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HomeMy WebLinkAboutBID Minutes 1-21-09 Downtown Business Improvement District Board Meeting Minutes 1/21/2009 Present : Mike Basile, Eric Bowman, Dan Harding, Dan Himsworth, Ileana Indreland, Kaaren Jacobson, Chris Naumann and Ellie Staley Absent : Buck Taylor Eric calls the meeting to order. Public comments None Minutes ACTION: Mike Basile motions to accept the minutes from 11/19 and 12/17. Ileana Indreland seconds the motion. All vote in favor Financial Report rdth Chris reported that he invoiced the City of Bozeman for both the 3 and 4 quarter assessment payments which total $57,000.00. He expects that income payment to be received before the end of January. Other financial activity this month included the expected maintenance expenses plus some final expenses associated with the removal of the Holiday decorations. The board asked if Chris anticipated any expenditure related to the light pole banners. Chris said he expects that some of the winter banners will need to replaced once they come down this spring. Executive Director’s Report Business Improvement District Board st January 21 2009 Holiday Light Update Once the Christmas Spiders where taken down, I was able to inventory some necessary repairs for next year. We will need to invest approximately $500 in garland to replace damaged sections. There is one vertical pole that has yet to be rewired, which will cost around $500. Service Electric made several recommendations regarding the intersection wiring. First, the plugs at each intersections are quite old and not to code. Replacing the antiquated plugs with code approved weatherproof ones would run about $400 per intersection ($1600 total). He also noted that the wiring that runs along the support cables is starting to show considerable wear. He estimated that replacing the wiring at each intersection would cost about $1000 ($4000 total). I will take this potential upgrade costs into account when I draft next year’s budget. One option would be to replace the plugs and wiring at two intersections next year ($2800-$3000) and replace the remainder the following year. Parking Garage Considerable progress is being made at the garage site. Martel is completing the retail shell in the next few weeks with the installation of the final brick work and last windows. Upon completion, tenant improvements can begin taking place at the owner’s discretion. Work on the stair towers is continuing with the installation of the exterior windows and the two elevators. The nd parking control equipment will be installed by the manufacturer the week of February 2. The prominent crack on the main deck is still an issue of concern. The new City Building Inspector and the structural engineer are discussing the options for repairing the crack. Downtown Improvement Plan The Downtown Improvement Plan Advisory Committee selected the team of consultants led by LMN Architects of Seattle, Washington. The LMN team includes the following members: Mark Hinshaw and Walt Neihoff, LMN Architects, Seattle WA (specializing in architecture, urban design and master planning) David Leland, Leland Consulting, Portland OR (specializing in economic and market analysis plus implementation feasibility) Randy Hafer, High Plains Architecture, Billings MT (specializing in historic architecture and adaptive reuse) David Crawford, Thomas, Dean and Hoskins Engineering, Bozeman MT (specializing in traffic and streetscape engineering) The planning process will include background research, analysis of existing conditions, public input and stakeholder interviews, presentation of a draft plan, further public input, and formulation of a final plan. The LMN team will begin working on the project in February. We anticipate having a final plan for review and adoption no later than July 1, 2009. Sublease and Office Improvement Update The improvements to the sublease office space were completed last week. The completion was delayed as a piece of tempered glass had to be ordered. th On Monday, January 19, I sent an “advertisement” that we have the space available for lease to the downtown e-mail list serve (over 300 recipients). If I do not receive any inquiries, I will place a classified ad in the Bozeman Daily Chronicle the first week in February. Business Seminar Series The Downtown Bozeman Partnership and MSU Extended University Leadership Program will present a business leadership seminar series: January 20, 27, and February 3. The three seminars will focus on productivity, customer service and business improvement. The seminar series will be facilitated by Paul Bentley, Program Director and Instructor for the Leadership Program at MSU’s Extended University. He has 18 years of leadership experience in private industry, government, and non-profit. Montana Downtown Conference The Downtown Partnership will be hosting the Montana Downtown Conference May 7 and 8, 2009. The annual conference is a gathering of downtown organizations from around the region to discuss current issues, learn from one another and network. Billings hosted the 2008 event and Missoula will be the host in 2010. Several items from the Executive Director’s report were discussed. Chris added to his parking garage update that Martel Construction is planning to reopen Black and Tracy Avenues in the first week of February. Regarding the Downtown Improvement Plan, Chris said he would put together a summary of the project (and process) to date for all of the downtown boards. The board suggested listing the office sublease on Craig’s List. Discussion and Decision Items Maintenance Proposal Chris outlined the previously discussed idea of hiring a full-time, year-round maintenance employee. One way to pay for the increased costs associated with a full-time maintenance employee would be to reinvest the money historically spent on the flower watering contract. Chris emphasized that a full-time employee would allow a wider assortment of “clean and safe” services to be offered on a consistent basis. One area of service that would be greatly enhanced would be graffiti removal. The board expressed some confusion about the graffiti removal program: who cleans the graffiti and how often? Chris explained that graffiti removal has proved difficult with the current part-time staff that does garbage collection. They typically have another full-time job and just work downtown for 2-3 hours a day. The board discussed having a graffiti “hot-line” phone number or e-mail address that property owners could report tags. Chris stressed that if the BID had a full-time maintenance we wouldn’t need a “hot-line” because the tags would be removed before most owners would ever see them. Chris gave an overview of the financials of a full-time program. In essence, supplementing the existing maintenance budget with the watering contract money would fund full-time maintenance for the entire year. Chris noted that this would include an additional part-time employee during the busy summer months, which would insure that the flower get watered 7 days a week. The board asked Chris to provide them with a formal written proposal for them to consider and base their decision. Eric Bowman asked when the board would need to decide in order to start a full-time program. Chris said he would need a decision from the board at either the February or March meeting. Off-Main Property Benefits Chris informed the board that he had received some calls about what the BID does for properties within the district that are not on Main Street. The board mentioned that having a full- time maintenance person would allow the BID to extend more services “off Main”. With no new or old business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned.