Downtown Advisory Board

CITY OF HENDERSONVILLE DOWNTOWN ADVISORY BOARD Downtown Program Office | 125 Fifth Avenue West, Suite 200 | Hendersonville NC 28792 Tuesday, July 12, 2022 – 4:00 PM MINUTES 1. CALL TO ORDER In attendance: Walt Slagel, Patsy DuPre, Jerry Fitzgerald, Carole Sitzer, Phil Wilmot, Chris Cormier, Joe Dinan, Jared Bellmund, Matthew Hickman, Debbie Roundtree. Mark Pavao and John Ryan joined virtually following the approval of the minutes. Absent: Caroline Gunther, Anthony McMinn 2. PUBLIC COMMENT There were no public comments. 3. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Jerry Fitzgerald made a motion to approve the agenda. Carol Sitzer seconded. Walt Slagel, Patsy DuPre, Jerry Fitzgerald, Carole Sitzer, Phil Wilmot, Chris Cormier, Joe Dinan, Jared Bellmund, Matthew Hickman voted to approve. 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. June, 2022 Downtown Advisory Board Minutes Jerry Fitzgerald made a motion to approve the minutes. Carol Sitzer seconded. Walt Slagel, Patsy DuPre, Jerry Fitzgerald, Carole Sitzer, Phil Wilmot, Chris Cormier, Joe Dinan, Jared Bellmund, Matthew Hickman voted to approve. 5. NEW BUSINESS 1. Presentation by the Cedars Developers Greg Covin, Mark Zilbert and Amy Shipman provided a special presentation of the Cedars hotel development project. 2. Previous Meeting Minutes Revision Jamie Carpenter requested the board made updates to the previous meeting minutes regarding attendance at past meetings. Jerry Fitzgerald made a motion to approve the amended attendance as presented. Patsy DuPre seconded. A roll call vote was taken - Jerry Fitzgerald made a motion to approve the minutes. DOWNTOWN ADVISORY BOARD – July 12, 2022 Page | 1  Carol Sitzer seconded. Walt Slagel, Patsy DuPre, Jerry Fitzgerald, Carole Sitzer, Phil Wilmot, Chris Cormier, Joe Dinan, Jared Bellmund, Matthew Hickman, John Ryan and Mark Pavao voted to approve. February 8, 2022 Amendment: Councilwoman Debbie Roundtree was present. Public present: Fred Nace (virtual), Yvonne Hill, Elizabeth Queen, Geoff Polsuszny (Walker Consultants) Absent: Jared Bellmund, Anthony McMinn April 12, 2022 Amendment - Councilwoman Debbie Roundtree was present. Public present: Michele Sparks, Fred Nace, Bill McConnell (Classic Car Club), Phil Wilmot Absent: Jared Bellmund, Mark Pavao, Anthony McMinn May 10, 2022 - Amendment - Councilwoman Debbie Roundtree was present. Public present: Bill McConnell (Classic Car Club) Amy Boswell (TDA), Lewis Parrish (Corvette Club) Absent: Anthony McMinn 6. OLD BUSINESS 1. 7th Avenue Branding Schedule Save the date: August 9 - round tables, board meeting, and public meeting Jamie Carpenter gave an update of the 7th Avenue Branding Steering Committee and Schedule. The August Downtown Advisory Board will be at a different location (City Operations Center) and the only topic will be 7th Avenue Branding. 2. Sidewalk Dining Ordinance Updates There has been concerns regarding the furniture requirements from downtown restaurants. We would like to review the requirements to determine what we would like to keep in the current ordinance. Jamie Carpenter presented about the recent history of sidewalk dining and where we currently are as far as the ordinance. Discussion topics of concern included - Rope colors/barricades, cleanliness, and logos on umbrellas. Jared Bellmund who was on the Main Street Advisory Committee. He requested that the minutes from when he was on the committee should be pulled and reviewed because this was a two year discussion among the committee and restaurant owners. He would request that the current board respect the time that was put into creating the ordinance. Mark Pavao indicated that the information that was sent to businesses was complete regarding the ordinance. He does request some conversation regarding changing seating to high quality/high density plastic to replace because metal furnishings are difficult to find. Black Bear was a recipient of a Pivot Grant but is delayed on replacing furniture and would request a grace period and individual conversations for businesses to determine why they are unable to change their furniture. J. Carpenter read comments from Brian Fraga, the Dugout. DOWNTOWN ADVISORY BOARD – July 12, 2022 Page | 2  J. Carpenter summarized that she is understanding that it seems like the direction given is that the board is not interested in making substantial changes to the sidewalk dining ordinance however giving a grace period on a case by case basis is appropriate. 7. OTHER BUSINESS 1. Downtown Team Updates - Parking Updates - Special Events Policy and Fees - Office Space J. Carpenter gave updates on downtown projects. Parking - the garage will look like a completed garage before September and then interior work will begin. January is slated open time. Staff including downtown, public works, police, finance, parking will have an overview meeting to review all decisions to be made. We will have promotions to encourage people to download the ParkMobile App. RFP is out for meter kiosks and we had the pre-bid conference with those vendors. Special Event Policy and Fees - Staff is working on this update with public works, police and fire. This will be coming back to the Downtown Advisory Board and presented to council in October. Office Space - Staff will be moving to city hall around November. We are looking at a lease agreement on this space with a marketing company that would also offer some benefits for downtown businesses. Other business - Patsy DuPre asked about the public being denied use of the public bathrooms at the historic courthouse. Jamie will look into this. 8. ADJOURNMENT The City of Hendersonville is committed to providing accessible facilities, programs and services for all people in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Should you need assistance or an accommodation for this meeting please contact the City Clerk no later than 24 hours prior to the meeting at 697-3005. DOWNTOWN ADVISORY BOARD – July 12, 2022 Page | 3