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The Edwardsville City Council got a clear picture Monday night of the outside support it has when it comes to the economic development of the city.

Brent Miles, president of the Wyandotte Economic Development Council, made a presentation to the city council during its meeting about what the organization is doing for the city behind the scenes.

The mission statement of the development council states that its goal is to promote and strengthen Wyandotte County’s economy through innovative approaches. The group works on bringing capital investments to Bonner Springs, Edwardsville and Kansas City, Kan., Miles said, as well as working on business retention and finding local workers for new companies.

Edwardsville gives $2,000 a year to the council, and Miles said he wanted to give examples of exactly what he’s been working on for the city.

One such example was Project Freight, which must be referred to using a code name because businesses expect a certain level of secrecy before any final decisions are made. Miles said that Project Freight is a company based on the east coast that is currently trying to decide between Edwardsville and another small east coast town as the location of its next expansion.

Miles said the development council’s role was to show the company the possible locations in Edwardsville, and to be the city’s “cheerleader and promoter” while they’re making their choice. He said the council checks in with several companies regularly to get status updates and to keep Wyandotte County on their radars.

Council members seemed excited to hear of the assistance the development council brings, but were mostly interested in the retail possibilities and why those have been slow coming.

Craig Crider said that Edwardsville would be the perfect place for fast food chains for many reasons, such as being so close to major highways, the large amount of traffic that passes through on a daily basis and the trucking facility and its truck drivers wanting a place to eat.

Miles said that he too was surprised a fast food chain hadn’t come to Edwardsville, but added that one of the city’s biggest problems when it comes to attracting businesses is its lack of infrastructure, especially along 110th Street.

Crider also asked Miles what the likelihood was of the city getting a grocery store in the future.

Miles responded that he had contacted several grocery chains about coming to Edwardsville and he’s heard the same complaint from them all: “The population is just not there.” He said grocery stores base their decisions on city population and many think that Edwardsville just isn’t big enough yet to support a grocery store.

But, he added, that won’t stop him from continuing to try. He said Edwardsville is growing and with that growth will come more economic development.

In other business Monday, the Council:

• Approved, 5-0, minutes from the Jan. 12 meeting.

• Approved, 5-0, payment of bills totaling $132,777.78.

• Closed a public hearing concerning the condemnation of structure at 325 N. 110th St. City Administrator Michael Webb reported that the owners of the property had secured the building to ensure no one could enter the structure. He said that work had also been started on cleaning up the brush and overgrown grass around the property. Because of the owner’s attempts, the council decided to wait on any action.

• Approved, 5-0, a request by Council member Chuck Adams to participate in the Mid-America Regional Council’s Academy for Sustainable Communities. The cost of the program is $1,000 but the city’s contribution is not to exceed $500, with the remainder coming from a scholarship program.

“This is a very interesting program because it includes businesses, non-profit companies and government entities,” Adams said. “It opens us to the opportunity to meet other businesses and non profits and promote Edwardsville and show we are a viable player in this area. It’s just a part of our development in the future.”

• Approved, 5-0, an amendment to the code of ordinances regarding exotic animals. Instead of prohibiting crocodilians and constrictor snakes within the city altogether, the ordinance now states that crocodilians no greater than 30 inches and constrictor snakes no great than 6 feet will be allowed.

• Approved, 5-0, the new home occupation license for Weddings by Nessie.

• Confirmed, 5-0, the mayoral appointment of David Hackathorn and Jason Gillam to the Planning Commission.

• Confirmed, 5-0, the mayoral appointment of Gary Green, Leo Mills and Jane Jackson to the Board of Zoning Appeals.

• Confirmed, 5-0, the mayoral appointment of Randy Gilbert and Kathy Duran to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board.

• Confirmed, 5-0, the mayoral appointment of John Kindred, Darlene Thompson and Kenny Shaw to the Cemetery Board.

• Denied, 1-4, with Adams the only consenting vote, the mayoral appointment of Jason Conner to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. During the public comments section of the meeting, parks board member Richard Carter asked the council to deny the appointment of Conner because the board had voted unanimously in its previous meeting for Gary Border instead.

When it came time to vote, council member Crider said the council should respect the choice of the board. Crider then asked Randy Gilbert to come up to the podium and explain the board’s choice.

Gilbert said the board didn’t want Conner to remain on the board because of “lack of involvement.” He said because Conner is in school, he was not able to devote the necessary time to the board. Mayor Heinz Rodgers said that Monday night was the first time he heard the name Gary Border.

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