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REPORT FROM THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOARD Mayor Adams thanked the members of the Economic Development Board and said that members of the group would present a report of their findings. John Solodar, 8135 Cornell, presented aspects of the Economic Development Report: 1) contains the Executive Summary with the philosophy of the group, a proactive approach and a can do attitude of its four subcommittees, 2) recommendations made by four different areas of the City, 3) recommendations based on these four subcommittee’s findings, 4) background, including no “pointing fingers”, with all shortcomings addressed in a uniform manner. He said the Olive plans “dovetailed” with those of the City and those for I-170 mesh with the 2004 long-range plans. One of their main recommendations was to hire someone whose sole responsibility is economic development. Dick Goldberg, 6924 Pershing, acted as facilitator for the group, and came to speak about the process followed. He commented that twenty-five people were selected by the Council; those twenty-five people joined together to see what they could do about economic development. He described the process they undertook and its specific steps during subsequent meetings. He mentioned the SWOT analysis, and the priorities that evolved from that analysis and the four criteria they used. He explained how they worked in groups and by committee. He next mentioned their intention to proceed through the various recommendations with explanations. Michael Levinson, 7501 Stanford, said he headed up a subcommittee on the Economic Development Toolbox. He pointed out six action items for recommendation that he hoped and welcomed city staff to sit down and discuss with him. Cameron Sanders, 7277 Delmar, commented that plan for the 1-170101ive Boulevard area included an "upscale international area" of a "tourist friendly" nature. He said the size of some the lots may need smaller sites and the installation of public sidewalks and more public parking spaces. They would like to encourage other ethnic groups to move into this area and perhaps the area will develop into another Loop. Mark Hirshman, 6902 Washington Avenue, said that the "first two were more global tools, the other two were specific" and referred people to page eleven of the report. He pointed out several areas around the city that would be good potential redevelopment sites, such as the Villages of Wyncrest area, School Administration corner, the Metro Station at Big Bend & Forsyth, Delcrest Circle, Vernon-Westgate area. City should consider special retail, mixed use, higher density and hotels. Working with Clayton is a good idea due to shared boundaries. Tim Michels, 7038 Cornell, said that they established a general operating principle. They looked at possible solutions to reduce the tax burdens on citizens; they looked at securing the boundaries while noting the stifling effects of a landlocked community on development. The group felt it was important to diversify the economic development foundation based on the population, so that all levels of people could afford to live here. He stated that University City is the second largest city, next to St. Louis and we have one of the most proactive, intellectual populations around. Preliminary steps should be made to implement the economic development strategy in order to strengthen the city over a 10 -20 year period.