Coleman Memorial Plans--and Funding--Are Progressing

Slightly more than six months after the murders of Sheri Coleman and her two sons, plans are progressing to create a lasting memorial to the victims in one of Columbia's parks.

Yesterday evening, Meegan Turnbeaugh--one of Sheri Coleman's best friends--met with the City's Play Commission to update them on her progress to date in planning and funding a memorial pavilion.  Meegan has formed a not-for-profit organization called SheriAnnHerBoys which has raised $30,000 to date, she reported; while the project's ultimate goal is $300,000, she hopes the memorial really won't cost that much--especially since she's heard from companies offering free materials and labor.

With the help of architect Killian Smith of St. Louis, Meegan's group has developed plans for a 51-foot pavilion that they are proposing to erect in Columbia's Bolm-Schuhkraft Park, a favorite gathering place for the Colemans.  As plans for the memorial progress, Meegan promised to work with the City to settle on a specific site within the 44.5-acre park.

Click here to read the report on the meeting filed by KMOV-TV in St. Louis.

Sounds Like a Plan (2010)

The Columbia City Council last evening approved the Community & Economic Development Department's 2010 Strategic Plan with a unanimous vote--here are the goals and objectives from the plan:

1. Encourage new businesses to form and grow in Columbia--work with the Monroe County Economic Development Council to develop program(s) that will encourage and support local entrepreneurs;
2. Retain businesses in the City of Columbia by supporting their long-term success--encourage Columbia’s citizens to support local businesses; provide direct services to current businesses; and support expansion of current businesses through loans and incentives, where appropriate;
3. Recruit new businesses to the community--maintain and distribute timely information on Columbia’s demographics, business mix, and economic potential; market available sites and buildings for businesses looking to expand and/or locate; and work with regional partners to recruit new offices/headquarters and retailers;
4. Stimulate more commercial activity on Main Street--enhance design consistency and historic character of the corridor; and increase private investment in Main St. properties;
5. Develop and market local tourist facilities that will entice visitors and locals to learn more about Columbia’s history and heritage--market Columbia and Monroe County as a tourist destination;
6. Expand resources for parks & recreational uses to make Columbia “a great place to play”--develop long-term facilities for youth, senior citizens and other community members; and pursue designation as a “Play City USA” and a “Tree City USA”;
7. Develop and implement a long-term strategic plan for municipal buildings--seek the community’s long-term preferred uses for properties; and pursue community goals for the Miller-Fiege Home;
8. Support community activities, celebrate milestones and add to the local quality of life--employ strategic analysis for all events to build traffic and increase economic returns to the community.

To support these goals and objectives, the Strategic Plan proposes the following activities:

* Continue to support “Think Monroe County First!”
* Continue the business retention program through the Monroe County Economic Development Council
* Continue to administer the Admiral Trost Redevelopment Area
* Maintain/expand the Revolving Loan Fund
* Develop City policy for awarding incentives
* Update community profile with the Illinois Department of Community & Economic Opportunity (DCEO)
* Assist in recruiting a full-service restaurant to support local lodging
* Identify and/or help develop new buildings and sites that will be appropriate and ready for new or expanding business operations
* Maintain listings via Location One Information Services (LOIS)
* Broaden Columbia’s visibility within the Greater St. Louis region
* Develop a comprehensive Main Street redevelopment strategy that includes market analysis, targeted street/building improvements and planning for adequate parking/transit service
* Explore use of incentives to support the Main Street strategy
* Secure attraction signage from I-255 and IL-3 to Columbia destinations
* Open the Monroe County Welcome Center
* Initiate a strategic marketing campaign to increase use of lodging and conference facilities
* Identify and evaluate sites for a community center
* Develop a comprehensive program of grants, planned giving and other mechanisms to fund long-term improvements
* Complete a leasing/improvement plan for the Oak Street Building
* Continue to explore highest and best use of other City-owned properties
* Secure National Register status for the Miller-Fiege Home
* Complete transition of the Miller-Fiege Home into a municipal history museum

Segobiano is New Schools Head

The Columbia Unit School District has hired Gina Segobiano of Belleville as its new superintendent.  She is currently superintendent of Harmony Emge School District #175, which serves approximately 800 students ranging from preschool through eighth grade.

