Main Street Advisory Board

1 MAIN STREET ADVISORY BOARD MINUTES – February 15, 2019 Present: Cheryl Spencer Chair, Heike Ness, Vice Chair, Caroline Crimm, Sandra Gray, Laura Bruns, Helen Belcher, John Matthews, Doris Collins & Gaye Clements Absent: Linda Pease, Ex-Officio Staff: Aron Kulhavy, Tammy Gann, & Tracy Chappell (barnes & Guests: Bert Lyle, Robert Ernst, Daiquiri Beebe, and John Smither Chair Spencer called the meeting to order at 12:35pm. Election of Chair and Vice Chair. MOTION WAS MADE TO KEEP CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR POSITIONS THE SAME CRIMM/BELCHER/UNANIMOUS Consideration and possible action on approval of January 18, 2019 minutes. MOTION WAS MADE TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FOR JANUARY 18, 2019. HEIKE/CRIMM/UNANIMOUS Main Street Committee Report/Other Reports - Bruns reported the Promotions Committee met on February 12th and discussed updates for the Bacon & Brew Fest including the bands that have been scheduled. Other discussions included summer activities and additional events to keep the flow of traffic in downtown. The need for updated information and maps was also discussed. Additionally, Bruns reported the next Wine Down Shop Small meeting will be Thursday, February 21, 2019. Main Street Coordinator Report: Chappell was introduced to the group and gave an update on Sean Thompson, guest that came to the most recent Promotions Committee meeting. She discussed that Thompson has approached Main Street with an idea to rebrand the Christmas Fair as a “Dickens on the Square” type of event. This would involve rescheduling the fair to later in the month of December. Clements mentioned that moving the fair may be in the best interest of Huntsville as other events on the same day as the Christmas Fair, like the Lions Club parade, have become rather large and are starting to take away from each other. Bruns discussed the idea that spreading these events out could bring more traffic to Huntsville. Main Street Grant Application Update – Gann reported that Main Street was awarded the grant, but official contracts have not come through. Downtown Parking Update – Gann reported on changes staff has made to improve parking. These items included new signage being put up, new striping and landscaping of the Ernst Lot on 12th St and Ave. M, and messaging on jury summons that includes locations for public parking. The board asked specific questions of staff including what areas of parking belong to the City and what areas belong to the County. It was discussed that the parking on the north and west sides of the Court House are county property and Huntsville Police does not have the ability to ticket violators in those spaces, but county employees to have to play by the same parking rules as the general public outside of those spaces. MSAB Minutes February 15, 2019  2 Downtown Parking Update Contd. – Kulhavy reported on research that had been done to determine how far the Ernst Lot was from the Court House, compared to the front doors or Walmart to the back of the store where the milk is located. With this discussion taking place, Kulhavy asked the board at this time to make specific recommendations based on the five predetermined items. Ordinance Exempting Juror Parking: Motion was made to strike Code of Ordinance Sec 44- 133.b.1.i. BELCHER/HEIKE/UNANIMOUS. Parking Time Limits: Motion was made to not change the two-hour time limit to a three-hour time limit. CRIMM/BELCHER/UNANIMOUS. Discussion included the thought process that county employees would abuse this change in the time limit even more than they are already abusing the current two-hour limit. Bert Lyle spoke on behalf of downtown businesses and explained that he does not believe that the current two-hour time limit is enough time if customers are making multiple stops on the square, but he agreed that a change to a three-hour limit would be abused and not helpful to his customers. Wall Lot Parking: Motion was made to keep the Wall Lot as a two-hour limited lot. BELCHER/CRIMM/UNAIMOUS. It was believed that changing the Wall Lot to an unlimited lot would result in the lot being full with nothing but county employees. Paid Parking/Parking Benefit District: Motion was made to table the concept of paid parking at this time. GRAY/CLEMENTS/UNANIMOUS. Clements believes that paid parking would be a deterrent for customers. Gann mentioned that the financial benefit to Main Street would be minimal. Hospitality Pass: Motion was made to table the concept of a hospitality pass at this time, but to continue the discussion in the future. CRIMM/COLLINS/UNANIMOUS. Discussion included Lyle who believes that a hospitality pass similar to what has been used in the past may be abused, but he thinks that customers should be able show a receipt that they made purchases downtown and be exempt from any parking citations that they may receive. Gray and Collins discussed that this would involve more work for the city and could be an auditing issue. Public Comments: Most public comments were discussed during parking recommendations, but John Smither did discuss a letter that he has put together for the Huntsville Planning Commission to include design based guidelines for future projects in town. This is the result of a six-story apartment complex that is currently being built that he believes takes away from the aesthetic of the community. Items of Interest – No items of interest were discussed. There being no further business the meeting adjourned. BELCHER/CRIMM/UNANIMOUS MSAB Minutes February 15, 2019