Kane County Jobs Committee hears economic development report

By Philip Gonzales

Jan 6, 2017

Kane County Human Resources met Friday, Nov. 18.

Kane County Human Resources is located at 719 S. Batavia Ave., Geneva, IL

Here are the minutes as provided by Kane County:

KANE COUNTY

JOBS COMMITTEE

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2016

County Board Room Minutes 10:30 AM

Kane County Government Center, 719 S. Batavia Ave., Bldg. A, Geneva, IL 60134

1. Call to Order

Chairman Barreiro called the meeting to order at 10:30 AM.

Attendee Name Title Status Arrived

Brian Dahl Board Member Present

Bill Lenert Board Member Present

Myrna Molina Board Member Present

Brian Pollock Board Member Absent

Maria Vazquez Board Member Present

Rebecca Gillam Co-Chair Present

Theresa Barreiro Co-Chair Present

Also present: Co. Bd. staff Nagel; Dev. Dir. VanKerkhoff & staff Toth; OCR Dir. Berger & staff Renken, Gonzalez; ITD staff Nardone; and members of public.

2. Approval of Minutes: October 14, 2016

RESULT: APPROVED WITH VOICE VOTE [UNANIMOUS]

MOVER: Bill Lenert, Board Member

SECONDER: Brian Dahl, Board Member

AYES: Brian Dahl, Bill Lenert, Myrna Molina, Maria Vazquez, Rebecca Gillam, Theresa Barreiro

ABSENT: Brian Pollock

3. Office of Community Reinvestment - Workforce Development Division

A. OCR WIOA Performance Reports

OCR staff Ranken reviewed the monthly reports noting the Individualized Job Search Counseling, Dislocated Worker Services, Training Assistance, and Youth Services are all on track for complete enrollment by June 30, 2017. Referencing an article published in the Aurora Beacon-News on the first deaf female truck driver in Illinois, Renken reported this individual's training was funded through the workforce program.

B. OCR Financials

Referencing the monthly reports included in the agenda packet, OCR staff Gonzalez reviewed the progress of each grant. Berger followed up by noting they are all on track. Brief discussion followed.

Berger presented the following resolution:

C. Resolution: Authorizing a Contract Amendment for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Youth Services for Program Year 2016

This authorizes an amendment to the Program Year 2016 youth services contract with Quad County Urban League extending the contract period an additional six months to 6/30/2017 and increasing the contract amount from $173,903 up to but not-to-exceed $347,806.

RESULT: MOVED FORWARD WITH VOICE VOTE [UNANIMOUS] Next: 12/7/2016 9:00 AM

TO: Executive Committee

MOVER: Rebecca Gillam, Co-Chair

SECONDER: Myrna Molina, Board Member

AYES: Brian Dahl, Bill Lenert, Myrna Molina, Maria Vazquez, Rebecca Gillam, Theresa Barreiro

ABSENT: Brian Pollock

4. Comments by Co-Chair

None

A change in the agenda order followed.

5. Jobs Committee Priorities

A. Overview of ComEd Energy Efficiency Programs and Revised Line Extension - Ed Sitar, Economic Development Manager - ComEd (Priorities 2 and 4)

Mr. Sitar referenced a PowerPoint presentation not included in the agenda packet providing background on ComEd and his territory. He highlighted ComEd’s reliability performance noting their smart grid program has greatly reduced the number of power outages. ComEd is rated in the top 10 of companies across the country for reliability. Referencing a handout, Sitar provided information ComEd’s incentive programs.

B. Overview of the Creating Opportunities for Retention and Expansion (CORE) Program - Agnes Masnik, Business Development Operations Manager - Illinois DCEO (Priorities 2,4 and 6) Ms. Masnik shared a PowerPoint presentation not included in the agenda packet on the Illinois CORE Coalition. CORE is a statewide initiative for business retention and expansion. CORE has put together a new statewide strategy for existing business outreach to help address growth and development needs. Sitar explained that ComEd is partnering with DCEO and Nicor in order to coordinate and not duplicate their efforts on identifying where these opportunities exist. Masnik discussed the Illinois businesses targeted for visitation and went over the coalitions next steps. Considerable discussion followed.

C. Committee Review and Approval for Kane County Export Grant Program Companies (Priority 6)

VanKerkhoff introduced Export Grant Program winner Mark Podl, CEO of Doran Scales. Referencing a PowerPoint presentation not included in the agenda packet, Podl provided an overview of his company which manufacture scales for both medical and industrial markets. He reported that they currently sell to Canada and Mexico with plans of expanding in those market areas. The grant funds received will be used to translate their product line into Spanish.

D. Economic Development Staff Report (Priorities 2 and 4)

Staff Toth shared information on a Sustainable Economic Development conference he recently attended. The event brought together both economic development and sustainability staff in order to show them how they can enrich the county's sustainable economic development practices. In October, Toth attended a training course on Basic Economic Development. The course had presenters from finance, real estate development, economic development, and planning. It provided each attendee with a broad view of what they could do for their municipality. Toth thanked the county for allowing him the opportunity to take these classes in order to enrich his economic skills.

VanKerkhoff provided an update on the Metro Chicago Exports Program noting they have received another $500,000 in funding from JP Morgan Chase which will enable the county to continue their export grant program. He reported that mHUB has also received $500,000 towards their efforts. MHUB is a center for young innovators coming out of universities. It provides them with a workspace, mentoring, and networking opportunities.

Co-chair Barreiro went over the six priorities for the Jobs Committee.

6. Public Comment

None

7. Reports Placed on File

RESULT: PLACE WRITTEN REPORTS ON FILE [UNANIMOUS]

MOVER: Bill Lenert, Board Member

SECONDER: Myrna Molina, Board Member

AYES: Brian Dahl, Bill Lenert, Myrna Molina, Maria Vazquez, Rebecca Gillam, Theresa Barreiro

ABSENT: Brian Pollock

8. Executive Session (If Needed)

None

9. Adjournment