Yellow Springs Community Resources

Click here for the notes from an August 4, 2011 meeting among Community Resources, the Village of Yellow Springs and Jacobs Engineering.

In a recent article Lauren Heaton mentions that the process at the Center for
Business and Education (CBE) is taking longer than expected.  It is indeed true that the process is taking longer, but it is also true that expectations have not necessarily been aligned with the reality of the scope of the work.

Community Resources is , however, hopeful that the various parts of the process
will come to fruition and that the economic development potential will become realized.  We are in conversation with the Chamber of Commerce as well as members of the Villageʼs Economic Sustainability Commission.  We have established a development partnership to assist in marketing the complex and feel this will significantly broaden the potential customers.  Community business owners who wish to expand in Yellow Springs can be assured the CBE is a viable option.  Hopefully the economy will improve and financing will become available regionally and nationally to support construction of the quality properties anticipated.

Though it is our desire to do so, Community Resources cannot give a precise
time when groundbreaking will occur.  That event depends on a variety of factors that are outside of our control and involve timelines of the various entities like ODOT and the Village of Yellow Springs.  There are deadlines that need to be met by the various players for instance in the process of getting road annexation accomplished and the infrastructure finally installed.

As to the overall project, it must be remembered that while Community
Resources was instrumental in obtaining nearly $1 million in federal funds for the project, responsibility for administrating these monies is vested with the Village.  They are the manager of the project.  While we would like to give a specific date of groundbreaking and until there is a comprehensive project schedule, any date we would suggest would be speculative.

Community Resources will keep the citizens and businesses informed of
developments.  We share the frustrations of all awaiting recovery of the regional
economy; however, we are confident the CBE will be positioned to enable the Village to participate fully in the recovery.

Sincerely,
Kathryn Van der Heiden
Community Resources President

April 14, 2010

Dear Councilors Hempfling, Askeland, Booth, Walkey, and Wintrow:

This letter comes in response to a communication from Council to Community Resources requesting CR’s formal position on the issue of designation. After thorough consideration, including advice from former members and others present at the beginning, Community Resources (CR) board members believe conditions are not ripe for CR to become designated as the Village community improvement corporation (CIC).

We agree that close cooperation and collaboration between the Yellow Springs Council, Miami Township Trustees, Community Resources and other economic development organizations is imperative. Historically, there has been such collaboration; the consequence is the retention of approximately 100 jobs and 750 college students in the community.

As you know, designation imposes restrictions on our own ability to act and to be responsive in a timely way to the aspirations of the Village. By remaining an independent corporation, the Village retains in CR more tools in its toolbox to address economic development. By remaining undesignated, we are positioned to work creatively with the Chamber of Commerce, the new Yellow Springs economic sustainability committee and the Economic Sustainability Coordinator. CR will continue to work closely together with these entities on potential commercial developments including the retention and expansion of existing businesses.

As a corporation separate from a municipality, CR may assume certain community-building activities that would be difficult, either legally or politically, for the political entities to directly undertake. As an example: a designated CIC can be an effective tool as an agent for a municipality in expediting various administrative functions associated with the development or disposition of public property or other functions. This was the case of Miamisburg and the recovery and re-use of the Mound land and facilities. In any designation the powers and authorities bestowed must be explicitly set forth. The Visioning process is as yet incomplete, so we suggest waiting until a broadly-supported direction is defined and a role identified in which you deem a designated CIC would be effective.

Consistent with the nature of its efforts, CR intends to continue to make our processes and decisions as public as possible. Means include holding public meetings from time to time and information releases regarding significant decision points. Furthermore, we encourage and support Village staff in their responsibility to provide Council (and thereby the community) with regular updates as to the progress of CBE development projects they manage.

CR has long welcomed members of village council, trustees and staff to seats on the CR board; this continues. However, the village solicitor’s opinion, and at times, conflict of interest considerations, have inhibited village representatives from full participation. The invitation remains, however, as you would wish to take advantage of it.

Should in the future, Council and the Trustees deem it appropriate to designate CR as their CIC, upon appropriate resolutions in accordance with ORC 1740.10, we will be happy to entertain the possibility in accordance with our by-laws, which require a super-majority prior to agreeing to such an arrangement.

Best regards,

Lisa Abel Community Resources, Chair

February 11, 2010

Dear Village Councilors,

I write on behalf of all members of the Community Resources Board to express our appreciation for the meeting held on January 13.

As we all know, the Yellow Springs community takes a lively interest in matters that affect it. We are very much aware that the Center for Business and Education is the kind of project that stirs great interest and, perhaps, concern about future directions. We came away from the January 13 meeting with a clear sense that you seek greater transparency, more effective communication, and greater confidence that the Board’s plans are aligned with the best interests of Yellow Springs. We agree. We understand that several Council members are interested in Community Resources becoming a designated CIC; we will continue to work on addressing that question, with emphasis placed on attending to the issues noted above.

Our purpose in writing is this: As we look forward to another opportunity for discussion with you, we seek your suggestions about how best to achieve these goals. To be candid, what steps would you wish the Board to take to assure that we are positioned to discharge our responsibilities in a way that gives you confidence in our work?

With your guidance in hand, we are confident we can pursue the CBE project and such others as may prove appropriate in the future for the success of Yellow Springs.
I will contact you soon to follow up and plan for next steps.

Best regards,

Lisa Abel Chair