Business Improvement District

Business Improvement District Board Minutes Noon, November 16, 2021 Country Traditions 303 N. Main Street, Fremont NE 68025 Board Present: Tom Coday, Vince O'Conner, Richard Register, Howard Krasne, Ginger Rosenthal, and J.J. Bixby Absent: Bill Parks, Kevin Main, Jerry Johnson, Roxie Kracl, and Brenden Murray Guests: Brian Newton, Loren Paquette, Sandra Murray, Mayor Joey Spellerberg, Collin Spilinek, Amy Vermeline, Jill Gossett, Barb Christensen, Gary Pebbly, Shannon Mullins, Sam Heineman, and Daniel Peterson 1. Meeting was called to order by Chairman Coday at 12:04 pm. Roll call was taken with six members present. 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 October 19, 2021 meeting by Howard Krasne and seconded by Vince O'Connor. Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote 6/0. 3. Comments from Public – Gary Pebbly, Loren Paquette, and Daniel Peterson offered comments. 4. Discussion and possible action on purchasing flowers for the hanging pots. Amy Vermeline reported that Siffring’s price per basket would increase between $5 and $10. Last year’s cost was around $16,000, split between the BID and MainStreet. There was general agreement that pots should be purchased for a portion of Military Avenue. A motion was made to partner again with MainStreet on flower pots and approve up to $9,000 for BID’s 50% portion of the total cost. Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote 6/0. 5. Discussion and possible action on purchasing benches. Tom Coday said there are two benches on hand, so until those are being used, additional benches are not necessary. Amy Vermeline said a new bench is $1,100 plus shipping. No action was taken. 6. Discussion and possible action on sending out the request for proposal (RFP) for the light pole speaker system. Brian Newton passed out a copy of the draft RFP and asked in anyone had any questions. A motion was made by Howard Krasne and seconded by Vince O’Connor to approve sending out the RFP. Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote 6/0. 7. Discussion and possible action on renewal of the BID. Tom Coday reported that the Mayor met with several Board members about reducing the renewal period from five years to two years and decreasing the annual budget from $66,000 to $48,000. There was also discussion about modifying the BID area and implementing a two-tier fee schedule. Tom Coday noted that if the budget was reduced to $15,000, he recommended keeping the $15,000 in the budget to pay for one-half of MainStreet’s Executive Director position. A motion was made by JJ Bixby and seconded by Vince O'Conner to recommend a two-year renewal, a revised budget of $48,000, and lowering the maintenance fund, so $15,000 of the budget would be available to pay MainStreet for $15,000 for one-half of the executive director’s salary. Motion carried by a vote of 5/1 with Richard Register voting no. 8. Committee Reports Financial – No report. Maintenance – No report. Marketing – Howard Krasne said the committee is recommending approval of $5,000 for social media marketing from November through December. A motion was made by Howard Krasne and seconded by Vince O’Connor to approve up to $5,000 for social media marketing from November through December. Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote 6/0. Future Projects - No report. Design/Christmas Decorations – No report. 9. MainStreet – No report. 10. Chairman Coday said the next BID Board meeting will be December 20, 2021 at 12:00 pm at Country Traditions and via zoom. A motion to adjourn was made by Richard Register and seconded by Ginger Rosenthal. Motion carried by unanimous roll call vote 6/0. Respectfully submitted, Tom Coday, Chair