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City of Centerville <br />EDA Meeting Minutes <br />August 19, 2020 <br />V. BILLS AND COMMUNICATIONS <br />1. Bills <br />(a) None <br />2. Communications <br />(a) Coffee Shop Inquiry <br />Executive Director Statz reported that someone had contacted him regarding opening a coffee shop <br />downtown. He said that he gave them information about potential properties that might be <br />available, and also told them about the Vincenzo's Catering Building, the building at 1737 Main <br />Street, and the Open to Business program. <br />VI. REPORTS <br />1. Administrator's Report <br />Executive Director Statz stated that there was a story in the newspaper approximately one month <br />ago regarding a Mr. Jiles who wanted to start a restaurant in the former Vincenzo's space <br />downtown. He explained that the tenant would be moving his current business to the space. It is a <br />catering business that focuses on creating individual meals and delivering them. Mr. Statz <br />explained that putting a cafe in the space can be problematic as far as code compliance goes, and <br />there are significant hurdles to get through in regards to building codes and fire codes. He said that <br />he has discussed this with Mr. Jiles. Mr. Statz also stated that the business owner was awarded a <br />grant to help put in a new patio. <br />2. CenterStage-Review Program Progress to Date <br />a. Report from Michelle Koch <br />Michelle Koch, Main Street Marketers, explained some of her challenges with CenterStage, mainly <br />skepticism from businesses who don't believe that the offer for free advertising is real. <br />There was discussion about commissioners reaching out to the businesses ahead of time by phone <br />and in person, to introduce themselves in order to add some legitimacy to the program and to let <br />them know that they would be receiving a phone call from Ms. Koch. <br />Ms. Koch offered to create a flier to drop off at the businesses, explaining what the EDA and the <br />CenterStage program is. She also offered to save the file as a PDF with her contact information so <br />it could be emailed to local businesses. <br />Page 2 of 5 <br />