News from the Lee’s Summit Economic Development Council

April 2014

In this issue

April 2014 | Page 1

Dear Lee’s Summit,

A Few Words From Jim

Save the Date: Annual Investor Meeting: July 9, 2014

Welcome and Thank You’s Generate a Positive Community Image

The Buzz

Community Product Improvement

Investor Focus: Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street - Trisha Drape

Despite being in the economic development profession for over 40 years, my 15 years serving Lee’s Summit’s public and private sector has been the most rewarding both professionally and personally. It is ironic that I was elected chairman of my 5,000-member professional trade association, the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the year I started working in Lee’s Summit! My peers asked me: “Where is Lee’s Summit, Missouri?” Today, I think they know!

This crossroads moment arrived when a search team comprised of Berry Jennings, Gary Bromley, Karen Messerli and Art Davis asked me during an interview why I want-ed to move from Scottsdale, Arizona to Lee’s Summit. The answer was easy: my wife wanted to, and Lee’s Summit had incredible

“Until you’ve reached that point of going from success to significance, you probably haven’t really achieved all you can be.” - Steve Roling

potential. My experience and skills were the right fit for Lee’s Summit at that point in time. Besides, it felt like home. Why home? Family was here. I had been visiting Lee’s Summit for 12 previous years as my wife Elayne Demetreon raised her children here. My step-son, Bill Decker, had been Mayor Pro Tem, so I knew a lot about Lee’s Summit already. The vacant Western Electric Building was a magnet for 4,000 new jobs and I saw the I-470 Corridor as a master-planned interchange rich for retail, office and high-tech development. The schools were a magnet to educate and attract talent looking for a high-quality-of-life community. The community was engaged in civil dialogue planning its future together. Today, those professional assessments are validated. Lee’s Summit is regarded as the jobs capital and high-quality-of-life leader in Eastern Jackson County.

Organizationally speaking, during the last 15 years, LSEDC has grown and matured into a full-service, balanced, economic development organization with four focal points: Target Industry Attraction, Business Expansion and Retention, Community Image Enhancement and Community Product Improvement. These focal points have guided LSEDC and its partners on results-oriented initiatives whose legacy will be here for years to come.

Few of these accomplishments would have been possible without a public/private part-nership, R-7 School District and literally thousands of hours of volunteers’ time to build our community through organizations such as LSEDC, Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street and

- continued on page 3

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Save the Date! Annual Investor Meeting: July 9, 2014

Payment is due by the meeting date. Any invoice not paid by due date will be subject to a $5 billing fee. Cash, Check, and Visa/MasterCard accepted. INVESTOR COMPANIES: If you are prepaid, you do not need to take action, as we already have you registered for this meeting. Feel free to call our office if you have any questions or have misplaced your login instructions.

NON-INVESTOR COMPANIES: Please e-mail your RSVP to scunniffe@leessummit.org, or call 816.525.6617 to register and pay for this meeting.

July 9, 2014 11:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.Emaline Ballroom616 SW 3rd Street • Lee’s Summit, MO 64063

Cost: $20/person for investors • $25/person for non-investors

Welcomes and Thank You’s

Welcome to Todd Haynes, Vice President of Haynes & Woodward Investment Group. Haynes joined LSEDC as a Benefactor-level investor in February.

Mark your calendars for our Annual Investor Meeting on July 9, 2014. As we do each year, our program will recap the year in economic development and look ahead to what’s in store. We will send meeting details as the date gets closer, and hope you can make it!

Welcome to Mike Brown, CEO of Frontier Justice, who joined LSEDC at the Benefactor-level in January.

Welcome to Chad Meyer, Chief Operating Officer with NorthPoint Development. North-point joined LSEDC as a Leadership Partner in January.

Thank you to Carolyn McKnight, Regional Site Director at University of Central Missouri , who increased their LSEDC investment to the Benefactor level in January.

Thank you to Alan Flory, President of ReDiscover Mental Health, for increasing their investment to the Benefactor level in March.

A Few Words From the President- continued from page 1

the Chamber of Commerce. Of special note is the resident volunteer engagement best exemplified by two community strategic plan-ning processes: Vision 2020 and Lee’s Summit 360. These multi-year, 300 + citizen-led processes provided the format for fact find-ing and educating the community to make informed strategic decisions based on facts, consensus and not political agendas. These ongoing civic dialogues are what made and make Lee’s Summit unique, inclusive, and a high-quality-of-life community where families can live, work, play, learn and pray. I am proud to have been a partner in such accomplishments and the capital investments which returned $10 for every $1 of city bed tax granted to LSEDC.

