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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBID Minutes 8-16 Downtown Business Improvement District Board Meeting Minutes August 17, 2016 Attending: Mike Basile, Jolee Berry, Ileana Indreland, Erik Nelson, Susan Neubauer, Eric Sutherland, Chris Naumann Absent: Eric Bowman Public Comments: None Disclosures: None Chris introduced and welcomed Jolee and Susan as new BID Board members. Special Presentation Law and Justice Center Overview Bozeman Police Chief Steve Crawford, City Manager Chris Kukulski, County Attorney Marty Lambert An overview of the proposed Law and Justice Center was presented to the board including the following information: need for new L&J Center; layout and design; function and operations; and bond financing details. The board and attendees exchanged questions and answers. Minutes ACTION: Erik Nelson moved to approve the minutes from June as presented. Mike Basile seconded the motion. All voted in favor. Finance Report Chris presented the financials as of August 17, 2016. He noted that revenues were tracking as expected with just over $62,000 received. The only significant expenses to report were the 1st quarter Partnership management fee of $17,850 and the flower basket payment to Oak Gardens for $16,850. Chris also reported that he renegotiated the FY2017 garage cleaning contract with the City for $15,000 up from $12,000 in FY2016. The board had no further questions about the finance report. Executive Director’s Report Maintenance Program Update We currently have one full-time downtown maintenance staff person working five days a week. Plus, we also have one part-time garage maintenance staff. We have one full-time and one-part time flower watering staff. FINAL TOTALS FY2016 Total Ave/mnth Trash Emptied 2998 250 Recycling Emptied 399 33 Graffiti Removed 437 36 Below are the maintenance statistics comparing year-to-date figures from this year (FY17) to the statistics from the same period last year (FY16). FY2016 FY2017 Total Ave/mnth Total Ave/mnth Difference Trash Emptied 410 410 320 320 -90 Recycling Emptied 72 72 42 42 -30 Graffiti Removed 49 49 49 49 0 Downtown Fiber Network Project Update The originally designed downtown fiber network is complete. Crews are fixing a few issues. Internet services will be available to downtown businesses in October 2016. The TIF District has contracted with the fiber network engineers to design two additional sections of conduit on West Lamme and East Babcock that would create a complete “outer ring” of fiber downtown. These two extensions would bring fiber to several more blocks and dozens of property and create redundancy downtown which is advantageous. Floodplain Map Update The City and its contracted engineering firm have completed the analysis of Mill Ditch and its potential floodwater capacity and constraints. The results of the analysis are generally positive and indicate that there are improvements to engineering methods and physical alterations to the ditch that should be pursued. These improvements would likely reduce the floodplain impacts downtown and yield revisions to the proposed floodplain map. Implementing the Mill Ditch upgrades will involve coordination with DNRC and FEMA and those discussions are just now beginning. Building Project Updates Lark Addition (corner of Grand and Main) 4 story building with 28 new Lark hotel rooms. Construction is expected to begin October 2016. 5 West Building (northwest corner of Mendenhall and Tracy) Construction began on October 2016. Scheduled to open in Jan/Feb 2017. Etha Hotel (old Armory building) first phase of foundation work complete. Open parking lot for 6 to 8 weeks while internal footings constructed. Then lot closed again for duration of construction. Willson Residences (old East Willson School) being redeveloped into 18 residential units with underground parking. Partial completion scheduled for Summer 2016. NeBo (400 block of East Mendenhall) 2 buildings, four floors each. 12 residential units each with 2-car garage. Expected completion October 2016. Rialto Theater under construction to be completed by August 2017. New Businesses Update • Bozeman Taproom—Mendenhall/Rouse…NOW OPEN! • Union Market— Mendenhall/Rouse…Service Elec (south) opening date unknown. • Rockford Coffee—relocating to old Stylon space…to open by September 1, 2016 • Jam Fusion Restaurant—renovations underway at old Universal Athletics • Toro Mexican Bar and Grill—NOW OPEN! • Squire House—Element Hotel restaurant has a new proprietor Planning Updates In this section I will provide update about several ongoing City planning processes. Hiring of new Community Development Director August 29th: Candidate “Meet & Greet” August 30th: Candidate Interviews Transportation Master Plan www.bozemantmp.com Consultants: Peccia & Associates (Helena), Alta Planning (Bozeman) Timeline: September 2015 (kickoff) through September 2016 (adoption) Update: Draft plan available in July 2016 UDC Revisions http://bozeman.net/Projects/UDCCodeupdate/Home Consultants: Makers (Seattle), Leland Group (Portland), Studio Cascade (Spokane) Timeline: September 2015 (kickoff) through February 2017 (adoption) City Vision & Strategic Plan Consultants: HDR Timeline: March 2016 (kickoff) through October 2016 2017 Downtown Improvement Plan Consultants: yet to be determined Timeline: yet to be determined…RFP summer 2016 2017 Community Plan (City Growth Policy) Update Timeline: October 2016 through late 2017 Discussion and Decision Item Flower Program Policy Discussion Considering the amount of time dedicated to the Law & Justice Center presentation and discussion, Chris presented a revised draft of a flower program policy document (see below) to be discussed at a future meeting. **Meeting was adjourned at 1:15pm** Downtown Business Improvement District DRAFT Flower Basket Program Policy August 2016 Overview The Downtown BID has managed a flower basket program since 2001. Currently the BID procures and waters 250 flower baskets. The BID invests approximately 25% of the annual property owner assessment in the flower basket program. The flower basket program boundary includes Main Street from Wallace Avenue to 3rd Avenue. The program extends north and south of Main Street for one block on Church, Rouse, Bozeman, Black, Tracy, Willson and Grand Avenues. Due to fiscal and labor constraints and in the interest of maintaining a high-quality program, the BID is not able to extend the flower basket program to all of the properties within the BID district. Background The Flower Basket Program began in 2001 following creation of BID in 2000. For the first five years of program the Downtown Tax Increment Finance (TIF) District funded the purchase and planting of the baskets. In 2006, the BID assumed the full cost of the flower basket program including procurement, planting, and watering. From 2001 to 2008 the BID contracted with a local landscaping company for the daily watering of the flower baskets. In 2008 the water contract cost $15,000. In 2009, the BID board decided to bring the flower watering “in house”. This was accomplished by purchasing a truck, water tank, and water pump. At the same time the BID began hiring dedicated staff to water the flowers seven days a week. The program continued to grow as parts of the downtown streetscape were upgraded. Over the last ten years the number of baskets has increased from 140 baskets to 250 baskets. Parameters The BID solicits and contracts with a nursery company to procure plant, grow, install and remove the downtown flower baskets. The contractor is selected via a competitive RFP process. The BID awards 3-year contract to the lowest most responsible respondent. As the program expands within the designated boundary, the BID purchases the wrought-iron hangers, the coconut liners, and the initial plantings from the contracted nursery. Periodically the coconut liners need to be replaced. Annually all the baskets are a replanted with new flowers. The contracted nursery prunes the flower plants once or twice a season. The BID staff waters the flowers seven days a week from installation until removal (mid-June to the end of September). The BID administers a Flower Basket Sponsorship Program by which businesses provide philanthropic financial support at various levels. The sponsorship program yields approximately $7000 of funding annually. Finances The Flower Basket Program expenses exceed $30,000 which requires approximately 25% of the annual property owner assessment which is currently $120,000. Accounting for the $7000 in sponsorships, the net program expenses are approximately $25,000 annually. Flower Program Expenses Nursery Contract $ 18,000 Watering Employee Wages $ 9,000 Truck Expenses $ 5,500 TOTAL $ 32,500 Flower Program Revenues Assessment Funds $ 25,500 Watering Employee Wages $ 7,000 TOTAL $ 32,500 Constraints The Flower Basket Program is constrained by financial capacity and operational limitations. These constraints will need to be addressed as more baskets are added within the program boundary. Currently the program expenses account for 25% of the BID’s annual property owner assessment. Considering only half of the block faces within the program boundary have flower baskets, the BID is faced with continued increasing expensive as more properties are improved. Operationally, the current watering system will not be able to provide adequate service when the number of baskets increases to and beyond 275. It may become necessary to invest in a second watering truck so that two employees can water at the same time and thus service a larger number of baskets. The BID should consider ways to encourage, and perhaps even incentivize, new developments to incorporate integrated drip irrigation systems into any new streetlamp installation. Boundary The BID Flower Basket Program boundary extends along Main Street from, but not including Wallace Avenue, to, but not including 3rd Avenue. From Main Street, the program extends north to, but not including, Mendenhall Avenue, and south to, but not including, Babcock Avenue. The following streets are included in the program boundary for one block north and south from Main Street: Church, Rouse, Bozeman, Black, Tracy, Willson, and Grand. Blue = BID Boundary Green Blocks= Current Flower Baskets Red Blocks = Future Flower Baskets Procurement and Maintenance Policies Inside Program Boundary The BID will continue to fully support the Flower Basket Program within the established program boundary. For existing flower basket locations, the BID will fund the annual replanting and installation plus provide the necessary watering services. For new flower basket locations within the program boundary, the BID will fund the initial procurement, subsequent annual replanting, maintenance and watering. Outside Program Boundary In order to ensure consistency in appearance and quality, the BID will purchase and therefore own the necessary hardware (18” Imperial hanging baskets). For flower basket location outside the program boundary but within the district, the BID will coordinate the planting and delivery of the flowers utilizing their contracted nursery. The BID will invoice the property owner for those planting and delivery costs. For flower basket locations outside the program boundary, the property owners or tenants will be responsible for all watering and necessary maintenance.