Business Improvement District (BID) Board

A meeting of the Business Improvement District (BID) Board was held at City Hall on September 19, 2024 at 5:30 P.M. Board members Duane Johnson, Mark Hanson, Vincent Meyer, and the City Administrator were present. Kylee Wussow and Andrea Hoffman were excused. There was 1 citizen in attendance. 1. The City Administrator called the meeting to order at 5:35 pm. 2. BRF Downtown has not submitted by-laws and there were no representatives in attendance, so no action was taken on recommendation for organization to implement the 2025 BID Operating Plan. 3. Per the action taken at the last meeting, Kylee Wussow reached out to Downtown Association board members requesting financials and inventories for the BID Board to review. Some inventories were received, but financials have not been provided. 4. Laura Lindow was in attendance and indicated letters requesting donations for Christkindl were ready and that they will be fundraising for this event. There has been no response from the City’s insurance provider on whether or not City insurance would cover the event. The City Administrator will follow up with them. No action needed or taken. 5. The City Administrator presented a proposal from Municipal Utilities to consider converting the downtown decorative lamp posts from a dual lamp configuration to a single acorn style lamp configuration and an estimate from D&S Manufacturing to produce 19 base plates and 19 base rings from $7,239.00. converting to a single lamp design would reduce the cost of replacement from a 2022 estimate of $8,790 per unit to $4,985 per unit. This is complete replacement including the poles. The idea is to use the existing lamp fixtures to convert to single lamp design which would only require purchasing base plates and rings to secure the poles and would result in extra units to be placed in storage for replacement and/or repair as needed. 6. It was moved by Duane Johnson, seconded by Vincent Meyer to approve ordering the base plates and rings from D&S Manufacturing per the estimate provided. Motion carried. 7. It was moved by Duane Johnson, seconded by Mark Hanson to approve the quote from River Bottom Art & Sign to repaint/refurbish all four (4) BRF “Welcome” signs at a cost of $1,200.00 each. Motion carried. 8. It was moved by Duane Johnson, seconded by Mark Hanson to recommend to Common Council reducing the rate per thousand dollars of valuation for BID assessments by $1.00 for all zones for 2025. Motion carried. 9. There was discussion on the Downtown Association not providing financial information as requested several times. Board members expressed concerns that these are public funds that are unaccounted for the board has no answers for the public if they ask about it. 10. It was moved by Duane Johnson, seconded by Mark Hanson to engage the City attorney to draft a letter to the Downtown Association to get the financials and detailed inventories to the BID Board. Motion carried. 11. It was moved by Duane Johnson, seconded by Vincent Meyer to adjourn. Motion carried at 6:35 pm. A. Brad Chown, City Administrator City of Black River Falls Page 1 of 1