However, I find myself at a crossroads once again. Everyone has a bucket list, and mine includes retirement to spend more time with my family, pursuing long-delayed interests outside of work, and riding my horse. My credo has long been this:

With mixed emotions I am taking a different path at the crossroads, but want to thank you all: the investors, the dedicated and talent-ed LSEDC staff, the hardworking Executive Committees, the LSEDC Board of Directors and Advisory Board, the Lee’s Summit Gateway Business Alliance, and the city staff whom I considered colleagues for collaborating in our mutual quest to serve and be a part of a special place: Lee’s Summit, Missouri. A lot has been accomplished together in these last 15 years, and there is more to come as Lee’s Summit matures into a ring city with new challenges and new directions. See you around town!

Yours Truly,

Jim Devine CEcD, FM, HLM

“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up , total-ly worn out, and loudly proclaiming- WOW! What a ride!” – Hunter S. Thompson

Save the D

ate

Join us on Tuesday, May 6, from 5 - 7 p.m. at the Longview Mansion for a reception to honor LSEDC President & CEO Jim Devine, as he retires after 15 years of service to Lee’s Summit. This open house will feature a brief program at 6 p.m., as well as cocktails and appetizers. We wish Jim the best as he rides off into the sunset (on his trusty steed Spirit, of course).

If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Holly Braswell at 816-525-6617 or hbraswell@leessummit.org by April 22.

May 6: Reception for Jim

Devine

April 2014 | Page 3

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Generate a Positive ImageCommunity Success

Jim McKenna, Community Marketing Manager

Several months back we developed an affordable way for Lee’s Summit’s private sector to be part of the City’s overall marketing and advertising program, which we were introducing via magazine, newspaper, television, radio and interactive media. By employing the “economies of scale, “ we created several tiered co-op advertising options to ensure the most efficient and effective use of everyone’s precious marketing dollars. The idea was simply to get the Lee’s Summit message out in front of the right audience, at the right time, at the right price since in Missouri alone, there are 961 cities competing for the same tourism and business dollars.

The benefits sited back then, which are still as relevant today are: • A “bigger pie” would allow everyone to get a larger slice.• When we all share a common vision it fosters a unified and cooperative spirit.• Collaboration builds consistency, which creates universal respect and credibility for our community.• It paves the way for a greater ROI from any and all joint marketing efforts.• Increased customers, increased income and increased tax revenues.

I have heard it said that only the U.S. Mint can make money without advertising. Therefore, Marketing and Advertising are two common business practice threads that tie Public & Private sectors together, and they’re essential to both profitability and growth. Our marketing efforts allow us to reinforce the essence of the Lee’s Summit brand, while attracting and retaining both visitors and investors. It also serves to help inoculate our city from the “leakage” which occurs when residents and business owners spend their money outside of our community. Let’s examine a sample of additional quantifiable and recognized measurement tools.

• 50% of all our marketing expenditures can be traced to private sector investment.• We have been able to expand our marketing program to include television, in addition to strategical-

ly-targeted magazine, newspaper, radio, signage, collateral and interactive/social media.• Our private sector partners, now over two dozen, represent Tourism, Retail, Lodging/

Hospitality, Healthcare, Cultural Arts, Restaurants, Education, Downtown, Community Service Clubs, Not-For-Profits and Real Estate.

• Our additional media buying power, thanks to the private sector, has contributed FREE… no-cost, value-added, preferred positioning and bonus media support that now makes up over 30% of all our marketing and advertising program.

• Turn-out for our community festivals and events is at an all-time high.

In addition to the above, there are intangibles such as a renewed sense of community pride and in-volvement which represent an emotional value only possible through partnership and collaboration.

To accurately measure the success of any community program we need to start at the beginning, said entrepreneur Henry Ford. Ford became renowned not just for being the founder of the Ford Motor Company, but for his vision on the importance of working together, which is credited for helping to build the American economy during the most difficult of times.

“ Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.”

~ Henry Ford

The Buzz

Brad Cox, Vice President, Langsford Development, LSEDC Chair

Steve Cohen, Ed. D., Labor Management Advisory Group, LSEDC Interim Director

prepared me well for this assignment, as I have worked in and with many public and private organizations over the years. My com-pany and I have worked as an interim administrator for financial organizations, social service organizations, universities, health care organizations and even in a municipal organization doing a City Manager search while operating as acting City Administrator.

My family and I have lived in Lee’s Summit for 20 years, and for the past 6 years lived in our home in Lone Jack. My wife, He-lene and I have three grown children and four fabulous grand children. Two of our kids and two of our grandkids are Lee’s Summit residents.

My role as Interim CEO is to maintain LSEDC’s customers’ needs, attend the various meetings which LSEDC has staffed or testified at, and maintain a visible presence while I conduct the search for the permanent CEO. I will relate to the LSEDC Board, the investors, the good folks at the City, the Chamber and Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street as well as EDC staff. I will be doing Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats analysis to guide LSEDC’ s Board into helping facilitate the next phase of community building and strategic thinking, which insures Lee’s Summit maintains a high quality of life to attract investment.

