Chamber Contract – The Chamber has signed a two-year contract with the Town’s Economic Development Department to provide a visitor’s/information center at the Chamber office. The contract is for a total of $38,190 over the two years. The Chamber’s Board of Directors has agreed to subsidize the visitor’s center in order to keep it open Monday through Friday as a service to the businesses and residents of the Town.
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YES
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NO
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Berman
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X
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Crozier
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X
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Krueger
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N/A
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Morrison
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X
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Presmyk
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X
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Skousen
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X
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Urie
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X
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The Town Council approved the new system development fee and wastewater rates. The Chamber supported the changes to the 2006-2011 Capital Improvements Plan and the proposed system development fees after participating in several months of stakeholder meetings on these issues. While we would prefer system development fees to remain constant, many factors contributed to the increased cost of projects that were beyond the Town’s control. Striking a balance between reasonable SDFs and necessary services is the key to Gilbert’s long-term success.
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YES
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NO
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Berman
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X
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Crozier
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N/A
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Morrison
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X
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Petersen
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X
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Presmyk
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X
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Skousen
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X
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Urie
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X
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General Plan Amendment. The Council unanimously voted to approve a request to allow regional commercial at Gilbert Road and Pecos, which is currently designated as Business Park in the general plan. While the Chamber did not take a position on this change, it should be noted that the public process worked well in this case. The developer is now incorporating some office components into this project as well as working with office developers to kick-start the development of our business park.
It is hoped that this case is the exception rather than the rule when it comes to preserving land designated as industrial or Business Park. The Chamber formerly presented the following philosophy regarding down zoning of industrial/business park land to the Council at a joint meeting last year:
The Gilbert Chamber of Commerce recommends the Town of Gilbert protect all current commercial and industrial land use and not allow down zoning to occur or in the event such downsizing is deemed necessary, that other areas are up zoned to commercial or industrial in order to keep the percentage of that zoning, as a minimum, at the previous level. Council should be aware our current industrial parks are getting close to capacity. It is extremely important that Council be aware of the need to have land and infrastructure available for businesses wanting to locate to our community or to expand their current operations
Protecting industrial land is critical to the Town’s ability to attract new businesses and to encourage current businesses to expand. New and expanded businesses create a strong employment base, which in turn results in increased employment opportunities, which brings more tax dollars to the Town. We urge the Council to protect commercial and industrial land designations and to thoroughly evaluate the long-term impact of eliminating industrial and commercial land for other uses.
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YES
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NO
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Berman
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X
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Crozier
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X
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Morrison
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X
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Petersen
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X
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Presmyk
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X
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Skousen
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X
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Urie
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X
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The Town Council voted to approve the new system development fee and wastewater rates at the July 5th meeting. The Chamber did not oppose the increase in the rates, however, cautioned the Council that continually increasing the costs to bring a business to town could result in less businesses moving to town, which in turn could result in a long-term negative impact on the fiscal stability of the Town. The Chamber will continue to be involved in the Capital Improvement Projects process which determines the rate set for the fees.
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YES
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NO
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Berman
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X
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Crozier
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X
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Morrison
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X
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Petersen
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X
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Presmyk
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X
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Skousen
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X
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Urie
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X
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