Business Improvement District

Business Improvement District Board Minutes Noon, July 20, 2021 Country Traditions 303 N. Main Street, Fremont NE 68025 and via Zoom Board Present: Tom Coday, Vince O'Conner, Kevin Main, Richard Register, Roxie Kracl, Jerry Johnson, Ginger Rosenthal, Bill Parks, Brenden Murray, J J Bixby arrived at 12:04, and Howard Krasne arrived at 12:26 Absent: all in attendance Guests: Shannon Mullen, Brian Newton, Leslie Main, Loren Taquette, and Collin Spilinek Guests on Zoom: 402-253-1947 1. Meeting was called to order by Chairman Coday at 12:01 pm. Roll call was taken. It was noted that a copy of the Open Public Meeting Act was posted and available in the room. 2. Motion was made to approve the minutes of the June 15, 2021 meeting by Vince O'Connor and seconded by Roxie Kracl. Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote 9/0 3. Comments from Public – Ginger had questions regarding parking, will make it an agenda item for next meeting. Kevin & Leslie Main introduced the new owners of Country Traditions Loren Taquette & Karen Hardy are from Elkhorn. 4. Discussion on proposed job description and finding an employee to fill position for the BID/Mainstreet Director. A proposed job description was reviewed along with salary. Focus for new hire should be grant writing to help fund new projects that need to be created for Mainstreet growth. It is proposed that the new director will be employed by Mainstreet but supervised by the BID board. Shannon will put together a committee to conduct do interviews with possibly two BID members & two Mainstreet board members plus Shannon. Shannon will report back on applicants and will determine at a later date if applicants will attend a meeting to meet each board member. Motion to approve was made by Roxie, and seconded by Vince. Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote 10/0. 5. Discussion on repair of the Distrx sign located at 6th & Park. Motion was made by Richard to pay up to $75 to repair the sign, and seconded by Ginger. Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote 10/0. 6. Discussion on the sound system & speakers for downtown. Shannon reported that bids should be in by end of month and should be available at the next meeting. This should allow enough time so the system can be installed by Christmas. The contractor will work with the City so the system can be installed on poles that have electricity and will be able to work without the street lights being on. 7. Discussion on budget to present to the City Council to re the new BID for another five years. There was discussion about holding an educational meeting for property-owners in the BID and the public before the budget and renewal was presented to the City Council. A date in early September was agreed upon. Shannon will arrange a place to meet and get back to the board with a date and time. Educational information might include grants received, projects completed, and a list of potential future projects. The invitation to attend the meeting could be in a BID newsletter, Brian's weekly newsletter, and an email blast by Shannon. Chairman Coday presented new proposed budget. Motion was made by Vince to accept the new budget as proposed, and seconded by Kevin. Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote 10/0. 8. Committee Reports – It was suggested that all board members should serve on a committee and each committee should elect a Chair. Financial- MainStreet is working with Melissa Diers at the Community Foundation to manage MainStreet's financials Maintenance- New landscaping projects have been completed and a water problem has been rectified. Now that the landscaping is done, only need maintenance should be necessary next year. Future Projects- Discussion on role of the possible new director to focus on grant writing for future projects.  Design/Christmas Decorations- No Report – Projects may be added to this committee. 9. MainStreet- Shannon reported that this weekend is Summer Fest. Milady was featured in a tourism publication. A commercial featuring Fremont will be aired during the Nebraska/Oklahoma Football Game on Fox 42. Shannon will work with the Marketing Committee on putting it together. The commercial will run fifty spots during October and CVB will do the production of the commercial. 10. Chairman Coday said the next BID Board meeting will be August 17, 2021 at 12:00 pm at Country Traditions and via zoom. A motion to adjourn was made by Kevin and seconded by O'Conner. Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote 11/0. Respectfully submitted,