01-10-11 Special Called Regular Meeting of the La Porte Development Corporation Board of Directors

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REQUEST FOR LA PORTE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION AGENDA ITEM Agenda Date Requested: 2/7/11 Requested By: Stacey Osborne Department: CMO Report: X Resolution: Appropriation Source of Funds: Account Number: Ordinance: Amount Budgeted: Amount Requested: Budgeted Item: YES NO Exhibits: Enhancement Grant Application - Original Exhibits: Enhancement Grant Application - Revised Exhibits: Enhancement Grant Evaluation Exhibits: Main Street District Map SUMMARY & RECOMMENDATION City Council and the Economic Development Corporation (EDe) approved the funding of $200,000 for an enhancement grant program in the Main Street Overlay district as part of the Fiscal Year 2008-09 budget. At the time, the grant program was being administered in conjunction with the La Porte Main Street Program, and to receive grants the applicant had to first obtain a Main Street Design Certificate, which was contingent upon adherence to the now-defunct Main Street Design Guidelines. Because the City no longer has a Main Street Program, and because the Design Guidelines were never approved or enforced in the Main Street District, that part of the application is now null. Staff and the Enhancement grant Evaluation Committee also noticed that the original grant application was repetitive and difficult to understand and complete, and they recommended that we revise it to eliminate language that no longer applies and to streamline the application process. Until recently, we did not have any applicants for the grant program, and staff decided to wait to revise the grant application until after we had gone through the application process with a single grant applicant. Sandra Baldwin of A Statement in Glass was our first applicant, and after going through the process with her, we came up with the attached revisions to the grant application. In addition to the revisions we are suggesting tonight, many business owners whose businesses are located outside of the Main Street Overlay have requested that they also be included in the Enhancement Grant Program, and I told them I would take it to you for your consideration. I am including the original application-which consists of both a five-page Design Certificate Application and a nine-page Enhancement Grant Application-as well as my revised application that consists of three-page Program Description and a two-page Grant Application, the Enhancement Grant Evaluation form which we used to evaluate the first grant, and a map of the Main Street District. Upon review of these revisions, we would like EDC Board Members to provide any feedback you may have about the new application. Once it has been amended to your approval, we will submit it to the City Attorney for a legal review before distributing it to potential applicants.