Segobiano's education background includes a bachelor of science degree in elementary education from Western Illinois University, a master's degree in school administration from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, and a doctoral degree from St. Louis University. She worked six years as a fifth grade teacher at Signal Hill School District #181, then served as Signal Hill's principal for ten years before becoming that district's superintendent for three years. Segobiano came to her current position at the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year.

Segobiano will be replacing Ed Settles, who has accepted the positon as superintendent of Jersey Community Unit School District #100, effective July 1st.  Segobiano is married, and her husband is an Edward Jones investment representative. They have two children: Kelli and Scott. Kelli attends the University of Illinois and Scott attends Belleville West High School.

School District Board to Preview Higher Taxes, New Leader

Residents and business owners may be especially interested in what the Columbia Unit School District Board of Directors has scheduled for this coming Thursday evening, December 17th.

First, the school board will be holding a public hearing regarding a tax levy increase to 15.81% on the following schedule:

6:45 p.m. (Tax Levy Hearing)

7:00 p.m. (Regular Board Meeting)

Later, the board is expected to name a new district superintendent during their regular meeting.  Current superintendent Ed Settles announced in September that he was stepping down to become superintendent of the Jerseyville School District.

The district office has now moved to Columbia High School (77 Veterans Parkway), and the Board of Education meets in Room 114.

Wold's 'Twelve Ways of Christmas' for Merchants

Small business expert Barbara Wold offers the following twelve ways to increase sales for merchants as we enter the "home stretch" to Christmas:

1. Have all salespeople read company ads, catalogs and distributed literature before customers come in with questions and inquiries...and check out the ads of the competition--if your competitor has a Facebook page, become a fan so you know what information it is passing on to customers;
2. Establish dress codes for employees and enforce them; employees are the representatives of the business and should project the image you want to convey;
3. Greet everyone who walks through the door with five different greetings so customers don't hear the same greeting over and over when shopping; have employees identify themselves when answering the phone to add a professional touch and provide the caller with a personal connection on the other end of the line;
4. Clean up the cash-wrap area as you go and put everything in its place--customers will be concerned about transaction accuracy  if this area is a mess;
5. Listen, really listen, to customers; if you don't really listen and show customers the wrong merchandise, they will assume you don't have what they are looking for and leave without buying anything;
6. Stock and clean during hours when the store is not open; doing these chores when the store is open is inconsiderate to shoppers and doesn't convey a professional image;
7. Stay in contact with your customer base--contact customers who shop in your store regularly, by email or regular mail, and call your very best customers yourself--and build your database; it's a very busy time of year, but don't forget to capture customers contact info to grow your database;
8. Add at least 30% more store and window display lighting in your store; it will affect the way your store looks and help sell more product…and it can be as easy as replacing light bulbs that have burnt out.
9. Get everyone on board--ensure that everyone in the organization understands what the winning advantage is and what their role is in supporting it--and focus on selling; teach your staff to show just one more item to every customer that they talk to (don’t forget add-on sales at the cash register);
10. Tone in the store--strive for enthusiastic, happy staff all pulling together to achieve this Holidays Seasons' goals with a focus on exceptional customer service;
11. Hands free shopping--offer customers a basket, a bag or cart, and take your customer’s coats and other bags--do whatever it takes to make your customers feel wanted and cared for; creating this type of shopping experience will keep customers in your store longer and will increase sales;
12. Set daily sales targets, and share them with your staff--they should know what is expected of them--but remember that you alone are the driving force in your business; get out on the sales floor more often over the next weeks and watch your sales increase!

2009: Making a List, Checking It Twice

How well did Columbia's Community & Economic Development Department do this past year in achieving its mission to "expand and enhance City and community revenues and assets so as to steadily increase available resources, broaden service delivery, and improve the quality of life for all citizens"?  City Council members will hear a status report tonight--warts and all.

