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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4-16-08 BID MinutesDowntown Business Improvement District • Board Meeting Minutes 4-16-08 Attending: Eric Bowman, Dan Himsworth, Ileana Indreland, Buck Taylor, Eric Bryson, Kaaren Jacobson, Chris Naumann Absent: Travis Collins, Chris Pope, Ellie Staley In the absence of Chairman Collins, Chris Naumann called the meeting to order No Public Comment MOTION: Ileana moves to accept the minutes from February and March as presented. Buck seconded the motion. No further discussion. All in favor. Chris presented the financial report indicating no significant activity other than the expected maintenance expenditures. Chris noted that the STIP balance was still in excess of $100,000. In Ellie's absence there was no Program Director's report. . Executive Director's Report The STIP Funded Projects Update Garbage Bag Order (completed): The garbage bag order from Ace Owenhouse has been received and paid. The approved project budget was $1600 and the final cost was $1598. Christmas Wreath Order (completed): The additional Christmas wreaths were ordered and have been received and the invoice paid. I had mistakenly proposed getting 8 wreaths for the Grand intersection and 4 for 3`d Ave-luckily before ordering I remembered that the 3~d and Main intersection does not have traffic signals. The approved project budget was $2250 and the final cost was $1168. "No Bikes" Sign Order (completed): Officer Rich McLane has ordered 122 "no bicycling, no skateboarding on sidewalk" signs. We have determined the location of 102 of the signs and the remainder will be held for additional locations or replacements. The approved project budget was $5000 and the final cost was $4479. Graffiti Removal Project (current): The Graffiti Removal Project is off to a great start. I completed a survey detailing every tag in the downtown area. This initial inventory will provide a statistical baseline from • which the success of the program can be measured annually. I purchased an initial wave of supplies from Graffiti Solutions in Minneapolis. With the help of the MCC we did an extensive removal project along the alley south of Main Street between Willson and Tracy, which WAS the most tagged block in all of downtown. The approved project budget is $3000 and to date $994 has been spent. • Downtown Directory Kiosks (current): I have entered into a contract with Intrinsic Architecture and Massive Studios for the design of the kiosks. This project has been bundled together with the downtown parking signage plan in order to achieve a very cohesive aesthetic. Preliminary designs will be presented at May's board meeting. The approved project budget is $9000 and $0 have been spent to date. Downtown Parking Signage (current): I have entered into a contract with Intrinsic and Massive for the design of a downtown parking sign plan. This project will be simultaneously developed in conjunction not only with the directory kiosks but also the exterior signage for the parking garage. Again the overarching goal is to have a comprehensive "way finding" system for downtown that is very aesthetic, intuitive and easy to use. The approved project budget is $20,000 and $0 have been spent to date. Control Box Art Project (future): have yet to initiate this project. The approve project budget is $5000 and $0 have been spent to date. Discussion Items: • DOWNTOWN 2020 FORUM Chris updated the board that the Downtown 2020 Forum was scheduled for 11:OOam to 2:OOpm on May 8. The forum will be held at the Bozeman Public Library and facilitated by Jim Madden. Chris informed the board that Mr. Madden charges $100 per hour. He indicated that he would like to meet with Jim prior to the forum to determine the structure of the forum. He also indicated that it might be necessary to meet with Mr. Madden after the forum to compile the information. In all Chris estimates that we will need to pay for 5 to 6 hours of Mr. Madden's time. The idea was mentioned that a transcriber would be critical to document the proceedings. Other costs of event would include food and beverages plus the services of the transcriber. Chris asked the board to consider approving a certain total expenditure for the event. MOTION: Dan Himsworth motioned that the board approve expenditures for the Downtown 2020 Forum not to exceed $1000 to be paid from the STIP account. Ileana seconded the motion. There was no further discussion. All in favor. The discussion moved on to what topics should be covered during the forum. Chris recalled an earlier discussion with Ileana where they agreed a good starting point would be a brief review of the Urban Renewal Plan and Maker's Plan. Other potential topics would include: Land Use, Redevelopment and Infill, Historic Preservation, Traffic, Parking, Codes-Zoning-Planning • Regulations. It was mentioned that a traditional S.W.O.T. (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) analysis could be done. Chris mentioned that we will only have 3 hours so we will need to stay focused. The board agreed that we should identify and prioritize 6-10 topics. • Ileana suggested that Chris bring the large map of downtown that shows the BID, TIF and B3 districts. PRELIMINARY 2008-2009 BUDGET Chris presented a preliminary draft of the BID 2008-2009 budget. Chris first explained his proposed maintenance program that would be ramped up to include ayear-round full-time employee. The BID costs would be $20-$21 k. Contract revenues from the City of Bozeman and maintenance sponsorships would fund the rest of the program. Chris pointed out that most other programs would see minimal cost fluctuations. The BID's management fee would potentially increase to $60k. Correspondingly, Chris emphasized the need to increase the assessment to $114-$115k. The 10% increase is a necessity of the rising costs of doing business. Chris provided some examples of what that increase would cost particular properties: Bob Fletcher's assessment would increase $85, Owenhouse $150, Delaney's 101 East Main $135, MacKenzie River $85. The board agreed that such increases would be reasonable and justifiable. Chris said that he would send a letter to all BID property owners informing them of the pending increase to the assessment. He will put together a detailed BID update document outlining past, current and future BID programs and projects to educate property owners about all that the BID has accomplished on behalf of downtown. •