Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Carbondale Council OKs operations agreement for CoWork Carbondale with SIU office
Summary
After an RFP process, the city selected Southern Illinois University's Office of Innovation and Economic Development to manage CoWork Carbondale; SIU scored highest on staff’s rubric and the council approved the operations and management agreement.
The Carbondale City Council on Monday authorized the city manager to enter into an operations and management agreement with the Southern Illinois University Office of Innovation and Economic Development to run CoWork Carbondale, the co‑working facility inside the Southern Illinois Multimodal Station.
City staff said the city issued a competitive request for proposals as the initial management agreement approached expiration and received four proposals. The evaluation rubric prioritized measurable utilization growth, operational capacity, marketing strategy and alignment with city economic-development goals. According to staff, the Southern Illinois University Office of Innovation and Economic Development scored 95 out of 100 on the rubric; the Carbondale Chamber of Commerce scored 79, Carbondale Main Street scored 76, and an individual proposal scored 49.
Staff recommended awarding the operations and management agreement to SIU’s Office of Innovation and Economic Development on the basis of demonstrated experience, programming resources and partnerships to maximize long-term success. Council member Colombo moved to approve the resolution authorizing the city manager to execute the agreement; Council member Roberts seconded. A citizen asked whether the space had been used during the prior agreement; staff replied there had been rentals and consistent usage. A roll-call vote approved the resolution.
Staff materials note the agreement is intended to support entrepreneurship, remote workers, small businesses and workforce-attraction efforts through flexible workspace, business support and programming to encourage local business formation and growth.