I look forward to working with our investors and community stakeholders over the course of the next several months. Please feel free to contact me - I would love to hear your thoughts on the characteristics and skill sets you think will be important in the next CEO and important for LSEDC’s initiatives. This insight will help me and the Board as the search progresses for a new CEO, who could be announced as early as July for LSEDC’s annual meeting. With your help, prayers, and some luck the next few months will unfold as a smooth transition.

You may contact me by calling the office at 525-6617, or by e mail: scohen@leessummit.org.

Greetings Lee’s Summit! I would like to say how thrilled I am to be acting as the Interim Director for the Lee’s Summit Economic Develop-ment Council (LSEDC).Over the years, I have been an EDC investor, a speaker at various LSEDC meetings, a consultant (assisting with survey work of local employers ), and have made two Angel Investments in Lee’s Summit companies through my participation in the Show Me Angels group. More than 30 years of my professional career has

begin what should be the most fun and exciting chapter of his life yet. Jim’s tenure has been during some of the most explosive and continuous growth in Lee’s Summit’s history. We have gone from a small bedroom community with a single, major employer to a diverse, progressive city with regional draws in retail, services and a wide range of employers, from traditional manufacturing and distribution to data centers, technology-driven companies, national and international investors and an explosion in health-care related industries.

Over the last couple of decades, “old timers” can scarce-ly believe the changes in their town. Jim has been here through and participated in the management of most of that growth period. As our community has matured, we have begun to look at how to not only manage the growth we now experience, but leverage the results of all the work done prior. As Jim finds himself in much the same position, he has chosen to do what we must as well - leave what was behind and jump forward to capitalize on all the ground-work that has been done.

For all the good that was done, and much was, we must con-tinue to look for what we haven’t done, what is still possible. Only by identifying potential can we craft the new tools for achieving it. Our organization is highly skilled in this. You, our investors, face new challenges and changing paradigms every day and have crafted new skills and approaches to meet those changes head on. We look to you, our partners, to help craft the new direction of this organization, help us realize what is still possible, what needs to be refined and what has yet to be thought of. We are at as big a crossroads as this organization has ever faced in how we approach Economic Development from here forward. We must meet change head on, we must be willing to keep looking for new ways to accomplish the new goals. Our organization is starting a new chapter as well. We will make it a great one, and only the first of many, many more.

It’s an old cliche that “Nothing is as constant as change,” and yet we usually find that cliches exist for a reason. LSEDC has found itself in a sea of change over the last few years. Green-field availability, new vs. old incentives, redevelopment challenges, confusion as to EDC roles in a maturing community, among many others. We are again facing change with the retirement of our CEO, Jim Devine. Jim has announced that as of May 15, 2014, he will

April 2014 | Page 5

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Community Product ImprovementThe Interstate 470 corridor through Lee’s Summit is fast becoming our foremost jobs corridor and a source for major development activities. Current and planned development portends good things for our community and allows us to reap the benefits of our leadership. Prior city leaders had the foresight to work for multiple interchanges/exits from I-470 in Lee’s Summit, and these have been the nexus for thousands of square feet of new and planned development, an expanding tax base, and new jobs. The public-private partnerships, new infrastructure, judicious use of economic incentives and a spirit of looking to the future have borne and will continue to bear fruit.

The development offers a wide variety of uses, services and em-ployment. At the city’s western gateway, area businessman Flip Short and his Happy Valley LLC development team are working on a plan to create a new Sports Complex and Village on the northeast quadrant of the intersection. The $230 M project will be anchored by 15 synthetic-turfed, lighted, multi-sport fields and a 3,500 – 5,000 seat championship field and feature hotels, office space, housing, restaurants, bars and entertain-ment venues. The project will feature many of the recommen-dations featured in the city’s sustainability plan and include bicycle and hiking trails, LEED or LEED-like building standards, alternative energy generation, a project-wide recycling program and the preservation of native habitat.

On the southeast quadrant of the intersection, Short is planning a business park that will feature a full-service hotel, a conference center and 300,000+ square feet of new Class A office space also linked by trails and providing the same level of aesthetic design as featured in the sports complex and adjacent village.

Bill Brown, Spectrum Strategies, LLC LSEDC Vice Chair

Rendering of View High Green North - Sports Complex + Village

Who are the Team Members?Those working for the past 2 years include:

Happy Valley Properties, LLCSpectrum Strategies, LLCMKL, PCBNIM ArchitectsGeorge Butler Associates, Inc.MC Realty Group, LLCRiver City Energy & Electric Company

Global SportsLand3 Studio

RED Legacy DevelopmentNorth Point Development

Clarkson ConstructionSuperior Bowen Asphalt

Hunt Martin Marietta

April 2014 | Page 7

Additionally, Short and his The Family Ranch LLC are working on a land reclamation project that will provide more than 100 acres of land for future commercial development. The project site lo-cated north of I-470 and west of Pryor Road consists of dropping the unstable ceiling of a large, abandoned underground mine, harvesting the rock from the site and cleaning up what is in essence a development “brownfield.”

