization of Highway 42 is the City’s opportunity to show everyone where downtown is located. The design of Highway 42 will shape how CTC will view downtown. Comment by BRaD member,Michael Menaker, mentioned the success the owners of Bean and Berry have had even with their business located in a not so well-known location with horrible parking. The owners of this business have worked very hard to market their business and its location. Zeon – Michael Menaker reported on this retention visit. This company has been around for many years and they serve a niche market of manufacturing interior beer signs, which makes up 95% of their business, but they also do other signs as well. They employ 14 full-time employees and 1 part-time employee. 70% of their business is with China and the other 30% in the U.S. They are happy with their location and landlord, and the business and their customers use downtown th frequently. Only complaint is the speed trap on County Road coming down the hill from 96Street of which they warn their customers. Often their customers take this route to get to downtown and have been ticketed for speeding. Lightouver – John Benedetti and Scott Riechenberg visited this company. John and Scott met with the founders of the company. The company has 10-12 employees and they manufacture pleated shades for windows with a special configuration that directs light to the ceiling and saves energy. The blinds are manufactured in Louisville. Generally the company deals with architects and developers, and they requested more contacts in Louisville. They also asked who they could contact in CTC to sell their product. In March of 2012 they are moving to a larger space with a