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 Several minutes early in the evening were dedicated to hearing
from the Logan County Alliance Vice-president Greg Basford. Much
later, after the council meeting was adjourned, Basford along with
Sal Pollice of the Alliance Board held a press conference in the
office of Mayor Marty Neitzel. The topic at the council meeting and
press conference afterward revolved around an Alliance decision
terminate its contract with the city of Lincoln for Economic
Development services.
In Council Chambers, Basford announced that the Alliance had
delivered a letter of termination for economic development to
Neitzel. He opened by saying he was on hand to expand on the
explanation as to why the Alliance had made this decision.
He noted that it had been an interesting first year for the new
organization and that the resignations of the Lincoln/Logan County
Chamber of Commerce Director, Nicole Cox, as well as the resignation
of Alliance CEO Andi Hake, had come at the end of the year. Both
resignations had been unexpected by the Alliance Council, but had
opened a door for them to evaluate further some of the work the
Alliance should be doing in the coming year.
 He said that the economic development component of the Alliance had
primarily been the responsibility of Hake to implement and keep
going throughout the year. With Hake gone, the Alliance Council
needed to focus on its ability to give the city of Lincoln the
service they paid for and expected from the group. He said that the
board did not feel they were able to do this adequately at this
point.
Basford said that the council needed to step back and take a look at
themselves. He said, “We felt it was time to understand what we were
and to step back and see where we were.”
Basford also said that the council had met and had agreed that in
this new calendar year, there needed to be a greater focus on
membership. He said that membership (to the Chamber of Commerce) had
not gone as hoped for in 2015, and there needed to be a bigger
effort there. He also noted that in 2015, the legislative component
of the Chamber had taken a back seat to other issues, and in 2016
that needed to be a new focal point for the Alliance.
In evaluating the task of economic development, the Alliance felt
that correctly doing the job would require a full-time economic
development person within the organization. He said that with the
$60,500 the city paid the Alliance, it could not hire the
well-qualified person who would give the city the service it
desired. He went on to say, “The city deserves a full-time person,
and we don’t have that.”
In addition, Basford noted that there had been somewhat of a
misunderstanding regarding the $60 thousand. He noted that the total
dollar amount paid by the city to the Alliance included many other
components such as the annual Christmas Parade and sponsorship of
the Lincoln Balloon Festival.
Speaking about the events the Alliance was involved in during 2015,
he said that the parade this year was quite successful. He noted
that the Logan County Tourism Bureau is also doing an excellent job.
Basford added that the financial shortfall the Alliance suffered due
to the lack of increased membership had put a financial strain on
the organization.
He ended saying that the Alliance Council felt that under the
circumstances, ending the contract with the city was the right thing
to do for both entities.
 Steve Parrott asked if the contract termination would have happened
if Hake not resigned. Basford, in summary, said that yes, it
probably would have happened. He noted that while he didn’t know for
sure how it would have gone had Hake stayed; he did know that her
departure solidified the decision.
Basford also noted that the contract with the city has a 30-day
termination notice written in for both parties. He said the city
council should advise the Alliance as to how they would like to
proceed. The city has paid the Alliance for services through January
2016 but would maintain the contract for the next 30 days if the
city wished. Basford said the Alliance could keep working on the
business retention plan. He said his concern was that the Alliance
didn’t want to start conversations, then just drop them at the end
of the 30 days.
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He also mentioned that in the recent past, the Alliance had reached
out to a couple of manufacturers only to learn that they had already
been approached by the Logan County Economic Development
Partnership. He commented, “It can be a challenge when you have two
economic organizations operating within the county.”
Kathy Horn asked what steps had been taken to replace Hake. Basford said the
application process was now closed, and the Alliance received a great deal of
interest. He said there were several of the applicants that were over-qualified
for the job. The issue there, he said was money. The Alliance could not afford
to pay those highly qualified individuals what they are seeking.
The group is now working to narrow the number of applicants and conduct
additional interviews. He told the city council that the person hired will be
required to live in Logan County, so if the person is not here already they will
have to move.
Tracy Welch asked about the replacement of Chamber Director Nicole Cox. Basford
said the council was still “kicking that around.” He noted that Hake's role had
been CEO and economic development. With the economic development component gone,
the new CEO of the Alliance could be in charge of membership recruitment and
retention. Therefore, the Alliance may choose not to replace Cox at this time.
Offering a few updates, Basford said it had been a while since the Alliance had
talked with Retail Strategies, but the last word they did have, that group was
working hard to bring a major chain store to the city. Basford said he could not
say who, but the last word was that Retail Strategies was making progress.
The Workforce Development component of the Alliance/Chamber has been shifted to
Community Action. While the Alliance is still involved, Community Action is
taking the lead role.
The Downtown Advocacy program is still moving forward. The Alliance/Chamber
sponsored Small Business Saturday on the Square again this year, and that went
well, and again he mentioned, as did the Christmas Parade.
The radio ad campaign promoting Lincoln as a good place to start a business ran
from November through January. Basford said there had been some individual’s
contact the Alliance about starting businesses. He said that there had been
requests for tax abatements that the Alliance could not provide, so nothing had
happened.
Basford noted that he, city administrator Clay Johnson and Mayor Neitzel had
attended a meeting of the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council. There,
Basford said Johnson had given an outstanding presentation regarding funding for
the Fifth Street Road project. He and Johnson both commented on the possibility
of grant funding. Johnson said there would be a letting process held in 2018
where the city may apply for funding for the project.
Basford noted that the Enterprise Zone application has been submitted to the
Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and it is now just a
matter of waiting to see if Lincoln/Logan County earns an award. The Alliance
worked with the county and city to development the application.
He finished by saying the Lincoln Land CEO program is still moving along and
doing well.
Basford concluded, asking if anyone had any more question. No one did, so the
city council moved on to the next topic.
At the end of the council meeting, Basford and several members of the Alliance
Council were invited to use the Mayor's office for a brief press conference on
this same topic. Coverage of that meeting also appears in today's edition of
Lincoln Daily News.
[Nila Smith]
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