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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-16-09 Downtown Business Improvement District Minutes Downtown Business Improvement District Board Meeting Minutes 9/16/09 Present: Eric Bowman, Mike Grant, Dan Harding, Dan Himsworth, Ileana Indreland, Buck Taylor, Ellie Staley, Chris Naumann Absent: Mike Basile Eric Bowman calls the meeting to order Public Comments David Loseff “The parts of the Plan that address surface parking lots are particularly troubling. The downtown businesses depend on customers finding parking spaces, which often are only available in the four public lots.” He offered that these lots “are always full.” He stressed that having parking lots located throughout downtown are important and cannot be replaced by a centrally located garage. He said it doesn’t make sense to justify building a $12m garage to meet parking demand and then turn around and eliminate parking elsewhere. “Several years ago, over 40 downtown business/property owners petitioned the City Commission to preserve the public lot on North Willson. We know our customers and their needs far better than an outside consultant.” “With everything that downtown has endured recently—multiple major construction projects, the explosion, and the recession—this plan will be downtown’s death nail.” Bob Evans “I served on the very first Parking Commission over 30 years ago, we worked very hard to create an SID in order to purchase the land for the public parking lots still in place today. Those lots belong to the property owners within the B3 zone that paid that SID all those years.” He said “this Plan will kill downtown.” Minutes ACTION: Ileana Indreland motioned to approve the minutes from July and August Eric Bowman seconded the motion All voted in favor Financial Report Chris reported that normal operating expenses were incurred over the past 30 days. He nd indicated that the City of Bozeman had been invoiced for the 2 quarter assessment payment. Chris informed the board that the checking account balance is $7,644.15 and the STIP account balance is $52,875.56. Program Director’s Report Fall/Winter Events and Programs: th - Homecoming Pep Rally – Friday, October 9 from 6-7:30pm at Willson and Main Street. MSU coaches, players, pep squad and “Champ” help us get pumped for the big game! Also enjoy free food and live music! th - MSU Parent’s weekend “Downtown Discovery” activity – Friday and Saturday, October 30 st and 31. A scavenger hunt through downtown takes parent’s and students through over 15 downtown businesses to help them get a acquainted with our local businesses and have a chance to win one of 4 awesome gift baskets filled with goodies from downtown businesses! st - Downtown Trick or Treating – Friday, October 31 from 3-6pm. Some businesses are throwing in-store and outside events during the evening in combination with this event…updates and promotional materials in October! th - Cat/Griz Pep Rally – Friday, November 20 from 6-7:30pm at Willson and Main Street. MSU coaches, players, pep squad and “Champ” help us get pumped for the even bigger game! Also enjoy free food and live music! th - 2009 Christmas Stroll – Saturday, December 5 from 4:30-7:30pm. Santa and kid’s activities at the Baxter, haywagon rides, in-store activities, 30-40 non-profit food vendors and more! Other Items: 2010 Membership Drive in full effect! Hope to add around 15-25 new members with the - help of the DBA Board Members! Each member is taking membership materials to 7-8 “downtown located” businesses who are not members. Once the membership drive is complete we will get the 2010 directory re-printed and do a website business directory overhaul. Executive Director’s Report Business Improvement District Board September 16, 2009 Downtown Improvement Plan The final draft of the Downtown Improvement Plan will go twice before both the Planning Board and the City Commission. Both reviews will involve proper public notice and provide opportunity for public comment. The final draft has been announced via the downtown e-mail list serve (400+ recipients) and in the Downtown Newspaper (4800 copies). Chris is in the process of contacting the stakeholders (37 individuals) interviewed during the development of the Plan to ask for their comments on the final draft. City of Bozeman Review and Adoption Timeline August 19 Application submitted to Planning Department September 15 Planning Board hearing (1 of 2) October 5 City Commission Resolution of Intent to Adopt October 6 Planning Board hearing (2 of 2) November 9 City Commission Public Hearing for Adoption Downtown Bozeman Gas Refurbishment Project The following is an update as provided by Northwestern Energy on September 9, 2009: Northwestern Energy’s completed work: Block 1: North of Main, Black to Tracy; Block 2: North of Main, Bozeman to Black; Block 3: South of Main, Bozeman to Black Block 4: South of Main, Black to Tracy This block has the most inside meters sets and is a high priority. In order to accommodate businesses on this block that use their rear entrance for primary customer access, we are closing just one half of the block at a time. The east th side of the block is now complete. We will begin work on the west side the week of September 14. Pre-construction Assessment Schedule: complete Construction Schedule for remaining west side of block: 9/14 - Duration 5 days Reclamation