Just a short drive down I-470 you’ll be able to exit and gain access to Summit Village, a Zimmer Companies-led office park development that will feature 2,000,000 square feet of new office space. The site, north of I-470 and roughly bounded by Blue Parkway, Colbern Road and Douglas Street will provide for 300 acres of new commercial development.

A major asset for our community is the Summit Technology Campus. Located within 1 mile of the Summit Woods and Summit Fair shopping centers---which have provided new retail opportunities in our city---the campus provides over 1 million square feet of office, call center, data center and light manu-facturing space. The site has been chosen for the new Missouri Innovation Campus, an education and business collaboration led by the Lee’s Summit R-7 school district, the University of Central Missouri and the Metropolitan Community College. Major business partners currently include Cerner, Saint Luke’s, Black & Veatch, and Burns & McDonnell. The effort is cutting edge in its relation to education, job-training and employment and its implications for future economic development and job creation in the community.

Lee’s Summit is becoming a regional mecca for health care services, and much of that strong growth has been fueled by the development and expansion of the Saint Luke’s East 40- acre campus at the intersection of I-470 and Douglas Street. Employing over 1,000 medical and support personnel, and with 458,635 square feet of hospital, clinic and physician space, the campus is a major economic engine and is the lodestar in a health services corridor that extends north on I-470 and includes the adjacent Ralph Powell Road.

A significant employment base already exists along Independence Avenue/Ralph Powell Road between Colbern Road and Woods Chapel Road, but the latest interchange on the highway, Strother Road, has helped set the table for new development that already includes expansion of the Lee’s Summit Municipal Airport and the development of a new Catholic high school, St. Michael the Archangel.

We owe a big thank you to city forefathers and elected officials for having a long-term community vision, and a thank you to those businesses and individuals who continue to make the commit-ment to invest - and REINVEST - in our city.

Artistic rendering of Village Retail Drive

Investor Focus: Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street - Trisha Drape

816.525.6617 | 218 SE Main Street, Lee’s Summit, MO 64063

Trisha Drape, Executive DirectorDowntown Lee’s Summit Main Street

Tell us about DLSMS and what it does:Established in 1989, Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street Inc. (DLSMS) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization dedicated to the revitalization of Downtown Lee’s Summit. DLSMS follows the Main Street Four-Point Approach to commercial district revitalization and is an accredited Main Street program through the National Main Street Center, a subsidiary of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. DLSMS is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this December.

How has the increased collaboration between the PSAs changed what is happening in downtown Lee’s Summit?

Having a public service agreement with the City of Lee’s Summit enables DLSMS to accomplish its mission and vision through its four-point approach: Economic Development; Design; Promotions; and Organization. It is a comprehensive and balanced approach with an underlying goal of economic development through historic preservation. Support from local government, partner organizations, civic leaders, downtown property and business owners, the private sector and residents has helped this community-based initiative thrive in Downtown Lee’s Summit nearly 25 years.

DLSMS’s vision: Downtown is the heart of Lee’s Summit; a commercially vibrant, family destination. It is an urban village with a mixture of uses, including specialty shops and restaurants, compatible residential development and City Hall, which makes an important civic statement. It is, and will remain, a community environment, a place of experience — people walking, music playing, events happening.

DLSMS’s mission: The mission of Downtown Lee’s Summit Main Street is to promote and strengthen its economically strong and diverse Downtown Core through a master plan of:• community education and awareness;• cooperative utilization of business resources;• continuity in design and historical preservation; and• continued growth of the economic base.

What projects or activities is DLSMS involved in that you can share?In addition to the dozens of community events and business seminars DLSMS hosts year-round, the organization is working on recruiting new businesses to the central business district and educating developers about the new Design Standards for the Downtown Core. Our biggest project right now is facilitating the establishment of a Community Improvement District. The petition pages and signatures from Downtown property owners asking to establish a CID is currently in the city clerk’s hands.

Why did you join LSEDC? What have you gained from your investment in LSEDC?The LSEDC is an important partner for DLSMS, and we are working toward similar goals. The LSEDC staff and investors bring a great deal of knowledge to the table, which they share with DLSMS to ensure the district remains a vital economic driver in the community. Recently, the LSEDC has been helping spearhead a Downtown Housing Study. As DLSMS believes that an increase in housing in the Downtown Core is essential, it also is one of the next big issues on our current agenda.

What is one thing most people don’t know about Downtown Lee’s Summit?Downtown Lee’s Summit is the region’s only recipient of the Great American Main Street Award, naming it one of the Top 5 downtowns in the nation.