Emporians selling city in Las Vegas
By Joey Berlin
Originally published 03:03 p.m., May 20, 2008
Updated 03:03 p.m., May 20, 2008
Emporia development official Kent Heermann said Monday night that city leaders have been making connections with retailers and developers at the International Council of Shopping Centers Global Retail Real Estate Convention in Las Vegas.
Convention activities began Monday and run through Wednesday. Heermann, president of the Regional Development Association of East Central Kansas, is in Las Vegas with City Manager Matt Zimmerman and City Commissioners Jim Kessler and Jeff Longbine. The four leaders participated in a meet-and-greet with retailers and developers on Monday night. Heermann said most of the dialogue so far has been with developers.
“We’ve had some conversations,” he said. “Never know how those are going to turn out. We just meet, visit with them, give them some information, and it may turn out to materialize into something, it may not.”
Emporia has a booth at the convention as part of the city’s partnership with Buxton, the customer analytics firm that performed a $70,000 retail development study of the city. The study used data about Emporians’ purchasing habits to match it with specific retailers who might be interested in bringing their businesses to the city.
“Some of the challenges we’re facing and every community’s facing is that there’s a slowdown in the economy, and there are less projects out there,” Heermann said. “So we may be sowing seeds that will take a long time to fully harvest.”
Heermann said the Emporia group had a full schedule today, with appointments “about every hour on the hour” beginning at about 8 a.m.
“We’ve made some good contacts,” he said. “We’ll see how it goes. (Today) will be a good day for us, we hope, and we’ll go from there.”
The convention, also known as RECon, attracts more than 50,000 attendees each year.
admireed (anonymous) says...
Did Emporia pay to have a location in the Buxton Booth? Space at this event costs big big bucks.
Great intent but a total waste of time and money
I hope I am absolutly wrong about this.
May 20, 2008 at 5:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
timcann (anonymous) says...
i think they did the right thing by going to las vagas to talk with deveiopers the town is full of them good job
May 20, 2008 at 7:54 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
admireed (anonymous) says...
A developer has/had contract with DeBauge to promote his parcel. Company had done well in KC area. If Emporia was a "hot" site, how come nothing came of this yet? Are they still on board? Those folks out in LV are looking for big growing markets not Emporia size. Like going after Chicago Cubs to put an AAA team here. Get real!
Again I wish I was wrong.
May 20, 2008 at 8:51 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Matt66647 (anonymous) says...
How many of our tax dollars are being spent on this junket?
Sheeple wake up and stop drinking so much purple kool-aid from the Chamber's punch bowl!
Read between the lines above, you are being prepped for impending failure...just say "No To New Sales Taxes!"
May 20, 2008 at 10:11 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Matt66647 (anonymous) says...
Informed would have been to stay in town and craft a TIF plan and/or Rebate Plan to ENCOURAGE commercial development in our smaller market. We should also consider a streamlined building permit and inspection process that does not hinder out of town developers/contractors, but rather assists them.
No crying or tears here...I am seeing it all very clearly.
May 20, 2008 at 11:15 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Bjnemp (anonymous) says...
The people in this town break me up! According to some, Nobody can do nothin' right, no how. I don't care what the commission or police department does, it is wrong. The commissioners go to a large national convention to promote our city, and it is wrong. If they chose not to go, it would have been wrong. I have to agree with Kstrebuchet: "If anyone thinks they can do a better job; Please, run for office!" It seems too many people around here favor reaction because they are not capable of taking action.
May 20, 2008 at 11:28 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
momus (anonymous) says...
I don't think everything the local government does is wrong, however, I think their are better uses of local resources than the ICSC conference. This isn't a development conference, it is a retail conference (I know, the two sometimes are sometimes synonymous). I've been clear with the government officials that I have spoken with on this issue: we create retail opportunities by creating customers. Retailers are well aware of communities throughout the nation, their demographics, disposable income and psychographic factors. Going to the ICSC may make us feel like we are doing something, but if you want to get more retail to Emporia, get more jobs in Emporia. If you want specific types of retail, find out their ideal customer and emulate that specific demographic in your job recruitment.
