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Special Meeting June 7, 2005 is really able to focus on economic development. Mr. Wagner said that this statement in the Plan sounds like a group like ABEP. The City could extend ABEP to do these functions on E-1. Ms. Brot agreed with Mr. Wagner. Mr. Wagner did not connect E-1; however, with an economic development person. Ms. Brot thought the same. Mr. Wagner said that the Council may wish to consider asking ABEP to continue to fulfill this function, since this is what they do. Ms. Brot wanted to convey to Mr. Ollendorff, who just joined the meeting, her appreciation for the Plan Commission and planning department staff’s work on the excellent comprehensive plan update. It looks as if it already encompasses many of the concepts that have already been discussed with Mr. Ollendorff. She would really love to add subsection Ai from the ABEP report, about the Council taking an “aggressive, proactive role”, somewhere in the comprehensive plan. Ms. Brot wasn’t sure exactly where it should be placed, but strongly felt it should be included somewhere where the Council’s role is defined. Ms. Welsch said that asking ABEP to continue would be a major undertaking, since this is not what we asked them to do. Ms. Welsch can see what Mr. Wagner is referring to; however, but it is hard for her to envision entirely all of the functions being handled by ABEP. Mr. Wagner said that E-1 of the Plan overlaps a great deal with what ABEP is doing, so much so that he couldn’t understand why we would want to form another board. Ms. Welsch agreed, but she wondered how this board would relate to the Council; in other words, would it be another formal advisory board or commission. Mr. Wagner said that it would be a formal board, which could be ABEP. We don’t want to form another overlapping board; we have the best people in town working already on ABEP. Ms. Brot reminded Mr. Wagner that ABEP’s job was done and they may not be interested in serving in this capacity any longer. Mr. Wagner said that was fine; it is up to them. If they do not want to continue, then they are done, but Ms. Welsch could ask them to continue on a permanent basis and we could put that in the Plan. Mayor Adams would have a problem with ABEP continuing on a number of different points. He had thought that body was to be representative of University City, yet 12% of them are African American and live north of Olive in the Third Ward. More of them are Asian, which is not representative of the indigenous population of University City and neither do they live in University City. If the Council is going to create a body to perform the functions being discussed, it shouldn’t be ABEP. Mr. Wagner said that ABEP was widely recruited. Ms. Welsch disagreed. She asserted that there were goals in building this board; the Council wanted the same number of people from each ward and it was opened up to the business community who had business interest in University City. The Council tried for a diversified selection through requesting that Councilmembers appoint individuals from their own wards. Ms. Brot said that there were many well known professionals throughout the state on ABEP and she felt the member composition was very powerful. Mr. Ollendorff said that the Plan Commission is in no way advocating a continuation of Page 3