Schedule: 9/21 - duration 5 days Block 5: South of Main, Tracy to Willson Work in this block includes: Move meters outside, replace services that have mechanical fittings, remove swing joints, remove stubs, and section out dresser couplings. Install PCF on east edge of Willson, isolate between Willson and Tracy. Pre-construction Assessment Schedule: week of 9/7 Construction Schedule: 9/21 - Duration 10 days Reclamation Schedule: 9/28 - Duration 5 days Flower Basket and Tree Update While I have received numerous compliments on our flowers, there are several baskets that are not doing as well as they could. I have spoken with Renee of Oak Gardens about what variables could precipitate the various conditions of the baskets. I am photo documenting the baskets in order to identify, which varieties of the Super Petunias are “underperforming”. Renee and I will meet once the baskets come down to discuss how to improve the program for next year. I also met with members of the Forestry Division for an assessment of the Main Street trees. We identified numerous trees, both mature and young, that are in need of trimming. The Forestry crew will perform the necessary trimming this Fall. The Foresters noted several trees that are not doing well, but felt that there is a chance they will pull through, thus we reserved judgment until next year. Two trees definitely need to be replaced. Cashman’s might cover one tree under warranty from last Fall’s planting efforts. The other was not replaced last fall since it was enclosed within the JLF Architect’s construction site. Discussion and Decision Items Downtown Improvement Plan The Board discussed the comments made by Mr. Loseff and Mr. Evans. Chris reiterated that Plan clearly states that “convenient parking for customers and employees is vitally important” and “there will continue to be surface lots.” He also emphasized that the Plan clearly states “the development concepts are intended only to illustrate the opportunities for infill of commercial and residential uses…they are not intended to be specific recommendations.” Chris concluded by saying that the Plan does not call for the “elimination” of all public surface parking lots. Ileana acknowledged that having been on the advisory committee and working on the Plan for months it was difficult to know how someone unfamiliar with the Plan could interpret the concepts and recommendations. Eric said he did not get that that impression. Ileana said after talking with David, she could see his point that the Plan seems to threaten all the surface parking lots. In this regard, she said that the Plan was flawed because “eliminating” the surface lots is not the intent of the Plan. She suggested that some language could be revised to more accurately reflect the true intent of the Plan to recommend and demonstrate strategic infill and redevelopment. She concluded by saying that this issue can be addressed and a revised Plan must be adopted. Chris said that the Advisory Committee will meet as soon as possible to discuss how best to address the concerns raised. Eric asked that the Downtown Plan be on the agenda for discussion next month. Anchor and Cable Report Chris quickly reviewed the anchor assessment report from 2004 prepared by Rick Kerin of Kerin & Associates. The reports consists of 15 pages of narrative, 10 pages of photo captions and 70 pages of photos. Chris reminded the board that four issues had been identified at the last meeting: 1-Define ownership and liability; 2-Decide if new analysis is needed; 3-Consider cost estimate for repairs/replacement; 4-Consider establishing easements. Chris said from his review, he feels we can use the Kerin analysis from 2004 noting that conditions had most likely not changed. The group agreed. The group briefly discussed ownership and liability issues concluding that a title company should be consulted. Chris asked if the board had any recommended title companies familiar with downtown. Members said they would make some recommendations. Ileana said the title company could look into any existing easements as well. Chris suggested that he contact Rick Kerin and ask him to prioritize anchors based on need of repair and provide cost estimates for each recommended repair. He said he will also contact a title company, brief them about the anchor assessment and establish how they might be able to help. The board agreed this would be a good course of action. BID Expiration and Renewal Chris reminded the board that the BID is scheduled to expire in May 2010. He said that the renewal process is exactly that of a district formation as dictated by Montana statute. He continued that the first step is to define the district boundary. There are two options: 1-keep the existing boundary; or 2-expand the existing boundary. Chris indicated that it is just as easy to renew with an expanded boundary as the existing. Expanding the boundary a year or two later would be an enormous amount of work. The board discussed possible expansions of the district to the east of the current boundary and possibly to the northwest as well. Chris said he would have Jon Henderson, COB GIS, generate a map with the current BID boundary and the potential expansions for the board to consider. The board also asked that Chris e-mail them the formula by which the assessment is currently calculated. With no new or old business to be discussed the meeting was adjourned.