The "run for office" comment makes a good sound byte, but it presupposes that the only people that can choose the course of this community and can effect change are elected officials. I think we all know that isn't true. Government officials are constantly telling us that they need feedback from their constituents, and not all of our officials were in favor of the ICSC, Buxton, ect. It's important to let officials know what we like and what we don't so they can represent our views more accurately.
May 21, 2008 at 7:49 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
netloafer (anonymous) says...
While I'm not here to fight over the Vegas trip, I do agree with Momus. The key to development is good paying jobs that attract reatilers looking for people with a good amount of disposable income.
My wife and I bought a second place in the River Market area of Kansas City two years ago. What the city did was make a way for young professionals to move into an area that had seen better days. When we bought our loft we were about the second or third unit owners. Then people started to come. Before long our building was filled and a developer was starting construction on an empty building across the street. That filled pretty quickly. Then retailers started to come. Bo Ling's Chinese restaurant opened and small retailers started moving in. Now on weekends the area is jumping, particularly on the weekends. The Power and Light District is about ten blocks north and adds to the happening things for people to do. As more people move in, more retailers, etc are coming. The Freight House District northeast of the River Market is adding restaurants and such.
It all started when the city began to attract young professionals.
One of the things I found interesting about this junket is that Kent Heerman is already dialing back the expectations for any success.
“We’ve had some conversations,” he said. “Never know how those are going to turn out. We just meet, visit with them, give them some information, and it may turn out to materialize into something, it may not.”
“Some of the challenges we’re facing and every community’s facing is that there’s a slowdown in the economy, and there are less projects out there,” Heermann said. “So we may be sowing seeds that will take a long time to fully harvest.”
I'd feel a whole lot better about this "junket" if I believed that the RDA and the entourage were going about this aggressively. But I don't.
And, I don't think it's inciumbent on me,Momus, or others who ask questions to bless every decision our leaders make. I recognize they have the right to make decisions, but I don't feel obligated to get in lockstep with every decision they make. Their getting elected didn't give them the right to a citizenry following them without question.
May 21, 2008 at 10:12 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Matt66647 (anonymous) says...
Our 4 little fish have:
No Commercial Development Plan
No Economic/Revitalization Incentives
No Segmented Marketing/Traffic Count Data to Offer
No Segmented Population/Demographic Statistics
No Land
No Developer
NO EXPERIENCE
They are adrift in a very wide and very deep ocean.
Be sure to view the You Tube Movie "Emporia ERDA 2", as this is what they brought to market!
"No New Sales Taxes"
May 21, 2008 at 10:19 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
wirewatt (Ken Bazil) says...
All the negative people putting articles on this site need to stop, step back and look at what is going on. We have an untapped supply of consumers whom leave town every Friday for several days. The college is bringing in a lot of out of town dollars. We need the stores that these people want to shop and spend their money in. We have alot of buildings around the college area that need to be occupied. The leaders going to LV will be in contact with those franchise's and may be able to bring some of them back to Emporia. When times are hard you just don't set and wait, you must go after opportunities. We have to have jobs for the college kids to keep them here, which will grow other opportunities. You have to walk before you run, and you must go after whatever is needed to serve the community. Setting and waiting for it to come to us isn't going to work in the long run. Once you get the town moving forward again, then we become a much better target for other industrials and the better jobs.
The high tech jobs that everyone keeps talking about will not come unless we have the enviroment that those people are looking for, and want. Its their money they are bring in here and if the schooling, recreation facilities, stores for shopping, don't exist they won't be coming here. Emporia has to be in the right area, offer what they need, and have a little luck, and show those people we will welcome them. Then and only then do we have a chance of getting the jobs and wages we need to have our area grow.
May 21, 2008 at 10:57 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Matt66647 (anonymous) says...
Ks,
Educate Yourself...start with the sophmoric ode "Emporia ERDA 2" listed on You Tube. This little ditty was frantically whipped together last week in preparation for the "junket".
Feel free to correct any inaccuracies in my statement...otherwise....
(PS: Wisdom)
May 21, 2008 at 2:03 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
netloafer (anonymous) says...
Krstebuchet
The scale has little to do with it. For example, the same business principles that hold for a Fortune 500 company also hold true for a small business. The point I was making was that businesses and retailers go where the demographs support their business plan, which is sales and profit.
