The November meeting was held at the Eureka College Cerf Center with 23 members in attendance. The meeting was called to order at 8:00 a.m. The minutes of the last meeting were accepted for filing as presented.
Treasurer’s Report: Eldon LiaBraaten said the balance is $5218.20.
Committee Reports:
Christmas Memories with Santa: Vada Schertz was unable to attend, but Christmas Memories with Santa is scheduled for December 8. Children can have their photo taken with Santa Claus. Volunteers are needed, especially for help with clean-up.
City: Mayor Scott Punke gave the city report. The city is working on the park director position or Eureka, Goodfield, and Congerville. Plaques will be placed at the Hartter Bridge, Lakeside Grind, and the William Honeg Park. The city code books are almost complete, and the city is seeking opinions about a municipal pool. The final plat for the Eureka College subdivision is in the works. The Sesquicentennial is scheduled for August 20-22, 2009, in order to accommodate a carnival.
Old Business:
New Business:
Suggestions for New Members to Contact:
A new DVD place is opening up in the old Second Blessings location.
Eureka Development Committee: Larry Whitaker opened up the discussion, saying the Eureka Development Committee was looking at forming three subcommittees: Internal Marketing Initiatives, External Marketing Initiatives, and EBA Website Development. Internal marketing initiatives will target EBA members in an effort to get all of us thinking about the positive impacts of shopping Eureka and EBA businesses. External marketing initiatives will extend the marketing effort to the overall community including partnering with other civic organizations. There was discussion about the pros and cons of changing the EBA to the Eureka Area Business Association and including Goodfield and Congerville businesses. Rick Robinson felt perhaps we should focus on the vacancies in Eureka, and then expand in future years. The issue will be discussed again at the December meeting. Duane Schroeder shared that he felt a city economic development person is needed. Ideas like Eureka Bucks are positive, but there is not, at this point, a lot of retail business. A city employee who would work toward increasing retail growth and increasing the tax base could offer a lot to Eureka’s long-term vitality. Scott Punke said he was not sure the benefits would outweigh the costs for such an employee. Pete Fandel from the U of I extensions said that the extension could work with getting some matching money for a U of I employee to act as a city or county development person. Eldon LiaBraaten shared information from www.sbnportland.org called Top 10 Reasons to Choose Locally Owned Businesses. Supporting local community groups, supporting local prosperity, and putting your taxes to good use are all reasons on the list. Greg Hollenberg and Rick Robinson said they have been working on a county website that they want to be launched in January. They want the website to be a tool for the EBA as well as a resource for the entire community. Bryant Ruder said he would like to see a regular feature in the Woodford County Journal of pictures of local businesspersons doing business at various Eureka businesses. Heidi Bowman said the Journal is always happy to accept submission and pictures. The general consensus after the discussion is that we have more resources locally than we even knew. The EBA and the Eureka Development Committee plan to keep in contact with the U of I extension.