The first departmental goal set for the year was to "encourage new businesses to form and grow in Columbia".  This goal was partly realized through formation of Columbia’s Resourceful Organization of Women Networking (CROWN) this year to assist emerging women-owned enterprises. Other programs to encourage and support local entrepreneurs are under development through the Monroe County Economic Development Council (MCEDC), a public-private partnership in which the City participates. Score: 60%

The City put a high priority on working to "retain businesses in the City of Columbia by supporting their long-term success" and achieved even better results here.  Local business support efforts and consulting were established, and a formal business retention program was developed that will launch in January. City policy regarding incentives has yet to be adopted--the one objective in this category that this year's efforts failed to meet. Score: 80%

Attempts to "recruit new businesses to the community" met targets despite the national recession.  City officials developed and produced—and are distributing—a CD with demographic and economic information, an updated community profile has been posted on DCEO website, commercial property listings have been posted and are being kept current on Location One Information System (LOIS), and staff continues to participate in Southwest Illinois recruitment efforts. Score: 100%

Efforts to "promote more commercial activity on Main Street" have had more mixed results.  Columbia continues designation as an Introductory Main Street community and has submitted an application for designation as a Certified Local Government, but other objectives are pending.  While programs like the one offering Main Street facade grants have helped spur improvements to individual buildings, staff contend that the need for an overall downtown redevelopment plan has hobbled success for the district. Score: 50%

The City moved forward significantly on its objective to "develop and market local tourist facilities that will entice visitors and locals to learn more about Columbia’s history and heritage" in 2009.  The Miller-Fiege Home is now open by appointment while renovation and display work continue with the help of a large private donation. Work is also progressing on the Shoemaker Schoolhouse, which is being restored for use as the Monroe County Welcome Center. A private developer is moving forward with work on restoring a Prohibition-era rum cave at the Old Distillery. Score: 90%

Efforts to "expand resources for parks & recreational uses to make Columbia 'a great place to play'" got off to a great start but fell short of the goal.  Although the City formed the Play Commission, the precursor to a Parks Commission, and was recognized a “Play City USA” for 2009, a comprehensive funding program of what facilities and programs are to be funded still awaits final determination. Score: 75%

The objective to "develop and implement a long-term strategic plan for municipal buildings" was largely achieved.  A leasing and improvement plan for the Oak Street Community Building is nearing completion, while staff have likewise inventoried and reviewed all other City-owned properties. Score: 90%
 
Finally, City efforts to "support community activities, celebrate milestones and add to the local quality of life" exceeded objectives set at the beginning of the year.  While staff and elected officials supported sesquicentennial events and sponsored other local events, they also assisted in the kick-off for the inaugural Art Walk event and launched a new Christmas parade. Score: 100%

Following presentation of the status report to members of the Columbia City Council, the Community & Economic Development Department will compile a new set of goals and objectives for 2010, which will be presented to the City Council for approval at their December 21st meeting.

FEMA Offers Public Forum in Columbia on December 16th

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will hold a public forum in Columbia on Wednesday, December 16th, to discuss impending changes to flood insurance and building requirements that may result from changes next year to the accreditation status of levees that protect the Mississippi River flood plain in Madison, St. Clair and Monroe counties.  FEMA manages the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), which assists local communities in adopting and enforcing floodplain management ordinances that will reduce future flood damage.

At the meeting, which will be held from 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. at Columbia City Hall, FEMA and NFIP officials will provide a general overview for elected officials, businesses, community organizations and individuals in the 28 affected jurisdictions along the American Bottom. RSVP: (618) 274-2750 x.279.

FEMA claims that flood damage is reduced by nearly $1 billion a year through communities implementing sound floodplain management requirements and property owners purchasing of flood insurance; additionally, the agency calculates that buildings constructed in compliance with NFIP building standards suffer approximately 80 percent less damage annually than those not built in compliance.