I also was pointing out that Kent Heerman was dialing down the expectations for results, not me, Momus, or others who are questioning the wisdom of the trip.
I think you may have been referring to my use of the word "junket". Junket is defined as "a trip, as by an official or legislative committee, paid out of public funds and ostensibly to obtain information." Some use the word as some sort of pleasure trip or picnic. That's not the use I was intending. It was the meaning I quoted about a business trip to gather information.
I hope that the meetings they attend will be productive, but I have doubts. But, the trip's been approved and we're going to pay for it, and that's that. And trust me, I'm paying my fair share for this trip,
As for protest/complaint. You're half right. This forum doesn't amount to much. The commissioners and the RDA are going to do what they want. That just seems to be the way things sometimes are here. But protest/complaint can be a very useful tool. Our national legislators seemed quite happy with things in Vietnam until folks started marching in the streets. Jim Crow and segregation were acceptable evils in this country until folks started the freedom rides and sitting in at the lunch counters in Birmingham and Selma. And legislative action, fueled by public protest during the Watergate days, finally forced Richard Nixon to resign from office. Ghandi and his followers brought an end to British colonial rule. Etc, etc., etc.
Closer to home, complaint/protest sometimes does work. A few years ago I and others challenged the commissioners about the elimination of the taxi subsidy for the working poor, elderley, etc. We complained loud enough that the city kept it in place. I've complained/protested to the commissioners about the slum lords in Emporia's core. We're not all the way there yet, but we are making progress toward fixing the problem. I've complained/protested about dogs that bite and we may also be making some headway there. I've talked a lot to the commissioners about compensation for front line employees working for the city. I've talked to them about the lack of merit increases. I've talked to them about overstaffing in management areas at the expense of those at the front lines. I've talked to them a lot about development strategy.
There are things the commissioners and I agree on. There are areas of disagreement. That seems quite normal to me. If some want to adopt a more passive approach to these things it's fine with me. As for me, I still live by the notion that I have the right to speak out against things as well as speak for them. That's my bottom line.
May 21, 2008 at 2:34 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
netloafer (anonymous) says...
Matt66647
I watched the promo.
I had a conversation with Don Hill a month or so ago about the promotional spots about Kansas. I told him they were God awful and he agreed. I suggested that we look at what the good folks in Oklahoma are doing and give some thought to producting something like the lively, vibrant pieces their marketing gurus are doing. There's a world of difference and it makes a difference.
The Emporia promo was in that same God awful category. In keeping with my propensity for protest, I'm going to bring it up to Mayor Agler et all the next time I see them.
I think we can do a whole lot better.
May 21, 2008 at 2:41 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
create (anonymous) says...
I must agree, that the You Boob promo on Emporia was dull to say the least. Poor camera work -- just another slide show with lighting problems and the speakers themselves didn't seem the least bit excited about living here. Sounded like Eeyore saying, "Well, this is Emporia. It's nice."
May 22, 2008 at 8:02 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
netloafer (anonymous) says...
Kstrebuchet
I said I was paying my fair share, nothing more, nothing less. You can read into it whatever you will.
You're right. I'm no Ghandi, I'm just an admirer. But, then, I wasn't making making any claims in that regard. I was using him and others as examples of how protest/complaint can work for the common good.
As I said, there are a lot of things I agree with the commissioners about. The subject of this forum isn't one of them. In areas where we agree there isn't a lot of room for protest or vigorous discussion. For example, I know that two plus two equals four. I don't see much point in reinforcing that truth publicly. However, if someone insists that two plus two equals seven I think I have an obligation to challenge that assumption.
I think it's also interesting that the commissioners don't seem to see me as a complainer. In our interactions, they posit their ideas, I posit mine. There are cases where we find middle ground and comprimise. There are cases where we agree completely. And, there are places where we don't agree. In those cases we've always agreed to continue our civic conversation. That's good enough for me.
I'm sure you care about this city. So do I!
Feel free to think of me however you will. It's pretty clear to me that you and I aren't candidates for mutual dinner invitations. And, that's fine. There are twenty some odd thousand people in this town and I believe it's impossible for any of us to have the same tastes, opinions, likes, dislikes, etc.
May 22, 2008 at 8:51 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )